Neverwinter Forest Checked into a new place

Set for the 26! I don't feel like tagging the entire dang pack, but hi, Mal is home. Tagged Cupid since Mal is heading towards his den first but anyone can actually intercept.

Just because he'd kept moving it didn't mean he'd moved fast. But he needed to get home -- to find out if Cupid was there, for his own safety even. But it had taken longer than he'd wanted to finally see home ahead again. He hadn't slept the first night, and the night after was only for a couple hours when he'd finally crumpled into a pile somewhere that seemed relatively safe. But it wasn't like his progress the other direction.

By the time the forest was in front of him, Mal was a bit of a mess -- soaked, muddied, all of that. He hadn't taken too much care since passing through the mountains the second time, but the ongoing rain had done a pretty good job at washing off some of the signs of what happened days prior -- or maybe it just soaked it deeper into his fur. The closer he got, the more he pushed on, even if maybe it wasn't the best of ideas he'd ever had -- but hey, he wasn't bleeding everywhere so that meant he could probably keep going.

For now he was just glad to be home. He howled briefly to let them all know he was back and kept going across the border, starting to look for a sign of Cupid. He had things to say to everyone. He didn't care who he ran into, but he did want to know what he'd missed, he wanted them to let them know what he'd heard as well. But he was heading towards @Cupid's den first, if only to see if he'd been there, unevenly pushing his way through the brush rather than taking a path -- shortest line to his destination. He'd check, and if Cupid wasn't there maybe he'd just get cleaned up and go back out. Okay, that was unreasonable. Probably. But he had to do something if Cupid was still gone and now there were names and news -- just too many things, a new spike of adrenaline to push on forward, scared of what he might not find.

Ever since he’d returned, Cupid spent most of his time wandering the woods aimlessly. He moved in a slow and ungraceful manner. It was hard to navigate when half of the world was invisible. He’d have to stop and survey his surroundings every so often before continuing forward. If not he’d trip over a rock or scrape his face against a tree or some dumb shit like that.

Would he ever get used to living like this? As of now, the answer was no.

Cupid was walking along the same path he did everyday when a howl rose above the trees. He recognized Mal’s call. Back home after his search mission it seemed. Caerus had told him he’d went off after him. For what reason? Who knows. If he wanted to find him so bad he should’ve sent someone else to do it. He had all those kids to watch over didn’t he?

Their paths aligned eventually. You look like shit. Soaked in water, caked in mud, and walking funny. What happened?

Cupid was here, wasn't he? He thought he caught a couple of whiffs of his scent on the wind. It was a good sign. That or Mal was losing his mind. Also an option, who knew. But eventually it was Cupid himself who appeared in front of him. Thank freaking god.

He'd never been so happy to see someone who probably still hated him. Cupid! It was all of a step and a half of running towards him before deciding that was a very bad idea because ow and opting for a hurried walk You're ok! Or at least close enough, he didn't seem to have a big gaping hole in his face or anything, and appeared to be in one piece. If he didn't move, Mal would totally try to hug him. Deal with it. I was worried -- I'm glad you're home. He hadn't been around when Liliana was attacked, and probably wouldn't understand why Mal had in the end found it more urgent.

Huā made her way quickly to the source of the howl, and followed Mal's trail from there to wherever he was. Arrived on the scene to see him trying to hug some random girl- okay. The empress' gaze fell awkwardly, feeling as if she had intruded on something, despite the move not being much. She knew he had other women, and didn't exactly enjoy seeing him interact with them- and wondered momentarily to herself which one this was. Mal didn't exactly look the prettiest he ever had, and the way he was standing looked a tad wonky, but she was just glad he was home in one piece. Until there was a free moment or she was noticed, Huā would hang awkwardly to the side, tail gently batting her hind legs.

Mal ran towards him, well, tried to run. Apparently that was a terrible idea, because he began hobble over.

You’re ok! If you count breathing as being ok then he’s fine as a fiddle. Other than that he was definitely not fine, both physically and mentally. He wouldn’t vent about that, instead deciding to flip the conversation. You’re not. Not with that limp.

The embrace really caught him off guard (it made him jump), and Mal’s concern added to the shock. Cupid couldn’t understand why he was worried enough to up and leave. He’d ask, but now they had an audience.

When Cupid finally noticed her he jumped again. Holy shit. What’s up with people not announcing their presence? He was gonna have another heart attack one of these days. Uh, hi. Who are you?

Look, Mal's status wasn't important right now, he was just really glad this wasn't gonna be some ongoing mystery. It was done, solved. A certain part of him was surprised by the fact Cupid didn't just shove him away. Okay, he did jump a little, but Mal was still all in one piece at the end of it. That was nice. 

S'o--- And that was when Cupid interrupted. He was about to brush off his own injuries and say something about how they should go see Caerus. So, Mal looked over too. Hua! Seeing Cupid had been relief, but with Hua he was just, as always, happy to see her. He turned to hobble-bound over her way to greet her too, a playful touch of his nose which didn't match the seriousness of what he said to her, Hope you didn't miss me too much, because unsurprisingly, we gotta talk business later. I need to ask you about another pack -- and I ran into a guy from the Saints-- Despite being hurt, he was apparently relatively excited about the whole thing, because as he shifted topics sort of he headed about 2/3 of the distance back to Cupid (slower this time, attempting to run was already catching up to him), It was the guy who attacked you. Over back to Hua for her benefit, Like seriously one dude is causing trouble on purpose. Then back to Cupid Is that what he did? The clouded eye, obviously. After a moment or two more he looked back and forth between Hua and Cupid a couple of times.

He was glad to be home, excited to be here, happy to see people he cared about were here where it was safe. All of that. Maybe everything just seemed great because he hadn't slept much.

The dark girl slightly jumped at Mal's embrace- weird, Huā thought. Then their attention was turned to the siren, and she blinked, realizing she had been addressed by the other female. Ah! Sorry, My name is- She didn't really get to finish, because soon enough Mal was shouting her name for her. She smiled sheepishly, gaze flickering away from the stranger again and back towards her friend as he approached her- gait awkward in a way that made her wince slightly to look at. Her gaze rose away from his legs. 

He reached out to offer her a little touch too- and though a less affectionate one in her perception, she was sure not to flinch. Huā was a long way off from being mature, and that petty side of her somehow wanted to prove in this moment that Mal would not abandon her for someone else. Nevermind that she didn't know whether that was true- the other female was here, and as handsome as she was, she was still competition. 

Attention back to the comversation, Mal was relaying a lot of info- and mention of the saints caused her eyes to narrow, electricity sparking in her gaze. They had done this to him? And the same to the other wolf? As much as Donovan liked to boast a we'll leave you alone if you do the same to us policy, this seemed to fall completely out of line there. The only harm Huā had ever done to Donovan was to protect Aiolos when he was actively being attacked. Now his minions were out, tearing up Mal and the other wolf with no particular reason. It made her blood boil. 

Her tail began to lash back and forth in irritation with the situation. The saints guy, what does he look like? The empress questioned urgently.

sorry for the wait!

Mal answered for her. As he hobbled over to greet her, Cupid wondered if he ever heard the name before. No, Huā definitely didn’t ring a bell. She must’ve joined them while he was away.

Mention of the saints made him clench his teeth. A problem that was in the back of their minds was no a pain in the neck. If they had the guts to fuck with a leader, what else were they capable of? The longer Cupid stayed here, the more he regretted coming in the first place.

Yeah, he said before turning to hide the bad eye.

Okay, with a direct question it was easier for him to focus and answer it in a reasonable fashion. But it would probably become clearer as things went on that he definitely needed a good konking upside the head with a cartoonish mallet so he could actually sleep. He was weird looking in the way Donovan is -- same odd tail and stuff, maybe they're related. He was maybe a little shorter than me, mostly black, with a little grey and brown on the front half of him. Eyes were purple. Didn't give a name though. That was about it on describing the guy. It'd be easy enough to spot him, he was reasonably unique looking.

But speaking of bad guys, this was where the rambles cut in,I figured out who it was who attacked Liliana too, and -- quick cut and change of phrase and I know where to find him. I was worried you'd met him too-- that was to Cupid, directly -- couldn't he see why Mal had been concerned, now? Then continued, again flicking between them, I gotta go back -- his thoughts were obviously somewhat scrambled, skipping a step here and there as he turned to Hua, lurching a step towards her as he accidentally put too much weight through his bad shoulder, What is the pack in the valley? That one in the mountains. Because there was a guy there who badly needed to be removed from the planet.

Cupid turned his face with an utterance of affirmation, and Huā's brows pulled upward into something sympathetic. She turned to Mal again as he began to describe the half breed weirdo, who definitely sounded specific enough to remember and recognize whenever she might see him. He went on to mention the guy who'd attacked Liliana, and she winced slightly recalling what he'd told her about that event. It rung a bell that was a little too familiar to Huā, and her gaze fell uncomfortably for a moment before she regathered herself and looked up again. He was asking about the pack in the valley. The gorl blinked, and offered up Reneian Empire, they called themself. The leader is a nice girl called Reiko- is that where the attacker was? Her eyes widened with obvious concern- Huā hadn't perceived Reiko the type to allow evil wolves into her ranks. Of course, she was missing the part of the story wherein Reiko was a victim too.

Ibis had mentioned her pack (he was pretty sure) but he also wasn't braining very well right now. Umm. Probably? I think that'd be right. But it was some big white guy, brown on his nose. Now with a piece of face probably missing. I didn't exactly stick around long to talk. Or stick around to see who showed up later. But next time I see him, we're gonna be ready 'cause he can't just get away with it. They should just throw him out -- doesn't deserve a pack. This was pretty much maximum ramble here, brain skipping a few steps there, before ending in a particularly sharp fashion, abstractly pointed towards whatever demons were off past the borders, Nobody hurts the people I love. So there. And he was very angry at the guy. But he was being a little less cautious with what he'd said because it wasn't singular, wasn't just his daughter... But hey, again, lack of brain right now.

While Mal had been rambling, Cupid meanwhile muttered something about getting supplies and disappeared for a bit. He'd be back later to take a better look at Mal's shoulder. Mal himself wobbled a bit there before dropping unceremoniously back on his rump with an oof, holding his injured paw off the ground after an additional moment. He blinked at Hua blearily, adrenaline wearing off like he'd walked off a cliff. Uh.

The description didn't remind her of anyone she'd met. Still, Huā commit him to memory too with a sharp nod- geez, why were there so many assholes to keep tabs on these days? She agreed that they ought to kick him out, and thought it'd be better if they didn't give him the chance again. Huā was a believer in justice for assaulters and kidnappers- Takeshi fell into that category and thus she wished she could feed the man to the sharks. 

Nobody hurts the people I love. 

Huā's heart was warmed by that, though once again she wondered if she fell into that category- loved. Her brows pinched upwards sympathetically while Cupid exited, but once Mal wobbled and collapsed she rushed forward to his side. The siren pressed her muzzle momentarily to his cheek affectionately before pulling away shyly, Is your arm okay? She glanced down at his lifted paw as she spoke.

And then suddenly Hua was up next to him, which was nice. As she nuzzled his cheek, his tongue poked out to try to lick her as she was close. She might feel shy about it but he was definitely of the opinion it was good and she should just stay there, ok? Oh wait, she was talking, hang on a sec.

Blink blink. His leg? He looked at it, sort of questioningly since he hadn't thought too hard about it, Um. I think? I mean, I've just been running I didn't like.. Stop to look. It did hurt, didn't it? But the potential depth of any damage didn't entirely register yet, and probably wouldn't for a while longer -- he still had another meeting or two to do before he actually stopped and was able to rest. In a way it sort of felt detached, but yeah, maybe it did hurt a little, hence why he had it off the ground now. It didn't feel so bad that way. He looked around then, noting Cupid's absence, Is that were he went?

He gave her a little kiss, to which her seaglass gaze fell awkwardly to her black paws. What if Cupid came back? Would he be mad, to see such a thing? She was still unsure of their relationship and thus flirting with Mal on any level, when Cupid was so close, felt nearly scandalous. 

He said he thought he was okay, to which the empress quirked her brow and glanced back to his face. He'd just collapsed in front of her; that wasn't exactly her definition of doing fine. Do not run anymore, She huffed. Huā was no doctor, only a master of stating the most obvious medical advice, which from her perspective was usually just resting and taking the healing process easy. I do not want you to get more hurt. She sighed with a sympathetic shake of her head. He asked after Cupid, and she nodded- I think he said he will go to get the healing things for you. At least she was thankful for that- as long as Cupid was taking care of Mal she didn't mind his presence. But a little alone time didn't hurt, either.

I guess we can probably close this out?

Her response confused him. Did he do something wrong? It didn't make sense why she looked down. Sometimes he didn't understand, and right now his current state of mind didn't help at all. What did he do? He was happy to see her and be near her and she was the same, right? He probably did look a bit confused there too if she looked up in time.

I do have to go tell everyone else though. Like um. After this. It should be a good thing -- we know more stuff and uh, yeah. Everyone's back and it's ok. Except it wasn't, just nobody told him that yet. He couldn't think of anything more, and after a pause just nodded. Yep. It should be good. He watched her attentively to see if she'd agree.

Cupid reappeared then.

yes! onto new thingzz

 

Unfortunately, Huā didn't glance up in time to read the confusion upon his face. Their cultures were simply different- Huā raised with rigid rules as to what love should be, while Mal had had little guidance in that realm at all. And the siren was taught to be like some Victorian era maiden, metaphorical dress down to the ankles, and a kiss outside of marriage felt so taboo, like she'd become the rebel that would've dissapointed her strict mother. She was still getting used to it all. His last words were a tad awkward, and she glanced back to him, trying to read again if he was really alright. Probably tired. Huā was going to respond when Cupid returned, doctorly materials in hand- and this was one of those moments in which she might dissapoint Mal with a rigid farewell. Ah- I should leave you two alone. She murmured to the pair, dipping her head awkwardly to both Cupid and Mal before making her exit.

Her abrupt departure left him gawking a bit, trying to figure out if he really did miss something. He didn't think he did? Man, it all just seemed so weird...  Hua--!  Okay. Uh. I'll see you later? But she was already departing. Mal was bad at all of this. And in all honesty he wasn't the best patient ever either, but at least as he turned his attention to talk to Cupid the end result there would be that he wouldn't end up with an infected shoulder. Probably a good thing.