Bearclaw Valley you were not made to be understood, you were made to be experienced

 

for @Xan

she had been re-thinking her position on the white-cloaked man.

since he had allowed her into his dominion, she had worried that he had lured her here with that otter for a reason.  she had wondered if she was too naive to see his ulterior motives, if she was so eager to be a part of something that she'd been blinded to the man's dark desires.

but she was beginning to suspect that there were none.

which really confused her.  his behaviour was protective, more sentimental than anything she had ever experienced.  which meant that he must need her for something, right?

her mind turns to spending time next to each other, her perched on the rock next to the entrance and him on the ground in front, and lingers in those moments.

was he lonely?  was that it?  the only person she had seen him interact with positively since her return had been their little chestnut friend, the one with the fur of tree bark and eyes of fire.

she settles there.  yes, that must be it.  although she had been protective of him before, in was in the sense that if something happened to him she feared that she'd be cast out.  it smelled of desperation.  but now, at least in her mind, she had understood him on the highest level of emotional depth she'd experienced to date.

as she came to this conclusion, she returned her attention to the valley before her.  she had taken little time to explore the territory, sticking close to the border and occasionally traveling out beyond.  she hadn't wanted to get too attached, for when they were taken away from her.

but she was braver now.  a rich and colourful twilight blanketed bearclaw, snow falling steady beneath the twinkling sky.  tentatively she brushed herself against a lonely tree as if she was testing how she smelled next to all of those she'd met — poet.  sif.  xan.  others..  and then with a bit more vigor, she continued working her way in.

this is super short aHHH

As she was coming in, he’d been preparing to head out. Although he wasn’t yet ready to venture far from the valley, he still frequented the border, keeping a close eye on things. He’d yet to notice that his friend never trekked far into the territory, assuming that when he saw her at the borders it was because she, too, was keeping watch, rather than because something had been holding her back. So when he spotted her away from the path leading out, he didn’t think too much of it. However, he did shift directions so that he was heading towards her instead of the exit, a throaty chuff sounding to announce his presence. He was less interested in standing guard now, figuring the valley was safe enough for the time being.

 

i never mind!

he caught her attention, drew her from her introspection as if he had materialized before her from her very thoughts.

she did not greet him as warmly as she had been known to do, instead stopping midstride, half-woven around a tree.  but her eyes sought his, somber and full of emotion.  it was a display of raw intelligence, a look that would cause any being with higher functions to realize there was more to her than most assumed, that there was more character to her than creature.

oh, how she desperately wished she could speak to him.  she wanted to tell him that she understood, because she had been alone since she could remember and even through she'd survived through fleeting encounters it had consumed her black and ugly from the inside.  she wanted to tell him that he didn't have to be alone anymore.

but she couldn't.  he might figure something was broken if she didn't act as usual, and she desperately didn't want to be kicked out. so she turned to stride towards him, greeting him the same as she had everyone else: a quick toss of her nose down the traveler's coat to find where he had been lately, who he had seen, and then a brief run of her own fur across his before retreating a safe length away.

the normal enthusiasm in her greetings was absent in this one, gaze now averted to the ground.

From their first meeting until now, all the encounters in between stood out in his memories. She was always so lively and quick to make contact, but easy to get along with despite that. He expected nothing less from her, but less was what he received as he made his most recent approach; the emotions in her gaze did not go unnoticed but were not fully comprehended, either. And though he could not read her in full something prompted him to stop, keep still, and gaze back at her. He struggled with his decision on how to react, settling for just ignoring what he’d seen and waiting—waiting for her usual approach, her enthusiastic greeting, but what he received was nothing close to what he’d come to expect from her.

With a now-furrowed brow he reached out to her, circling and analysing her. He looked for wounds and ran his nose through her fur, searching for any sort of explanation to her behaviour—but there was nothing to find, everything seemingly being as it should. Concluding another loop around her, he stopped when they were standing face-to-face, his own still scrunched up with concern and confusion. He wanted to ask her what was wrong, see if it was something that he could fix, but he knew she’d never answer—she couldn’t.

A soft whine, barely audible, slipped passed his lips as he touched his nose to her cheek; upon reaching his own ears, the sound made them lay flat, unrecognisable. In situations like these, he didn’t know what to do. Things had been easier with Kendra, he’d been able to ask her what was wrong whenever she was feeling down, but now he couldn’t do that, not with his new friend. He could certainly try, but that would get him nowhere, only waste his breath—so he did what he thought might help, nipping playfully at her nose and then taking a few, bounding steps away. This had gotten her to move before, and she seemed to have enjoyed it back then, so perhaps it would help now. Maybe that was all she really needed—to play again.

he is analyzing her, searching for something he is inevitably never going to find.  she can smell the subtle shifting of his emotion, his confusion, his worry.  she wants to put him at ease, but she doesn't know how.  she is a creature suspended between survival and civility, pushing herself into either role felt like forcing a square peg through a round hole.

as he brushes her cheek and whines she lifts her snout so the top of her head is leaning against the tall boy's throat, grateful that he gleaned at least some of what she felt but concerned that she had upset him, that the feelings that festered in her bled off onto him.  although for the most part she still felt alone, she had her chestnut friend and she had him.

he breaks from their brief but emotionally charged embrace to entice her with play, and her tail gives a soft wag against each hock as her ears push forward.  so he wasn't going to send her away, even if she was broken?  even if she was stupid?  even if she was —

she arched into a delicate play bow as her body trembled in a wag, paws slap-slapping against the snow before she bounds after him, leaping wildly in circles around and at his sides.

Although he might never fully understand what had happened, what was wrong, at least he’d found the solution. Their briefly shared embraced was thought back on as he watched her, but the newly-made memory wasn’t able to linger for very long, chased away by her reaction to him. She was back! Her previous gloom was seemingly shed as she dropped down into a bow, bringing a grin to his maw and a wag to his tail. He’d found the way to help her—no words necessary.

Alexander twisted and turned, following her wild movements as she leapt around him. He did not run off for her to give chase, remaining still instead and just watching her; he was waiting for an opportunity to present itself, eagerly anticipating the execution of his plan. And just when she landed where he’d wanted her to, the albino sprung forward, attempting to knock into her and send them both barrel-rolling through the snow. They had chased after one another plenty already, he was ready for a new game.

Should he succeed in getting her down in the snow, he’d proceed to lay himself over her and begin mouthing at her paws, tail brushing along the snow all the while. He held himself steady with his legs, keeping his weight from pressing against her fully; there was plenty of room left for her to wriggle free without much effort.

brooding thoughts long forgotten, reigi's mood launched into an upward spiral, further heightened by alexander's excitement.  but he was not chasing her!  what was with this sudden disinterest in her game?  curious, she darted in and out of his range, nipping at his hocks.

she did not expect him to crash into her, and as he caught her off guard her jaws split, gaping in silent shock as she tumbled through the snow, coming to a halt as the pale tender flesh of her underbelly lay prone before him.

when he was upon her that same, prey-like fear gripped the heart in her breast and her paws flung out to brace against his chest.  she was reminded suddenly of the dark man in the meadow before the teeth mouthing her paws brought her back to present-time.

her mouth sought his lower jaw, gripping delicately as he goes to find her paws once more.  she is still ....unsure of this new game.  although her friend made an excellent blanket/windbreak, he was twice her size and she was not fond of the vulnerability exposed from this position.

taking advantage of the wiggle room he'd offered, she turned, back smacking up against his chest as she pries herself from beneath him.  even if she didn't like that part of the game, the barreling-into-each-other part was fun, so she decided to give it a shot, turning on a dime and leaping at the big man as if she could knock him down.

Chasing her was fun.

Tackling her was fun.

Just being around her was fun.

Alexander wasn’t used to this, not yet, but he was getting there. Each moment spent with her brought with it something new, whether it be an experience, emotion, or something else, and he was genuinely enjoying it—enjoying her. But at the same time, he was still himself, oftentimes oblivious to others and their feelings, thus preventing him from picking up on her discomfort. He just moved his body along with her’s, leaning closer to and nipping at her all the while. He gladly would have continued this new game—why should he have any qualms with it, when he was the one on top—if not for her shift in positions, which both confused and excited him; the latter feeling he tried to and succeeded with ignoring, the lure not there.

The albino rose up higher off of her as she was nearly free, helping her along the rest of the way. And when she tried to mimic his earlier decision by crashing into him, he moved along with the force behind her body, flopping over into the snow. He did not roll onto his back—he couldn’t bring himself to go that far—but he did remain with his side pressed into the white blanket, tail wagging as he eagerly awaited her next move.

he fell into the snow and in all honesty, she could not figure out what she was supposed to do.  being on top was not good, either!

but what if they were both on the ground?  she was beginning to tire after their various games of chasing and wrestling, and with a plop! she fell into the snow next to him, leaning into his outstretched limbs.  weakly, her head reached behind him to nip and lick at his cheek and muzzle, tail maintaining a slow affable wag.

this was fun.  he had lured her from her introspection and although it wouldn't last forever, she could at least enjoy it now.

Her decision to plop down beside him, rather than mimic his earlier actions, surprised him. He continued to watch her, wondering if it was just an act before she launched at him, but soon realised that, that wasn’t the case. As she licked and nipped at him a low, playful growl worked its way out of his throat. He returned the nips, aiming them all along her cheek before he began mouthing the top of her muzzle.

Alexander stretched out his forelimbs and pawed at her for a short while, then let them fall back down into the snow. His sides were heaving and, by then, his tongue was hanging out the corner of his mouth whilst he panted. Still, he rolled so he was laying on his stomach and was still for a moment before he reached towards her lazily. And though he nipped a few times in the process, his main goal was to lay his head on her side, claiming her as his temporary pillow.

what fun this had all been!  

she kept her mouthy demeanor for a while before her antics ceased altogether when he claimed her as his pillow, but the joyous mood the alabaster man had brought forth would remain for some time.  

they would remain there for some time loosely entwined together before she decided to return to her special rock, leaving alexander with a single lick to the side of his cheek as a thank-you currency for the distraction.