Shadow Mountain Vhenan Aravel

for @Varian

He picked his way through the uneven terrain with the careful steps of someone who trusted his body but not the ground beneath him. The earth here could turn treacherous in an instant, the loose rocks lurking like tricksters among the sturdy ones. His paws slipped once, stones scattering noisily down the slope, but Fenrith only huffed a quiet laugh to himself, shaking the frost-dusted fur along his spine.

Fenrith paused at the edge of a copse, nose twitching as the cool breeze brought him the faintest hints of life. Small prey, no doubt—rabbits, voles, maybe a squirrel or two scrambling through the underbrush.

The air here was clean and crisp, free of the noise and strain that weighed so many other places down. He took another step forward, lope slower now.

Slumped against the frozen earth like some abandoned carcass, Varian groaned into his paws a pointed, unenthused sound. His belly was far from full, reminding him often with low angered grumbles, but the very thought of standing from his warmed spot made his appetite vanish entirely. It never seemed to matter how many squirrels he devoured, it'd never be the same as all the large game he enjoyed back home.

Another huff escaped his muzzle at the strain of movement, tucking his chilled nose beneath a bushy tail as he curled into himself. His eyes fluttered shut, lips pulled into a yawn, awaiting his sleep eagerly — when the crash of stones colliding against his rocky perch snapped him back, head instantly up and on a swivel.

His eyes skimmed the cliffs above him, narrowing at the shadows between sparse shrubs and trees. Varian almost thought himself mad, gone out of his mind from some sort of deficiency in his diet, until the slender form of an oddly remarkable wolf popped into his peripheral. He watched for a moment, taking in its graceful strides in slight awe, then shook his head free from the spectacle. Hey! His voice cracked slightly in its effort, leaving him to clear his throat in momentary embarrassment. Satisfied, he tried again, louder and more hostile than before. What the hell are you doing? 

The crash of stones startled Fenrith first, his ears flicking back as his paw froze mid-step on the uneven terrain. He hadn’t seen the wolf before—hadn’t smelled him either, obviously—and the voice, sharp and cracking with sudden hostility, made his head snap around.

The figure sprawled below was unlike anything Fenrith had expected. Fenrith blinked, caught off guard by the suddenness of it all, before the words actually hit him.

“What the hell are you doing? I’m just walking!”

He totally hadn't been trying to find him.

His tail flicked behind him, an agitated little sweep of energy that matched the furrow of his brow. “Seriously, you’re acting like I just dropped a rock on your head or something.” Fenrith’s tone was defensive but not entirely hostile, still clinging to a thread of boyish exasperation.

Working onto his feet, Varian kept his eyes glued to the dainty thing, mindlessly stepping up the slope he'd once rested upon.

Are you stupid or something? You almost did! A gruff vibration festered in his chest, urging him forward and further up the rocks. He had no intention of picking a fight, especially seeing as from the looks of it, it wouldn't have been a difficult one — But that didn't stop whatever confrontational itch he had from tugging him along.

His fur bristled wildly along his spine, a dramatic display necessary only to his ego. Maybe, if you'd paid attention to all the shit happening around you, you would've noticed.

Fenrith took a step back as the other wolf started up the slope, his lean frame shifting with a kind of casual wariness. His head tilted slightly, brown eyes wide with a mixture of confusion and disbelief as he listened to the sharp words thrown his way.

“Well, I just don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied, a reflective flash within his eyes. He flicked a paw toward the rocks below as if that explained everything. “I didn’t see anything crash, and I definitely didn’t do whatever it is you think I did.”

He took another step back, keeping the distance between them, though his expression shifted into something bordering on amused disbelief.

“Besides,” he added, a crooked grin tugging at his lips despite the bristling wolf’s clear irritation, “you look fine to me. Bit ruffled, sure, but nothing a nap wouldn’t fix.”

A nap… Slack jawed, Varian stood in silence, his bones petrified by frustration. That had been just about the most bullshit he'd ever heard out of another wolf's mouth, and considering the amount of people he'd met so far on his travels, that was truly a feat worth praise. You– His words fizzled into nothing, a thoroughly irritated expression replacing them. Varian's haunches promptly met the floor, an exasperated sigh following, accented by a passive aggressive, thumping tail.

You're unbelievable, His tone was hushed, clipped at the edges but no less astonished. He couldn't decide whether to blow up or marvel at the odd thing. Certainly too much bark for such a mousey figure. He looked the wolf up and down, flicking his gaze from deep brown eyes to fidgety paws. Where exactly do you come from, Mouse? I assume somewhere governed by softer paws.

For a moment, he just watched the wolf slump back down, his exaggerated sigh and tail thumping with a rhythm that practically screamed I’m annoyed but don’t know what to do about it.

The comment had him narrowing his brown eyes, his tail flicking with a faint twitch of irritation. Mousey figure? That one stung—just a little. Instead of pouting, he straightened, his lean frame stretching up like it might magically make him look less “mousey.”

“Mouse?” he repeated, feigning offense as his grin shifted into something more wry. “Alright, big guy, that’s rich coming from someone who looked like they were about to hibernate for the rest of winter.” He planted his paws firmly, though his posture stayed loose and boyish, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “And I'll have you know—...” He trailed off, suddenly at a loss for words, or rebuttals, his mouth scrunching up in bitter defeat. "Whatever."

With a quick flick of his tail, “What about you, though? Let me guess—some kingdom of ‘big scary wolves’, yeah?” His voice lilted with humor, teasing but without any real bite. “Must be rough being so tough all the time.”

A reedy scoff chuffed through Varian's teeth, chest raised and braced against the maddening, childish remarks chucked his way. It was almost worse than torture, and even worse than that, he wasn’t forced to sit there and take it. He could very well have walked away, done something, anything better with his time. Yet, there he stood.


His brows pinched together, appearing outwardly contemplative, though there was no real constructive thought behind it. Only an old sore, reopened and festering as he boiled over the limit. Big and scary? What are you, a pup? Varian's lip twitched up over his teeth, a sort of bitterness staining his words. You wanna see big and scary, Mouse?

Almost immediately, Fenrith puffed up. Pretty little eyes flashing with indignation, flicking to and fro across the man's fluffed, agitated demeanor. He stutters, teeth chattering amongst one another, ripe for tearing into fluff.

Still, he didn't move. He stayed rooted where he was atop his ledge, enjoying the feel of being higher and mightier than the stranger who insulted him now.

Tail emblazoned like a flag above his pelvis.

"Well YOU —" His voice falls off, pitching high above the rocky mountains.

His words, laced with threat, have Fenrith coming down a few pegs. Small paws taking tentative steps backwards, pebbles scattering as he does so. His ears pin back fearfully.

Varian stretched back onto his feet, glaring up at the cowardly wolf as if he had any energy to spare on a fight. You what? What am I? Go on, speak up. In so many ways it was the little thing's lucky day, considering an empty belly didn't exactly inspire the will for violence. Though, it did make him wonder, just how did a wolf like that make it around all on his own..

He took his time ascending the rocks, closing the distance between them with little hesitation considering there obvious imbalance. There was however a slight slow to his pace, just outside of what would reasonably be the wolf's personal bubble, leaving him to orbit it carefully. The possibility of packmates nearby became all the more obvious to him, and even if that weren't the case, he'd rather avoid getting jumped in some three to one stand off if he could help it.

fenrith’s breath hitched as varian’s words carried up the slope. his tail, still raised defiantly moments before, faltered mid-sway, and he took several skittish steps backwards.

pebbles bounced in their descent down the mountain.

you’re— his voice cracked under the faulty guise he fought to wear properly.

he's still, completely still, for several seconds. then, he moves.

quickly. tail a flying flag as he turns upon swift paws and begins a flight along the ridge of mountaintop.

A shocked scoff crinkled the soft pattern of Varian's muzzle, painting him a rather unbecoming shade of confused at the wolf's sudden departure. Wait, don't run– His affronted shout bounced from rock to rock, ringing around him like an audience, mimicking and mocking.

The spike in his tone was so vulnerable, almost desperate, but why? What was it that made his paws begin to move as they did? Dragging and stumbling to an uneven sprint that followed the other's steps. What was it, if not simply an aching loneliness. A pathetic curiosity for something, someone, so evidently oblivious to the horrors most others welcomed.

he looks back, and the bastard is chasing him!

thoughts race. he intends to kill him, he does! fenrith knows it! gods, why had he run his mouth?! this wasn't the first time fen found himself in this situation. luckily, he was bred a slippery weasel and was often able to wriggle his way out of such situations.

he flies down the ridgeside, scattering dust and rock and ice in his wake, and eventually slips on a patch of ice he hadn't seen. straight to his ass he falls, skidding and sliding the rest of the way down the rocky hill like it's a slide and he's a kid at a birthday party.

ears pinned back, eyes wide. paws outstretching before him to break his fall—only to land promptly on his face.

ow...

Though he followed swiftly, Varian allowed a decent distance to hold between them, making it especially jarring to witness as the wolf seemingly dropped off the ridge out of view. A strained whine escaped his chest as his paws fought for grip on the icy rocks, desperately trying to halt his momentum before he reached the edge. Of course it was far too late for correction, and he quickly stumbled down to where the other sat in a similar yet far more controlled manner, tripping over his feet once or twice before regaining his balance.

The sting in his paw pads was immediate and sharp, small rocks wedged into the tender flesh, leaving him to limp slightly toward the other who, despite suffering quite the wipeout, seemed alright enough at a glance. He stood above the lump of fur, just close enough to loom without entirely caging him. That was so fucking unnecessary. Varian's words left him in panted breaths, stained by an obvious irritation he had no real right in expressing. What the hell did you even run for? I wasn't gonna do anything..

the man gestures awkwardly with two paws overgrown, shying a green gaze from the man. well, you- he stops again.

clamping his own troublesome mouth shut. then his eyes tentatively roam towards the larger man's face, observing him for the first time since their interaction began.

his face was well-shaped. his body, well. it was... certainly stronger than fenrith's! he manages to nudge himself up into a seated position, wincing at the pain ebbing in his shoulder.

then...

he shouts. well maybe you shouldn't make it LOOK like you're gonna do something!