Heron Lake Plateau The Bright Fire

Nevouku still could not shake it. He knew he did something when he was crying, when he was breaking. Just, he could not put his paw on what exactly. He knew whatever it was much have take her by surprise. So he decided...he needed to meet her again. He needed to find her, and ask her what he did, if he did anything odd. 

@Fire

Yeah, nope, no way.  Fire was avoiding Nevouku like the plague because she kind of wanted to forget what happened and avoid the conversation entirely.

But inevitably he sought her out, and she couldn't just run away from him like a pussy.  

'Sup.

Nevouku found her then....said nothing. He felt a sense of familiarity in the back of his mind from a long time ago, but he pushed it back. "I'm s-sorry. I was ou-out of line" he stuttered back to her. "I-I-I should not have...I didn't m-mean t...I'm sorry..." he said quietly, downturning his muzzle. Always looking pitiful, he could never help himself however.

She really didn't want him to start up again, and it caused the fur along her spine to raise in surprise for a moment.  No! she shouted hastily, It's fine, really.  Don't worry about it.

Because if he started hallucinating again, she was Morally Obligated to take care of him, and it was weird enough the first time.  You didn't know.  There's a difference between doing something maliciously and doing it because you don't know any better.

Nevouku flinched slightly at her hasty reply, and kept his gaze down away from her. All he could do was worry. It was all he could ever do. "What...what did I..." He wanted to ask what he did...but now? Now he wanted to back out suddenly. Avoid further embarassment. He didn't even know her name.

Mostly, you just cried, she said, laying it all out on the table for him.  You were talking to someone that.. wasn't me.  But it's okay, she added quickly, hoping to assuage him.  Her ears burned in embarrassment (although she had no reason to be), and she averted her gaze somewhere way off in the distance.

He tipped his gaze up. Not her? What exactly did she mean? "W-What do you mean not you? Was there someone else there?!" If there was someone else that had seen him like that...he felt his face heat up, and he wanted to just crawl away and hide.

Whoa, dude, please calm down.  No, I mean like, you were seeing things that weren't there, I think.  She swiped a paw over the ground and pointedly looked anywhere but at his intense, hawkish face.  

That...that had never happened. And it worried him more. "I was...s-seeing things? A-Are you sure?" he asked, wanting to be very sure. He hadn't even noticed the step forward he took as he pressed for answers, wanting to know more and more of what exactly he had done. If he was seeing things, his nervous tendencies may have turned into something more...

She bristled defensively, her lip curled back to reveal her pearly incisors.  Her body language read clear: keep your distance, and although even this dude outranked her at the moment, punishment was the furthest thing from her mind.  No.  I'm not sure of anything.  Her words came out more defeated than anything.  But maybe, yeah.  There was nobody else around.

Nevouku saw her expression, and he took a step back to his original position and looked to her apologetically. So there wasn't anyone near. He was seeing her...as someone else. But then, who? Who was it? Who did he see? It did not even come to mind. "I...w-we got off on a bad paw...h-how bout we st-start over?" he asked, hoping to direct it elsewhere.

omg my heart

She scrutinized him, watched him back up.  Her posture and expression changed to something vaguely more submissive but entirely less threatening.  Yeah, sounds good to me.  Did I ever even get your name?  I'm Ceara.

He put on a smile now, glad that she was able to agree to doing so. "Nevouku...or Nev..." he introduced himself back to her, keeping his smile and even a slight wag behind him. "Ceara...it's a-a n-n-nice name" he added after a shy pause. And he meant it in the friendliest, nicest way possible.

Of course he did, right?  This dude was like.. a giant ray of sunshine once he warmed up.  He was about the same age as Siarut, maybe a little younger, and she wondered what had scared him so bad in the first place.  The way he carried himself..

Well, whatever.  Well, thank ya, Nev.  Looks like it's about to rain, do you wanna find some cover with me?  If he screwed up, it was the last time she'd offer him company.. but she didn't really want to wait out the rain alone, either.

Nevouku looked up, seeing that yes it was going to. But he also got shy and nervous again. "C-Cover? Uh, sure. S-Sure" he said. He kept close, but from the warning before not too close as he started ahead to find some cover they could both fit under. "You're v-very orange...you almost remind me o-of someone who used to be here...in this pack."

They found shelter easily, since they had started looking in enough time.  There was enough room for both of them to move around comfortably, not too close to one another.

Really?  She had not met very many with her bright orange pelt, but she was not that surprised there were others.  Interesting.  Were you close?

Nevouku shook his head. "Oh, n-no no. I met her like, o-once. Was the old alpha...I heard sh-she passed" he said quietly. Murmuring it rather. "But your fu-fur looked like hers. Her name was...was..." He forgot her name, and looked up sheepishly. "I forgot her name." And he right away felt bad for that.

She shrugged, unperturbed by Nevouku's scatterbrained ignorance.  Dude, you met her once.  No need to feel bad.  I don't know the names of half of my family, or even some of the people I've met.. I don't know, a lot.  Should she have been more ashamed?  Probably.  Was she?  Ha ha hahaha.  Haha.  No.

So, you've been around a while then?  She would've asked why he hadn't moved up in ranks, but, well....

Nevouku didn't like to forget names. He liked to remember them. Something to think on, remembering good times. "But it's good to hang onto memories. Good memories..." She asked if he had been around a while, and he shook his head. 

"I had been in this pack before...but that was when the old alphas were around. I ran, ashamed of something I did..." Little did most know, the thing to be ashamed of was running after a rabbit. Only to be caught in a thorn bush...and the alpha had seen.

She guessed she could see where he was coming from.  Well, you're back now.  And they seem to treat us pretty well here, so we've got that going for us.  She chuckled.  Outside, the rain began to fall.

You're right though.  It is good to hang onto memories.

Nevouku nodded along with that, but didn't really chuckle. A cold breeze came by, with the cold rain and he shivered. "Memories...." Some of his memories were not good. The fire, the fear, her fac-

"B...Bran..." he murmured quietly to himself, his stare suddenly blank. Once again, he was elsewhere.

f u c k

Why this?  Why did it always have to be her??  Maybe she should just leave and then she won't have to deal with this — she had embarrassed herself once already taking care of Nev (and one with Screech, that made her stomach burn) — did she really have to deal with it again?

Looks like it!  N-nev? she tried tentatively, trying to rouse him back.  What's up?

Nevouku, unlike the last time was able to snap out of it as he heard someone's voice. "Uh, yeah...n-nothing...nothing" he said slowly, realizing he had blanked out but not for how long. "It's p-pretty cold out there, don't you th-think?"

Ah, the naiveté of youth.  She had no qualms about going straight up to Nevouku and positioning herself to where she was blocking the wind (even though she did think it was cold) until the fire in her belly came to life.

Which, ew, this dude was like.. an old coward.  But it was there anyway, because her body was undergoing changes and unfortunately they'd both be subjected to them.

Quietly, she asked, 's that better?

Nevouku shivered a little till the Fire moved to block the wind. "Y-Yes...but what about y-you?" he stuttered, worried for her warmth now. He may have been cold, but he would rather be cod than her be cold. "We can't b-b-both be cold, or just one of us." It didn't seem fair to her in his mind.