The Wildwood why the long face

RE: The sky darkens with ash from a distant forest fire.

August 19th; Afternoon; Few Clouds; 78.71° F, 25.95° C.

Thoval wiped the blood from his maw, smearing red across the white of his muzzle and the back of his forepaw. For such a measly little squirrel, the poor thing had made such a mess. His stained tongue emerged and clung to the right side of his lip before withdrawing again. He coughed, a bit of fur dislodged from the back of his throat.

A snort and sigh followed the roll of his shoulders and the stretch of his neck. The incident of him stalking and attacking some random male up north was but a distant nightmare now. One giant marvelous fiasco from someone who knew how to kill for sport. He had been reckless; though, it wasn't for the first time in his life. Thoval was no stranger to disappointment.

Ugly ridges and folds formed across the bridge of his nose as he curled his lips back, wincing. Gods, that still hurt. His ears folded flat as he lifted his right hind foot, his knee aching where the brute Adelard had landed a good bite. Whisperer be damned...

A hiss emitted from him as his eyes went up to the smoky views of the face of the mountain. He coughed, regretting a deep inhale. Wherever the fires were, they weren't in his neck of the woods. Stinging eyes and nostrils aside, he was determined to reunite with his band of misfits.

Thoval had been gone for some time now - long enough that Felyx had begun to lament the loss of one of his most treasured playthings. Perhaps it was seniority alone that endeared Felyx to the dark-furred boy, or perhaps it was something of a likeness between the two of them that he found to be so magnetic. Regardless of the reason, he'd enjoyed Thoval's proximity and had not had it for a long while. Either dead or ghosted most likely, he figured, which wasn't the end of the world.

And yet.

Catching the scent of the other boy, interwoven with the fragrance of blood. Smoke was heavy on the air as well, but Felyx knew better than to approach a wildfire, so instead he hunted down a murderer.

Still, the smog was irritating. His sinuses and eyes burned and the scent trail he was tracking was hard to follow, but Felyx was quite persistent when need be. It was only a matter of time before he found what he'd been searching for.

And a matter of time it was. It took longer than he'd have liked to pinpoint Thoval's location, but his spiky form eventually came into view - Felyx approached from behind, stormy eyes locked on target.

"You get lost?" he asked as he approached, tail swishing slowly. No judgment - not yet - though he'd certainly find the other boy's reason for being gone ridiculously funny when he learned it.

Thoval jumped at the sound of a familiar voice. Every hair on his neck stood up and his tail lifted in a rigid line behind his back. If he had still been in survival mode, being away from those he knew for so long, he might have snapped at Felix’s snout. Potentially mar that handsome face forever…

“You get lost?”

Inwardly, he cringed, but his flat ears told his comrade of his bitterness. “Maybe I was looking for something,” he countered, turning about to find Felyx’s face in all his tawny glory. He attempted to recover himself, to straighten his ears and return the jest.

Heat tingled along his spine, a part of him relieved that the yearling had found him first instead of his twin. So far, his fondness for both had finally tipped with Felyx gaining more of his affection by a fraction. Something about the red-furred boy made him feel a little at ease; with Cynder, on the other hand, he still tiptoed. Half-stepping on eggshells, half-bounding into unknown territory whenever he threw her a compliment. He had yet to see if there was something of a spark there too.

“You and Cynder done playin’ around?” he scoffed, a sly grin appearing on his dark features at last. “Thought you’d be on the mountain by now.”

He gestured with a jab of his nose toward the pale, jagged mountain side. “Or did you two get sidetracked?”

           

THOVAL

why the long face, my pretty baby I've got long fangs, come appraise me

It was fun to watch all the changes in Thoval's posture - from the initial bristling to the recovery from it. However, it was the other boy's ears flattening that had Felyx's perking in interest. A trip gone awry, maybe? Failure in some way, he assumed, or there would probably be much more confidence in his stance.

Maybe I was looking for something.

"Did you find it?" he asked, approaching closer now that he knew his presence wouldn't be unwelcome. It wasn't that he thought Thoval would harm him intentionally, but it had been a while since they'd seen one another, and things could always change. Throwing himself at a larger wolf to surprise them when said wolf had been missing was a bad idea, no matter how you looked at it.

Still, he did nothing to mask his penchant for the gray boy, especially now that he knew he wasn't dead or that he hadn't run off somewhere. Like was a strong word, but Felyx held an unmistakable enjoyment for Thoval that very few others received. Cyn would be happy to see him, too, he'd wager. Tail waving, Felyx wove around the other boy, not quite touching but unable to stand still.

A laugh escaped him at the next question. "You know better than that. We're never done playing around," he pointed out. "I've been on and off the mountain for a while. There's a lot to see around here - a pack, some new recruits," he continued. "Paeryl and Vaenyra are up on the mountain now. I think they like it up there."

"So, where'd you go?" he asked, then, certainly interested in the other boy's whereabouts in his absence. There was still no judgment in his tone - only curiosity. Maybe he'd found some fun things, as well, after all.

When Felyx asked if the man had found what he had been looking for, Thoval shook his head. Even with questions asked and answered, Felyx drew closer. The growl that usually bubbled up in his chest from not wanting to be touched did not come. There was no contact, not even a brush of a guard hair.

"You know better than that," Felyx had laughed. "We're never done playing around."

Thoval rolled his eyes. He should have anticipated that. The whole time he had been with the twins involved him acting like a chaperone of sorts... ensuring no harm came to either of them while they began to carry out The Whisperer's biddings. Or whatever Paeryl requested of them. Though, there were a handful of times when he indulged them in their antics. He just had to worm his way back into their little clique again after being away for so long.

To hear that their leader and his mate had arrived and were up on the heights made one of his ears twitch. Hm. He wondered now if he was expected to report back or anything of the like.

"So, where'd you go?" Felyx was back at it with the questions.

"North," Thoval's guard seemed to have come down a hair. Just enough to lend his cohort a wave of his tail. "Tried to see if I could do some recruiting." His eyes peered into the smaller wolf's face as if that alone would tell him if he would be ridiculed or not. In the end, a short debate in his head led to him wanting to humor the yearling. He made a wry face, "Got bit instead."

           

THOVAL

why the long face, my pretty baby I've got long fangs, come appraise me

Thoval hadn't found a what he was seeking, but Felyx could have guessed that much. Still, it was a pity, he supposed. Part of him wanted to pry a little further, to see what Thoval had been looking for in the first place, but there was little reason to do that, and he didn't want to cause those walls to go up any further. It had been a while since they'd seen one another - Felyx was hardly expecting things to just fall back into place.

The other boy was warming back up to his presence, though, it seemed. Felyx felt like the little wag of his tail was a personal victory, but didn't want to assume that meant he was free to do whatever he pleased. He wondered if this was how most wolves felt when they talked to Cynder - analyzing every expression, every piece of body language, trying to get a good gauge on how she felt.

Maybe that was why Thoval had fit so nicely with the two of them - a sort of center point between the two.

Recruiting - Thoval? That would have been a rare treat to see, and Felyx almost felt bad he'd missed it. Especially if it had ended so poorly that the poor boy had received a bite for his efforts.

Picking on him straight away, or laughing, would likely end poorly, so Felyx restrained himself. "That's... not how recruitments typically go," he said, then smirked. "Did you kill them?" That seemed the next logical step in the ginger twin's mind - why let them live, if they'd caused you harm?

Thoval's vanity seemed to have paid off. What blood that had matted his flanks and throat had been artfully washed away in the streams. To hide his failings in plain sight despite the subtle winces whenever he shifted his weight. The remnants of blood that had been spilled on his behalf were now lost in the consumption of his recent snack.

"That's... not how recruitments typically go," Felyx smirked. Thoval glowered, yellow eyes glinting like cold steel. He waited for the jeering, the teasing, the daring poke that woke the slumbering bear. Felyx, Thoval should have known, had other musings. "Did you kill them?"

To say that Thoval cared for Felyx and his sister was almost unnatural. But, these days, when Thoval found like-minded company, he knew better than to cast them aside. Wolves were pack creatures by nature and there was always safety in numbers.

His movements faltered from tired and healing muscles. But, like a swarthy serpent, he rounded on Felyx to face his smaller frame. "I took down the recruit when he fought back," he rumbled as if this was for only Felyx to hear. "But, he had a guard."

He sniffed, self-loathing rising in his chest. "You two steer clear of the lakes up there." A flash of his teeth told Felyx that Thoval was not kidding. A genuine word of warning. "I will not bring you or Cynder back to Paeryl in shreds. You hear?"

           

THOVAL

why the long face, my pretty baby I've got long fangs, come appraise me

The little twinges of pain on that handsome face did not escape Felyx's notice, but bringing them up would probably be a bad idea - especially with how those sunflower eyes narrowed when Felyx spoke again. Later, he decided, when the wound and the blow to Thoval's pride weren't so fresh. He didn't want to drive the other boy away, after all.

Took down the recruit. A guard had done the biting, then. "Such are the dangers of this line of work," he lamented breezily, as though it wasn't that big a deal. It was why Cynder was with him most of the time when he went out of his way to rope others into their gaggle. It helped to have a guard of your own, just in case.

Brows rose a little in surprise at both the showing of teeth as well as the firm order. It wasn't that Felyx minded being told what to do, necessarily, but he did not like being restricted in where he could and could not go.

That would only serve to make him wish to go there more.

As quickly as the surprise flickered across his face, it was gone, and Felyx once more went to smooth things over. "Careful now," he teased, leaning in and batting his lashes for added effect, "or I might start thinking you actually care about us." Really, it would be their own fault if they did go up there and get themselves killed. Paeryl probably wouldn't care less.

"Besides," he continued, looking the other boy up and down. "I don't usually go off without a guard of my own. I've just had one less lately." His words were a sort of offer in their own way - if Thoval wanted to come back with him, the invitation was open.

(This post was last modified: Aug 21, 2024, 12:53 AM by Felyx.)

"Such are the dangers of this line of work."

Thoval shrugged upon taking in Felyx's response. Eh, true... It hadn't become infected, so, he'd live at the end of it all. It wasn't the first time he'd been bitten or attacked or chased away.

"Careful now," Felyx taunted. The larger male scowled, the white dots of his brows coming together. "Or I might start thinking you actually care about us."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Thoval droned, only partially fazed by Felyx's fluttering eyes. He opened his mouth to add something else but he was cut off.

"Besides," Felyx added, "I don't usually go off without a bodyguard of my own. I've just had one less lately."

"Mm," was his only reply for a heartbeat and a half. It wasn't his fault that he had gotten bored with the twins' shenanigans, and then wandered off. Paeryl had sent them off on a task and Thoval felt like he was the only one really doing anything... He sighed, already exasperated, "All right. Whatever it is, count me back in." Had they been human, assassin to assassin, Thoval might've bumped elbows with Felyx. Clad in all black, hooked up with spy tech and weapons of choice in hand.

"But, we are not going to the lakes," he laid down a line. Revenge could wait. He needed time to process how his fight had landed him in the loser's corner; and, surely that guard had a weak point. Everything had one. Thoval just needed to find it before they came face to face again. Not to mention traveling long distances in the smoke was a rather poor decision. His lips drew thin, "At least not yet." Then, the thought struck him. He had to stifle the coughs that were building in his lungs, "Wait. Felyx, where is your sister?"

           

THOVAL

why the long face, my pretty baby I've got long fangs, come appraise me

Felyx very much liked the reactions he was drawing from Thoval. The narrowed eyes, the scowling, the bristling - this was a very fun game, he had to admit. Even if Thoval didn't find it nearly as fun as Felyx himself did. He didn't even get a denial when he teased about caring, which came as a surprise. Having someone care wasn't necessarily a bad thing, he supposed. Felyx cared for Cynder, in a way, and he probably cared for Thoval as well. Enough that he'd track down his scent, at least.

He didn't really care that he got bit, though, and one would be mistaken to think it was any normal feeling. It was possessive at best, and at worst...

Well. At worst.

An agreement, then, and Felyx was well pleased. Thoval would be coming back and things would become more fun. The fact that he did so begrudgingly made it even better, in Felyx's eyes. "Excellent," he chirped, tail swishing back and forth. "If Paeryl gets pissed at you for being gone, I don't mind stepping in." Better that than one of Felyx's favorite playthings getting thrown off the mountain, he figured.

And back to the lakes. Thoval seemed very keen on keeping Felyx away from the lakes. Which, of course, made him all the more interested in them.

But for now...

"Alright, alright," he acquiesced, stormy eyes glinting as they looked up at him. "But on one condition. When you go up there again, let us come with you. You know Cyn and I would be a good asset in a fight." That way, he could see the lakes and Thoval would be in less danger. It was a win win situation.

Felyx, where is your sister?

Felyx tipped his head, confused. What a strange question. "Around. She's never too far off," he replied. "She's been hanging out with Sov more recently. Making friends, maybe." A smile crossed his maw. Friends had always been a loose term for the twins. Maybe Cyn was finding playthings of her own. "Why? Am I not enough?" One final playful tease, just to see what would happen to Thoval's face when he said it.