Short legs lightly touching the earth as she trotted with the sea by her side, Aoife breathed in deeply. It smelled different here, nothing like home at all, and she loved every sniff of it. The sea had a tendency of calming the pretty girl, which was a whole accomplishment of one were to ask her. Well, Guess this is it.
She muttered under her breath, trotting just a little farther before stopping at an awkwardly placed palm tree that looked very much out of place - especially if one were to consider the cold, wintery temperatures. Anything was better than that moist cave though.
Stretching her small body, she let out a deep, satisfied sigh before settling against the tree to look at the sea.
Gabe had been traveling for a while now, and it was about time he took a break. He was loving the coast. All the water and sand, the ocean breeze, the warmth of he sun on the winter day. The coast was everything that the forest wasn't. And this place had something the the forests of the east didn't. Safety, and no Kamden. He couldn't stop himself from thinking about his brother, and that night when he'd been so graciously given the scars that hid under his white pelt.
While he was usually thinking about his past and everything that had happened to him, today Gabe was taking a break. He'd found this weird place near the coast, with all these ugly trees like nothing he'd ever seen before. At least he thought they were trees, for all he knew they could've been giant weeds. He was lying underneath one of them, enjoying its shade and chewing eagerly on one of its hard brown fruits when he heard a voice nearby. He dropped the rock of a fruit, ears perked he looked up and around. He watched someone sit them self down a bit aways, they hadn't seemed to notice him.
Feeling in the mood for company, the white furred boy chuffed, hoping to get the girl's attention.
Just as she thoughts she was all alone at the coast, enjoying herself and all that good shit, someone asked for her attention. She had indeed not noticed him before (Maybe because his creamy pelt blended in with the sand or something, or maybe she was going blind). As soon as she did though, she raised an eyebrow at him - a light smirk accenting her pretty features and making her soft shaded blue eyes shimmer like a water body in fairy tales. Her ink-dipped tail thumped softly on the ground in greeting before she decided to break the ice.
Sup?
She asked in her fiery, heart-melting voice.
The girl was quite enchanting, her icy blue eyes cut through the space between them like an knife. Gabe's tail wagged a little and his face lit with a boyish smile. He straightened his posture and puffed out his chest some, taking a deep breath before responding to her
Sup. I just been trying to get in to these odd tree rocks, how bout you?
He pointed his black nose to the coconut, then looked back up at her.
Hjsksksbd sorry for the shortness <3
His fiery eyes were the opposite of hers, and that intrigued her. With a pale pelt like his, one would almost expect an icy stare like hers. The same went for her; with her burning colours accented with tawny and black, perhaps one would expect the same warmness in her orbs. She was lost in thought for a moment because of that, but when the stranger spoke in an accented voice, she snapped back into reality. Tree rocks? Did he mean the weird nuts?
Tree rocks?
She asked with a sweet giggle, standing up and inching closer to where he was to look at his find. Ain't that a nut or something?
She left his question unanswered, having no real answer for it really. She had just been resting from her long journey was all, but he didn't need to know that.
Tree rocks? She repeated with a giggle, and Gabe turned a little red. He looked away, clearly embarrassed. He hadn't expected that she'd know what the things were, but he probably should've. She might've even been from here, and now he just sounded like a fool. She suggested that maybe he 'tree rocks' were actually nuts, and Gabe nodded. She was probably right, they did come from trees, were brown and hard. They were most likely nuts. Why hadn't he thought of that before.
Despite the fact that he was a little embarrassed the boy decided he'd play it off. He chuckled a little and gave a slight smile. Yeah well, rock seemed a pretty good guess at the time. You got a name?
While certainly not a genius, Aoife was smart in more world-wise situations. She didn't particularly specialize in anything and preferred to have a little bit of everything instead. Fighting, however, was her main passion - as a young kid and still to this day. Sure, messing around with boys and stealing was fun, but there was nothing that beat the rush she got out of beating someone the hell up. She studied the young man a bit longer, noticing his embarrassed head-turn but decided not to comment on it. She didn't want him to feel bad for it - she had just wanted to sort of inform him. Then again, her way of teaching was more of a "push someone in the water if you want them to learn how to swim" kind of method.
Luckily he seemed rather comfortable with his tiny fuck-up, which Aoife could appreciate. Worries brought stress, and stress caused your fur to fall out. She was very attached to her beautiful main and interesting colours and spots, and decided that "worrying" was out of her dictionary. It was an okay-guess.
She chuckled, settling a small distance from him with a smile. I'm Aoife. 'n you, pretty boy?
She answered.
Gabe chuckled when she denied that it was a good guess, and said it was ok instead. It was a pretty stupid assumption. Why would trees grow rocks, dumb Gabe. She introduced herself, and called him pretty boy, to which Gabe gave her a smile. He knew hat he was by no means ugly. But he didn't often think of himself as pretty boy. Perhaps he didn't give himself enough credit.
Gabriel, I go by Gabe. You're not too bad looking yourself.
He replied, looking her over again. Her pelt of eccentric colors, and those frigid yet electric eyes. Aoife was more than not bad looking, she was gorgeous. Something Gabe wasn't just about to say, but he would think it all he wanted.
If nuts could come from trees, why not rocks? What made the sky so blue when there were no clouds? Why was the sea constantly moving - pulsating, as if angered? They did not have many answers to these questions, so Aoife really did not see it as a stupid guess. Everyone believed something different, just like her, and in a way they were all right. Aoife did not pick up on his smile, instead focusing her attention on the "tree rock" and the many teeth marks on its hard outside. She wondered what would happen if one were to crack it... Perhaps they could try together?
I know.
She answered bluntly, slightly joking but also slightly not. She was very confident in her looks - her appearance as a whole, even with her short stature. You think we could break one of these "Tree rocks" of yours? I'm dying to see what's inside...
She purred.
I know. She replied to his compliment nonchalantly, as if she heard it quite a lot. Gabe wasn't surprised if she had, she was undoubtedly a beautiful girl. He smiled when she offered to help him break open one of his 'tree rocks' and nodded. Sure!
He stood and grabbed one of the nuts in his mouth, his largest pearly whites buried in one of their oddly places holes. He walked, tail wagging, over to Aoife's side and sat himself down nearer to her. He then pushed the nut in her direction with his wet black nose.
I gave it a pretty good go earlier, you can have at it.
He chirped in a jovial tone, his eyes on the nut as he impatiently awaited the outcome.
Not even Aoife could deny her beauty, and was not about to start now. She was not bad to look at, so what? He was handsome as well, and he didn't hear her purring about it like some bitch in heat. Luckily he didn't comment on it anymore and they instead went on with their "tree rocks". He voted yes and got closer, something Aoife did not mind. Now, she was able to scent him better - something that had always slightly intoxicated her before. If someone smelled nice, she immediately liked them better.
The nut was pushed her way, and for a moment did she look at it from all sides - moving her head about. She then decided to stand up, throw her upper body into the air - petite paws together as they landed on the nut. It gave a slight crack, but didn't quite open. Ey, I don't know how much you weigh, but maybe more than me?
She noted, assuming he knew what her plan was.
Gabe watched in awe when the girl stood up, reared onto her hind legs like a horse and came down upon the nut with such force. He thought he thing should've opened for sure, but it only cracked a little. Aoife turned to him to speak, and he grinned. He got her implication, and stood to try out her slamming method himself. I got this.
He said in a joking tone more than an arrogant one. He then stepped back, shook his snowy white pelt a few times, then reared up onto his strong back legs.
When he came back down, moving all of his weight from his hips to his forelegs, he landed atop the nut. It cracked, but not all the way, which Gabe found a little disappointing. He was about to try again when he noticed an odd white liquid coming out of one of the cracks. Narrowing his eyebrows, the boy crouched down and sniffed curiously at it. It smelled good, and possibly edible, but wasn't what he'd expected to see coming out of the nut. Get a look at this.
He said in a hushed yet excited tone, shifting to the side to allow Aoife access to the nut.
She was glad the guy did not need to be explained much and was happy with his rising. She stepped back, watching as he copied her movements and slammed down upon the nut with probably around the same strength. Still, the nut refused to give in, and Aoife was about to rage at the thing that would not bend to her will until Gabe called her closer. The nut had indeed cracked - the stuff that dribbled out a strange colour, but it smelled quite delicious.
She pushed her nose in the crack, catching some of the liquid onto her lips without a word. She moved the flavour around in her mouth in a thoughtful manner, knowing that it was not very wise to just lick up any liquid one saw. It tasted sweet, but not quite, but she decided it was edible. I think we can drink this stuff!
She let out, quite elated by their discovery.
Aoife, rather eagerly stuck her nose into the crack that Gabe had made, which sort of surprised the boy. He was a little more cautious than her. While he was curious about what treasures lay concealed inside the nut, he also didn't want to be the one to find out that it was toxic to wolves and roll over dead the next day. Aoife seemed a'ok with taking the risk, and Gabe could admire that. When finally Aoife returned from her journey into the nut, she said excitedly that the stuff was drinkable. Gabe's eyes lit up with excitement. What a find!
Now a little less worried about the poison thing, the ivory male stepped forwards and stuck his nose into the nut, licking at whatever he could get at. It was a weird sort of sweet, but it vaguely reminded him of milk. It had a similar soft consistency. A purr rumbled in his throats as he drank it down, then stepped back to see if Aoife wanted some more. After swallowing he smiled and said. We did a pretty good job ey?
Risks were what made her life exciting and the only thing she loved taking both ways. Even if she were to be found dead in the morning; at least then others would know to never drink from such a weird nut ever again. She held little care for her own wellbeing when it came to these sort of things and was kind of a more "do before think" kinda gal. She watched as her new friend checked out the sap that leaked from the nut as she lapped her own lips dry. Surely something that tasted like this was edible?
Yeah - we're a pretty good team.
She agreed, taking her spot behind the nut when he was done to drink the last bits. It was really enjoyable and wondered if he was up for another cracking - perhaps they could turn it into a game or something, but not before...
She pounced one more time on the nut - cracking it open fully to reveal the white, weird-smelling stuff that coated the inside of the nut. She tilted her head at it - confused, but not afraid. She went ahead and began chewing upon it - wondering if Gabe would join her in this.
Gabe licked his lips, a smile on his face when Aoife agreed that they made a good team. He watched as she eagerly returned to the nut, and she finished the last of it. He was about to ask if she wanted to do another, when all of a sudden she pounced upon it again, this time landing on it with enough force to crack it open. What was inside looked more like chunky food than milk, and it looked kind of stringy. He sniffed at it with a puzzled expression, flinching cautiously when the but swiveled around towards him.
Aoife of course began to chew on the stuff, and after watching her for a moment, just to be sure she didn't drop dead, Gabe joined in. Almost as soon as he'd felt the texture of it in his mouth, he spat it out all over the place. It tasted horrible, not at all like the delicious milk that it had created. Pah, blegh plahhh.
He spat, attempting to wipe the remnants of the nut's flesh off with his paw. That's awful.
He added, clearing his throat and pointing at the nut that he'd left spinning on the ground.
While the taste was not the best, and the texture was very weird, she did not hate it as much as her new friend - it seemed he REALLY wasn't a fan. With her mouth full, she chuckled at his reaction. 's not tha' bad.
She tried to say before swallowing what was in her mouth. I mean; I've had worse.
She said, turning to the spinning nut on the frozen ground and stopping it with a paw. Ever had... locust?
She asked sinister with a mysterious grin on her pretty face.
Aoife didn't seem nearly as put off my the stringy texture of the nut's contents as Gabe was, and even as she giggled the boy was still trying to get the foul taste out of his mouth. She asked him if he'd ever had locust before, and his brows narrowed in confusion. Don't think so. What is that some kinda lemming?
He asked, where he came from up north east, well they didn't have many bugs. Even in summer the forests were cold, and when they traveled down south it was always during winter anyway. He wasn't very acquainted with insects of the flying sort.
She smiled at his confused face - only now linking his white pelt to a more Northern past home. Little did she know that only a few months ago a huge plague of locusts had stripped the wild of its green. It's an insect - but with wings and they eat all them plants. Nasty creatures - a plague can prove deadly to anyone and everyone after a while.
She explained - salmon pink licking her dry lips and the last droplets of milk. She quickly looked around to spot another nut and smirked at Gabe. Did he want to do one more?
Gabe nodded when Aoife spoke of locusts. So they weren't lemmings, or anything like lemmings. They were insects apparently, though Gabe still couldn't put a picture to what his new friend described. And he didn't know what a plague was either, but he didn't want to sound too ignorant by asking what a plague was so he just nodded seriously as if he understood. He looked around after that, and decided he would love to crack open another nut. Hey would you like to have another go?
He asked the pretty female, his fluffy white tail picking up speed again.
Aoife, though young and pretty, was quite a good teacher (if one would ask her). Sure, her methods of teaching often involved vulgar language and "duuhuuh" moments - but all her lessons were about life. She was world-wise from her travels and time spent in a gang and knew a bit about everything. Not specialized in only one thing and yet also not unspecialized, Aoife fit in everywhere. Adaptable, for sure, if it were not for her slight temper while fighting.
'course.
Aoife answered excitedly, giving her own multi-coloured tail a shake. She already went ahead and rolled another nut to Gabe.
Gabe's new friend seemed more than happy to crack open another coconut, and she rolled one over to him quickly. He caught it under his front paw like a player would a soccer ball then gave Aoife a grin. He stepped back off of it once it stopped moving, then plied to get some oomph in his attempt. He reared up out of the plie and crashed down upon the nut, and it cracked under all his weight. The long furred boy backed up off of the nut then began lapping up the milk on the inside. This was the best part of the nut, he actually liked it a lot.
When he'd had his fill he stepped back, making a satisfied purr. His hunger and thirst was satiated for now, all he wanted to do now was sleep. You can have the rest, I'm not gonna eat any of that...
He gestured to the fleshy part of the nut's contents and tried to think of a word to describe it. Any of that.
He finished and sat himself down, his full belly making him look puffier than usual.
As Gabe caught the nut under his paw, Aoife thought that the nuts might be nice to play games with. They rolled around nicely - even the empty halves could be used for something. They could be used to carry around water or small herbs, flowers and maybe even insects. Perhaps staying around here wasn't such a bad idea... Lots of useful things were hidden at the coast and she had always wanted a little den close to the sea. Mother would not have approved, but mother wasn't here.
She waited for Gabe to finish, knowing that if he ended up drinking all of it that it wasn't such a big deal cracking open another one. She giggled at his words and pulled one half close to her. She lapped up the remaining milk and then took another bite of the stringy goods. She wondered if a diet of the nuts could be healthy or make someone lose some weight...
Hey, pretty boy-
She called out when she was done. What are you doing all alone? Dun't have a pack or something?
She asked him curiously.
Gabe remained content to watch the woman, a smile on his face, but when she finished and asked him her question, his smile faded for a split second. He quickly put on a little fake smile, not wanting to bring down the mood. Plus he liked to keep his deepest feelings to himself, so he wasn't about to tell her about his family, his brother's attack, and how he longed for a family again, no matter what they were like. Instead he shrugged. Nope, no pack. I'm a free man, I go wherever I want to. And I'm not alone now am I?
He said with a quilted brow, a joking smirk on his face.
What about you? Why are you all alone without a pack.
He asked, sitting down across from her.
Aoife, luckily for Gabe, was blind to slight changes in facial expressions. She thought everyone to be as straight-forward as she, even though she knew others with some issues. Perhaps she just didn't like dark conversations and had made herself blind to it all. Who was to blame her though - in a world that wouldn't let her be herself, it was only natural to cloud one's own mind. The answer that was given was luckily not his whole life-story (God, did she hate long stories that weren't about things that interested her) and she snorted softly at his comment. 'Guess not.
She agreed.
Ha - 'm afraid that is a long story. Not one I'm proud of, either.
She replied casually. Just your usual, run-away teen gone bad, I guess.