Heron Lake Plateau now i can't find the key without you

if you have time? :)

Eljay needed some advice and because he was afraid that mommy and daddy didn't quite understand the delicacy of the situation (especially mommy) and had never been in such a situation, Eljay turned to the only wolf he figured did. Call it an insult or a compliment, but Eljay considered Tegan to be a very worldly sort of wolf. He was always quite vocal about how cool he was and the way he talked about girlfriends and stuff was all... well, a lot more knowledgeable than Eljay, as far as he was concerned. So even though he dreaded what Tegan might think of him or how he might react or how he might tell everyone at the Redhawks pack about this, he figured it was still his best bet. Besides, they'd never said good bye either, so it wasn't weird that Eljay was calling for a social meeting with his brother.

As he reached the borders Eljay raised his nose to call for @Tegan. He certainly hoped that his brother had time for him, and that he wouldn't ignore his call again like when he had left. Then again, maybe that was only because he hadn't known Eljay was leaving -- now he must've heard from mommy and daddy, so the situation was very different. Eljay waited a little nervously, his posture submissive and respectful at the borders of the pack he used to be a part of but was no longer, while he hoped that Tegan wouldn't leave him waiting for too long.

don't you dare, for a second, think that tegan didn't try to ignore eljay. he'd ignore eljay above his mother any day, and he already straight up ignored finley. so no way would he not ignore egray as well. 

but, yeah, okay, go figure. tegan was on that end of the territory when eljay called and before the pale blackthorn could dart off in the opposite direction, tegan was in eljay's direct line of sight. the yearling stiffened, really not wanting to deal with him, but figured it would be overkill to turn and leave now. so he reluctantly strode up. "wassup," he muttered to his brother, his ears flicking.

Eljay was, needless to say, a lot more excited to see Tegan than Tegan was to see Eljay. His tail wagged excitedly as his brother came into view pretty much immediately and made his way to Eljay. Yeah, he wasn't very enthusiastic about it, but then again, Tegan never seemed that enthusiastic to see Eljay. But he'd come, and that was what mattered most.

With a fond smile on his face Eljay said, Hey Teeg. Uhm, Tegan. The cool nickname wasn't so cool when it came from his mouth somehow so Eljay corrected himself quickly. I uhm, wanted to visit, but also I was hoping for some advice. I mean, you're pretty good with girls right? There's a... I like someone and I don't know how to find out if she likes me too. Eljay frowned thoughtfully and looked at Tegan almost pleasingly, hoping his cooler younger brother would humour him and help him out.

tegan nodded once to the greeting that eljay provided, offering a gentle wave of his tail. no playful teasing followed it this time, however. his gaze, dull and hardened upon the bumbling blackthorn, was unwavering. the only thing that showed any sign of recognition of the words -- and the compliment -- was a flick of a grey ear. 

inwardly, sourly, tegan wondered how the fuck eljay had managed to find a girl before him. he'd be fucking floored to find out his lame ass brother had gotten a piece of ass before him. not that tegan had been trying lately -- he really didn't want any ass. ): "if a girl likes you she'll put out," said tegan bluntly, "simple as that. if she's not interested, she won't give you the time of day."

Tegan seemed different than normally, but Eljay decided not to address it, and he tried not to think too much of it. It didn't seem entirely unlikely that Tegan might have an off day, or something. Anyway, Tegan was quick to give some advice, for which Eljay was grateful. He wasn't entirely sure what 'putting out' was. Was that the... kerflomping? 'It'? Eljay looked thoughtful and nodded along as Tegan spoke, taking mental note.

Well, Wiffle was certainly giving him 'time of day'. And they had kerflompled, if that was what putting out was. Carefully, Eljay said: What does... What is, uhm, putting out? Is that when you... He tried to think on how to explain what it was like, but found it hard without being super embarrassed. When you go, uhm, on, some.. one? Eljay awkwardly looked away, feeling pretty uncomfortable. I just... Should I talk about it with her, tell her I like her? Or should I just like.. wait? Or do.. something? Maybe a big romantic gesture? But Eljay knew very little about these things so he admittedly was very out of his league. He looked pleadingly at Tegan, waiting eagerly for more advice.

is' when you fuck, tegan slurred quite bluntly as eljay tripped over his own words, or when she offers to. or something revolving around all that. which was the true definition of putting out, at least, by tegan's standards. 

tegan stared at his brother as he then started asking for advice. his brow furrowed, his ears pressing forwards. did you... come here to ask me for advice about relationships? he asked, sounding a little surprise, i don't know anything about being in a relationship, eljay. the last part was added for eljay's benefit, because tegan did (without admitting it) feel a little bad his brother had come all this way to ask him for advice about this. especially since any other day tegan would be all over it... but, not lately. 

he'd try anyway. girls like talking. some of 'em like romantic gestures, i guess. you seem like a gesture guy, honestly, he began with a weighted shrug, green eyes flickering across eljay's features as he thought. with another softer shrug, tegan asked, who's the girl? that kinda helps.

Eljay looked a little taken aback by Tegan's word choice, though he got the gist of it. That did sort of happen. Well, it did happen. But did that mean she liked him, or was it because she was too caught up in all the hormones and he had mentioned that he'd like to be a father some day?

Tegan admitted that he didn't know anything about relationships, which was a little disappointing. Somehow Eljay figured Tegan had like, three girlfriends or something. But maybe he just did flings..? I... Yes, I thought... Cause you're good with girls and stuff. Eljay certainly knew nothing about girls and what they wanted, and Tegan was pretty much the pro when it came to that sort of stuff, in Eljay's mind.

He nodded as Tegan continued to talk, guzzling up all the information. Talking, romantic gestures... What kind of romantic gestures..? he wondered out loud, but then realised it might be easier to know if he answered Tegan's question. Clearly rather embarrassed, Eljay admitted after a short silence, looking away in embarrassment: It, uh.. It's Wiffl-- um, Wildfire.

tegan shrugged. "i am," he agreed with eljay, for the sake of agreeing, but lord knows tegan hadn't been good with anyone lately. except maybe that speckled wolf who fell in the snow. she was cute, by all of tegan's standards. he just didn't have the motivation to really think about that lately. 

he almost opened his mouth to give some random romantic gesture. like, i dunno, giving her a big ole display. he could imagine it would be pretty romantic. like, a big ole hunk of meat, and some pretty rocks, and maybe some feathers and flowers and bones or something. like hey, bitch, this for u. fuck me. or something, i dunno. tegan could see it working in one of his schemes but... let's face it, it was a bit much for good ole tegan. 

but the moment eljay said wildfire, the blood drained from his face. he honestly felt a little sick, a little dizzy, and had to ground himself immediately. pale butt plopped to the ground as tegan stared forward airily. a long pause of silence, unless eljay started muttering something, before tegan finally said. "get her--" bat. "uh--" bat. "maybe--" bat. "er--" bat. he finally stopped trying to get a sentence out, because apparently the only thing he could think about was bat. god, fucking eljay. didn't he know? fucking bafoon!! BAFOON!!! tegan felt like he was on fire, a wave of guilt crashing over him like molten lava. 

"build her a shrine." tegan said weakly, gaze entirely averted. and then, without explaining, tegan stood abruptly. "i gotta go," he muttered, and then turned and began to trot back into the territory, tears stinging his gaze as the winter air whipped against him.

fuck. shit. bitch.

Something really weird happened. Maybe it was because Eljay had no clue that Wiffle and her family were blaming Tegan for Bat's death, or maybe he just didn't realise that Tegan was capable of feeling guilty about such things, especially when they weren't his fault in the first place. Whatever the case, Eljay didn't even consider Tegan's weird behaviour may have to do with Bat. Eljay blinked as Tegan stumbled through his words, which felt very surreal, really.

Tegan, are you -- 'okay', he was going to ask, but before he could Tegan said to 'build her a shrine'and then he just left. Tegan, wait! Eljay cried out after his brother but Tegan was already running like the wind. Please come back! Eljay shouted at the top of his lungs. He couldn't help but feel that he must've said something wrong. Was Tegan angry at him? Was it something to do with Wiffle? Eljay was left standing there with big ole ??? above his head and a sad frown on his face as his brother didn't turn around and just left him be.

Tegan disappeared from view at top speed.

Eljay choked back a few sobs as the bitter sting of rejection truly settled in. He'd already known it for a long time, of course, but it still hurt to have it confirmed once more: His younger brother was too cool to hang out with a nerd loser dweeb like Eljay.