feel free to attack! or, y'know, whatever else.
his departure from the haunted woods predated vanity’s call and their subsequent disbanding. guardián knew nothing of the nightwalkers’ fall, nor was he particularly interested, but even he couldn’t help the nagging itch of guilt.
his path led upward from the flatlands, unknowingly toward the coast, with a short detour in the great wilderness. meals consisted of scavenged meat, mainly the putrified corpses of aged bovines, but he knew that this diet wouldn’t last him long.
he’d never been taught that stealing was wrong. guardián crossed the neverwinter border with confidence, his nose glued to ground as he quickly sought out a cache.
Caerus' own nose was sniffing out a cache, one that he knew belonged to his family- until a strange and unfamiliar scent hit him. It wasn't Neverwinter, not at all. He furrowed his brow and began to track until he spotted a grayish blob up ahead. Was it one of his half siblings? No, they were smaller than that. This boy was Caerus' own size, perhaps with the addition of a few extra pounds in his round stomach. So what was he doing, sniffing around the food?
who the fuck are you?
Cae called from a distance, posture not hostile but tone certainly suspicious.
Yao's patrols up until now were mundane. Other than the pack, only a few coyotes and foxes here and there, sometimes the occasional bird, had visited their caches. Yao expected some mild diversion as he sauntered towards the next cache, and ended up completely taken aback. One inhale and he knew that this was no packmate. He snarled, his teeth bared. He wanted to rush the wolf, but the familiar appearance of Mal's child gave him pause. Cae, get back,
Yao warned. He stepped forward, his eyes burning as he locked onto the would-be thief. Leave, now. No other warning.
the first to appear was a child, around the same age as guardián. he opened his mouth to reply, but could hardly get out a breath before the larger, much older male appeared.
he knew that their cache was close. guard could smell the meat inside and felt his mouth water, but knew that taking the chance was dangerous. there were two wolves present, not counting however many might have been lurking in the shadows; even with his limited experience, the odds were stacked against him.
still, he was hungry.. and young, which meant dumb.
guardián’s ears flanked either side of his head as he turned and dashed in the assumed direction of food. he was moving as fast as he could, but the limp in his hind leg and added weight stores kept him from reaching full speed, thus leaving him vulnerable to attack.
Despite the way Caerus had developed a habit of swearing at other children, his heart wasn't completely cold.
More than anything, if he could have a wish, it would be a friend. Not a dumb baby, not a broken-speech child, but a kid, someone his age who could play with him and explore with him. Someone who he could be a child with. Because as much as Mal would entertain his foolish heart, Caerus still longed for a brother- and clearly, his real brother wasn't worth the time or energy.
So when along came some kid his age wandering alone, Caerus didn't want to scare him off just yet without getting to know him or why he was here. What was stupid Haoniyao thinking? Cae hadn't forgotten how he'd butchered his name and given food to some dumb babies instead of him.
When the man tried to tell him to back up, and tell the kid to leave, the speckled boy just snorted. maybe he's just a little hungry, c'mon hao-
Caerus began, but his speech was cut short when the boy came running unexpectedly, and ruby eyes widened. i- w-wait-
He stuttered out, unsure of what to do. Though something told him he should try and stop the other kid, he was frozen to the ground, unable to move and wishing the adult might have mercy on this same-age stranger.
Caerus protested, but whatever reason that he could have given Yao would have ignored. Trespassing was trespassing. Had the boy come to him beyond Neverwinter borders Yao would have been kinder — helping was not beyond his nature. But invading his pack's territory? Raiding their hard-earned caches? No. Yao would not stand for such things. That was beyond forgiveness.
Yao stared down the would-be thief, his ears swiveling between him and the cream-and-brown child. His mouth opened to speak some rebuttal, but the stranger moved, running towards the cache. Bad move. Bad, bad move. Yao surged forward, aiming to use his full weight to bowl the invader over. He wouldn't use much force, unless the child continued to push his luck.
just a few more strides, and — dammit!
guardián rolled onto the ground, shouting at haoniyao to, get off of me!
his next meal was painfully close, but even he knew better than to try running for a second time. instead of dashing for the cache again, he remained still with eyes daring and posture pleading, hoping that there was still a chance he could make it out of here without too much damage.
stop!!
Cae shrieked with a prepubescent crack of his voice as Haoniyao thundered towards the kid. The boy rolled to the ground and Caerus watched on in horror as he begged in the same way. He did not move, did not try again to reach the cache. Well, Caerus did not want to see a starving boy mauled by a packmate he thought he could trust. The Neverwinter boy raced to Haoniyao, nudging his shoulder rather roughly with his muzzle, get off him!! he's just a fucking kid- like, like me!!
He knew he could not renege on what he had said before. Only one warning. Even as Caerus protested, his voice cracking with emotion, Yao had to stand firm. There was no excuses for things such as this. Trespassing, let alone stealing, was a crime that other packs paid with death. He could not bring himself to such a thing — the would-be-thief was a child after all, as Caerus said — but these lessons had to be learned. Even if it hurt. Get out!
Yao said, baring his teeth. He snapped them shut in front of the boy's nose. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if you don't go.
guardián’s gaze lingered on caerus for a moment, a silent sharing of gratitude, but haoniyao’s warning was clear: he had to leave now, and couldn’t risk getting caught a second time. still, some lingering shred of pride made him want to try..
he wouldn’t, though. not this time.
okay, i’ll go
, guard muttered. expecting haoniyao to follow him out, the boy began pacing quickly back toward the border where the fiasco had begun.
Yao did not listen. He did not care that he was alone. He did not care that he was hungry. He did not care that he was a child. All he cared about was their stupid caches.
Having never seen the harshness of winter, Cae thought back to the time Simmik had shown him spoiled food in a cache that was too old to be eaten. Neverwinter had food spoiling in their caches, and still the adult was too greedy and selfish to help someone. Caerus wished the man would dissapear so that he could bring the other kid something to eat, learn his name- but now he would not have that chance. Maybe the kid would go hungry in the wild and die.
Caerus turned away just as Guardián did, leaving the scene while he fought quiet empathetic tears.
Yao stalked after the boy for a few steps until he was content that his demands instructions would be met, and the stranger had cleared their borders. Yao stewed over Caerus' reaction, wondering what he could say to the boy to emphasize his point. He had some...discontent with Yao's actions. Had he not been taught the importance of borders? Or were things slightly different here? Hospitality was one thing, but Yao couldn't excuse such blatant disregard of the borders. Cultural differences be damned. It didn't sit well with him.
He walked away, shaking his head, ultimately deciding that it was not his place to scold another's child.