Jade Fern Grove Superstition aims with imprecision

@Jaime <3

Dad had been on his mind a lot lately. He was technically an adult now, no matter how much he still felt like a child, and he was struggling to figure out who he was and what he was even supposed to be doing. He couldn't help feeling like these were things his dad might have been able to help him with were he still here. Sometimes he felt pretty angry that the universe left him here without any family, but mostly he was just sad. So he tried to find ways to feel better. 

Luckily, there was a forest the backed up against their territory and most days, Pheiros followed the stream from their borders and explored the variety of plants that grew there. He had recently developed a fascination with plants—where certain types grew and what they smelled and tasted like. It had been a good way to pass the time and made him feel like he was actually doing something useful. The weather had still been pretty wintery, but he saw evidence of spring from time to time. Today, the evidence was in the pretty flowers he found growing near the edge of the water. The plants were tall and thin and topped with flowers of the prettiest, deep purple he had ever seen. He leaned down and inhaled their light, clean scent; he liked it so much that he stood there for a few minutes and continued to breath in the air around the flowers. Strangely, he decided that he kind of wanted to smell like that too, so he plucked a few of the flowers from their stems and placed them on the ground in front of him. Then he lowered his head and pressed his cheek against the petals and pushed forward, slowly dragging his entire body against that spot on the ground. Once one side was taken care of, he rolled over onto his other side and repeated the move.

of all the things he'd expected the day to bring, a golden boy rolling in flowers is definitely not one of them. at first, he thinks he's hallucinating; some kind of strange waking wet dream, right? he halts a few yards off, blinking rapidly. the boy remains. okay, not a hallucination.
the moment he realizes that, his cheeks heat up. he's never seen anything so... cute — and he almost resents the other boy for it. the behavior would look ridiculous if done by someone less striking (like jaime), but of course it has to be some sun-kissed hottie. it should be illegal to be that attractive, he thinks, paws carrying him forward without a second thought. he's never been able to resist a pretty boy, especially a flower-scented one. hi, he says shyly as he approaches, suddenly realizing how bad this idea is. he's going to make a fool of himself.

The shy greeting made him freeze mid roll. Clearly he had been too focused on the flowers and not his surroundings. And now this handsome stranger had seen him acting like a weirdo. Pheiros quickly got to his feet and shook out any petals that clung to his fur. A quiet, nervous laugh escaped his lips. Um, hey, he offered just as shyly. He glanced down at the mess of flowers at his feet and then back up to the stranger. Only that didn't help much because he realized how nice his eyes were and suddenly forgot what he was going to say. He swallowed. Right, the flowers. They smell nice, he said like it explained anything. I wanted to smell nice too... he continued quietly, drifting off into another nervous laugh. Anyway, I'm Pheiros. He desperately wanted to change the subject, and he wanted to know his visitor's name.

the boy immediately becomes as shy as jaime feels, and nervously explains away the flower-rolling as if he'd been caught in the middle of hiding a body. he smiles despite his own nerves, relaxing a little as the boy introduces himself. pheiros. he steps forward without thinking, leaning in. hmmm, his nose brushes pheiros's cheek lightly as he sniffs him, taking in the scent of flowers and pack-wolves layered over the golden boy's own. you smell nice to me. his sudden boldness fades a little as he steps back, but his eyes are still bright and full of interest. i'm jaime.

Pheiros froze again as the other boy closed the space between them and drew in his scent. The hmmm heated the place on Pheiros's cheek where his nose had lightly touched, and the spot remained warm even as he pulled away, offering a compliment along with his name. It was a nice name. He might have said that too, but he was still frozen as the heat spread from his cheek to the rest of his body. His heart slammed against the sides of his chest and breaths were quick and shallow. It was similar to how he felt around Spook sometimes but way more intense. He was unsure how to respond. He didn't want to look dumb or come off like he didn't appreciate the attention. He swallowed again and searched for the ability to speak; it had momentarily disappeared from his brain. Another swallow. Th-Thanks, he finally managed to squeak out. He had no idea what to do now, but he figured he ought to compliment him back; it seemed right. You um, have pretty eyes, he offered quietly, gaze locked on his paws for a few seconds before he finally risked a look at Jaime.

he feels odd as he watches pheiros, uncertain how to react. he's never had this effect on anyone before, much less someone who affects him the same way. then the boy compliments him — and for a moment, all he can think about is how much he wishes alamar thought that too. he would give anything to hear the prickly morales tell him that he has pretty eyes.
but then he feels bad for thinking about someone else, when there's a cutie right in front of him. a much nicer one. he should be good enough, right? i-i do? when he finally finds his voice again, it's a little shaky. he tries to smooth it out as he continues. um... would you like to take a walk with me? a walk. lame. he chides himself, but he still hopes pheiros accepts.

His question was shaky and made Pheiros smile despite his nerves. Yeah, he answered with a small nod. Had no one ever told him that before? That seemed odd given how distinct they were, but maybe they were just distinct to him? Really pretty.

Jaime's invitation to go for a walk had Pheiros's tail swaying behind him. Yeah, I'd like that, he said, probably seeming way too eager. Assuming Jaime began to move, he stayed close to his side, close enough that their fur periodically brushed together, each time sending a flash of heat through his body. He tried his best to ignore it, eventually deciding that he'd like to know more about Jaime. Are you from around here? he asked. He knew the smell of a pack pretty well, and Jaime didn't have that scent in his fur, so he wondered what his story was.