Alders spanned above with their leaves veiled over the brambled area, and The Boy—appreciative of their presence, walked beneath them with soft panting and a lowered head. The sun had been hot—far too hot for a darkened individual like himself, and feeling disgusted by the sweat accumulated upon him, sought to hide away within the shdaows that offered so much comfort.
How many miles had it been? Hundreds? Thousands? Wandering beneath the straggling stars and endless sea of hills had dulled his senses, and for all he knew hundreds more awaited beyond. But Why? A feeling that burned so deep within his chest he thought most days he might be dying; That the sickness had came once more to finish what it failed before.
Why continue?
A question that wracked his brain with for the better part of a year. A mystery he had yet to place. A pulling so deep he had no explanation for except that it was dragging him out like the tides of his home and he had but little strength to resist. Its why he left Kvarsheim. Why he disappeared one night without so much as a word.
A regret he harbored yet felt too frail to face.
How many miles had it been? Hundreds? Thousands? Wandering beneath the straggling stars and endless sea of hills had dulled his senses, and for all he knew hundreds more awaited beyond. But Why? A feeling that burned so deep within his chest he thought most days he might be dying; That the sickness had came once more to finish what it failed before.
Why continue?
A question that wracked his brain with for the better part of a year. A mystery he had yet to place. A pulling so deep he had no explanation for except that it was dragging him out like the tides of his home and he had but little strength to resist. Its why he left Kvarsheim. Why he disappeared one night without so much as a word.
A regret he harbored yet felt too frail to face.
Just north there was a lake filled with salmon that at times could grow larger than a wolf’s berth. There, Cassian spent some time fiddling with the slippery species and, eventually with enough persistence, managed to garner forth one of those feisty water beasts within the clenches of his jaws. Was he hungry? No, far from it. Was he happy? Yes, right on the nose. It had rattled, flailed about, and struck him a few times in the eyes and nose while it wrangled for its life but after enough time passed it went lifeless. This was simply the cycle of life and how it was meant to progress, but for this wolf in particular it’d been nothing more than a game.
Walking southbound, Cassian did contemplate tossing it on the ground, but decided against doing so. He’d keep it for a few more hours and maybe dissect it. Learn of its bone structure, tear at the flesh, riddle it with claw marks and figure out how exactly the anatomy of such a thing worked. Why it worked.
Then, murky brown eyes caught sight of a soul out in the open. It took solace under some shadows from the berating heat of the sun and when the man’s eyes glossed over its pelt and general demeanor…Cassian felt a certain….something wash over his body. This was a new emotion, something the wolf never once felt before. What was it? Why did it feel so…heavy? So….dense?
A yard at best separated them before Cassian tossed the fish at the other wolf, allowing it to bounce once, twice, and then watching as it landed between their paws.
“Hey there! Man, you look really…I don’t know! Just looking at you makes my body freak out, haha! I’ve never felt like this before. I was going to toss out that fish and let it rot somewhere since I was getting bored with it, but maybe you should take it and gnaw on it in the meantime, yeah?” Lying down, Cassian’s ears lopped to the side and the man’s tail swayed from left to right in the grass. Apprehensively? No, curiously. Right now, this new person held the entirety of his focus underneath the alders.
“Hope I’m not spoiling a good time or a good nap, I tend to do that sometimes, hah!” A single sniff, and then Cassian’s nose crinkled. “Oof, you stink! Got enough energy in you? If not, maybe we could wait a bit for the sun to set and then take a dip in the lake I just came from. It’s up north, not too far away!”
Walking southbound, Cassian did contemplate tossing it on the ground, but decided against doing so. He’d keep it for a few more hours and maybe dissect it. Learn of its bone structure, tear at the flesh, riddle it with claw marks and figure out how exactly the anatomy of such a thing worked. Why it worked.
Then, murky brown eyes caught sight of a soul out in the open. It took solace under some shadows from the berating heat of the sun and when the man’s eyes glossed over its pelt and general demeanor…Cassian felt a certain….something wash over his body. This was a new emotion, something the wolf never once felt before. What was it? Why did it feel so…heavy? So….dense?
A yard at best separated them before Cassian tossed the fish at the other wolf, allowing it to bounce once, twice, and then watching as it landed between their paws.
“Hey there! Man, you look really…I don’t know! Just looking at you makes my body freak out, haha! I’ve never felt like this before. I was going to toss out that fish and let it rot somewhere since I was getting bored with it, but maybe you should take it and gnaw on it in the meantime, yeah?” Lying down, Cassian’s ears lopped to the side and the man’s tail swayed from left to right in the grass. Apprehensively? No, curiously. Right now, this new person held the entirety of his focus underneath the alders.
“Hope I’m not spoiling a good time or a good nap, I tend to do that sometimes, hah!” A single sniff, and then Cassian’s nose crinkled. “Oof, you stink! Got enough energy in you? If not, maybe we could wait a bit for the sun to set and then take a dip in the lake I just came from. It’s up north, not too far away!”
June 02, 2024, 04:47 PM
Startled by the shlcck sound of a fish thrown at him, the darkened individual’s features pulled back; His ears taught, his brows furrowed. His lip quipped in question as he blinked in confusion at the meal before him before lifting to the stranger..
What was one to say at such an auspicious action. “Uhm… Thank you?” If it were not for the other’s demeanor one would have thought it to be a passive-aggressive gift. But this boy… his face— Ikaros’s eyes darted curiously as he allowed himself a momentary glance at the beautiful stranger. It was soft with age and oh so foolishly bright. Kissed by the sun itself to a color that reminded him of Pearl Roses.
Ikaros didn’t have it in him to admit his distaste for fish.
“I…” He struggled while squinting. He stunk? Quelling the instinct to turn and sniff at himself, he instead chose to lift a paw to anxiously scratch a non-existent itch behind his ear.
All he could offer was an awkward smile; one side turned down while the other crinkled upward. “Maybe…Possibly.. Apologies—I don’t really know you. What is your name, kind stranger?”
What was one to say at such an auspicious action. “Uhm… Thank you?” If it were not for the other’s demeanor one would have thought it to be a passive-aggressive gift. But this boy… his face— Ikaros’s eyes darted curiously as he allowed himself a momentary glance at the beautiful stranger. It was soft with age and oh so foolishly bright. Kissed by the sun itself to a color that reminded him of Pearl Roses.
Ikaros didn’t have it in him to admit his distaste for fish.
“I…” He struggled while squinting. He stunk? Quelling the instinct to turn and sniff at himself, he instead chose to lift a paw to anxiously scratch a non-existent itch behind his ear.
All he could offer was an awkward smile; one side turned down while the other crinkled upward. “Maybe…Possibly.. Apologies—I don’t really know you. What is your name, kind stranger?”
June 11, 2024, 02:35 AM
"Uhm, thank you?”
Words spilled out of the wolf and Cassian hung onto them dearly. Hearing another soul speak out their genuine affirmations was something the man wasn’t quite accustomed to yet, but the tinglies it sent sprawling over those golden threads of his was second to none! Albeit, it was an odd feeling. It was nothing like tearing into the sinews of a freshly caught prey. This feeling lacked the nourishment and was far more….
Fuzzy!
“Hah, you’re welcome! Ain’t really much of a reason to be thanking me though. Want the honest truth? I was just going to toss it away after playing with it for a while. So, it’s best to give it to you! That’s all there is to it.”
Stranger. Yes, they were strangers. Maybe that could change! At least, that’s what Cassian thought to himself. They wanted to know his name? Sure thing! There wasn’t much of a reason for him to withhold it, however…
“Gasp! You want my name? For FREE?! Normally, I’d give it without a second thought, buuut I wanna put a price on it this time! Sorry, the Free Stream has made its diverging path and you’re on the Toll Road now, haha! It’s okay, I’m starting off cheap! How about biting into that fish? That’s the price for my name! I can’t just let you have access to prime time meat and NOT watch you sink your pearly whites into it, you know? That’d make me a rude guest! Oops, stranger. Stranger, yeah! That’s what we are. Soooooo, sound good? Sound like a plan? Sounds like a plan to me!”
A second passed. Then, the chanting started.
“BITE, CHEW, BITE, CHEW, BITE, CHEW, WOOHOO YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!!!”
Peer pressure surely would work, right?
Words spilled out of the wolf and Cassian hung onto them dearly. Hearing another soul speak out their genuine affirmations was something the man wasn’t quite accustomed to yet, but the tinglies it sent sprawling over those golden threads of his was second to none! Albeit, it was an odd feeling. It was nothing like tearing into the sinews of a freshly caught prey. This feeling lacked the nourishment and was far more….
Fuzzy!
“Hah, you’re welcome! Ain’t really much of a reason to be thanking me though. Want the honest truth? I was just going to toss it away after playing with it for a while. So, it’s best to give it to you! That’s all there is to it.”
Stranger. Yes, they were strangers. Maybe that could change! At least, that’s what Cassian thought to himself. They wanted to know his name? Sure thing! There wasn’t much of a reason for him to withhold it, however…
“Gasp! You want my name? For FREE?! Normally, I’d give it without a second thought, buuut I wanna put a price on it this time! Sorry, the Free Stream has made its diverging path and you’re on the Toll Road now, haha! It’s okay, I’m starting off cheap! How about biting into that fish? That’s the price for my name! I can’t just let you have access to prime time meat and NOT watch you sink your pearly whites into it, you know? That’d make me a rude guest! Oops, stranger. Stranger, yeah! That’s what we are. Soooooo, sound good? Sound like a plan? Sounds like a plan to me!”
A second passed. Then, the chanting started.
“BITE, CHEW, BITE, CHEW, BITE, CHEW, WOOHOO YEAH, YEAH, YEAH!!!”
Peer pressure surely would work, right?
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