Aurora Heights i know this world feels like an empty stage [s]

@Jethro - set ambiguously a few days after the edge thread. Set later in the day, verging on dusk.

Procrastinating.

Nori was definitely procrastinating and she knew it. And it was kind of embarrassing, but she couldn't really help it. In reality, it had taken a couple days to get up this mountain - she wasn't used to all this hiking, and it was exhausting, and it was becoming pretty apparent that Jethro wasn't used to it either. Still, the meal from before had really helped with providing energy - she doubted the two of them would've made it otherwise.

There was a small stream among the sparse foliage up here, and Nori had decided that it would be a good idea to follow it. Water meant life and all that, but there just didn't seem to be a whole lot of life up here in general. A few evergreen trees, a handful of birds, but no other wolves so far.

Honestly, she was a bit relieved - not that she'd ever admit to that. Her brain was obsessively reminding her that these wolves were likely going to despise her, and she was definitely putting off the search to the best of her abilities. She wondered if Jethro had caught onto her or not yet - she could hope not, but she also wouldn't be surprised if he'd noticed. Generally, she was good at concealing that kind of thing, but as they went on up the mountain, she became more jittery and anxious.

The top of the plateau was encroaching, and she was able to push the thoughts to the side and bring up just enough energy to run the rest of the way to where the ground leveled out. Nori flopped there, rolling onto her back and groaning out her exhaustion, now comfortable enough with Jethro's presence to complain.

"Fuck the mountain," she gasped out, staring up at the purplish sky as the hues began to change. Her body ached - particularly in her shoulder, but really all over. Even the pads of her paws were cracked and bleeding, unused to the rocky terrain beneath. "It sucks here. How do they survive?" she demanded, referring to her family. Perhaps they'd found a good way to hunt and somehow hardened their paw pads. She glanced over at Jethro and huffed out an unhappy sigh, dramatic as usual. "End my suffering."

Their pace had been slow and unhurried since the hunt, something Jethro was certainly okay with. With the seemingly ever-evolving nature of a formerly simple agreement, he wasn’t in any rush to go bounding off on his own again. Especially not once he and Nori had actually begun to scale and explore the mountains. Seeing them from below had been one thing, but actually hiking through them was something entirely different. He hadn’t been able to gauge just how vast the terrain was before that - and it truly was.

The shit was.. also, not easy. With each passing day, the dark one grew more and more thankful for the hunt he and Nori had shared. The energy provided from the opportunity to indulge themselves was what kept them going, in spite of the physical toll such journeying took on each of them. He was physically tired at the end of each day, his paws were raw and bleeding - but damned if it didn’t feel good to push himself. On top of that, the crisp scent of the thinner mountain air was exhilarating, and the views, when he’d gotten the chance to admire them, were wondrous.

Such was what pushed him onwards. The land flattened out just ahead, and when at last they reached the top, Jethro heaved out an excited but exhausted breath. ”Hell yeah.. made it!” He called out, turning to look back, just then, over the path they’d taken to reach this point, and to listen as the echo of his exclamation faded into the distance.

Nori, however, did not seem to share his excitement. Rather, she had almost immediately flopped to the ground, gasping out a statement that was far less enthusiastic. Jethro turned to study her just then, only to find her lying upon her back, looking utterly drained and quite dispirited. ”What, is it too much for ya?” He teased, in spite of the fact that he was incredibly tired himself. But, at least he was still standing - though likely not for much longer.

Something had been slightly off about Nori, growing a bit more apparent with the passing of each day. The two of them were clearly taking their time. At first, he’d thought it was just to make sure they didn’t miss anything, but there’d been a shift in her attitude, as well. Jethro had never been too good at reading such things, but he was growing more certain that there was something off about her.

She did raise a good question, though. ”They gotta be some serious hard-asses. Or really smart. Maybe both.” He agreed tiredly, deciding to sit back, though his gaze remained fixed on Nori, scrutinizing her with a mixture of humor and bemusement at her next statement.

”How do you propose I do that?” He questioned, feigning seriousness. He needed specifics. There were a few ways to accomplish the task that he could think of, though none of them sounded particularly appealing.

Of course, Nori didn't absolutely hate hiking up the mountain. Her company made it far more bearable - in fact, this was the most fun she'd had scaling a mountain yet, and she'd climbed three before now. It was nightmarish on her poor shoulder, and almost just as bad on her feet, and every one of her legs were burning, but she did have to admit that she wasn't having a horrible time. To think that it was thanks to Jethro, who, just days before, she was convinced would eat her or push her off a cliff and leave her to die in the woods... well, it was a little startling, to say the least.

If there was one thing she wasn't going to complain about, it was him.

Even though she was a little miserable and anxious right now, it was nice to see him get excited over something as simple as making it to the top of the mountain. Every now and then, she was treated to these little glimpses of his personality - the one beyond that grumpy, stoic barrier. It was... nice. It made her feel good, to think that he trusted her enough to express himself like that in front of her.

Not that she'd say that, of course. That would be far too honest and he'd probably laugh at her or something. Still, it kept nagging at the back of her mind - Jethro didn't like the thought of friends, but yet here they were, on top of a mountain together for no other reason than the fact that they wanted to be. What was that called, if not friends?

Nori didn't dare ask. Not yet, anyway.

She huffed slightly at his question, rolling onto her stomach and resting her chin on her forelimbs. "Of course not," she muttered defensively, visibly pouting. "Just... y'know... I'm delicate, or whatever. Like a flower." A small smirk spread across her lips, her eyes glinting mischievously. "I wouldn't expect a brute like yourself to understand."

Hard-asses. Nori was a little worried about that, actually. How strict would they be? Would they expect her to act proper and quiet and stand off to the side, to hold her tongue and erase every single bit of her personality? The thought caused her heart to beat quicker in her chest, and she flopped back down onto her side, restless even though she was exhausted.

"I don't think serious hard-asses would like me very much," she admitted, which was just about the closest she'd get to expressing her actual emotions on the subject. At least not without proper prompting.

At his next question, she snorted a bit, flicking her ear over toward the little stream off to her left. "There's literally a stream right over there to dunk me in. You'd think a demon would be more creative about this kind of thing," she teased, glancing up at him with a grin. Briefly, she wondered if he'd take her up on that offer, but his reaction to a simple brush of the shoulder days ago would suggest he probably wasn't much into wrestling. "Honestly, I'm a little disappointed, Jet." She wasn't, of course, but the banter was fun.

Taking another moment to look about, the dark one turned his attention toward the sky, noting that daylight was beginning to fade away. The sky was clear, granting the two of them a rather scenic view of the setting sun, as the typical aqua-blue color of the sky began morphing into various shades of pink and purple. It was perhaps one of the most beautiful things he’d ever set his eyes upon, and Jethro wanted more of it.

The harsh climate had him reconsidering the forest strategy. The simple effort required to reach the places they had gone would be a deterrent for some wolves, as well as the lack of resources. If he could figure out how to carve out an existence in a place like this, as Nori’s family evidently had, it would also be a bloody good candidate for places to retire alone. Or, he thought as he returned his gaze to his companion, mostly alone.

His teasing prompted Nori to roll onto her stomach, though she did not bother to lift her head, she instead rested it upon her outstretched forelimbs. Despite it, though, he could see the smirk playing across her countenance and an amused glint to her eyes. It was not too much for her, she pouted, but then seemed to completely contradict that claim with her next statement. She didn’t expect a brute like him to understand, though. Jethro sneered a little at that.

”Oh, I understand. If you’re delicate, like a flower, then this is too much for you,” he spoke, offering a seemingly indifferent shrug of his shoulders. ”There’s no shame in admitting it,” he added on slyly. Perhaps there was a little taunting to be had, but no shame. The journey to this point had definitely been tiring. At least they would sleep well tonight, too.

Nori’s next comment, however, was spoken without her typical dramatics. It was that shift in tone that prevented Jethro from responding as he might’ve. Rather, his head tipped, intrigued, and contemplative. Was that what she was worried about? He recalled that Nori had said she’d never met these folks before, but he would’ve thought she’d have some grasp as to what they were like. A more compassionate individual might’ve tried to reassure her, to tell her there was nothing to worry about. But Jethro was not in any way inclined towards such things.

He did, though, lower himself down so that he was resting on his stomach, primarily so that he and Nori were at eye level. ”If they don’t like you, fuck ‘em. There’s a whole damn world out here, full of options for you if this doesn’t work out,” the dark one offered in a dismissive tone. There was no use in Nori stressing about whether her family would like her. If they did, great. If not - she could move on. ”It would be their loss, though, if they didn’t.” He tacked on for good measure, hoping the words would inspire his company in some meaningful way, if only a little bit.

She snorted at his inquiry, though, mentioning something about a stream and how she had thought a demon would be more creative. Again, he scoffed but shot back a small grin. ”Really? Would’ve thought demons would be into prolonging suffering and agony and shit, not ending it. And cold, wet fur.. that sounds like it would make your suffering worse. As much as I like the idea, I wouldn’t wanna do that to ya. Yet.” He spoke, lifting his head a little bit, almost daringly.

He offered an indifferent shrug at the final bit, as his smirk faded into a slight frown. ”Yeah, well. Story of my damn life. You ain’t the first.” He grunted, although there was far less humor to be had, there. He couldn’t help but wonder what Nori would’ve thought about him if she knew even a bit of it, and was glad she hadn't asked to this point. Hopefully it was a topic that could just be avoided through the duration of their time together.

The sky was really beautiful, up here. The colors seemed to be brighter than they were from the forest, and she could even see the beginnings of stars as they began showing up against the deep magenta backdrop. She wondered how close they actually were to the little dots of light above them, and why the sunset was so striking - what made the colors? Was it the sun itself? All questions she'd likely never have the answers to.

It would almost be worth it, she thought, to be able to see this every single night. Sure, the hike up was awful, but maybe actually living here wouldn't be that bad - as long as she could find a reasonable way to hunt. Practicality was crucial to her, and she hoped that if her family really did live up in a place like this, they were of a similar mindset. She also hoped that they were bearable. Nori could put up with a lot of shit, but she wasn't really sure how much Jethro could handle, and she'd really rather he stuck around as well.

"See, I knew you wouldn't get it," she announced, as though she hadn't contradicted herself, but rather it was Jethro who had made the mistake. "After all, I got just as far as you did. I'm just choosing not to go any further - it's not that I can't handle it. There's a big difference." Except she kind of did feel like she could hardly take another step. Not that she would never admit to it out loud.

She looked back over at him as he moved to lay down in front of her. The sunset caught on each individual strand of his inky fur, highlighting him in a distracting array of pinks and purples. Black fur wasn't common where she was from, but it was so unfairly beautiful, she thought. Especially coupled with deep green eyes.

Her face felt a bit warm. She chose to ignore it.

However, it didn't bother her as much as she thought it would that he'd guessed what had been bothering her. She wanted to go off on a tangent - But I'm annoying! I'm loud and dramatic and I can't be serious! I'm not tiny and dainty and meek like they wanted, but I'm also not strong or fast or powerful enough to make up for it. There were so many expectations and I couldn't meet a single one of them, so how can I expect them to welcome me? - but she didn't. There would be no point in it, and she didn't want to seem quite as pathetic as she actually was.

Instead, she handled it the only way she felt comfortable with. "Suppose I could stick with you, if they don't. You seem to put up with me pretty well," she responded, tail thumping a few times on the ground. And if they did like her, she planned on demanding requesting that Jethro stick with her instead. She was pretty sure she could convince him with logic - being in a pack was beneficial and safe, and neither of them would have to be hungry. It was just one big symbiotic relationship.

"That's so mean!" she gasped, both surprised and amused at the mention of prolonging her suffering. But then he contradicted himself, stating that he wouldn't want to make her suffering worse. Which was confusing and also kind of nice, and she was going to respond to it, but then he tacked on the yet, which was simply appalling. "You're probably gonna wait til winter, so it really is nice and cold. Then you'll dunk me in," she stated, not at all serious, and gave him her best squinty eyes. "This is all just some big, elaborate scheme to turn me into an icicle. I'm onto you."

It seemed as though her final words had struck some kind of nerve, and Nori raised her head just a bit, surprised at the sudden change in his tone. Unfortunately, just like him, she was not at all good at comforting, so instead, she stood up and shook out her fur. "C'mere. I've got an idea," she urged, wincing just slightly at the feeling of her scraped paw pads on the cool stone again. Trusting that he would follow, she padded over to the stream and tentatively dipped one forepaw in - it was kind of cold, but it felt amazing on her foot, so she continued until all four of her feet were in the water. Luckily, it was very shallow - only reaching up to her ankles, really, - but it was soothing and distracting, and she felt like they'd both benefit from it. She turned her attention back to her companion, hoping he'd catch on and join her.

You smell the remains of an elk nearby. Enjoy your feast! +10 Health

It wasn’t a topic he particularly cared to dwell on, but.. he couldn’t help wondering what everyone back at his birthplace thought had become of him. Most likely, Jethro surmised, they had all but forgotten about him by now - assumed him dead of starvation or some such thing. If they did think of him at all, it was probably because they were glad and relieved that he was gone. Maybe they missed him as a useful tool, but that was about it. Good riddance. He had better things to think about.

Nori declared that he didn’t get it, and that she had only stopped here because she had chosen to? Jethro huffed in a combination of befuddlement and humor. ”Yeah, you chose to stop cause ya couldn’t go any further, is more like it. No use denyin’ it, Miss Nori,” he retorted with faux indignation, choosing to bounce back to his paws at that moment. ”I only stopped here cause of you. I could’ve kept goin’ all night.” He added, stretching out each limb individually in a bid to prove his point. Jethro supposed he could’ve gone on a while longer, but he really didn’t want to. If it meant illustrating a point, though…

She supposed she could stick with him, if her family didn’t like her, which was honestly… not something he had thought about. Jethro had imagined this going only a couple of ways, ultimately, both of which had basically ended up with Nori remaining with her family and his eventual departure. It was the length of time between meeting her family and the departing bit that varied. It brought a contemplative expression to his face. ”I suppose that’d be alright, for now,” the dark one acquiesced. If for some reason things went poorly, they could at least stick together long enough to get out of the mountains. After that, it would be time for more exploration.

If Nori could tolerate him for that long, he supposed he wouldn’t mind her continued company for a while longer. Despite his apparent malice, she didn’t seem to mind. Next though, she said something that was interesting, humorous, and confounding all at once. She was on to his apparent horrible schemes, and despite the fact that he’d not at all thought of anything even remotely close to that, he nodded slyly as if it was exactly what he’d been thinking the whole time.
 
”Oh, you bet, if I thought I was gonna be around for that long, I’d be considering it. Fortunately for you, I’ll be long gone by then.” Because, there was absolutely no fucking way in hell this would still be a thing come next winter. Jethro had not imagined it lasting until the end of the summer, let alone to the cold season. He doubted Nori had either, but - it was fun to imagine, and he laughed a little. ”You’d be a lovely icicle, though. Oh, and so.. delicate,” he added with a subtle smile. Because icicles usually were.

He was genuinely a bit shocked by Nori’s sudden burst of energy, though, as the other stood to her paws rather unexpectedly, bidding him follow her. She made her way over to the stream then, and after a few moments, he turned to follow. All of a sudden it was incredibly hard, at that moment, given the angle he was treated to and the odd serene lighting and all, to not notice how damned attractive and shapely she was.

The thought, as soon as he realized it, made him feel utterly vile and repugnant. Must’ve been the goddamn thin mountain air or something getting to him. Jethro hurried after her, and rather than simply wading into the water, he promptly and unceremoniously plopped himself in it, eyes closed, and belly first. The chilly mountain water immediately saturated his limbs and fur from his belly up through about the underside of his chest, and thankfully, that seemed to do the trick. Nori’s idea worked.

There was a slight shift in the breeze that tickled his nose as he sucked in a deep breath, trying to mentally come up with an excuse for the inevitable reaction from Nori which was sure to come. He was distracted from those thoughts, however, by something else carried to him by the breeze. ”Do you smell that?” Jethro questioned, looking up to where he hoped his companion would be, wanting to make sure he wasn’t imagining it.

It smelled like.. food. Which surely, was too damn good to be true.

If someone were to ask Nori how her family was likely to feel now that she was gone, she wouldn't know what to say. Her father would be... upset was too strong a word, but he'd probably be disappointed that she hadn't stayed. Her mother had seemed eager for her to leave, but she didn't know whether that was for Staryn's sake or for Nori's. Still, the woman was probably the most likely to feel actual emotions for her daughter, even if she hadn't really known how to be a mother in the first place. Her father's parents would be glad for her departure - they'd told her as much.

Really, Nori probably could've gone a little further, but her paws and shoulder in particular were aching, and she knew pretty well not to push that shoulder of hers too far. It'd been a horrible lesson to learn to rest from time to time, and it served as a good reminder when it began to hurt more severely, even now. Don't push it, was what her mother had told her, over and over again, and still Nori did not listen. It was one of those things that she particularly regretted.

"Maybe I'm just good at listening to my body when it needs to rest," she stated haughtily, a small smirk on her maw as she watched him leap back up to his feet and stretch. Pointlessly expelling energy that he could be saving - she wanted to scold him for it, but she was too amused by how playful he was being. Apparently, he'd only stopped there for her sake. She gasped, feigning surprise. "You stopped here for lil ol' me? Out of the goodness of your heart? I sure do appreciate it, good sir," she announced with a grin, her accent southern and altogether ridiculous.

It was funny that Nori's assumptions were essentially the opposite, in every way. Almost all of them ended with Nori rejected and either alone, or with Jethro. More of them were involving sticking around with the dark one, regardless of if she ended up staying with her family or not. It was almost difficult for her to imagine not staying with him.

For now was what stuck out to her out of his sentence. Her brows drew together a little, and she hesitated to respond. Perhaps they were not on the same page with that. Of course, it wouldn't stop her from trying, but it wasn't as though she would force him to stay if he didn't want to. That would just be cruel.

His next statement basically confirmed that he was not planning on staying, which kind of hurt, she had to admit. Still, she wouldn't let that show on her face, and instead sneered right back at him. "Oh? You're gonna find some other lost girl out in the woods and turn her into an icicle?" she asked, perking up a bit at the veiled compliment-insult hybrid. She was becoming used to those. "The loveliest, of course," the girl proclaimed, puffing out her chest as best as her position would allow. "And delicate. The most beautiful things are - you just haven't learned how to appreciate them yet."

She'd be lying if she said she didn't expect him to go with her, but she was surprised at how... eager he seemed to get into the water. Especially after just saying he didn't want cold and wet fur. She was not privy to his internal struggle - she would've teased him relentlessly if she had been - so from her perspective, he'd just sort of... flopped into the cold mountain stream.

It started with a huff of air from her nose, which then morphed into a poorly-muffled chuckle. "Jet, what... what the fuck was that?" she demanded, voice trembling a bit from how hard she had to try not to burst into a fit of giggles. She crouched down a bit, eyes crinkled with mirth. "That wasn't really what I meant." She didn't want to outright laugh at him, but she had to really, really fight it.

Part of her wanted to join him, but she also knew she'd regret it when she tried to sleep with wet fur - she didn't want to freeze up here. And sure, she smelled food, but she was far more interested in why he was still laying in the water. Nori took one forepaw and flicked a bit of water at him, still grinning. "Mhm. But I'd rather have a bit of an explanation first," she confirmed, eyes alight with mirth. She couldn't wait to tease him, about whatever it was.

He was, apparently, a good sir now. With goodness in his heart, on top of that. Huffing out a sigh of defeat, he acquiesced. ”Yeah, yeah. You’re welcome.” Most of the time, he did not feel like the good part was true at all. As a matter of personal preference, he found that he far preferred the forest demon label, even if he didn’t exactly consider himself bad, either. Except when it came to thinking about the fuckers back at his birthplace - he wouldn’t have had any issues with watching some of them suffer, or inflicting it himself. But more and more, the wolves he met outside of there did not seem bad. Most of them had just seemed as if they were trying to make their way in the world.. like he was.

An existence, that all of the sudden, involved a very pretty young woman that, for some reason, he could not stop looking at. Especially as she termed herself delicate and beautiful, and partook in those theatrics. Those things had annoyed him at first, but more recently had become oddly captivating. Strangely so, tonight. ”Perhaps. But not if you’re still around. You’re enough,” he grumbled jocosely, although the dark one made a conscious effort to keep his gaze averted. It was impossible not to sneak a furtive glance, though. At that, it didn’t feel like the cold water was doing nearly enough.

Jethro stretched out as flat as he could to let the water soak more of him, while also dunking his chin and face into the current. The cold water stung his nose and eyes, but he forced himself to stay there for several moments, long enough for Nori to ask what the fuck he was doing. He stole another glance up at her. It sure looked and sounded like she was trying very hard not to laugh. Mentally he urged her to do exactly just that, so he could join her in mentally deriding himself for these pathetic feelings and get the fuck over it. But she didn’t, and he couldn’t. Instead, she smiled at him, and did this light motion to splash more water at him. And she wanted an explanation.

He blew out a soft breath, lifting his face and chin from the water, and then after another moment, lifted the rest of himself out of it. Trying to place his focus on the food, Jethro turned away, offering a shrug and lifting his head to take in and attempt to track the scent. He needed to find something else to focus on. ”Thought I’d test the icicle thing, just in case. We demons sometimes, uh, do that first, and this stream is.. too shallow to be effective. Gotta find somethin’ better,” he offered as he did so, hoping almost more than he’d ever hoped for anything before that Nori would not see through his bullshit explanation and call him on it. Because he honestly didn’t know what he’d do then, other than maybe.. jump off a damn cliff.

Jethro decided he didn’t really want to wait, and promptly clambered out of the stream, sauntering in the direction the scent seemed to be coming from. He wasn’t starving, thanks to the hunt they’d shared a few days ago, but to pass an opportunity to investigate and potentially eat would be foolish.

Perhaps she shouldn't feel as accomplished as she did at his begrudging acceptance of defeat, but she definitely felt like the victor. She wouldn't rub it in or anything, but her smile did turn just a bit smug. Still, she said nothing - at least, not until his next words. It was a joke, and she knew that, but Jethro had unknowingly offered her a statement that she'd been seeking for almost her entire life.

You're enough.

And he said it like it was nothing, too. Like it didn't make her eyes burn and it didn't make it difficult to breathe. Nori wasn't much of a crier - she used to be, when she was little, but they were usually frustrated tears when things didn't go her way or when she failed to match up to certain expectations. But she never cried in front of others, even if she occasionally felt like it. Like now, for example.

She had to take a deep breath and blink a couple of times, but she got herself back under control before she completely embarrassed herself. "I'm honored," she announced, a grin forming on her maw. She was going to pick on him for being soft, but she didn't want to ruin it - not when someone finally told her that she was enough for them. Even if it was only that she was enough to turn into an icicle.

But nothing she did was enough to explain why he had just flopped into the water like that. Especially not when he had just said it would be cold - and it was. This close to nighttime, too, was even a little bit dangerous - Nori didn't know how cold you had to be to freeze to death, but wet fur would definitely make it worse.

"You're going to be cold tonight," she argued, trotting after him and wincing when her feet hit the rocks instead of the creek bed - a soft "Ow, fuck," was muttered beneath her breath when her shoulder jostled. She wasn't going to turn down a good meal either, but she was so confused. The explanation was clearly bullshit, as well; it didn't make any sense. "You're so weird," the girl groaned, visibly pouting. "Fine. Keep your secrets. I'll just pretend that wasn't stupid. Don't come crying to me when you freeze your ass off tonight."

Finding an elk all the way up here was unexpected, but Nori was never one to turn down a free meal. "Guess there is life up here," she reasoned, making good on her word to drop the previous subject and trot over to the carcass. Luckily, it seemed that whatever had killed it was gone, and the body wasn't too stiff. "Wonder what killed it," she voiced, placing a paw on the creature's swollen stomach. Part of her wondered if it was even safe to eat.