Wheeling Gull Isle but i think it's fine, it's cool

@Orochi - possibly a trade thread? ^^

Yuelong was a nice place, Hide had decided. Warm and inviting, and not all that hard to navigate now that he had gotten the hang of it a little better. Most of his days were spent exploring now, familiarizing himself with the land and learning where things were. He mostly kept to himself, not really interacting with too many of the members of the pack yet - which was fine, because he was honestly a little anxious around so many new individuals. He'd have to learn their scents and pawsteps and voices to be able to tell them apart, and he hadn't ever really had to do that much in the past - not with just his family and Orochi to go off of. 

Still, he enjoyed the place. Even if he was a little bored, and even if he would like to be able to leave whenever he wanted. Maybe he could get Orochi to help him navigate the land bridge again, so he could learn how to get to and from the island. 

Speaking of, he had also not been around his friend as much since they'd gotten back. Sure, they still slept near each other at night, but it was a bit jarring to go from spending almost every waking moment of their travels together to suddenly having other wolves around and having other things to focus on. 

But today it was Orochi that Hide wanted to spend time with. The red wolf was searching for him, nose to the ground and ears swiveling back and forth to try and locate his companion.

Orochi had been actively searching for the redhead. He'd been in the shittiest mood sense the altercation. Every second of the day he'd think about how much he hated everyone and everything on this island. Fuck Huā for giving his rank to Minori. Fuck Minori for messing around with his mom. Fuck Takara for just, he didn't know, existing. He needed to be with someone that he didn't want to kill right now.

Luckily it wasn't too hard to find Hide. He stuck out like a sour thumb. Orochi approached from behind, not bothering with any greetings. Hey. Follow me. Follow him where? Fuck if he knew. They could go anywhere.

The pawsteps approaching were just slightly uneven, and Hide recognized them instantly. Delighted, he turned as the other boy spoke, tail waving behind him. He didn't sound like he was in a good mood, but really, when did Orochi ever sound like he was in a good mood?

"Hey man! I've been looking all over for you," he greeted, bounding forward to brush against his companion in a greeting. "Where're we goin'?"

Anywhere but here. Somewhere far away from that whelping den. The farther he could keep Hide away from his 'family' the better. He didn't want them worming their way into his friend's life too.

Orochi moved forward, keeping close to Hide's side. His guard hairs stood up, and his eyes hopped around every which way. He was so fucking fidgety. He wanted to shake it off as soon as possible.

After some drawn out silence, he blurted, We're going to the shoreline. It wasn't too far off by now and it was a good distance away from Minori's den. And then I'm gonna kick your ass Because he really needed to kick someone's ass right now.

Oh, that was new. Sparring was not something that they did frequently - Hide loved to spar, but he had a feeling that he was often looked down on as a fighter because of his handicap. Was he great? No. But was he tough? Hell yes. Besides, sparring was something he often did with his family for bonding purposes, so he was looking forward to doing so with Orochi as well. 

"You could try," the redhead emphasized, feeling the ground underfoot change from the harder dirt to loose sand. That would be good for the match, he thought - the ground was soft and it wouldn't hurt whenever they inevitably fell. "And when we're done, you can tell me what's gotten you so mad." 

Turning to face him, he braced himself, waiting for Orochi to make the first move.

Oh he'd try all right, and he'd win too. Orochi always won (just forget all the times when he didn't).

And was his anger really that obvious? His tone and body language was an afterthought. He was too mad to care. Maybe he would talk about it afterwards, but the chances were slim. Orochi wasn't the best at that 'talking about your feelings' things. Why do that when you can just punch something?

Get ready. Orochi backed up, dragged his paw against the sand, and ran forward with his head down.

Orochi got a 10 here

If anything, Hide had expected Orochi to pull his punches. So when he felt what seemed to be a torpedo slam into his chest, he was... well, he was surprised, but in a good way. It meant Orochi didn't think he was weak, or that he was delicate or something like that. 

Still, the hit knocked the breath from him, and he had to struggle not to slide back too far on the loose sand. Struggling, Hide would rise up onto his back paws and attempt to wrap his forelimbs around Orochi's frame to twist, trying to slam them both down onto the ground.

The force of impact was unsuspected. He knew he was strong, but he didn't know he was that strong. Must've been the pent up anger working it's magic.

Orochi stumbled a bit, but he still stayed on his feet. That didn't last long. Hide jumped up, grabbed onto his sides, twisted, and sent both of them crashing down. Wow, ok. That was new.

Orochi brought his legs close to him, then kicked forward.

Jesus, Orochi really wasn't going easy on him. He must really be angry, Hide thought, as strong hind legs shoved him backward. Luckily, Hide wasn't afraid of taking a hit. He scooted back, allowing Orochi time to get up, before he rushed forward in an attempt to shoulder-slam into his companion. If Orochi wasn't going easy on him, then he wouldn't be going easy on Orochi either.

The kick was enough to grant him some breathing room. Orochi got up, got over the initial shock of being body slammed, and braced himself for impact. 

Hide collided into his shoulder. It was the left one of course, because he had shit for luck. Orochi stumbled backwards and fell into the sand. 

Ugh, not again! he grunted. Since he was already on the ground, he figured he might as well go for the legs. Orochi shifted forward to get a hold of one of them. He wouldn't bite down too hard. Last time he did that Hide got all weird about it.

Teeth found their way around his leg, and while it didn't really hurt, Hide wasn't used to the sensation of being bitten. Still, he decided to roll with it - literally. Hide was by no means a lightweight, and didn't mind using that to his advantage. He would fold his leg - Orochi had a forelimb in his jaws - and aim to flop unceremoniously down on top of his friend. 

It would probably make Orochi angrier, but that wasn't really an issue at the moment.

If there was one thing Hide liked to do, it was using his weight to his advantage. It was at that moment where Orochi caught onto it. Though he did recognize the pattern, that didn't mean he was able to react. His snout was crushed under his friend's body, and he was forced to let go.

Orochi pulled his face from underneath him and attempted to grab onto the side of his neck. If successful, he'd drag Hide through the sand.

His attack worked, briefly, before Orochi grabbed onto his neck. Hide wrinkled his nose as his face scraped along the sand. It was caught in his nose and fur and even a bit in his eye, and it was altogether extremely uncomfortable. 

"Okay, okay, I give - you win!" he announced, remaining on his side for a moment to catch his breath. He didn't much feel like ripping himself away from Orochi's jaws right now anyway.

A face full of sand gets the job done. Hide waved the white banner, and Orochi released him.

Told you I'd kick your ass, he grunted before rolling onto his back. He patted his snout with a paw. It tingled a bit, but the sensation would subside eventually.

"Yeah, I think you just got lucky. I'll win next time." Hide let out a playful whine and rolled over to paw at Orochi's shoulder, offering the other boy a toothy smile. "You were super strong, actually! Thanks for not holding back on me." Not that he had assumed that Orochi was the type to do so, but... well, he didn't want to be pitied. 

The ear that wasn't folded beneath his head angled forward. "You still angry?" he questioned, keeping his paw placed on the other wolf's shoulder.

Yeah right! he exclaimed. A smile managed to spread across his face. Hide beating him? Ha! Fat chance. But who knows, maybe he'd manage to pull it off one day.

At any other point Orochi would respond with something along the lines of 'yeah I know I'm strong', but he was hesitant. That altercation with Minori left him with doubts. Orochi turned his head to look at Hide. At least he didn't think he was some sort of disgrace. Thanks.

He turned his nose back towards the sky. Not as much, then he added with a chuckle, Dragging you around helped.

The mockery - laughter, really, - was evident in Orochi's voice, and Hide snorted with laughter of his own. Would he ever beat Orochi, at such a severe disadvantage? Most likely, no, but that wouldn't stop him from trying his best to do so. 

His next word was simple, but it was surprising. Hide drew in a dramatic gasp and smiled wickedly. "Did the great Orochi just... thank me? Me?" he teased, rolling further so that he could throw his weight around just a bit more, just to push his friend around a bit.

The final statement was just as good. Not so angry, because Hide helped - or at least, him getting beaten up helped. "Hey man, throw me around anytime. My family and I used to do this all the time. I missed it." And... well, he certainly wouldn't hate getting to spend more time with Orochi. Still, he tipped his head to the side, knowing that he needed to ask. "Hey, you want to, uh... talk about what made you so angry?" he invited, setting himself up for disappointment.

Orochi rolled his eyes. Don’t flatter yourself. He responded to the push with a playful shove. 

The boy's families seemed very different from another. His family would never allow him to throw his weight around. Maybe if they had been more like Hide's folks he wouldn't be so mad at them now. Speaking of which-

My mother came to the island, he grumbled. It's surprising that he addmitted that alone, and he just kept going. Might as well right? There was no one else he'd rather tell. She left me twice when I was younger without warning. Now she's back, in love with someone terrible, and has new kids.

As he said this his lips slowly pulled back into a snarl. She hasn't even come to see me yet. A growl slipped past his teeth.

Hide had had the full intention of telling Orochi that he was probably overreacting to whatever had him so upset, but... well... this was a pretty big one. In all honesty, he was surprised that Orochi had opened up about it in the first place - it wasn't like it was easy for the other boy to be so honest about stuff, Hide had found. In fact, he didn't remember him ever really mentioning his mother much. 

He wanted to be reassuring - maybe she had a reason to leave? Maybe there was a reason that she hadn't seen Orochi yet? Maybe...

But mothers weren't supposed to leave their kids. Mothers weren't supposed to abandon them and then seek out their own wants, especially start a new family without telling their kids, or even speaking to them. Hide's chest ached as he lay in the sand, still facing his companion. 

He wasn't going to offer advice. There was really nothing he could say. Hide had had a wonderful family, growing up - he'd never been abandoned before. He had no experience with this kind of thing, so rather than policing Orochi's feelings on the matter, or butt his head in where it didn't belong, he did what he thought was best. 

"You're super strong, Orochi," he began, keeping that paw stretched out to press against his companion's shoulder. Grounding, connecting. "Brave, too. You're better than she is." He paused for a moment, before adding, almost shyly, "And, if it matters, I'm not going anywhere."

Orochi had grown accustomed to the art of bottling up feelings and hiding them where they can never be found again. But maybe he wasn't as good at the technique as he thought.

His issues with Takara has been festering in the back of his mind since the day she left him. That growing sadness was pushed to the depths of his mind. It was like poison. When that cork was pulled the pain rushed from his head to his toes. It was an overwhelming feeling he couldn't handle.

Crying was inevitable. Orochi had to clench his jaws to let the sobs die in his throat. This was why he never told anyone about his troubles or confronted them himself. He felt so vulnerable like this. He didn't want anyone seeing him like this, especially Hide.

Orochi had been so caught up in his feelings and trying to suppress them, he forgot his friend was there. His reassuring touch and the words that followed bought him back to earth.

He faced Hide. Eyes were wide, tears were still streaming down his cheek. Are you sure? As great as that may sound, Orochi had a hard time trusting his promise. He wanted to, really he did, but he didn't want to get his hopes up only to be crushed again.

Tears smelled different than the salt water of the ocean, though Hide could probably only pick up on them from the lack of his other sense. Orochi must have been pretty upset to be crying like this, and especially in front of someone else.

But Hide wasn't going to comment on that.

Instead, he made his decision. And really, most people might have hesitated. But he was sure. "I mean, I followed you this far," he pointed out with a bright smile. "If you'll let me, I want to stay."

fade?

Had he been in a more rational headspace, he'd be more skeptical. But he was all over the place right now, and he needed something to bring him back. Some hope was what he wanted and that's what Hide provided.

Yeah. He wiped the tears with one of his paws. I want you to stay.

fade ^^

"Then I'll stay." It was simple, really. There was no one he'd rather be with - no one who he wanted to go back to. Of course, he'd miss his family, but maybe he'd run into them again. And if he didn't? Well, he'd made it this far. And Orochi hadn't left either.

They'd both be okay.