Skyfall Glen Try A Little Tenderness

Success! His paws stomped excitedly against the damp shore as he waved the small wave collide with Adeltra’s ebony body, drenching her from head to toe. A cheeky grin was stretched across his dark maw, perhaps the first since leaving the north. It felt strange, as though it was happening to someone else, but he knew it was making Adeltra happy. And that was all that mattered. Plus, he knew the girl would report back to his mother, which would then make her happy. As much as he wanted to be selfish and wallow in his own misery Cyril knew that was impossible.

He should have expected the retaliation but the girl’s sudden movement had caught him off guard, causing him to stumble backward and trip over his own paws. As he fell onto his hindquarters the girl barrelled into his chest, knocking him over in the process. As he flopped to the ground she began rubbing her fur all over him, drying off her own coat by using him as a towel. An amused growl hummed in the back of his throat as he struggled to roll out of the way, away from her, but ended up rolling into the pool of water…

She felt hope bubble in her chest at the familiar grin that stretched across her friend’s maw. It made her think that he could get better, that he would get better. Despite the darkness that she could see swimming under the surface, below that he was still Cyril. He was still his funny, fun loving, confident self and even though it might take some time she felt certainty that he could return to some version of his former self.

Playful growls and yips came from her jaws as she rubbed herself against him, attempting to transfer as much liquid from herself to him as possible. However, it seemed like he was content to do that himself as he rolled right into the lake. She plopped her butt down, her own cheeky grin placing itself on her lips as she looked at him. Her brows raised as if to say “Well if you wanted to swim you should have just said so!”

Water splashed around him as he flopped into the water, a surprised yelp escaping him as he struggled to find his footing in the shallow pool. Taking a bath had not been on the agenda for the day. A frown creased his features as he stood, his yellow eyes falling to the rippled surface. Faint hues of crimson surrounded him—the remnants of his father. It was like a punch to the gut, twisting and pulling. The taste of bile filled his mouth but nothing came. Instead he looked to his ebony friend, her sweet voice filling his ears and pulling him away from the dark parts of his mind. He swallowed and shrugged, his expression bleak as he pulled himself onto shore.

No—he couldn’t allow himself to sulk. Not now. Not after Adeltra had worked so hard to turn his frown upside down. Reluctantly he painted a devious grin on his dark features, his yellow eyes flashing to her. He flung himself in her direction, aiming to replicate her previous actions and bear hug his friend with his soggy arms.

Addy had realized that neither Piety nor Cyril had cleaned themselves since the death of the dark patriarch. Honestly, she’d wanted to lick them clean for days but she’d decided to let them do it themselves whenever. It hadn’t occurred to her that they might have been doing it for a reason other than being so caught up in the events that they’d just forgotten. That was, until she saw the look of devastation on her friend’s face. Her gaze trailed to the water, the subtle pigment of the liquids that ran in all of them staining the surface before moving back to him. The hurt in those golden eyes had returned and she wanted to reach into his heart and take it away, pull it into herself so that he wouldn’t have to feel the way he felt.

She’d half expected him to just leave and she wouldn’t have followed him or blamed him if he had. But, to her surprise, he forced a grin onto his maw and for some reason it made her ache all the more. But he was trying, by god he was trying, and she would not let that effort go to waste. He flung himself at her and she shrieked, falling to the ground as he pinned her in a bear hug. She writhed and wriggled, trying to get out of him embrace but she was quickly finding it was pointless. He’d gotten her good with this one and after a moment she stopped, breathing hard but laughing. Okay, you’ve bested me, she said, then sealed her lips once more.

Her amber-yellow gaze was pulled to the scenery behind him and her jaws were drawn open in wonder. Their journey had taken them longer than expected apparently and in the distraction of their romping, twilight had fallen. Mixtures of blue, black, yellow, red and even purple decorated the edges of the sky with darkness swallowing up most of the world already and painting it in splotches with stars. The scenery met with the lake and made it seem like it was endless. How beautiful, she thought.

Being happy was a chore, but it was certainly worth it to see Adeltra’s elated features. It was the only reason why he had not fled the clearing at the sight of his father’s blood filling the small pool of water. She was trying to make things better, even with his resistance. Not only had the ebony Archer given him the space he’d needed, but she had also pushed him. Encouraged him to keep moving. Made sure he was eating. Kept his mind occupied as much as possible so it didn’t return to the blood soaked mess on the lowlands. The mess that was his father. Keyword: was.

But the girl made everything better. He did not understand how, nor did he try to fight it, but she did.

It was why the trip south left a bitter taste in his mouth. For he knew she would leaving them soon. Returning to her own family. Where she belonged. Which, unfortunately, wasn’t with him.

A surprised gasp escaped him as he collided with her body, for he had not been expecting to meet his mark. He fell with her, landing on top of her with a soft oof! as he pinned her to the ground. Despite her best attempts at freeing herself Cyril remained where he was and began rubbing his damp muzzle over her neck in order to free himself of the water that clung to his pelt. Once she stopped fighting the boy flashed her a triumphant smile before unpinning her and curling up at her side, his nose tucking against her shoulder as he watched her observe their surroundings. Her soft, doe-like eyes grew wide as she drank everything in, earning a content sigh from the troubled boy. He wished they didn’t have to go back—to his mother and Cheedo. To the south, where Adeltra belonged. He would be satisfied staying here, tucked away in the clearing without the horrors of the world to pester them.

But he knew that was impossible. So he settled for the other option: staying here for as long as possible until they needed to reunite with Piety and Cheedo. He shuffled closer to his friend, embracing her warm (but still damp) body before it was time for them to return to reality.

He curled himself up at her side, his big head resting itself against her shoulder and her smile turned gentle. This little slice of heaven, she wished she could bottle it up and keep it forever. Laying here with her friend it felt like all their troubles disappeared, like everything was normal even thought it very clearly never would be normal again. In a few days they would part ways and neither of them knew when they would be together again. They would no longer curl up together to keep warm on cold nights, or explore and sniff out different places together. Something that had become so routine in such a short period of time was suddenly vanishing and she felt a hole open up inside her.

She pushed it away. Cyril was being so brave, so strong and she needed to try and match that. Yes, they would part ways but they would meet again someday. They would keep in touch and grow old knowing each other. She would be brave when she went home even though a part of her was afraid that nothing would be the same, that they would be mad at her. She would face all of this because if the Kael boy could keep moving forward pawstep by pawstep then she would too. For both of them. The dark boy shifted, shuffling closer to her and she lowered her head to give his chest a nibble before resting her own head across his paws. They would stay that way for a while longer, content to be hidden from reality.

Fade