Red Fern Forest white roses

A semi-private thread for the Gerau siblings to get some tension out of their systems from Breeding Season... please PM/DM if interested in getting caught in the middle~

March 25th; Late morning; Overcast Clouds; 24.8 ° F, -4 ° C.

Since his awkward - and strange - encounter with Riven, Adelard kept his distance from the rest of the pack. His sister Aubine had been the exception. In the heat of the coupling season, she was the only thing keeping him somewhat sane. While he hadn't told her yet about what had transpired, he had an aggravating suspicion that she already knew.

What had started as a typical morning for the both of them, Adelard couldn't help but grind his molars. Aubine might have been simply walking beside him but there was something out of place. His eyes narrowed as he slowed and allowed her to take lead for a while. For a time, he let his paws fall into step behind her. Wherever she stepped and left imprints in the forest floor, he stamped his paw pads into them in turn.

He had let his mind run off with the memory of Riven's eyes glossed over with tears. The way that sandy-furred lip quivered with apologies consumed his present thoughts. A shake of his head managed to whisk the confusion away but, still, he fixated on the words they had exchanged.

"I am so sorry. I won't ever bring it up again."
"I thought we were only friends... Obviously, this isn't... the case?"

It haunted him. He had downright barked at the younger man. Embarrassing. A part of him wondered if Riven was also out there analyzing their conversation. His irises were a dull gold as he stared ahead of him, unseeing while he followed after Aubine.

He had smacked right into her rear end before he realized just how overwhelmed he was with it all. His ears flattened and he edged away from her, his torso leaning back and away. He cleared his throat in a wordless apology.

(This post was last modified: Mar 26, 2021, 01:09 AM by Adelard.)

heat stroke, bring the fire
ADELARD GERAU
black smoke, I take it higher

Though frustrated with herself, Aubine rose as she would on any other morning. Apart from the restlessness and the itchiness she felt all over her body, she was sure today would be a decent day. She waited for her brother before they set off on their usual stroll across the thawing grounds. Easy tail wags, coat shakes, and quiet smiles kept each other in check. He seemed to be in a good mood at the very least.

She yipped at him to let him know that she had been waiting for him to set the pace. On recent patrols, Aubine thought she had caught the attention of unwanted eyes in the woods. Spies... or suitors, perhaps. While she fancied the idea, she did not like playing the part of the prey in a hunter's game. Besides, she was a pack wolf now and that meant she was not entitled to a family of her own if she was not at the head of it.

Her bird-like humming rose and fell as she followed after Adelard. Even on a dull and gray cloudy day, nothing was going to get her down. Her golden eyes had been shut as she strutted about with her tail in the air, making up a tune as she went. She didn't realize her brother had fallen behind her until he actually bumped right into her.

White bordered around her irises as she whipped around, a startled gasp lifting from her. Adelard stood there as the both of them came to a sudden stop. They had not even gone a mile since leaving their little hollow near the pack den. He cleared his throat. Immediately, Aubine was suspicious. It was not like him to have his head in the clouds.

A smirk tugged at her lips and she turned to face him. Her voice was still sing-songy, "Oooooooh, who's it you were thinking about?"

so I risk it all just to be with you
AUBINE GERAU
and I risk it all for this life we choose

"Oooooooh, who's it you were thinking about?"

She had prodded at the bear that had been half-asleep in his chest. Adelard was instantly on the defense. "No one," his voice was terse and his hackles bristled. The only way he knew how to counter his sister and her prying nosiness was to serve her words back at her. With a flair all his own, of course. "What about you?"

He snorted with a wrinkle of his muzzle, "You don't hum like that for nothing." Next, he sneered, "You can't be thinking about Hudson, are you? He's a little--" He nearly stumbled on his words while attempting to maintain high regards for their leader, "too mature for you... don't you think?"

heat stroke, bring the fire
ADELARD GERAU
black smoke, I take it higher

As quickly as she had pitched her curiosity, she found herself in the face of her brother's annoyance. Ooh, she had definitely shoved him a bit hard with that one... and, she hadn't meant to. But, if that's how he wanted to sort this all out, she was going to get on his level.

"If you must know," she scowled at him, not at all intimidated, "I was in a good mood and now you've spoiled it." Her tail whisked at the air and she dared to hold it higher than his. He didn't have to tease her like that. She knew her playing fields by means of ranks and status. Besides, she had always assumed Hudson and Saga had always been a thing.

"I could assume just as much about you," heat prickled down her spine, hormones running loose at last. "What's the deal with you and Riven any way?" She sniffed at him before tipping her head upwards. "You seem to smell more and more like him every day..."

so I risk it all just to be with you
AUBINE GERAU
and I risk it all for this life we choose

If anyone was going to call him out, for anything, it was going to be Aubine. Even if they were on their own for some time, being together again made it seem like they had been together all along. It was all too clear to her just what he had been up to. She met his temper with biting ridicule.

"What's the deal with you and Riven anyway?"

Adelard had to hold back the urge to take her by the scruff and make her take back the words she had spat in his face. In his head, he was still sorting it all out. His feelings, his desires, his sense of self, his vision of the future... if Riven turned out to be even more than Adelard expected. She didn't have the right to force him into figuring this all out right now.

His jaw jumped and he glowered right back at her, eyes smoldering as if the fires within them had been stoked. At first, the embarrassment returned, but then as fast as it had come, it was replaced by a sense of caution. Underneath it all, frustration still seethed.

"Drop it," he flashed his clenched teeth at her. The only warning she would get.

heat stroke, bring the fire
ADELARD GERAU
black smoke, I take it higher

"Drop it."

There it was. She had found where her brother was most vulnerable. A show of his fangs was proof enough. Aubine wanted to laugh and snap at him at the same time. Why was he so defensive over some silly camaraderie? She scoffed in his face. 'Brotherliness' was not the word she should have been banking on. It was more like bromance... but, her assumptions were far from correct.

"You can't be serious," her masked features pulled into a sneer. In one fluid motion, she pulled away from him. She could have walked away if she had wanted to. Her tail waved about in an attempt to diffuse the situation, but it was not the high and happy apologetic kind of wag. It was her last bit of confidence leaving her before her tail fell to her ankles.

"So, you're hiding things from me now?" she tested him. "We always tell each other everything, Adelard." She scowled and squared her shoulders, "Besides, Riven isn't my type."

so I risk it all just to be with you
AUBINE GERAU
and I risk it all for this life we choose

Adelard took immediate offense. Riven was every bit agreeable and comely. The younger wolf was loyal, attentive, sensitive, and compassionate. He never missed a thing and Adelard admired him for that. Where Adelard was rough around the edges, Riven was smooth, mellow, and soft.

Pleased that Aubine had disengaged, he pulled his lips back down and sealed them into a hard line. She knew better than to test him. He was larger than her and, though she was the more agile, Adelard's strength was the winning factor. He settled all their sibling squabbles.

Another growl and a lash of his tail, "Good. So, back off." He's mine.

"Now, keep walking. Finish the patrol." Be done with all this.

heat stroke, bring the fire
ADELARD GERAU
black smoke, I take it higher

For a time, all Aubine could do was glare at her littermate. The man before her was not the brother she had grown up with. She began to wonder what had happened. What sort of wilderness had tangled up with him? What had happened in the time they had been away from each other? The Adelard she knew was not this touchy... unless...

Her lips parted and the furrow in her brow softened. A sunbeam seemed to light up the answer she had been searching for all along. "You and Riven..." she breathed. Her amber eyes sought the depths of her twins' similar-hued irises. "Of course."

A smile found its way back onto her face. "Your secret's safe with me," she murmured. "But, you didn't have to snap." Her tone was level and solemn, understanding, "If you ever need someone to talk to, you can talk to me. I'm still here." She hoped he was listening, reading between the lines as it were. Most likely, she figured he was confused - especially after that one summer after he had pined and languished after her friends Celenas Amdir, Castelyn and Bandit Lyall, and Draugr Avalon. "I support you. No matter what."

(This post was last modified: Jun 11, 2021, 06:06 AM by Aubine.)

so I risk it all just to be with you
AUBINE GERAU
and I risk it all for this life we choose

The rumble in his throat seemed to do little to make Aubine back off further. Instead of getting into the thick of it, she untangled his words and everything he had sought to protect. Every intention to continue on their patrol was dashed.

"You and Riven..." The utterance sent chills down Adelard's spine.  She was too sharp, "Of course."

Adelard, too stiff and too guarded, found his defenses punctured and crumbling. Aubine figured them out, and already she was one step ahead of him.

"Your secret's safe with me. But, you didn't have to snap."

A softer growl, which was more like a grumble or huff of protest, rolled from him. There was no use in resisting at this point. She saw right through him now.

"I support you," she added. "No matter what."

His head bowed at first, chin dipping low before he averted his gaze. She was right to assume that he was confused, but Adelard himself didn't realize it. All he knew was that he appreciated Riven as much as he admired Rhaegara. Little did she know, he had not only fawned over Aubine's friends but also their brothers.

"Let's leave it at that then," he concluded. The sting in his tone was gone. To ensure that he had the final word, he went ahead started their patrol again. He was certain she would follow. After a couple of steps, he turned to face her, "And, thank you." His head still felt like it was humming with bumblebees. His ribs still felt like it was a prison to a kaleidoscope of butterflies. "I appreciate it, but while I work it all out, I'd like it if you didn't bring it up again."

heat stroke, bring the fire
ADELARD GERAU
black smoke, I take it higher

There is a small pile of bones gathered on the ground, there might be some marrow left in them. +2 Health