It had been a day since Tuft had lost to Reina in the footrace. Since he lost the race, he had to get some food for Reina. Tuft knew that he was an excellent hunter from his time being alone, so killing some game for her would have been a piece of cake. The problem was that since he was relatively new to the territory, he didn’t know where the best places to find prey were.
It had taken him nearly all morning in the Bluebird Thicket to even find a measly rabbit. Then it took him the rest of the afternoon to catch the dang thing.
“Dang it!” Tuft thought,
“This jack-rabbit was slipperier than gizzards sliding on the ice!”.
It was now the evening, and the sunset cast deep red and hazel shadows through the trees. Exhausted after running and chasing all day, Tuft thought optimistically,
“If I hurry now, maybe I can give this to Reina before she falls asleep! Maybe I could make up for my stupidity from last time! And maybe this gift will make me at least be her friend.”.
Out of the corner of Tuft’s eye he thought he saw movement. Spinning around, tuft flared his teeth and snarled menacingly at whoever or whatever was out there. Blood dripping from the kill out of Tuft's mouth onto the crystalized snow, he yelled out,
“Hey! Look, whoever is out there, it's been a bad couple of days and I'm exhausted. I don’t need you to make this day even worse. Let me just give this rabbit over to this wolf that I really like, and then you can kill me. Okay?”.
Cream paws walked lazily through dense snow as Reina traversed the Thicket on a walk to stretch her legs. Being cooped up in her den these last few weeks since the attack really did a number on her mobility. It felt good to move her body as it was designed to—she was surprised to have won the race with Tuft the other day…maybe he had let her win?
She had seen glimpses of him leaving the Town towards the Thicket earlier in the day, no doubt following up on his word to bring her winnings that was agreed upon. She had already decided to check out the Thicket before she had even seen the male, but she was curious to see how has gotten along, so she followed his scent.
Keeping to the trees, the red wolf slunk along; she didn’t want to make her presence known. How embarrassing for her if he found her…stalking him? Reina chuckled to herself, that was preposterous! But, she couldn’t deny her curiosity, either. There had been no sight of the male until she passed the base of a rather enormous tree that had obscured most of the view behind it and Tuft’s scent blasted her senses. She quickly hid back into the bulky roots of the tree, hoping he had noticed her.
She winced as she heard his snarl and the sharp words that ended in a sweet confession. Her cover was blown, so she had no choice but to leave the shadows. “It’s me, Tuft. It’s alright, I won’t kill you. You have a very important job to do, right?” All said with a teasing smirk to her lips.
Suddenly blushing from having divulged that Tuft liked Reina, he replied "Oh gosh. You heard all that didn't you?" Tuft dropped the rabbit on the ground and tried to explain himself. "If I knew that I was in actual danger I would have been much scarier and fearsome, alright!". A grin creeped along his muzzle before disappearing into a serious stare. “You need to keep your distance from her. She doesn’t want to be with you, so stop being cute with her!” Tuft thought.
Shaking himself to relieve the stress of the situation, he continued, “Please forgive me. The snow in this area is covering up the scents of the pack members. I would never hurt any of you.” “How was she able to sneak up on me? I’ve never had someone that close to catching me before.” Tuft wondered.
Pushing the dead rabbit over to Reina, Tuft asked, “I promised to you that I would get you some food each day. I forgot to ask, where I should deposit my kill? Is there a cache near your den that you would like me to put this in?”.
“Oh, I believe you, Tuft.” She said with a wink. She had noticed that his grin had fallen almost as quickly as it had come, her ears flattened. She stepped forward, coming only just far enough so she didn’t have to raise her voice to say her peace. He needed to hear her words this time. She waited until he paused to let her speak, his question on the back burner for now until she was done.
“Tuft, listen…about yesterday. And, please, stay and hear me out. I had just been through something quite traumatic…I may not feel ready for, well, you know…anything more than building friendships—right now. And I want to be your friend more than anything, so…can you forgive me?” She sat as she paused to let him answer, one ear on the conversation, and the other on their surroundings.
Tuft couldn't help it. He gently wagged his tail at the mention of him being friends with Reina. "If anything, it's me who should be asking for your forgiveness. I acted selfish and was harsh to you for no reason, especially after such a dramatic and terrible experience that you just had." He smirked, wiping some of the rabbit blood off his maw. " If you would let me, I would still very much like to be friends with you." Still, a pang of sadness seeped into his heart. He wanted to form a closer bond to her than just "friends". His heart yearned to be near her, but he had to be patient and understanding.
It felt like she had been holding her breath waiting for his answer. It came out in a whoosh of relief accompanied by a quick shake to dispel the stress she had felt at her admission. Not only that, but she had hoped that Tuft would forgive her, yet part of her felt as though she had damaged the friendship they had barely just started. The red wolf yearned for family, for friends, having been alone for far more than a young wolf should have been.
She had to admit, she was luckier than most who find themselves young and wandering without a pack, alone. Her father, may the moon rest his soul, persisted until she agreed to train under him; it was her job as the eldest child to protect her siblings if their parents fell during an attack. Reina never did get a chance to put her skills to the test, but she at least had knowledge to help her through her journey to the Wilds. And, they got her here, with Tuft in Hearthwood.
A friend, if only for now. The future is a fickle thing, of course; no one knows what it holds until it arrives as quickly as the past flees. She will be leaving with Kukutux after one of her visits, who knows what she will encounter out there. Would Tuft wait for her? Would he follow her? He had only just been integrated into the pack, a ceremony to occur soon for his official joining—he shouldn’t leave. But, that was not up to her.
“Friends, then.” She said with a bright smile, one she hadn’t worn since last they were together. It felt good to wear. However, a
howl off in the distance was the cause for it to droop slightly as her head turned while her ears listened. It came from the borders that mirror the direction of the Moonwoman’s pack; she must be here! Would this mean she will leave? So soon?
Turning to Tuft, the fiery female had a fiendish upturn to her mouth, eyes sparkling in challenge.
“Catch me if you can.” She sped off towards where the others are sure to greet the newcomers.
Last post for Rei! Your choice if you want to post one last time to follow her to the location of the howl, linked above! I will be making a post there soon.
"Hey no fair! What do I even do with the rabbit?" Tuft yelled out. Quickly grabbing the rabbit in his mouth, he spun and dashed away over to the howl. Unbeknownst to Tuft, he was just about to get another round of heartbreak and betrayal from Reina from not telling him that she was leaving.
Upon hearing the howl, Tuft tensed as he realized he had spent way too long hunting this rabbit and not enough time protecting the people he promised. He sped off toward the sound with newfound determination