Overture Downs your mother's throat clicks and my spirit swims right to the hook

she reposed two body lengths from the small distressed thing, the feminal breadth of herself flush with the earth. it was a bird; a female killdeer feigning injury; a diminutive creature with a lion’s heart going great lengths to lure this young wolf away, away, ach—! to go in peace from the riverwalk stones among which she disguised her eggs some days ago. 

it held its wing awry, as if crippled. hobbling and tottering and impressing shrill trilling sounds upon her family's would-be annihilator, to only middling effect. 

the girl drew back and fidgeted her ears, panting, quasifrustrated. in her heart was sympathy for the counterfeiting sufferer, but also there was the overwhelm of curiosity, and a yearning to gratify it by giving chase. 

as a defense against predation the bird’s act was compelling. however, that did not make it quite so utilitarian when challenged with the maddeningly impulsive whims of youth. 

a whine whistled in the air between them as the intrepid and proud little plover refused to be dispelled from her nesting area, and the wolf refused to be dispelled from hers.

Through the bulrushes cut a pair of piqued black ears, like twin fins sailing sleek over the sea, only there was no shark in these waters. He did his very best to minimize the sloshing of his legs as he waded through the shallows, eyes fixed on a pale shape in the distance, but some things were simply beyond accomplishment. Wolves were not stealthy creatures by nature, and water was a damning medium. Even a personal proclivity for sneaking could not surmount that.

Aventus was undeterred by this reality. No doubt the soft white she-wolf reclining there would hear him coming, but he dropped low his neck and veritably disappeared into the cattails. Just a trick of the wind, rippling through the reeds. At least, that was what he hoped for. Aventus was good, but not infallible. He just wanted a peek at her, maybe some time to study what she was doing just lying there. Standard stuff.

A shrill keening made him pause, lifting nose and ears in affront. Ever-so-slowly, he poked his head from the reeds and spotted the source: a pathetic looking bird, clearly injured, just out of reach of the she-wolf. Something familiar about her, but he didn't take the time just then to ponder it. Phaedra had much better control over herself than he did, for the sight of that sad little bird was a sucker punch right to his instincts, with a distinct lack of sympathy for her plight. Well, if Phaedra wasn't gonna put it out of its misery, he'd help himself.

Aventus broke from cover with a ghost-like grace, but the accompanying splash was more bull-like than anything as he charged across the distance, right past Phaedra, seized the miming bird by the dangling wing, and swung his head in a merciless arc meant to crack all her little birdie bones against the pebbles.

aventus greatly overestimated phaedra’s situational awareness; fixations such as this meant that little information was likely to come within the purview of her attention, and every inch of restraint given to not pursuing the bird was an inch of that awareness cut back from background goings-on.

that being so, the bruin-jaw could go about his business as an alligator in the reeds, while phaedra minded hers, intrigued by the bir— 

sudden nearby splashing surpassed the threshold onto which her ignorance stood. the girl whipped her head any which way, trying in the fluster to find where the sounds were sourced. 

he was a streak of ink across parchment, spilling past her and, much to her horror, taking hold of the hapless killdeer and in a parabolic arc of cruelty, dashed it across the shingles. it vexed phaedra at once. she stepped forward half a body length and were she able she would have placed her hands defiantly upon her hips. 

“now why’d you go and do that for?!” She demanded, bristling, glancing between the boy and the runlet of gore draining into the substrate. her brow grew bunched and surly. 

in the morass of her memories, aventus’ place was among that of children that she’d met and repudiated. not a chink of recognition could lighten her look.

the girl huffed, body jerking away to leave. “actually forget it. i don’t care. trantüte.” 

It worked astoundingly well. The killdeer's body crushed against the stone until it was beyond recognition and blood leaked from its orifices. Aventus stooped, preparing to scoop it into his mouth and crunch it down whole, but Phaedra's voice broke across the distance and cowed him as surely as a whip crack. He crouched in place, sweeping his tail tight against his thighs and peering up at her, the picture of a mischievous feline caught mid-wrongdoing, with his mouth unhinged and hovering over the shattered bird.

Oh, but Aventus remembered her, now that he got a good look at her. Pale-pearl fur with dawn highlights, soft eyes like wild purple hearts. Phaedra was as remarkable as Aventus was nondescript, but it was her definitely pink-ass nose that coaxed forth a fuzzy memory. A brief encounter, but one that captivated him, at the time.

Phaedra had already turned and dismissed him with an exasperated exclamation by the time he came to this realization. Aventus hovered there several heartbeats after she began to move away before snapping back to reality. The scent of blood wound tantalizing under his nose, but he ignored the groan of his belly and gingerly picked the killdeer up. It flopped limp in his jaws, testament to the Bruin-jaw's strength, but his focus was on the feathered backs of her legs as she walked away and the bob of her tail.

She must be upset that he stole her kill. Maybe she was being deliberately slow about it. The notion that Phaedra might have been watching it suffer because she enjoyed it crept across his mind, deciding for him what he must do. Aventus kicked into a trot, tailing after Phaedra with an inviting rumble, killdeer borne aloft for her to take.

mercy killing was not a fact of life she’d resigned herself to yet, thus making his spontaneous act of foul play so shocking to her. 

it shocked her all the more so that aventus then FLUNG the bloody wad of a bird at her. her ears craned to hear the affable resonance of his chest the very instant the bird smacked her neck — perhaps going rogue with his true intentions — smearing blood down the length of her shoulder before plopping to rest on the ground below her. 

her eyes, bright saucers at the moment of being struck, glanced at the wine-red skidmark on her person, and then shrank to an aperture of unfavorable judgment. “disgusting, thanks. no, i don’t want it.” 

it didn’t occur to her before now that aventus didn’t verbally acknowledge her malcontent. he only appeared to react to her scathing tone. she corrected her slouch with the realization and blinked owlishly at the boy, careful not to jump to any conclusions… so far. 

without displacing her stare, she cocked her wrist and put the bird back into his possession. “this bird,” gesturing at the heap of feathers; “don’t want,” phaedra repeated, a little more slowly this time.

To say he was horrified when the killdeer connected with her pretty white fur and traced gore all down her shoulder was an understatement. Aventus liked blood, was aroused by it, even, but he discovered with an alarming urgency that he did not like it on her. Red was the banner of Ursus, something his upbringing forced him to be comfortable with, but that stark carmine hue didn't suit Phaedra. He didn't know her, but he knew she was soft summer sky blues and delicate buttercup yellows, with a dash of bold emerald, perhaps.

His paws came to a screeching halt the very moment he miscalculated his throw, the very moment it collided with her, the very moment her eyes narrowed and her lips parted. Aventus stopped so abruptly that his hind end lurched with the force of it, his own silver eyes blown wide.

What she said wounded and frustrated him more than it should have. Disgusting?! You did not want to kill it, he realized in a rumble, dropping his gaze to the killdeer and absentmindedly licking his jowls. It was an injured bird, easy prey and easy sport, but Phaedra was made of better things than Aventus. He would kill for the hell of it, and she was a more natural sort of predator, and intrigued by the bird's behaviour where Aventus would never stop to consider it. That had to be it.

The boy drew his brows down, perturbed, when she spoke next. I'm not stupid, he protested, offended. He advanced several steps then, pausing only half a breath before brashly punting the killdeer back at her. Red was not her colour, but if she was going to be so rude when he offered her a gift, then he could be petty, too.

he spoke and with all haste she felt heat swarm her cheeks, eyes dancing itchily away from the face of the boy she'd just roundly insulted. all that remained of her dignity was sublimed by the jaws of something of truly chthonian hatching.   

foot, meet mouth. 

a word or several -- all excuses, none of them good -- took wing on a sharp inhale, but only silence elapsed in her fluster of shame. she let out her breath in a sigh. yeah, this was shaping up to be one of those core memories that haunts you as you try to fall asleep. 

his offense was the brush painting her into a corner that felt as vulgar as it definitely looked. phaedra bit her lip.

"you're not. look-" she turned when he made to leave, an apology framed on her lips, but no chance was given before those very same lips were passionately kissed by the fouled-up fowl. she was gobsmacked. so, so literally gobsmacked. 

very cool. 

very deserved.

the shock was slow to absorb. phaedra stood agape and goggle-eyed -- the bare essentials of bitch-slapped-by-bird. and then he got to walk off without looking back at the explosion, like a fucking neat guy? no! 

a scandalized scoff followed the gaucherie of hiccuping feathers. "NO! I INSIST!" she vented, taking the vague shape that maybe resembled a killdeer at some point and lobbing it at the back of aventus' head with all the might of a woman scorned.

This time, there was no stomach-curdling sense of remorse when it smacked Phaedra directly in the face. Aventus didn't see it, having turned his back the moment it left his teeth, but there was no mistaking the fhump of feathers hitting muzzle, nor the splutter that ended her words.

Despite himself, he bared his teeth and let his shoulders shake with a rumbling chortle. Served her right. He should have known better than to mess with a woman, considering his mother and sister both, but Aventus was a man. Obviously, he was better than her. Obviously, she wouldn't dare to oppose him. Obviously. She had been about to apologize, he was certain. A meek and beautiful little thing was Phaedra, he imagined, demure and mouse-like. A touch rude, yes, but that could be ch—

He stumbled a step when a weight hit the back of his head and pitched his neck forward, wafting the perfume of blood all around him. It tumbled to his shoulder and bounced off onto the rocks. The Bruin-jaw stood stock-still, his mirth melting into disbelief and then indignation. He snatched the killdeer up and spun in one smooth motion, marching toward her with a spark of something malevolent in his bright eyes and a twinge of something longing in his belly.

He wore a grin around the bloody pulp, however, transforming his malevolence into the likeness of a small child holding a booger aloft on their finger and seeking a perfect target to wipe it on as he stalked toward Phaedra, intent on verily shoving it down her throat.

he wheeled on her and fletched his arrow and the expression on her face morphed at once from smug satisfaction into one of comprehending perturbance. 

they danced: he stalked forward, vulturine, and phaedra, his unchallenging quarry, backed away; unwilling to gain him any ground between them once the threat was clear. 

"oh, i dare you to try."

her ears pinned back feistily and she plucked one paw up, clutching pearls to her cleavage so to speak. 

but if he wanted the pleasure of girlish squeals, aventus would have to wring them from her throat himself.

Wish granted!

Phaedra did well to keep her distance from him, but was it not more effective to turn and walk away without antagonizing your stalker? Not that it would have stopped Aventus if she kept her pretty mouth shut. Manners weren’t a cornerstone of cult living, it turns out, and her feisty attitude wasn't enough to warn him off just yet.

So with a brimming growl, he lurched forward into a streaking run, eager to close the distance between them and oblige her by shoving bloody pulp into her face. The best he could hope for was to catch her off guard. It was far more likely she would turn and flee for real, granting him the opportunity to engage in a bit of a poon chase.

Either way, win-win for him.

that which could be accomplished with the efficiency of turning tail could just as well be accomplished with defiance.

and once set in motion it was nigh worthless to try and alter the course of a teenage girl’s willfulness. 

she stood thusly pat; for seated in the rightful place of an abundance of caution was arrogance. upon the boy’s advance toward her the romp battened down her brow, eyes cutting with wariness between the profaned bird this blackguard clutched and the arch look in his eyes. 

blooming carmine against her pale countenance was the abrupt consciousness of a schoolgirls pulse presently quickened by the smolder of this boy’s aggro attention. 

the stirring within she didn’t altogether understand, nor did she enjoy its pluck at her senses. it was shot through with the impulse to rub his smug face in the dirt, for where did he find the audacity to go spinning such fresh sensations from the thrum of her blood?

afluster, phaedra stumbled another step backwards and then took heart — marshaling a steadying breath to her lungs. 

she squared up against her would-be violator-of-personal-space (despite his dwarfing her), but in the breadth of time between inhale and exhale, the bärenprinz furled the distance between them to, sure be it, make short shrift of phaedra’s dignity. 

not that she didn’t resist him mightily! squirming out of his grasp, lips sewn against his manhandling and attempts to force her to eat crow, phaedra shoved back against him with the check of one shoulder, hopefully jabbing him in the neck or breast while she grunted, sputtering what feathers made it through her taut-lipped fortress.
 “ugh! get off, you stupid cow!”

Aventus had to hand it to Phaedra: she was one stubborn bitch.

Here might be the part where his father would part his jaws to take a maiden's throat between his teeth to crush it. His sister might well have done the same. Aventus was made at once of weaker and stronger stuff than the rest of his family. He felt not the thrum of blood hunger in his veins when she pushed back against him, but the pulse of teenage lust, zinging down between his legs with a suddenness that startled him.

So much so that he backed off, nearly tempted to cross his legs to hide the ugly little thing peeking out down below, and sneered around what once was a killdeer. Prior to today, only the sharp smell of coyote blood in his nose provoked his body to react this way. How dare she do what only violence could. How dare she!

I am not a cow, he said stiffly around his pulpy prize, but even Aventus could feel embarrassed at his body's weakness. He no longer felt any need to prove anything to Phaedra, and instead warred with the impulse to flee. Him! Flee her!

she panted, heart beating erratically in a way neither understood nor delighted in. 

well, mild delight. 

aventus worked her up so, plying a needle of defiance through phaedra’s entire body. she flared her nostrils. the taste of dead bird lingered in her mouth — or was it her own blood? her tongue felt for and found a claret split in her gum.

while finding success in fending aventus off, the (truly little) sense of power corrupted her — and it only served to hasten her towards unleashing ungovernable insolence.

a raffish smile spasmed on her mouth, though her eyes were glaringly affixed. there was something newly and deliciously sateen about her effect, some latent commerce between their energies that delivered the girl unto self-empowerment. 

teeth smeared in red where the bird’s talon had caught her lip. 

"i am phaedra, pleased to meet you not-a-cow. named after your mother?” phaedra thrust out her chin, eyeing the shape of his mouth around the bird.

While Phaedra discovered power in their interaction, Aventus discovered only a form of emasculation that left him powerless, veiling a strong compulsion to grab at her. He reined back his control, fixing her with an icy glare when she threw his remark right back in his face and then insulted his poor mom.

Fuck you, then, Aventus might have said, if he was at all given to swearing. He was not. Besides, if she were to take it literally and continue to tease, then he would be left embarrassed again, because there was at least a little and not well understoood part of him that would like to take it literally as well. The boy lifted the killdeer pulp with a disdainful sniff and turned away from Phaedra, resisting the urge to shake his leg in the manner of a teen readjusting his shorts.

Instead, he trotted away, leaving Phaedra to her victory minus one killdeer to observe and one highly irritated member of the resident bear cult to taunt.

she was granted a very hasty education in how far too far actually was. 

clearly, she'd overplayed her hand.

clearly, phaedra wasn't socialized -- much less civilized. 

the dusky boy was a-trotting away and her brain's rheostat for empathy nearly slid to OUTPUT before shorting out and leaving her feeling rather mentally dimmed instead. a moment she stood there, scuffing the dirt, muttering to herself and flustered to think she'd vested her name and gained nothing from him. it was an effective tactic for disempowering haughty girls. she knew she hadn't won anything here, except for maybe a vapid taste in her mouth to ponder.  

when you out-crazy the local crazy, is it even that impressive, or is it just kind of, well, sad?

she watched him stanky leg into the sunset, then took out her frustration on a rock by sidearming it into the water. not to be given even the simple satisfaction of a cool respite, the stone sank without skipping even once. bummer. 

turning with a harrumph, phaedra departed in the opposite direction of him, giving the rest of the day over to following the river upstream as her conscience and common vanity were reconciled.