Blackfoot Forest a boy like me

@Orochi - set sometime at night, being vague on the Toad/Kukulkan thread <3
55 degrees, rainy.

Since meeting the aggressive boy in the field, Hide had wanted to find some kind of shelter, at least for a while. Besides, it was constantly drizzling right now, and the trees would help break that up so they could keep a little dryer. 

The only problem was, the rain dispersed smells and made it more difficult to navigate. That wouldn't be much of a problem when he had Orochi, but, well, Hide had woken in the middle of the night and needed to pee. So, he did what any gentleman would do and exited the shelter they'd found, headed off to a respectful distance before he did what he needed and relieved himself against some bushes. 

But then the sounds started. 

Unearthly sounds that called to each other, back and forth, in the pitch blackness. Well, it was probably only pitch blackness for Hide, but that didn't make the red wolf feel any better. He staggered backward when one sounded far too close for his liking and ended up tumbling back into a bramble bush. Hide yelped and struggled, embedding them more deeply into his fluffy fur, but he didn't care. If he were being honest, he might have been panicking a little. 

In a totally cool, manly way, of course. Real men panicked when they heard weird sounds in the night. It would've been weird if he hadn't freaked out. At least, that's what Hide was going to say, if he ever got out of these thorns.

Distant calls rip him out of a light sleep. The absence of his companion sends him out their shelter.

Hide? Where'd he run off to this late at night? Not far he assumed. Orochi scanned through area for a sign. A bright red pelt. A pair of glossy eyes. He didn't see either of those things, not immediately anyways. But he does here those shrieks.

Hide! He darted forward as fast as he could. Was he getting hurt? He was definitely getting hurt. Whoever the attacker was gonna get it. He'd kill them, tear them apart. He'd—
—Hide's right there. Stuck in a bush.
A wave of warm embarrassment washed over him.

What the fuck are you doing? he hissed. Get out of there!

Hide struggled harder against the thorns, but they only seemed to suck him in deeper, piercing through his spiky fur and cutting his skin. He whined, ears pressed to his skull and eyes round. The boy flinched at the shrieking noises. There was no way for him to know they were just foxes, or that the brush was just brambles and not claws. 

Nearly letting out a sob of relief when he heard Orochi's voice, Hide stilled a bit, confusion washing over him. 

"I'm trying!" he gasped out, breathless from struggling and from fear. His eyes burned a bit, embarrassed and afraid. But now that he knew it was something he was in and not something that had grabbed him, it did make him feel a little bit better. "Wh-what's making those sounds?" The wobble in his voice was unintentional, but he was scared! It wasn't like he could help it.

Try harder! Seriously, it's just a goddamn bush. How hard could it be?

Orochi stepped forward, close enough for the brambles to barely touch his paws. I don't know, he said, It doesn't matter. We gotta get out of here.

He leaned forward in an attempt to seize Hide by the scruff. It was a hell of a task because of the angle he was in. Whenever he'd get close, the thorns would snag him or he'd almost lose his balance.

Oh come on! He was getting sick of this shit. He went for the scruff more quickly this time. Too quickly. Orochi lost his balance and landed on top of his friend.

OW! The thorns hurt like hell, but he was probably in way less pain than Hide right now.

What part of I'm trying did Orochi not understand? Hide struggled more earnestly against the spiky thorns, only to have Orochi lean in and grab his scruff... kind of. It seemed the older boy would try again, only this time... he fell forward. 

Hide let out a sharp yelp, squeezing his eyes shut as his friend toppled in on top of him. It did hurt, badly, and brought tears to his eyes, but not only from the pain. Now, both of them might be stuck, and there were still monsters out there... Hide felt sick. The boy pressed his ears to his skull, eyes wide and breath quickening as pawsteps skittered to the right, followed by a sharp laughing sound. It still wasn't registering that they were just foxes. 

"We've... we have to... we've gotta get out," he panted, feeling almost dizzy with how quickly he was breathing. "What if it's something... what if..." His mouth was dry and his head felt a little fuzzy. He felt helpless and defenseless and scared, and he hated it.

Fuck fuckity fuck. Now they're both stuck and whoever was making those noises were close. Orochi glanced around wildly when he heard it zip past. Where the fuck was this thing? What was this thing exactly? They'd chosen the wrong forest to stay in.

Orochi looked down at Hide, who was now panicking and breathing heavily. Hey--hey! Calm the fuck down. We'll get out of here.

First thing's first, get up so his companion would suffocate. He managed to lift himself up a bit, but the brambles were too entangled around his legs to get up saftley. This mystery creature wasn't there yet. He had time to rip through the bush with his teeth. Orochi leaned over to one leg and ripped one branch after the other. He could taste his own blood in his mouth. Don't give up, he told himself, Just get the other leg.

Trying to focus on Orochi helped him feel a little bit better, and he leaned in a bit to absorb some of the contact while he could. Then Orochi stepped back, and there was some weird noises - branches being chewed, Hide realized with a start. That was... a good idea. 

Better a few cuts on the mouth than to be eaten by whatever these creatures were. 

Hide started to chew at the branches that had gotten his legs, and managed through them pretty quickly - it was his fur that had most of the damage done to it. 

When his legs were free, the red wolf tensed and instead of struggling, just lunged forward. Branches broke and caught in his fur, and he might've bowled Orochi over in the process, but at least they were both free, right?

Just a few more branches. Yes, that's it.. and.. there! Free at last.

Alright. Now you- Hide leaped our from underneath him before he could finish. Orochi landed face-first into the now flattened bramble. He yelped. That shit fucking hurt. It's a miracle he didn't get his eye poked out or some shit.

Orochi had had quite enough of this. Fuck the slow and steady route. He leaped from the bush just like the redhead did, tearing some fur in the process. Ok, now they were both out the stupid bush.

He trotted up beside Hide and bumped his shoulder. Don't run. That creature, or creatures, could be lurking anywhere. They couldn't waste their energy by running. They needed to conserve it just in case they were ambushed.

If that thing comes at us I'll kick it's ass. Hopefully that would put the boy at ease. He seemed shaken up. Orochi bumped his shoulder again before he walked forward.

"Sorry," he whispered, realizing he'd accidentally hurt his friend in the process, and relaxed greatly at the touch of his shoulder. Not once, but twice. Hide was almost immediately soothed - not fully, but he was no longer trapped, and Orochi was right there. Everything would be fine. 

He shook his head. "I can help now," he assured, voice still wobbly but getting stronger. "I was just... stuck." Didn't know what had grabbed him was more like it, but he didn't want to get into that right now. 

There was a flurry of noise to their right, wailing and crying, and two foxes tumbled out of the brush in a tangle of limbs. Fighting and making the same noises the monsters had made in the brush. Hide pressed against Orochi's side, fur rising where it wasn't tangled in the branches he'd brought with him. It sounded like it was close.

Hell yeah he was stuck. How did he get in that situation? Orochi could never guess and now wasn't the time. They were both out now, and Hide said he'd help. It was time to get the hell out of here.

The noises didn't cease. They grew louder and louder. Orochi's eyes were glued in it'd direction, towards some foliage. The hairs on his neck went up when two figures popped out of the bush. All he could say about them was: Gross! Two little beasts; they were similar to them, but not quite. They were small too. So these were the things they were freaking out about? How embarrassing.

It's just a couple of rat-looking things, he hissed under his breath. Orochi stomped his foot and growled at them.

"Gross?" Hide echoed, mystified, and tipped his head to the side when Orochi explained what they were. Or at least, what they looked like. Rats were making those noises? It didn't seem possible at all. 

The foxes separated and sprinted off when Orochi growled at them, cackling into the woods. It sent a shiver up Hide's spine and he leaned further against his friend, seeking and offering comfort. It had been a jarring night, to say the least. 

Blinking a few times, Hide turned his head toward his companion. "Are you okay?" he checked, nudging his shoulder with his nose.

They scatter into the trees, back to wherever the fuck they came from. Orochi snorted. Good riddance.

It went without saying (at least in his mind) that he was ok. A few scratches never hurt anybody. Hide on the other hand, well, that's a different story. He took the most damage from the bush and he seemed shaken up by the whole thing.

Instead of answering the question he asks Are you ok? as he looks Hide over.

Orochi, unsurprisingly, turned the question back on him. Hide blinked a few times, which didn't really do much to help clear his head, and sighed through his nose. Yeah, the cuts were beginning to sting, and he could feel the brambles stuck in his fur, but otherwise? He was just a little shaken up. 

"I'm... I'm good," he assured with a small smile, taking another deep breath. "Sorry for the trouble." He tipped his head to the side. "What, uh... what were those things?"

Orochi wasn't 100% buying that answer. The way he acted moments ago proved otherwise. But he just shrugged it off and said Alright. That answer was good enough for him. Orochi wasn't one to pry.

Hell if I know. They looked like us but smaller and way more weird looking. He glanced around as if they'd show up at any moment. We don't need to worry about them. If they come again we can scare them off easily.

Hide was glad Orochi didn't pry, because he probably would've told him. After all, the red wolf wasn't good at keeping quiet. Not when people pressed him.

"That doesn't sound too scary," he reasoned, ears swiveling around to try and absorb all the sound he could manage. His side brushed against Orochi's again, and he refused to be embarrassed about it. The touching helped. "Sorry for... all that."

Orochi had gotten few, if not no apologies from anyone in his lifetime. Receiving them for something so small was strange to say the least. He didn't know how to react, so of course he defaults to annoyance. It's a habit.

Fuck, quit apologizing! It was nothing, really. He huffed and turned away. Let's just—ugh. I wanna get some sleep before we have to go again. Forget about about all this. He nudged Hide with his shoulder again to get him to move towards their shelter.

// we can fade here if you want ^^

The aggressive reaction wasn't expected, but also was not surprising. A small smile crossed Hide's maw as he padded alongside the other boy, bumping against his shoulder once more. 

"Yeah, we should rest," he responded, heading into the shelter and curling up into a ball and intending to fall asleep again. Maybe this time, he'd stay asleep.