Noctisardor Bypass driver picks the music

hunting thread. vaguey-vague. all welcome; but i'd love someone vex hasn't met yet. tags for reference.

self blame. guilt. these are not things vex is used to feeling; but he's been beating himself up over @Haunt ( condition still pending ). he should've put his foot down, told her he didn't want her to go along on his trip. it does not occur to vex that even if he'd have said 'no' she likely would've went off on her own anyway but the fact was he should've looked out for her better. he shouldn't have froze. he should've tore after that man. he should've repeats over and over in his head like a broken record, the needle stuck on that groove in the vinyl.

confined with hawkish eyes of mother, older siblings — and probably everyone else in legion's ranks — to the bypass, vex stalks a groundhog, hoping if he follows the pretty fresh trail he can take his pent up energy, anger and self-loathing out on the creature in a hunt.

The smell of groundhog drew Pheiros' attention as well, and he tracked it through the territory, growing even more interested when it mixed with the scent of one of Arbiter's youngest children. He had been fairly distant with the batch of pups this year mostly because of his own insecurities. But he decided now was as good a time as any to start getting to know them. 

He found the boy stalking after the same prey and released a quiet chuff to alert him of his presence, hopefully without startling the groundhog. He joined in at his side, looking down with a look that asked if he would like some help. The pup looked pretty determined, and he wouldn't want to disturb him if he'd rather be alone.

i'm so sorry about vex.

a chuff; quieted, reaches vex’s ears and always in a mood that lingers somewhere between ‘leave me alone’ and ‘fight me’, rolls his eyes with a scowl tugging at the edges of his lips. he assumes that this legionnaire has been sent by his mother to keep a keen eye on him. it wasn’t fair to paint the assumption upon his packmate, but vex was of the general bratty assumption that everyone was out to make sure he wasn’t doing anything wrong. you can report back to mom that i’m not breaking any rules. he snaps over his shoulder; gaze taking in the older golden boy.

he feels his lip curl back as he notes how wrong his ears look; a hasty breath is taken and he links pheiros’ scent with that of the halfbreed that had been at their borders a while ago — back before kaertok had left. the one causing trouble.

it could be claimed that his dislike for wolfdogs came from that conversation, or maybe it was something just inherently driven into him by some unknown force.

out of all of arbiter’s youngest children, vex was probably the worst one poor pheiros could’ve came across.

why do you look like that? vex asks, his quarry forgotten about as he zeroes in on his packmate; but he already knows. there was something distinctly not wolf about the older male and vex, bully that he was, cannot help but look upon him as inferior — and possibly as the new target for his pent up anger, self-loathing and daddy issues.

word count: 262

LOL

Vex's response surprised Pheiros, and he looked at him quietly with confusion for a few moments. Um, okay, he answered, clearly unsure how to handle his grumpy demeanor; it brought his ever-present insecurities to the surface and made him feel awkward. Was he supposed to be watching Vex? He didn't remember Arbiter asking him to do that. If that's what you want me to do, he added, settling on being agreeable and non-confrontational as he often did when he was weighed down by self doubt. 

The look he gave him next actually had Pheiros turning his head to see if someone had joined them—but there was no one else. The question he asked only deepened his confusion, and he frowned uncomfortably at Vex. Like what? he asked. He honestly couldn't figure out what he meant. Was it the color or texture of his coat? It was a little different than most, but he never really knew why. His dad could never answer those kinds of questions for him, and his mom had taken off long before Pheiros could even walk, let alone question his different appearance. As far as he was concerned, he was a wolf that just looked a little different.

the confusion upon his packmate’s visage doesn’t even faze vex; true or not, he assumes that every and any adult — and probably royal too — was watching and spying on him; making sure he didn’t slip out of the borders again. he wouldn’t. at least, not yet. not until haunt was better. i don’t want you do anything. vex corrects waspishly; offering no explanation to poor pheiros. he had no time to offer insight into his jump-the-gun conclusions, nor his self-importance …as if none of the legionnaires had anything better to do then make sure he wasn’t sneaking off ( surely, they did and he was just taking his frustration out on whichever unfortunate soul crosses his path ).

it wasn’t fair; that someone should feel the sting of his self-loathing and annoyance at his mother but anyone who unknowingly stepped into his crosshairs was good enough for vex.

like that, vex emphasizes. that fur and those ears. half-breed, half-breed, half-breed. you don’t look like a wolf. vex clarifies, sneering like the nasty little shitstain he was.

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Discomfort settled in Pheiros' chest and made him question what the right thing to say was. The kid was angry, that much was obvious, but the golden boy had no idea why, and he had no idea if he had done something to piss the little guy off. Unfortunately, he didn't know vex very well, and he had no real experience with children to draw from. Um, okay, he offered hesitantly. He had a few other things he considered saying, like did he want him to walk with him or did he want him to just leave, but he couldn't force the words out. 

He was immediately self-conscious as the pup pointed out the things that made him look different. Others had commented on his ears, but it was always positive. This was the first time he encountered someone who looked at his differences and viewed them as strange, at least to his knowledge. Um, I'm not sure, he answered, shuffling uncomfortably on his golden paws. My dad looked normal but I don't remember my mom; she took off before I could walk. The last bit was said with some residual bitterness. It was rare for Pheiros to bring up his mother, but there was really no other explanation.

if there was one thing that grated on the impatient anneriwok’s nerves it was …well, in truth, there was a lot of things, but mostly it was the inability to answer his questions …or rather uncertainty. he is faced with it now in the figure of the golden, slightly strange-looking man before him. would vex have been more of an empathetic beast he might’ve felt a kinship with abandoning parents …but he doesn’t and pheiros’ gets no reaction from the firekissed boy.

an awkward tension cracks between them and all vex can hope is pheiros wasn’t looking for some kind of word of compassion because he wasn’t going to get any. not even a breath of it.

his rude questions and antagonistic curiosity answered brings very little satisfaction to vex …but he doesn’t forget that it might be more productive to take his annoyance and always seething anger out on prey that wasn’t a packmate and so he sighs. i was going to go on a hunt. you can join me if you want. but vex lets the choice up to pheiros because were the tables reversed, vex wouldn’t want anything to do with himself.

word count: 195