Dead Empress Backwater relentless

Seri, Your Treatbag Reveals: You've been having a reoccurring nightmare all week and tonight it seems like it's becoming a reality.

All welcome

And so I tell myself that I'll be strong

Seri Donata

and dreaming when they're gone

Seri had been restless all week, tossing and turning in his sleep which had caused him to separate himself from those around him. He slept in a different den, whimpering softly and not wanting to risk waking the hellions or worse… perhaps accidentally striking out against a pack member with his paws in his sleep. No, it was better to isolate himself. The reoccurring dream seeming to linger almost vindictively, hoping to claim him as it had so many others… a shudder down his spine as he once more whimpered, his paws shifting about.

It was of his father standing there, a disapproving frown on his features as the man berated him for how he had let down his family… for how it was all his fault that all of these horrible things had happened… the voices of his mother in the background calling him pathetic, useless… telling him he’d never be loved. The nightmare had been almost constant, and it was getting harder and harder to shake off, to ignore, and to stir himself from… every night it seemed to get more and more detailed as he thrashed violently with his active imagination.

Eros was most often awake and about while the moon was up. He'd come out of the den at intervals throughout the day, ensuring he wasn't missing anything to do with the day shift, but then he'd quickly go back into the dark of underground and curl up to snooze again. This was a big part of why he hadn't thought much of the few differences he'd managed to notice in his best friend's sleep, and so his surprise as he stalked the wood elsewhere and heard a sudden, muffled thrashing sound was great.

The young wolf leapt, set on alert and baring his fangs as he took immediate inventory of his surroundings. He saw nothing, and smelled- his nose wriggled- just... Seri?

"Ser?" he called out, soft at first. Only silence answered him, and so he spoke again, more confidently and loud, "Seri?"

And so I tell myself that I'll be strong

Seri Donata

and dreaming when they're gone

Seri continued to thrash through his first callout. He lingered just far enough to the edge that when the more confident and louder voice rang out, he gave one final and ferocious thrash, his chest rising and falling heavily as his head hit against a tree trunk, causing a loud and uncharacteristic screech to come from his maw. “FUCK!” Such a word wasn’t nice, and so Seri tried not to use it… but with the circumstances and the disorientation, the sound just came out.

It took a minutes or so for his breathing to settle and for him to recover and find his mind back to the present, his eyes glancing at his friend as he let out a sharp and heavy exhale, shifting to curl up in a ball. “Go away, Er.” Still stuck in something of a mood, he didn’t feel like even the company of his best friend.

The strange sounds culminated in a solid thunk along with Seri's voice, shrill, infuriated and jarring. Eros jumped again, brows scrunching together with confusion and concern both. The hell... ?

Carefully, he picked his way forward, closer to where his friend's voice had come from, until he could see tufts of red fur peaking through all that which the forest floor housed. He couldn't smell any kind of blood, just Seri's own musk, a little strong as though he'd... been sleeping? Could that really be all?

'Go away, Er.'

He froze mid-step, first surprised and then... saddened. His ears lowered, and he set his paw back against the ground without continuing forward. Torn on whether or not he should listen. Had he done something to make Seri angry with him... ?

And so I tell myself that I'll be strong

Seri Donata

and dreaming when they're gone

Seri remained huddled, his crimson fur a stark contrast against the muted tones of the forest floor. His ears flattened against his skull, and his amber eyes bore a mixture of frustration and vulnerability. He felt Eros's presence lingering, the conflict between wanting company and pushing his friend away waging a battle within him.

A heavy sigh escaped Seri's muzzle as he shifted, the tension in his muscles beginning to ease. He shot a sidelong glance at Eros, meeting the concerned gaze of his friend. "It's not you, Er," he muttered, his voice softened from its previous outburst. "Just... needed a moment, you know?"

Seri unfolded from his curled position, stretching his limbs before sitting up to face Eros. His gaze softened, appreciating the genuine concern in his friend's eyes. "I didn't mean to snap like that. Just got caught up in my head. You can stay." He patted the ground beside him, inviting Eros to share the quiet moment amidst the rustling leaves and the distant sounds of the forest.

Eros still felt a bit unsure, like maybe it would have been better if he had minded his own business and given Seri his space. There was no way he was gonna turn down his friend's invitation now, though. He moved forward and stepped into the other wolf's makeshift divot of a bed. He curled up with his legs folded altogether and tail blanketed over his paws, flank securely against Seri's.

"What's going on... ?" he asked, voice soft. Aware that his friend might not want to give him an answer at all. He hoped Seri would share, though... that he'd be able to help him, somehow.

And so I tell myself that I'll be strong

Seri Donata

and dreaming when they're gone

Seri wasn’t sure how he was supposed to handle it all, a frown on his features as Eros asked him what was going on. He stared at his paws with a determination to not meet Eros’s gaze. It was difficult sometimes… knowing that his family was responsible for Sephrina’s death… that it caused such great tensions… that he sometimes felt pulled despite the fact that he had never been close to those on the mountain… they still felt like his last connection to his father.

He hadn’t thought about it much, honestly… but there was an undeniable fact that he knew he needed to consider. Dead Empress Backwater had been more of a family to him than the mountains ever had… and yet it was not their fault either, because he had gravitated towards his friends because he had been so scared about actually getting to know his father.

Wow, his parents had really screwed him up, hadn’t they?

“I don’t know how to explain it, Er…”

He didn't know how to explain it. Eros thought maybe he would try, but that seemed to be all Seri had to say in the moment. He couldn't help but feel a generalized frustration, at a loss as to how to make things any better. How could he assist when he didn't know what he was dealing with? He could guess until the sun rose...

Eros was quiet as he thought, looking out at the forest. His mind had plenty of directions it could wander in, but they all pulled him away from Seri and this moment. Was... that part of the problem?

"... I'm sorry we don't spend as much time together, like we used to..."

When they were kids. Something they'd never be able to go back to, even on the best of days. Now, they were the adults, taking on those extra responsibilities that allowed this year's generation to experience such privilege.

(This post was last modified: Jan 15, 2024, 02:53 AM by Eros.)