Kingsfall In the Mouth of the Devil

Random Event! The nearby plants sparkle with autumn frost. Set somewhere to the southeast of Hearthwood River. For @Aytigin <3

The world looked different in the early morning glow of autumn. It was almost like he was still asleep and the jagged edges of existence were nothing more than blurry shapes dancing just beyond his line of sight. He decided that he liked it. That it was a nice way to spend the morning as he explored the hidden depths of towering forest. Because it had been months since he had last been in the area. Since he last stretched his limbs and set out with the intent to explore and only explore. There was nobody he was looking for. He wasn't lost and losing his mind in the silence of isolation.

Instead he went only where he wanted to. He didn't even have to hurry because he didn't have the wrath of Jessie or Drestig hanging over his head. And he knew that Askan or Reyes would start worrying if he disappeared long enough but it wasn't the same. He wasn't scared of his friends! It was a rule that you were supposed to trust each other when you were best friends with someone or something. But he just might have been making that up that last part.

He didn't worry about it. Instead he focused on the dull thuds of his paws pressing down against wet leaves and cold ground over and over. The air nipped at his fur and lungs with every step he took. He could see his breath as it curled around his muzzle in warm vapour. Somewhere behind him his tail wagged as slow and happy as could be. For the first time in weeks he felt content. Like maybe things were finally looking up for him and that he didn't have to worry anymore. He pressed forward through the forest of towering redwoods with a skip in his step.

COTTONGRASS

Things were maybe looking up in the pack. Sure, they had fewer members now, but the pups were growing and healthy, and every day Aytigin felt more comfortable with his position. Things weren't great, but they weren't terrible either. It was just at that middleground where everything was kind of static and almost comfortable. He felt pretty secure for the first time in a long time. Or, as secure as Aytigin Delaney could manage to feel. It wasn't always easy.

Winter was fast approaching, and with it Ayti had found new resolve to help the pack. His shoulder had more or less healed entirely, though the damn thing still hurt like a sonuvabitch when it was cold. Like it was today. Still, it wasn't stiff and he wasn't limping, so he supposed he should put in that extra effort to patrol today and venture off beyond the borders a bit. Check and make sure that there weren't cougars or anything. Of all of the Hearthwood wolves, Ayti believed that it would be best for himself to run into such a beast - with his own size and strength, he would probably be the best match for it. Though he wasn't near quick enough.

He had been kind of engrossed with the pale frost on the leaves of the dried bushes he walked beside and didn't even see Cottongrass until they were only a few wolf-lengths from one another. And then he swiftly turned his back to start walking the other way, hoping that the white wolf hadn't noticed him.

But Aytigin never got that lucky.

It was easy for him to get lost in his thoughts. To lose himself in the simple repetition of walking forward and navigating around thick trunks and dead brush alike without a single worry in his head. But it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to distract him from his surroundings and it was in moments like that did he remember how much the universe must have hated him. Because in the corner of his eye there was a flash of brown. The scent of something warm and earthen filled his nostrils. It was instinct that made his paws stumble to a halt while his head turned towards the source of the phenomenon. And —

Nope.

Nuh-uh.

No way.

He flinched. His ears rolled back against his skull while his yellow eyes widened in panic. And maybe in another world that would have been enough. He would have gotten the fright of his life before instinct kicked in and he ran away from the scene of the crime. But life was cruellest in the moments when he least expected it. Because instead of turning on the spot and hightailing it out of there Cottongrass found himself stepping forward. Towards the retreating backside of one Aytigin Delaney while his mouth moved faster than his brain ever could.

"Aytigin?" He blurted out. And it was in that moment he wished for death. He wanted nothing more than to dissolve into a puddle on the ground and seep into the cracks of earth. But he found himself frozen on the spot. Somewhere inside of his chest his heart pounded quick and brutal against his rib cage, like it wanted nothing more than to jump out. His limbs trembled and he found himself growing scared for reasons he didn't understand.

COTTONGRASS

MATURE LANGUAGE WARNING

Fuck.

Shit.

FuckshitdamnballsdicksbollocksFUCK!

This was a bad day. This was a very bad day. His heart pounded in his chest and he turned to face the smaller, white puffball who he had almost given his heart, soul, and very core of his being to. Hazel eyes met liquid gold momentarily before flashing off to the side and fixating on some frosted ferns to his right. Honestly, he couldn't really make sense of why he felt so scared at that moment (probably because Cotton bit the shit out of his face and also seemed to have two separate personalities.) In truth, he could certainly protect himself against this younger wolf if he needed to.

But he didn't want to have to.

"What do you want?" he asked, fur fluffing up just a bit. And maybe his voice was a little gruffer and resentful, but he could hardly help that. The last time they had met, after all, Aytigin had walked for two days to apologize, then taken the brunt of a fall that had lightly permanently fucked up his shoulder, and then been turned coldly away as though he had meant nothing.

Now, he didn't hate Cottongrass - he couldn't hate someone he had come so close to loving, after all. But he certainly had never wanted to see him again, and if he had come here to try and wriggle back into Aytigin's life, he was going to have a rude wake-up call. The massive wolf was done with being treated like shit.

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

He made a mistake.

It was becoming more and more obvious with each passing second but he couldn't move. Not when his paws were rooted to the spot and fear ran through him like a lightning bolt. His ears rolled back against his head and his tail curled tight between his hind legs. He shouldn't have come. There was nothing waiting for him in these woods except pain and fear. But his body wouldn't listen to his brain and Aytigin was speaking anyway.

He flinched.

Because what did he want?

He didn't know! He wanted to leave but he couldn't. Not when Aytigin was facing him with ruffled fur and a harsh voice.

"Sorry." The apology felt wrong in his mouth but he didn't know what else he was supposed to say. "I just — I just wanted to see if it was you..." It sounded dumb when he said it out loud but it was the truth.

COTTONGRASS

(This post was last modified: Dec 03, 2017, 12:07 AM by Cottongrass.)

It made sense that Cottongrass would be afraid of him. Not necessarily for anything he had done in the past - because what had he done that was so bad? He couldn't think of any way that he had treated the fluffball that had warranted such a harsh reaction. But it seemed that it was good that it had, because had certainly dodged a bullet there. Which wasn't to say that Ayti blamed Cotton for it, but they really did bring out the worst in one another.

And he certainly did not want to be there.

He didn't want Cottongrass to apologize, either, but he supposed he was being pretty intimidating. So, instead, he decided to relax his posture, still keeping his gaze to the side.

"It's me." Unfortunately. "What're you doing up here?" Because Cottongrass was from the west, and he absolutely avoided that area at all costs specifically to avoid the white wolf. But clearly, Cotton wasn't nearly as concerned with an accidental encounter... which sucked, bigtime.

Aytigin relaxed.

Cottongrass didn't.

There was probably a metaphor about their relationship hidden somewhere between the two statements.

His ears were pinned against his head and his tail remained stiff between his hind legs. He did his best not to move. And he wasn't scared of Aytigin. Not when he was the one that decided to ruin their relationship with one thoughtless bite. But the emotions that ran through him were deep and conflicting. He settled for submission. Submission was for safe. He knew how to submit and whimper and whine like the back of his paw.

He was less likely to do something dumb this way.

(And he was pretty sure he already did something dumb. That his whole entire life was dumb because he made one mistake after another. But now wasn't the time for him to pity himself and his bad life decisions...)

"I was exploring." He answered. I was happy he thought. "Didn't notice where I was." Until it was too late...

COTTONGRASS

(This post was last modified: Dec 03, 2017, 12:06 AM by Cottongrass.)