Pasos al Cielo You're a true work of art

RE/ AW: A double rainbow stretches through the sky.  For @Reyes and open for one other! Feel free to be an unwelcome third wheel (and embarrass the baes)

Askan didn't particularly mind spring showers, but the same clearly couldn't be said for Reyes. Sure, it wasn't exactly fun to get soaking wet but Askan was pretty sure that it wouldn't last too long. And that before they knew it the sun would be back out and they'd be dry in no time. But no, Reyes insisted that they should take shelter until the rain stopped, that they should find high ground in case of flooding. His reaction seemed a bit over the top to Askan, after all what harm could a bit of rain do? But in Reyes defence, this wasn't just a little bit of rain. It was as though the heavens had opened and weeks worth of water were hammering down onto the earth in one fell swoop.

Still in Askan's opinion, the southerner was just looking for an excuse to cuddle. Sly bastard.

Fortunately, they just happened to be near Pissy-Alecio and their little den once again served as the perfect place for them to huddle up together. At least until the rain stopped, which it eventually did-after a fair bit of cuddling and kissing on their part.

As carefully as he could manage, so that he didn't step on Reyes, Askan clambered out of the den and stepped into the sunshine. He dropped down into a stretch and with a mischievous grin gave his tush a wiggle under the pretence-and a poor on at that- of shaking himself off.

At the sound of his mate pulling himself out of the den, Askan took a few steps forward to give him some room and turned his attention skyward. It seemed as though it had been mere moments ago when the sky had been angry and grey as a torrent of rain pounded the ground and yet now the sky was bright and-oh there was not one rainbow but two curving across the sky.

Pissy-Alecio was gorgeous in its own right but with a backdrop like this it was absolutely stunning. A real sight to see, or so Askan thought.

"Oi, quit staring at my arse and come look at this."

The rain was not Reyes’ favorite weather. In fact, he did not particularly care for any weather except the bright sun and hot winds that he grew up with. That said, the cuddles and kisses were nice, once they were out of the cold storm, and he supposed even the spring showers had their place. Warm and dry, the older wolf was content to curl up in their shelter and nap until the storm was well over – god forbid they head home in the wet grass – and he might have stayed there had his mate not summoned him.

Silver eyes blinked sleepily as he yawned, tongue curling out of his mouth as he watched his lover study the sky. As much as he wanted to stay in his nest…Askan looking that eager, that happy – that was top-notch. Grade A. Whizzo. And after everything that had happened in recent weeks, the gamma wasn’t in the position to deny his mate anything – so Reyes hoisted his bulk up and sauntered his way over to the beta, a sway in his hips as he circled around and cast his eyes to the sky. “Huh.” His ears tipped forward. “Never saw anything like that before.”

“Y’know, my Ma used to have stories about those. Never two of ‘em at once, though.”

Askan couldn't help but chuf in praise as Reyes squeezed out of the den and joined him by his side. Where he was meant to be. He expected some sort of rebuff or claim that he hadn't even glanced at his butt, but to his surprise didn't receive one. Was it because he had no shame? That he didn't want to rock the boat, as Askan was no doubt doing better than he was before? Or was he simply distracted by the streaks of colour in the sky? Askan frowned as he side eyed his mate, trying to unravel the mystery.

But really, did it even matter? Askan quickly dismissed his troubles with a snort and bumped into his mate with a swing of his hips. He didn't feel like brooding or getting all moody, as he so often did. He was feeling good today and he'd be damned if he ruined it all by thinking too much.

As always, Reyes' words were far more captivating than his own thoughts, which were incredibly dull and morose in comparison. His mate always had such interesting tales to tell, of the things he'd seen and stories his Mother had told him. He'd spent years as a loner and had travelled to see the world, whilst Askan had just been a sheltered spoiled brat. Even now he wouldn't have changed his upbringing if he could. In fact, he realised that despite all the bitching and wallowing in self-pity it had been good, he'd loved it, in his own grumpy sort of way.

But there he went again, thinking about home and getting dangerously close to shitty stuff, when he was supposed to be enjoying himself and spending time with his most favourite person in the whole wide world.

As sappy as that no doubt sounded. Ah well.

"I bet your Mother was really good at telling stories. You have to get it from somewhere, right?" Askan had never been one for flattery, but for Gabriel he'd make an exception. For him he'd do anything, except maybe go swimming."What about your other attributes? They're nice too."

Ah yes, so smooth. Reyes made it seem so effortless, he'd just open his mouth and out those charming words came. But Askan? He was awful, the worst of the worst. Huffing, more than a little embarrassed, Askan turned his attention skyward. Did they have the same amount of colours? Was the second rainbow an exact replica, or its own individual entity? Either way, Askan wasn't being very subtle. Hopefully Reyes found it at least a little endearing or this would just get all the more mortifying.

 

“I-- yeah.”

If he wanted a smooth-talking, silver-tongued wolf, he’d chosen the wrong mate. Fortunately, that was not really what Reyes had in mind; if he were being honest, he hadn’t anything in mind. Askan was something he didn’t even know he wanted. But that was okay. He liked him the way he was. And he liked this ridiculous, awkward form of flirting – it was far better than the miserable sack of bones and flesh he’d been tending to a few weeks ago. To see Askan out and about – and actually enjoying things – was a weight off his shoulders he didn’t realize had slowly been squeezing the life out of him.

Reyes plunked his thick hindquarters down, silver eyes still studying the colors before they faded away. Even as they spoke, the lower one was starting to lose its brilliance. At least it was something to commit to memory, if nothing else. “Had to do with an old god,” he told his mate, even though Askan didn’t ask. “From a long, long time ago. Mama just had one, I think, that she spoke to, but there used to be lots. The rainbow was the sign that one was present – she was, you know. Fertility and shit. Makes the plants grow, gives you pups, all that shit. Not sure if Mama believed it, but it shut us up as kids.”

Askan snorted in amusement.

"Don't sound too flattered, you'll make me blush."He rumbled, as he shot his mate a look, as though to say 'as if'. He was in denial of course, he could remember the feeling of heat rushing into his cheeks so vividly it seemed as though it was happening now. But it was just his imagination. He was not blushing. Not even a little!

Reyes dropped to the floor with all the grace of a mountain goat falling off a cliff and Askan followed suit so he could huddle close and lean against his side. Though, he'd argue he laid down with far more grace and elegance then Reyes. But then again, of course he would, wouldn't he? Stubborn sod that he was. Wriggling, Askan settled so that he could use his mate as his own personal chin rest. He'd missed this so damned much, not the cuddling they'd never stopped doing that. Rather, the sense of ease between them. It was an old routine that couldn't have been easier to slip back into, like returning home after a long and arduous journey.

His gaze lingered on the rainbows but his attention was drawn to Gabriel's words. His Mother truly did sound like an interesting woman, the sort who had all sorts of wise words to impart. The last part in particular caught Askan's interest. He was sharing a childhood memory with him, more or less, and considering how little he spoke about those days...Well, the importance wasn't lost on the Selwyn.

"Good thing it's not the season anymore, or I'd be fighting off hoards of women." He sniggered, finding the whole idea rather funny. A rainbow making someone more fertile, like that'd happen."Or would be it the other way around, like last time?" He could laugh about it now, but it really hadn't be funny at the time. Being harassed was not his idea of a good time, at all.

"You're mine so, not gonna let anyone sniff or whatever around you.Feel free to do the same, if you feel like it."

Reyes rolled his eyes dramatically – as far as he could recall (and the season really wasn’t that long ago), he wasn’t the one having a lady problem.  He was fairly certain it wasn’t ever going to be an issue, regardless of the sex.  It wasn’t exactly like his mate had been throwing himself at the loner to begin with, either; in fact, Askan had delivered a rather sharp bite to the ruff of his neck upon one of their earlier meetings.  So he snorted instead, allowing the younger wolf to wriggle and back himself comfortable as they watched the colorful streaks linger, fading slowly back into the sky.

“Already do, amado.”

What did he think that episode a few moons back with Adelayde had been all about, anyways?

“But this god, she ain’t runnin’ around trying to actually like, make you all frisky and shit.  I think, basically, if you do it, you’re more likely to get pups.  Or somethin’.”  Which, as two males, was not something either of the pair needed to worry about.  “But you know the weirdest part of it?  ‘m pretty sure my Mama told us this old god was a cat, or somethin’.  A really big cat.  Nothin’ like you see up here.  Speckled, she said.  Chased away by the naked bears.  Now I never seen either of these.  Naked bears or speckled cats.  But we had t’ leave ‘cos of the first.  Weren’t like other bears, she said – which’ll generally leave you alone, ‘less you piss ‘em off.  These ones were always pissed off.  Killed wolves just because.  So we all left, Mama included.  Maybe why this god lady left, too.  Who knows?”

Askan would have given his mate a sharp, if not questioning squint, but seeing as they weren't making eye contact he merely rolled his eyes and huffed. So that's how it was huh? He had no idea what Reyes was thinking-the man was still an enigma even to Askan- but even so the Selwyn had gotten pretty good at reading his mood. If he was snorting like that then it had to mean that he was wrong. That he was thinking about something he knew Askan would disagree with, something that in the end Reyes would have to admit that he was wrong about. It was all well and good that he was saving them an argument, or so Askan assumed, but perhaps he selfishly wanted to earn the bragging rights of being the winner.

Ah well, it didn't really matter, did it? If they ever did argue, they'd work it out. Sure, it might be tough considering how stubborn they both were, but this was what they wanted and so neither of them were going to let go. Not without a damn good reason to at least. And even then, Askan could see himself clinging on for dear life, he was just that smitten.

All of this talk spotted cats and naked bears had Askan pulling such a bemused expression that he almost made himself laugh. He'd seen plenty of bears but all of them had fur. What would a naked bear even do? Wouldn't it get cold, wet? How on earth could such a ridiculous creature survive, let alone have enough strength and ferocity to chase off wolves?

And yet, Askan believed him, every word. The Gods were just stories, legends his mother had no doubt been told by someone else. But the bears? They must have been a threat, otherwise they wouldn't have left their home and all they had known to the dust. Askan rumbled and rubbed his chin against Gabriel's neck. His fur wasn't as thick as it used to be, with the warmer weather and all, but it was still just as nice and smelled just as good.

"Never seen a naked bear before. Bet they look kinda stupid...All naked and fat." He sniggered."You came from way down south, right? Maybe they could live there cause it's warm. They'd die here surely."

“Well hopefully we never do.” Sure, they probably looked dumb, hairless and ugly – but they were the reason he’d left a home he’d loved, ultimately. And if they really were dangerous enough that his mother was willing to send them so far away… Reyes did not believe for a second that Maribel Reyes would have sent her children away for anything less than an absolute threat. And as much as he didn’t particularly care for pack life now, he wasn’t a selfish bastard. He knew Askan was happy.

Moving his mate, or losing his mate, was not a reality the swarthy male ever wanted to deal with.

Thankfully, the beta’s theory actually seemed pretty sound. Shit, he was cold up here, and he grew a full winter coat! The wicked winds of the coldest seasons would hopefully keep any naked bears from the area. He huffed softly, pushing his face into Askan’s ruff – still plush, even at this time of the year. “Yeah. I ain’t keen on movin’.” He paused, lifting his head enough so silver eyes could meet Askan’s gaze. The silence lingered a little longer, and then he spoke up. “If we ever left – ‘cos we had to – you’d come with me, right?”

Askan rumbled, glad that Reyes had no intentions of leaving. They were Rye wolves, the field was their home and it was as simple as that. Gabriel might not have been there since the beginning but in the beta's eyes he'd more than earned his place. In fact, he'd gone above and beyond merely earning his keep. Not only did he hunt regularly to stock up the caches, but he'd also ran all the way to Hearthwood River just to get a healer. That was without saying that he'd saved Askan's life, and that was no exaggeration.

Whether he felt like one or not, he truly was a member of their rag-tag family. And most importantly, he was Askan's mate, so he was here to stay.

As to Reyes' question, Askan couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. It wasn't something he ever wanted to think about, not even in passing. Nothing lasted forever, he knew that better than anyone but he wanted to remain here till the end of his days for as long as he could. He'd worked so hard to get this far and the idea of just dropping it all was truly heartbreaking. Like a knife in his chest but twice as painful.

It was a prospect he had to face, he couldn't just blow Reyes off or pretend he hadn't even spoken. But the fact he didn't have a knee-jerk response troubled him. There was no definite yes or no response. Would he stay, or would he go?

Askan huffed a sigh and squinted at the horizon in the distance. Reyes wasn't merely asking would they leave for shit and giggles, there was a weight to his words, a sense of urgency. If they had to. If there was no other choice, if to remain behind meant certain death....

"I'd go with you. No matter what, I think. Where you go, I go. But only if we really had to...I like what we have here Gabe, it's home."

 

(This post was last modified: Jul 01, 2017, 12:18 AM by Askan.)

“Gabe.”

He squinted, eyes crinkling around the corners before looking away. If he smiled, if Askan saw his smile, the man was never going to drop that stupid nickname. And he hadn’t heard it in ages. “It’s Reyes. Reyes, you meathead.”

But there was no heat in it, and the smile that could not be seen was still visible in his rough voice. His thick tail twitched behind him as he glanced back up at the last tidbits of fading color, wondering idly if his mother’s goddess had blessed them with something on this day, even if not fertility. (Ugh.)

Only once he had his face back under control did he look back at his lover. “I wouldn’t make ya leave, Kana. I mean, I thought about it. In the beginning. It was hard. But I’m doin’ okay now. Drestig’s pretty okay.” And that was a compliment, coming from him. He rumbled at his mate. Home was a strong word. He wasn’t sure he wanted to apply it Wild Rye Fields just yet – but he wouldn’t rule out the possibility, either. Times were certainly changing.

But that didn’t mean he’d never use the word at all.

“Home is with you, Askan. Wherever you are. Scenery be damned, and all that.”