Roamer's Rest old money, nouveau riche

For @Leviticus

January 29th; Late morning; Overcast Clouds; -13 ° F, -25 ° C

Since meeting Levi, weathering the winter came by a little easier. Their first few hours together were rather pleasant, lighthearted even... In fact, Sawyer was starting to wonder how he ever got by on pure snark alone. For the first time in his life he didn't feel the need to be sarcastic or cynical. Though, during the first two nights, he grappled with himself while the two of them had hunkered down for the evening. He couldn't be sure if his friendship with Levi was forged on pure loneliness or the pressing need to retrieve what was his as soon as physically or verbally possible. For now, he hoped it was the former. It was nice for a change to let his guard down without worries of anyone straight up stabbing him in the back.

Today's journey further into the southern reaches of Relic Lore found Sawyer standing in an untouched meadow before a grand, smooth-trunked tree. His lips parted at the grandeur of it as he stared into the hollowed out space at its roots and lower trunk. "Hey Slick!" he called out to his scouting companion, hoping he hadn't lost him on accident. His gaze combed through the tree line as he sat down, looking for a familiar splotch of tan fur, "Check this out!"

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Traveling with a companion had already benefited Levi's wellbeing immensely, both physically and mentally. He'd actually been able to eat, and for the past two nights his sleep had been deep and restful rather than fitful and inadequate. Sawyer's presence and personality, which Leviticus was quickly idolizing, bolstered his own confidence and gave him the chance to be even more playful and adventurous. More himself than he had been in weeks, if not months.

Hearing Sawyer call out to him, Levi popped up from the tunneling he had been doing, fur coated in thick snow flakes and green eyes wide. He thought he'd caught the scent of something, and had gotten pretty far down without yet hitting the ground. Oh well. The boy abandoned his efforts without hesitation, bounding over the drifts and dodging round trees to get to his friend.

"Woah," fell from his mouth once he saw it, a big black hole like the entrance to a cave, but to the inside of a tree instead of earth or rock. Promptly, he slipped past the Archer and pushed himself right into the empty space. His nose set to work and led him upward, searched for a ceiling. Did it... go all the way up? His forepaws followed his sniffer, one pressing against each side of the tree. He couldn't tell...

After a few false starts, he hopped and splayed all four limbs; every claw gripped against the wood, effectively lodging him in place a few inches off the ground. As long as the strength in his legs held out, he could shimmy upward and find out!

"What did this?!"

Just when he thought he was going to have to retrace his steps and head back to where he believed Levi had romped off on his own, there came the sound of gamboling paws over the fresh snow. Muscle memory made him freeze up but relax upon remembering just where he was. Back at home, he had been quite the tackle target, and the impending footfalls of bounding steps usually meant he was in for it...

His tail gave a full, sweeping wag and he watched as Levi, with a snowflake-topped crown, came prancing along. Both boys regarded the impressive tree now. Then, Sawyer watched with wide eyes as his tawny friend went right past him and into the hollow space. A bit of nose-work and a very intrigued glance upward... Sawyer's own brows knit together and he strode over to stick his head into the empty tree to see for himself. He couldn't see anything really and he immediately had to withdraw his head as Leviticus began to hop about and then parkour his way up - starting at a height of a few paw-lengths from the ground.

"What did this?!"

Sawyer backed away and sat back down. "You think I know?" he chuckled, "Psshhh... beats me." He smirked, raising a spotted brow, "Maybe it just grew that way." A sudden sinking feeling started to pool in his stomach and he found himself standing again. Levi was about ready to climb up into that thing and, if he wasn't careful, well... "What're you doing?!"

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

You discover a half-eaten deer carcass. +5 Health

It only took a few seconds of sustaining the position for Levi's legs to start visibly quaking from the effort. He stubbornly toughed it out, continuing to crane his neck as far as it would reach to try and judge what exactly was above him. The little bit of light filtering in was poor and certainly didn't magically angle upward just to benefit him. Therefor, he simply could not tell if just past his nose was so pitch dark because it was empty space or because the ceiling was right there, just out of sight.

That Sawyer didn't have an answer for his question only fueled the aimless curiosity that drove him.

"I wanna..." his voice trailed off as his concentration was monopolized by his effort to shimmy upward. His body bounced a few times in preparation, "I gotta see," and then--

thwak

his skull audibly hit solid wood, and the next second he was on his butt, uninjured but very much stunned. His legs felt like sand in water and his vision was blurred but... at least now he knew? Green eyes attempted to focus on the ginger smudge in front of them.

"All clear."

Sawyer's saucer-like eyes eventually narrowed as Levi began to answer but did not continue. Skeptical ears swiveled back as the other man simply told him that he absolutely had to see. His lips sealed and he anticipated a show, a feat of athleticism, a display of agility... but then...

Thwak.

He snorted as soon as he heard Levi's head knock. It was rude he knew, especially after he watched the blond-crowned male lose all grip and land flat on his rump. At least he didn't flat out just guffaw and howl with laughter. He composed himself with a very small closed-mouth snicker.

"All clear."

"Slick," he commented. His timbre made it clear that he was not calling Levi by his "nickname" but remarking on his grace - or, rather, lack thereof. He got up again and walked over to run his nose over the other's tan- and dark-furred shoulder. A small nose-twitch and a quick sniff - a gesture meant to be hopefully comforting; he might've thought the antic funny but he did care for Levi's wellbeing. "You okay?"

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

Levi rarely ever seemed to mind his own bumps and bruises. What often bothered him was how others reacted, either teasing or losing patience with him quickly. Sawyer took it in stride, remained light-hearted and even a little caring. As his vision refocused itself, his tail thumped the ground merrily.

"Always," Levi replied, then scooted over to make room for his friend in case he wanted to check it out too. It only just occurred to him that he'd pretty much been hogging it, whoops...

"I bet like a million wolves have stayed here," he mused aloud, lifting a paw to trace the inner grain of the wood. Probably plenty of other animals too, friends and siblings and couples and strangers of all stripes. Maybe even River...

"... hey um, what happens if we... never find any Willows?"

As he spoke, he pressed his claws against the wood, testing it's durability. It'd take some going over multiple times, but he was pretty sure he could carve into it.

(This post was last modified: Feb 02, 2021, 10:16 PM by Leviticus.)

"Always." To Sawyer's relief, Levi answered in a timely manner and was capable of at least shuffling over without keeling over. "Uh, huh," he replied in turn, eyes still honed in on the pale man's every move. He, himself, had had a couple of head-knocking incidents with his rough-and-tumble siblings - older and younger - and he knew from experience that any tap to the noggin was not particularly the greatest feeling.

The Archer took up the invitation to sit down inside the little hideout and recline forward onto his elbows. He made for a very stocky, thickset kind of sphinx; but, at least, if it rained or snowed only his forelimbs would get wet or covered among the roots. His tail followed the curve on the inside of the trunk and draped over his left hindfoot.

His ears drew back upon the utterance of possibly never finding the fabled willow trees from his parents' past. "Then, we don't." It was a simple as that. No use in coming all this way just to give up and turn tail all the way back west to the Loch. His eyebrows rose up before relaxing above his eyes, half-expecting some sort of quip or disappointed remark in return. His teeth clicked together; he had to remember that it was not his brother he was wandering the world with.

He watched now with curious eyes as Levi's paws made contact with the worn and weathered sapwood, "What if we never find River?"

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡

As Sawyer settled in, so did Levi, letting his hind legs kick out to take the weight off them completely. What supported him as he continued to mark at the tree's interior was one grounded forelimb, the pressure of his drawing paw, and a good dose of leaning back against his friend's far-broader side.

Sawyer's simple answer to his query surprised him, though he wasn't entirely sure why. He guessed, they were just trees but they still meant something to the redhead, right? Levi's ears bent back as the other youth intuitively zeroed in on his true worry. He kept his eyes on his claws and away from his friend's face, just in case some worry bled through; he didn't like not being sunny and upbeat around others.

"... I dunno. Guess I'll just," he thought a moment, doing some rapid soul searching to come up with the best reply he could without really having the answer, "hope he's happy wherever he is."

Hope that it's not because he's dead, or isolated, or otherwise stuck somewhere less than where he deserved to be. Like home had been....

"What about. You know how we're supposed to like, have a plan? Want to be something and have a family and stuff?," green eyes flicked over briefly to seek affirmation before continuing, "Have you ever had one?"

Levi couldn't explain why he felt like Sawyer was somehow going to have answers that would help him figure his own stuff out, but at the least he could better get to know his friend. The other wolf was smart and more worldly, and Leviticus enjoyed listening to him talk. What else did they have to do? It seemed like no one was around in these forests, so it's not like they were blowing off their combined search.

"... I dunno. Guess I'll just," Sawyer listened in silence, his eyes keenly focused on that working paw to keep himself from glimpsing into the other's face, "hope he's happy wherever he is." He squared his shoulders and shifted a bit on his elbows. A small sigh through his nose. Ah, there, now he was comfortable; and, with Levi at his side, the warmth and closeness was nice and cozy.

Upon hearing the next set of questions, the Archer took a while to gather his thoughts, to fully comprehend what Levi was asking and debate just how much he wanted to reveal. Back at home, he was but just another spare to his father's current heir and the pack's potentional potentate: Samael. Even if it seemed like his eldest brother wanted nothing to do with leading a pack in their father's stead, Sawyer was not about ready to step aside or sit on the sidelines. Samael was not someone his little brother would follow. His plans had been vastly different before he decided to follow Vanadis here.

"Yeah," he acknowledged, knowing all too well what Levi was talking about... wanting to take on a decent role or rank and go along with Mother Nature and Her affinity for puppies. His yellow eyes met those lively green irises when they glanced back at him. He offered the smallest of smiles. "I have family," he started, "My mother and father, older siblings, younger siblings... But, not a family of my own." Just you... and Vanadis, wherever she is... "Maybe one day it'd be nice to have my own. I mean, doesn't everyone?" It had never crossed the Archer's mind that there were wolves out there with agendas of their own, primed only to serve and raise but never bear the next generation of their bloodline. For him, life revolved around his status and the simple belief that there was only power and those too weak to wield it.

"Do you have a family?" His gaze dropped to his companion's legs, trying to imagine now where this River character truly fit into Levi's life. On assumption alone, Sawyer wanted to speculate the two to be siblings or partners.

(This post was last modified: Feb 04, 2021, 09:56 PM by Sawyer.)

you musn't be afraid
to dream a little bigger, darling
⟡ ⟡ ⟡