Dead Empress Backwater When I come for your soul

Tuwile, a bird has decided to pluck your fur to use for its nest. For @Khalon <3

Dad was gone. Euna too.

He'd had his emotional outburst over it, a rare moment of anger and betrayal for the pup that he couldn't physically keep inside. Now he was resigned to them being gone, still hurt over their choice, but accepting that there was nothing he could do without invoking further wrath from his mother and everyone else.

Tuwile lay on his side, eyes half open as he watched the world go by. It was far more quiet now that Euna's constant demands for attention had disappeared, and even Tori being... suspiciously quiet and withdrawn.

He didn't react as a small brown bird dropped down onto his flank, its head twitching to and fro like birds tended to do. It stood on him for a few moments before plucking out a clump of fur, causing the pup to fully open one eye and slightly raise his head. Normally birds weren't so bold, so this felt like a special moment.

from charming to alarming in seconds

Tuwile had long become Khalon’s favourite sibling. Some days it felt like his brother was the only sibling that he actually liked. Especially now that the numbers seemed to be dwindling away. The only ones he had to choose from were Torianna and Tuwile and he would rather chew off his own leg than admit he felt any kind of affection for his sister. So, whenever he felt lonely or grew bored of spending time on his own - which admittedly took quite a while for a wolf still under a year - he went looking for his light coloured brother.

Today though when he found Tuwile he paused, watching with curiosity as a bird hopped around on top of the wolf. Why was it doing that? The other Valle seemed to also be watching the aves as it collected some of the soft downy fur that Tuwile had to offer. Khalon had not seen a bird act like this before, and could only assume that his quiet, sensitive brother had somehow worked out a way to communicate with it.

It felt like too special a moment to interrupt, so the tawny boy was silent and watched from where he stood. If the bird left on its own, then he would ask for Tuwile to teach him that special power.

(This post was last modified: Apr 29, 2024, 09:19 PM by Khalon.)

The bird flapped its wings, head twitching a few more times, before taking off with a soft flutter into a nearby tree. Tuwile squinted up into the sunshine at where the bird went, unable to quite make it out but figuring it was making some sort of nest with his fur. It was out of view for barely a minute until it swooped back down to his flank, chirping softly as it stared at him.

Tuwile exhaled gently out of his nose at the bird, seeing if he could instigate some sort of response. It whistled a warbled tune, and he wasn't quite sure if it was at him or if the bird was merely making noise as the feathered creatures liked to do. As the song trailed off the bird plucked out another patch of his fur and took to the air once more.

He turned his eyes downcast from the sunlight, not wanting to blind himself again, and ended up locking gazes with Khalon. The tip of his tail tapped against the ground in a short burst of happiness at the sight of his brother. But he looked so similar to their father that he was reminded of his absence again and his tail stilled, ears drooping soon after.

from charming to alarming in seconds

It was almost as if Tuwile and the bird were speaking some kind of secret language, one that Khalon had no way of understanding. If it was anyone else he might have been jealous, but watching his brother interact this way felt magical, tender, personal. He almost felt embarrassed when they locked eyes, like he had been intruding on something that he had not been meant to see.

The way that Tuwile’s expression fell and his tail stopped wagging wasn't lost on him. It was the same way that their mother looked at him when she thought that he wasn’t looking, how they all might have been looking at him. Hell, he couldn’t blame them. As they approached their first birthday when he looked at his reflection in the backwater it was his father who was looking back.

Ears pressed down against his skull and gold eyes turned stormy as he looked away, chewing on the inside of his cheek. He forced himself to look back towards the bird and its nest as if it was deeply interesting to him. Anywhere but at his brother’s hurt face. He kind of hated his dad for leaving, it was easier than being sad all the time.

Tuwile had allowed his emotions to get the better of him, and it reflected back at him with the way Khalon steeled his expression a turned his gaze away. He had not meant to hurt his brother. It was not Khalon's fault he looked so hauntingly similar to their father, but he was getting the brunt of all the sadness and anger their family was feeling with Vayko's absence.

He rolled up onto his stomach, one paw tucked under him and the other foreleg outstretched. His ears turned forward, and flaming orange eyes sought out Khalon's more gold-tinted gaze. Tuwile wanted to apologise on behalf of everyone, but he opened his mouth and nothing came out. What was there to say? Sorry? That wouldn't do.

"Seeing a visage so perfect in its reminder of past pain allows us to reflect and grow; to change beliefs and make a better future for everyone." His voice was raspy from disuse, but he hoped his words got across the point he was trying to make. That Khalon was loved. It was on himself and others to look beyond his brother's similarity to their father, and instead be glad that they still had each other.

Life was what they made of it, and Tuwile was trying to make it better, even if he didn't always succeed.

from charming to alarming in seconds

Khalon had remained staring at the bird nest, the rustling of the wings suddenly the most interesting thing in the world. Part of him wanted to cry, but he ignored the stinging in his eyes, buried it in more cold anger. He and his father were alike in more ways than just their appearance. He could feel Tuwile looking at him and could only assume it was with that same hurt expression as it had been before.

What he wasn’t expecting was to hear his brother talk, let alone say that. Tawny head whipped around and at first he just blinked owlishly, mouth hung open in a rather stupid expression. He swallowed hard and all he managed to get out was a, ”huh?” Even if someone who he had expected to talk had said that to him he wasn’t sure he would know what it meant. It was so sophisticated, so grown up.

Normally he might have been embarrassed for being so dumb, but he was just so shocked that the thought never even crossed his mind. Should he be telling someone that Tuwile can talk now?