Vigils Keep a saturated sunrise

/ @Yuka - set directly after their rank challenge.

Aytigin had to admit, he was almost overjoyed that the older man agreed to eat with him. It had been a long time since he had had someone to eat with - to talk to and spend time around. He was sure his face lit up like an excited pup and his tail began wagging, his ears angling forward and a smile forming on his lips. "Really? Uh, yeah. Yeah! I can go get the fish. Just, uh - wait there," he urged, padding over to step into the water and scan the surface.

Luckily, with the warmer weather came an abundance of fish, and soon the massive wolf was toting one of the scaly morsels out for the two of them to share. He brought it over to set at Yuka's paws, looking up at him and squeezing one eye shut as he smiled. "Thank you for not tearing me apart during the fight," he said genuinely.

Aytigin was a ball of energy, overly happy. Ever since they'd met, on their first border patrol, he had acted in such a way. Had he ever been like that? He strolled after the dark man, lounging in the sun and enjoying the warm. It would be a lie to say he didn't watch Aytigin as he fished though. Yuka had never been a fan of the water, a trait he had picked up from his foster father, he supposed. It was not long before the fisherman was headed back his way, their meal grasped between his jaws. Amber teal-flecked eyes briefly glanced over the man's slightly drenched features before meeting his gaze, the sparkle in his gaze reminding him that Aytigin had a positive attitude that could make up for Yuka's gloomy one. His pack mate's words were genuine but they did nothing less but hit a familiar chord in Yuka. Just a seriously, he responded, "I wanted to. Multiple times." He paused for a moment before continuing, "But it wouldn't have been the right thing to do." The Thorben had allowed Aytigin to set the pace for their challenge and would not dishonor the way he was raised. Glancing down at the fish, his voice softened, "Thank you. For the fish."

Burtn @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Thank you TABs

A chuckle sounded low in Aytigin's throat at his packmates' serious response, his head tilted to the side as he smiled a bit. "I could tell. Didn't mean to make you mad," he admitted, settling down and letting his dinner partner take first bite of the meal before them. It was plenty big enough for two wolves to eat, even if they were as large as Yuka and Aytigin. And besides, if they needed more, Ayti could catch more.

"Thanks for staying to eat with me, too," he told the man, perking his ears up and letting just a hint of that old Ayti slide back in as he flirted. "It's not everyday a handsome man agrees to eat dinner with me." It was honestly the flirtiest thing he had said in months, and it felt foreign on his tongue - but not in a bad way.

More natural than most things that came out of his mouth these days, actually. It was genuinely how he felt. Because, yeah, he was attracted to Yuka. Who wouldn't be? The man was big, strong, kind - a real catch. Aytigin hoped, briefly, that there wasn't a man or woman in his life already who might be jealous of the time spent between himself and the russet wolf.

Yuka gave Aytigin a dark look, that was more telling than threatening. He had been more excited at the prospect of stinking his teeth into flesh than mad at the rank challenge, but he wasn't going to tell the dark man that. Especially when they were sitting so close together about to share a meal. The creamy russet-hued man was the first to take a bite, courtesy of his companion. The flesh that he tore off was refreshing in his jaws and while he wasn't a fan of water, he would ascertain that he liked the marine life that lived there. Russet ears perked forward when the man spoke, his voice smooth. The Thorben was about to agree with what he'd said when the last of his statement processed in his mind. Amber eyes snapped up to Aytigin's face. Rarely was Yuka complimented as handsome, certainly never by another male, but mostly atribute to the scars on the right side of his face, leaving an almost distorted look to his appearance. For a moment, he thought of Inali but he didn't want to get angry then. He had wasted enough time on a relationship that was doomed to fail and it was inevitably why he had ended up in Vigil's Keep. The Left Hand's jaw was clenched, thoughts of manipulation angles that Aytigin could be working going through his mind. But then, hadn't he thought along the similar lines? The moment they'd met Yuka had an attraction towards him. Deciding to stick with a neutral answer, he spoke firmly, "Thank you. Same here." The Thorben wasn't the best with his words, but that didn't make them any less genuine. He was curious and maybe in the end, that would kill him, "If you don't want power, you don't want us to submit to you. Why did you challenge me?" Yuka was not asking because he was butt-hurt, but because he was genuinely curious as to what Aytigin's motives were.

Burtn @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Thank you TABs

Though Aytigin couldn’t comprehend what the look Yuka gave him meant, he understood that it couldn’t mean anything good. Maybe everybody in the pack had “baggage,” as Judas had so eloquently put it months ago. Maybe it just affected them all differently - which made sense. Ayti’s mostly kept him up at night, in the dark and quiet. The latter of the two in particular really got his brain going down the wrong track - which was why he never allowed lapses in conversation to last too long. He simply couldn’t take it.

The older wolf seemed surprised that Aytigin had complimented him, and the dark wolf could only surmise that he didn’t get that often due to the scars on his face. A cruel thing - to consider something less beautiful because of imperfections. Really, Ayti hardly even noticed them. But luckily the russet hued man seemed to take the compliment well, and in short words, Ayti thought he got a compliment back.

It only made sense that the next question was to do with the challenge, as much as Ayti would rather not talk about it. Yuka deserved an explanation. ”I want to co-lead with Nineva,” he admitted. ”I want to prove to her and the rest of the pack that I’m worthy and strong enough to be up there, helping make this pack as safe and prosperous as it can be.” He smiled half heartedly. ”I like Nin, and I trust her, but I want to be there to support her. Keep her on the right track, and for her to do all that for me in return.” He snorted softly. ”It’s not in a romantic way. I really respect her and I want to help. But I also want to help the pack as a whole... does that make sense?”

The Thorben would have never guessed that Aytigin was carrying around any sort of 'baggage', not with the cheerful air he put on. Of course, Yuka knew better than to judge a wolf by the mask they put on. There could be many layers beneath what the dark man was showing the Left Hand. The creamy wolf was grateful his returned compliment went unnoticed, or at least unacknowledged. This complimenting thing was new to him and he needed to be eased into it. There was no way he could handle trading compliments with the dark handsome man for the rest of their meal. Luckily, their conversation took on a more diplomatic turn - also not Yuka's speciality - but more comfortable than whatever was happening before. The brute sat still, staring at the man in front of him as he explained his intentions. The creamy russet-hued man had to give him credit, he had guts formulating this plan. Would Nineva go for it? Yuka wasn't really sure. Nin had always been strong, independent and the Thorben was sure that it was one of the reasons why she thrived with singular leadership. It was noble and all but helping the pack as a whole? Yuka bit his tongue to delay from demanding more explanation. All the man cared about was his family. It was the only reason he was in Vigil's Keep. Instead, he simply acquiesced, "Indeed. That's a brave feat." Yuka did not understand though. He understood that it was Nineva's job to ensure all of these things, but it seemed as if all wolves had this never-ending urge to serve and protect their home. For the good of the pack. Did they really mean it? On another note, Aytigin had addressed something that brightened Yuka's spirits. "I'm glad you don't feel towards Nineva in a romantic way. She is my sister, after all." He loved his sister with everything in him that was still good. Anyone who tried to be with her would certainly be on his hitlist.

Burtn @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Thank you TABs

"Well, while I felt I owed Nineva for taking care of me after I was cast out of Driftwood Surge, the fact that I was ignored when I requested not to settle near them put the lives of the entire pack at jeopardy. A brave feat seemed necessary," he reasoned out with a slight smile, shrugging his shoulders as he looked his companion over. "The Surge wolves are ruthless creatures. They can and will kill us. Nineva didn't listen to me before - I figured if I was a higher rank then perhaps she would take me more seriously." He took a deep breath and then took another bite of fish, chewing and swallowing before he continued on. "If I can keep that from happening, I will. Nineva is smart and values strength and intelligence, so if this goes to plan, then maybe she will see that in me. Not that I'm particularly smart," he said with a laugh. "But things have never really gone to plan for me before."

He snorted a bit at the mention of his kinship with Nineva. "I thought for a while I might be interested in her in that way, but I realized what I felt was just respect. Admiration," he told him, then looked back up to meet Yuka's gaze. "I think, though, I might be beginning to develop interest in someone else in the pack. At least in friendship. If you don't mind me being honest."

As he listened to what Aytigin had to say - and he certainly had plenty - Yuka couldn't help but feel as if he were pointing out everything that was wrong with Nineva, his sister, the wolf he cared the most about in this twisted world. As he listened to this, he felt the urge to run over to his sister, report exactly what was happening in this very moment, but at the same moment, he knew his sister valued communication over everything. She loved it when other communicated with her. Wouldn't she rather hear all of this from Aytigin rather than him? Nineva had here reasons for leading alone and Yuka could not see her bending on those unless there was a great need for it. The gray woman was brilliant really and the help that Aytigin was mentioning was what Advisors were for, right? He responded in kind, "Then I hope you're bringing your intentions up to my sister if you respect her and all. It sounds like you really thought this through. " He was silent, mulling over whether or not to report this to Nineva. It was why he was here to tell her things like these, the inner workings of the pack because he was solely loyal to her, and if Aytigin refused, he would. But for now, Yuka enjoyed the meal and listened to the younger man's reasoning as to why he did not feel towards his sister in a romantic way. Amber teal-flecked eyes shot up to meet Aytigin's gaze. The Left Hand's gaze narrowed, but his voice was soft when he spoke, "Honesty is refreshing. We don't get much of it around here anymore."

Burtn @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Thank you TABs

Aytigin dipped his head in acknowledgement. "I definitely plan on discussing this with her, if I can manage to challenge Elias," he told him. "If I were to tell her now, then I doubt she will see me as serious when I'm a rank too low. It's not even worth mentioning until I'm sure I'm even capable, is it?" He smiled a bit and thumped his tail on the ground. "Of course, if she asks, then I'll tell her before. But I'd rather save it for when I'm positive I'm able to even do it at all. Otherwise, how will she know that I'm not all bark?"

"I do hope you don't think I mean any disrespect or harm to her," Aytigin said calmly, hazel eyes flicking downward. "I would never hurt a packmate - or any wolf, really, if I could help it. So Nineva isn't in any danger." And she wouldn't be.

His maw stretched a bit in another crooked smile when Yuka spoke again. "A lot of bad could be said about me, but I'm not dishonest," he said softly. "Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. I really enjoy speaking with you." Which was, of course, true. He'd wanted to get to know the older man since they met for the first time, and he was grateful for the opportunity. "You're very interesting, Yuka."

He just listened. He seemed to be doing a lot of that in this get together, but he wasn't complaining. Yuka was not much of a talker. While Aytigin spoke, the Thorben finished off the his portion of the fish, russet ears perked forward to indicate that he was listening. While the russet-hued man could see where Aytigin was coming from, could see the rationalization behind it, the Thorben also felt like the sooner this was addressed the better. After all, the reason he would be challenging Elias, Nineva's mate, in the first place was for his end goal of becoming her co-lead, and if it wasn't what Nineva wanted, what was he going to do then? Leave. The thought made something in his stomach chern uncomfortably. But so did the thought of Yuka going to his sister to tell her of what Aytigin planned, because it would sound like he was going behind her back, even though he wasn't. Something ugly twisted in Yuka's mind. For once he didn't know what to do. It was usually kill or be killed but this time he wasn't fighting and there was certainly no one he could kill. That being said, if Nineva ever was in any danger someone would be hurt, badly injured, maybe even dead. When Aytigin was done, Yuka's words were came out serious, but he meant them in a playful way, "Well, I enjoyed listening." His last tidbit had Yuka caught of guard, because there were a few things that could be considered interesting about Yuka. "Why do you say that?" His voice was gruff, but the man was cautious.

Burtn @DA & Dawnthieves.de

Thank you TABs