Dead Empress Backwater Thinkin' 'bout that one night when the world caught fire.

@Eros @Leo

After mistakenly mentioning delectable meat to the two strangers instead of properly introducing herself Margo sort of checked out, everything that came after was a complete blur.  She couldn't say how it happened, but somehow the fae was now standing alone with her brother, the stranger boy, and a dead rabbit.  Underneath her monochrome fur the Valle girl's face was still painted with impressive shades of pink, and she had no idea what to do or say so she just stood there uncomfortably switching from paw to paw for a few brief moments.  Her father would want her to be good company to these wolves and she really didn't want Eros to outshine her and make her look like some sort of a weirdo, if she didn't already look like a weirdo.  'Nice Meat' echoed through her head on loop.  What was she going to do?

Margo was just going to have to settle on small talk for now, because anything further just sounded downright impossible.  "U-uh, is there rabbits like this in Sanguine Cove?"  She asked, looking at her brother for reassurance that it wasn't a stupid question.

 

Leo was pretty sure every hair on his body was visibly vibrating, his heart thumping so loudly that the other two must be able to hear it. Still, he did his very best to maintain the friendly smile, even though his jaw was starting to ache from the effort, eyes directed firmly at the dead hare on the ground between them.

 

He knew he should be talking; he was the guest after all, it was only good manners, but he had no idea what to say. In the end it was the girl, Margo, who spoke first, her question making Leo glance up, surprised. “Uh... Y-yeah,” He answered awkwardly, looking back down before his voice failed completely; “Th… They’re usually brown… Or they used to… Before the snow.” He trailed off, closing his eyes for a moment; What’re you telling them that for? He felt like an idiot.

Eros' usual enthusiasm was muted by the awkward feeling taking up more room than could possibly exist within his chest. He couldn't tell if he liked it or not, leaning toward no but also not wanting the cause to go away. An unusual silence filled the forest and he was thankful when someone else chose to dismiss it.

As usual, he did not find his sister's wondering strange - knowing just how big and mutated-looking deer could get, he wouldn't be surprised at all if other animals varied like that too, especially somewhere so clearly different from where they lived. His peach eyes looked up at Leo expectantly for an answer, interest clear.

Yeah, was the anticlimactic answer, indirectly quashing the idea of strange mountain rabbits. Oh well. They're usually brown, the other boy went on, and Eros found himself nodding.

"Yeah, ours too!" as though that was anywhere near as neat as the youth's mismatched eyes. It was like looking at a sunny sky, conveying warmth and freedom - at least in his pre-adolescent view.

"Um. Is there anywhere you wanted to see?" was his own lame attempt to continue the conversation.

"Or... we could play a game?" his ears picked up, and he glanced at Margo - playing had never failed him before.

I'm so sorry for the wait!

<p>Margo was starting to get the feeling that perhaps she wasn't the only one nervous here, which surprisingly calmed her nerves a bit.  Leo stuttered just as she had, and she listened to his small explanation on what the rabbits were like back where he came from.  Sounded just like the rabbits from around here, and her brother soon spoke up to say just that.  Her dumb conversational piece hadn't been all to bad then, because it at least got the ball rolling.  Maybe this didn't have to be an awful experience after all. </p>

<p>The Valle girl couldn't stop her tail from wagging a bit at the mention of playing a game.  She looked at her brother with a grin.  <b>"That sounds like a great idea!"</b> A game would probably eliminate most of the uncomfortable stuff that came with just talking to people you didn't really know. <b> "Or.. I think.. What do you think, Leo?"</b> she blushed, looking over at the boy. </p>

 

Surprisingly, the boy, Eros, seemed genuinely excited to hear about the rabbits on the mountain. And that even though they were apparently no different than the ones around here. Leo flashed him a smile, unable to do anything else in the face of the enthusiasm, even if he still felt a little stupid for talking about rabbits.

 

Feeling just slightly more at ease, he managed to keep his eyes on Eros as the other boy continued to talk, offering a tour. Leo was curious to see more of the Backwater, but before he could put together the right words to express as much, Eros made another suggestion, and Margo eagerly responded. Turning to see her bright smile, Leo found himself smiling back warmly, his tail softly thumping at the ground. He couldn’t help but think of his own sisters, and that same desire to see them happy filled him now.

 

So he nodded vigorously, to assure her that he liked the idea, then glanced briefly over at Eros to try and gauge his reaction. Then, his attention returned to Margo, to ask: “W… What game would y-you like to play?” He knew a few himself but wasn’t sure if they’d be familiar to the Backwater pups, and it seemed to most polite to let them choose one they liked. Following on that thought, the agouti boy added: “M-maybe you could t-teach me one of your favorites?” Looking back and forth between the two others with an encouraging smile.

The other boy's smile made his insides squirm, kind of like it did when he got really excited to do something but it in a way that was much, much more ticklish. It made him want to move, and he was relieved when the others approved of his suggestion to play. He strode forward, picking up his pace to leave the two behind him a few paces before turning to face them together. It was hard to keep still, and he practically danced in place on his paws.

"Um," for once he couldn't think of anything, subjecting himself to weird but inescapable pressure to come up with something cool and impressive instead of just speaking the truth.

"Um. We could. Uh. Play. Hide-and-no um, Aes- no, charades!"

He gave a little hop when finally the decision gave.

"You think of a word and make the others say it, but you can't make sounds you only can motion, like-" his body picked up where the words left as he rocked his weight back onto his hefty hindquarters and lifted his forepaws into the air. He used the knobs of his wolfish wrists to rub at his face thoroughly, from his muzzle to his eyes before blinking up at sister and friend expectantly. Could they guess what he was?

Utterly unaware of his effect on the other boy, Leo watched curiously as he put space between them, positioning himself within clear view of both the other pups. The agouti youth’s tail maintained a slow, friendly wag as he waited for Eros to find his words – the very last to judge any such stumbling.   As the game was explained, Leo cocked his head, bro furrowing in concentration. He’d never played this one before, but it did sound interesting. The larger boy waisted no time in getting into it, and Leo’s eyes widened at the display, a surprised laugh bubbling up from his chest. He’d never seen a wolf do that before, it was uncanny.   Glancing briefly at Margo, Leo spoke up, voice excited: “Oh… Oh! That’s a-a rabbit!” He grinned from ear to ear, fully absorbed in the game; “I got one!” He jumped up, practically bouncing to take Eros’ place as he prepared to make his own performance. There was something freeing about putting on a role like that, he didn’t mind so much, being the one in focus, at least as long as it was just Eros and Margo looking at him; He could keep playing all day. FADE Thoughts ”Speech”

Lakela @DA