staying vague! sorry for all the tags D:
the lake, stretching wide before them.
germanicus watched its surface expectantly, eyes flickering at the sight of fish slicing through the waters.
"can you swim?" he asked his youthful companion, turning his focus to the boy for a moment.
they would not stay here long, now that they knew this lake to be in possession of a master in the nearby pack.
"if you do not, you must learn, @Crowfeather." not criticism, nor a command. only statement of a simple truth. the world demanded such knowledge on penalty of death. and the trajectory of their wandering would demand it also.
I'm having a riot! You may tag as much as you like.
The lapping water made him fearful. That alone had been enough to draw the dark fur along his neck to rise. Crowfeather's expression was stiff, but his eyes were wide.
I'm not very good at it,
the dark wolf answered after a beat.
If Germanicus believed that it was vital he be efficient in the art of swimming, Crowfeather knew he would try. He had grown accustomed to the silver wolf's steady nature and sturdy presence.
Sniffing at the water, the dark wolf stepped in until it reached his belly and lapped coldly there.
:D!
germanicus watched, crouching upon the shoreline as crowfeather ventured into the blue expanse.
his companion had taken to heart the way his features should be kept. he had not complained of weariness, nor undermined germanicus.
the ashmoon ranger drew up alongside crowfeather. "walk out until you feel the edge before the drop beneath your feet."
germanicus demonstrated, a slow stride through the rising waves until they licked against his throat.
The silver man was at his side. The water parted to allow him to move through it, as confidently as he seemed to do most everything else. Crowfeather stared at Germanicus for a few moments.
The instructions were not wasted on the dark wolf. He waded out until water rose up to his chest and then to his throat. Crowfeather's lean back was submerged.
The younger felt the drop that Germanicus had spoken of. He could feel his heart drop as his paw hung over what felt like bottomless edge. Crowfeather swallowed thickly and tried not to look afraid.
"keep your eyes ahead, and put your arms out beneath the surface," germanicus went on in that same carved baritone.
he had felt the glinting of the boy's fear surrounding them both. "and when you are ready, push with hind-paws against the edge. do not forget to move your legs, or you will sink."
a first, a second, a third breath. and then germanicus had sent himself into the water, taking calmly to the routine of movement.
Germanicus carved beautifully across the surface, bobbing only just. His limbs moved in a perfect paddle that kept him afloat.
Perhaps out of a desire to imitate or a hope for success, Crowfeather heeded the instructions his leader had provided and pushed from the edge of the world.
At once, his thin limbs began churning beneath him. Crowfeather bobbed unevenly, dipping underneath the surface up to his snout several times. He looked at the water and then to Germanicus, back and forth. All the while he paddled haphazardly.
"good," the eagle called over the lapping sound of the water. crowfeather kept his head mostly from going below and did not flail.
germanicus led him further out, then returned to the boy's side. "a semi-circle now," he instructed. the former guard meant to see the other's stamina pitted against the lake, an important quality for any marcher.
There was that praise again, Crowfeather felt his cheeks grow warm and his chest thrum with an indescribable feeling. Even the dark wolf's whiskers twitched with the hint of a smile.
A semi-circle was asked next. Crowfeather bobbed as instructed. There was a great swelling pressure having Germanicus see him in that way, like a foal trying to race.
The water felt heavy, however. His body was getting tired.
it would not do well to force the youth so far he drowned. germanicus gave a last approving nod before he guided them both back to the lake-shore.
he stepped onto the rich earth and swung his pelt in all directions until he stood spiked and tousled.
"go into the lake and swim twice, each day that we remain in this region."
germanicus was suddenly, openly thoughtful. "we know nothing of one another. does this not concern you?"
Crowfeather was near panting when Germanicus motioned to take them back to the shore.
When his dark paws scrabbled at sand and rocks, the dark wolf breathed a heavy breath and quaked softly on weakened legs.
Germanicus spoke and Crowfeather's ears turned to him, drinking in what he had to say with heavy breaths. When he looked back to the silver figure, he could not help but to smile at the points of fur that stuck from Germanicus' body.
He's strong, Crowfeather thought, gazing at his frame and the muscles beneath his damp fur coat.
The question pulled him from his gawking, thankfully. They did not know much at all, no. Crowfeather tilted his head and looked to Germanicus thoughtfully. He did not know why but he did not feel in danger with the older man.
Perhaps... but I can learn.
he kept his eyes from the dampened figure of the other. it had been a long while since such aspects were brought to mind. and it was a truth with which germanicus had not yet reconciled.
"i was born into the arms of the military, almost at once put to work in the service of my natal land. i have lived a soldier. i am one now. and it will be how i leave this world."
he did not speak of ico, nor the elk-woman. germanicus had said all of himself that was most relevant.
the eagle stood, putting his gaze to test the skyline. "a storm comes. let us retreat to the woodland."
These words were the first Germanicus had spoken to him that had brought him to a standstill.
He's a soldier... a fighter.
After having looked at his figure, it should not have surprised the dark wolf. A body like his did not come from kindness or love. Crowfeather was reminded of his father for a single moment.
When Germanicus spoke of the storm, Crowfeather's eyes wavered on him and then to the skies. Clouds furled like waves of charcoal. The dark figure returned quickly to his place at Germanicus' side, his place as shadow.
Have you ever felt as though- as though you were more than a soldier?
his voice was soft, quaking on the last few words uncertainly.
germanicus did not answer until they were safely ensconced among the towering bark-sides. the first fat drops of rain had begun to fall, pitting the summer-dry earth until it darkened and began to drink.
"once. twice."
he did not like to talk of these things when it came to himself. "but this is the road to which i return. always. it is my fate."
germanicus had accepted this, and lay down beside his companion to wait through the hours of storm to come. "how did you come to be alone?"
Something hopeful spurred inside of Crowfeather, hearing that Germanicus had thought of himself as more than a soldier. It did not matter if it was once or twice, it did not matter if he had thought about it every day since he had grown into a man. It gave Crowfeather a semblance of normalcy and comfort he had never felt.
They sheltered beneath towering trees. Droplets splatted around their figures. Crowfeather's ears splayed atop his skull in a comical fashion. The tickling of water in the hairs of his auds was bothersome.
When Germanicus spoke of fate, the dark wolf felt his stomach churn. A heavy weight settled between his sharp shoulder blades. The very thing that Germanicus felt he would always return to. How had Crowfeather been so foolish to promise what he had to the silver male? He could only disappoint.
Running from my own fate,
the dark figure answered. Honesty weighed a heavy ton.
"and what fate is that, crowfeather?" the boy was young. but tragedy chose even the youth to befall. germanicus looked at the bedraggled nape, at the not-quite-lupine set of limbs and features and flanks, and thought it must be something impure that plagued his ward.
not his ward.
not his companion.
were they bound by more than this? and how had it come again to germanicus?
they must sleep now, for tomorrow he planned to send crowfeather off alone. or he had held this thought, until the very moment they now shared. germanicus wished to trace the hurt sides of this fissure. but desire did not an eagle make.
One I cannot outrun, I'm afraid.
At once, Crowfeather felt tired. Their journey together had worn him to a weary strip of dark fur and rangy limbs. As worn as he displayed, the dark seer had not lost his resolve. Each passing moment he spent alongside the silver 'eagle' was more that compelled him to remain there.
Feeling tired, the dark young wolf placed his chin to his paws. His eyelids danced across his eyes for a few moments before they fell. Sleep did not seem so difficult when he was not alone. The conversation that he had shared with Germanicus still played through his mind.
The thin shape of him leaned and pressed softly to Germanicus' side. Crowfeather's frame relaxed with a quaking sigh and he fell into a deep sleep.
<3
germanicus, assigned first watch by the slumbering breaths of the other.
he was weary himself, but the serenity of crowfeather's face kept his own senses honed. he would watch until the young soldier woke.
the sound of rain pulled him into memory, half-formed, unshapen.
what haunts you?