The Tangle X

for @Chacal! <3

the snarl of trees and foliage drew augur once more.

the giant wolf had been coursing slowly after a lone buck. one of the male's antlers had been snapped off at its first branching, no doubt from skirmishes during the breeding season. 

augur felt confident that he would be able to exhaust the animal. and so he passed over the border of the rise just into the gnarled branches. he looked around for the white wolf, and when he did not find the stranger, augur pushed on.

The sleek sea wolf wove her way inland, to see how the forests had begun to thaw. She was keen to begin scouting out herds so that the pack might hunt something substantial, something to nurture both Erzulie and Meerkat as they supported their children, both born and unborn. 

She paused, and then hunkered down when she heard the best of hooves approaching. The rhythmic clatter was punctuated by puffs of breath. When she clapped eyes upon the creature, she noted the way it’s mouth drew in air, and its nostrils flared. She remained hidden as it laboured on. Then, with brimming anticipation, she waited quietly to see if someone was giving chase.

augur had not meant to come so far but in his eagerness he did not stop until he smelled salt upon the air. the deer bounded through a small opening in the tangle and the young wolf followed.

he drew up stiffly in the next, all details of his body surprised to see a lithe female waiting on the other side. augur waved his tail tentatively, ears splaying in apology. perhaps he had disturbed her own hunt.

she was distracting, arrayed in sunlight and black ochre. his mind chose the name goldfinch at once.

Tall, grey shoulders she spotted first. Broad and heavy, arching like a mountain breaching the horizon. With an assured step he rose into view, a man with a mildness about his lips the proclaimed no demons. When his gaze settled on her, she rose, albeit somewhat sheepishly, allowing her tail to swing at her hocks. 

While he looked surprised to see her, he seemed apologetic as well. Her ears flicked forward, enticed by his gentility. She licked her lips and took a few paces out into the open, her expression questioning but welcoming.

the goldfinch did not draw away. augur was pleased to note that the briny scent was her own. it intrigued the boy whom had not yet gone to the coast.

he lifted a very large paw as she approached, then set it down. augur had no reason to assume she meant to drive him away.

his yellow eyes watched her carefully. the redtail wolf held still, tail mimicking her own. if she wished to investigate him for scent, augur would welcome that.

Her eyes dropped to the large paw he picked up- as though he was tempted to come forward, but he didn’t give in to temptation. Was he wary of her? He looked friendly enough. He didn’t seem to be offended, either, by the fact that she’d begun to approach him. If anything, she thought she saw a flicker of amusement in his eyes as she drew closer. 

She would not come within lunging distance, of course- and halted once she was about twenty metres away. She stiffened for a moment, before she slid down into an easy play-bow.

augur held his stance. the seawolf invited him to play.

the great youth agreed at once. his own playbow was immediate and mirroring. he slapped his broad paws against the earth and set his cheek there, gazing up at her from an odd angle.

augur's tail waved with a mischievous air.

and then he was up again, darting toward her for a nip and then away again, ears curved to see what she would do.

Given no reason to doubt the innocence of his actions, Chacal pledged herself completely to the invitation to play and she tipped gleefully when he bolted toward her. The gold-spun fur of her shoulders lifted and bounced as she bounded toward him, keeping her eye on him as the gap between them closed. 

He nipped and she whirled, springing away from him when she might’ve otherwise collided with him entirely. She felt a whoosh of air brush over her shoulder, and giggled. She looked over her shoulder only to see he had drawn away- but that wouldn’t do. 

But rather than charging directly toward him, she began a more unexpected approach- and began to bound in fast circles, attempting more or less to spin her way toward him, making herself both giddy and dizzy in the process.

she twisted in circles.

augur was surprised and interested. his tongue lolled and he waved his tail in slow approving sweeps.

the more that goldfinch seemed to dance, the more his delight grew, until it mirrored the expression upon her own face.

and then he joined her, attempting to join the rush of her movements. but he was not quite so quick and found himself headed for collision with the seawolf.

With each spin she tried to catch her eyes upon his dark, grey form, and at his size, he was hard to miss. After a few swirls, she started noticing that he too had begun to whirl. She saw his shoulder, and the next time, the sweet smile he wore on his face. But one exhuberant swirl later she saw the great bulk of his hip, swinging toward her, and she was too dizzy to avoid him properly. 

She was knocked sideways and reeling, swaying her head a little and laughing merrily as she tumbled to the ground. The world still spun in circles around her so rather than skittering sideways to avoid tripping him up, she simply extended her forelegs out, hoping she might catch him and trip him to the ground too, where he might fall beside her.

goldfinch's long legs struck out. augur's own collided with her limbs. he managed a single step and then descended into a heap.

the loud series of chuffing sounds that reverberated in his chest were like a laugh.

augur was pleased, dizzied. he rolled to face her, massive paw lifting gently into the air while he smoothed his lips with an amused tongue.

who was she? so close, he could smell again the sea tangled in her fur.

The dry grasses cushioned his fall as he was swept to the ground beside her. His airy laugh caused his sides to shake against her and she needed no invitation to chuckle too, and worm her way close so that when he turned toward her, she could press her breastbone against his. 

She could feel the flutter of two heartbeats, each pounding away on its own side of the sinew and bone that separated them and yet still nested side by side. 

She admired the gentle sincerity in his calm, happy features, and felt a smile drawn to her lips. She felt she could trust him. He seemed to her a kindred spirit, perhaps one she had known in a past life. Her heartbeat slowed slightly, and she felt it drop into a rhythm that came close to matching his. 

She nestled her chin against his shoulder and raised one of her own forefeet in the air, to hold up alongside his, and chuckled. Even just his legs were so much longer and thicker, and his paws so broad. She splayed her toes to see if she could possibly make her foot look as big as his, but came far short in comparison.

augur was immediately gentled by her intimacy.

touch was the way that their kin showed many things to one another. but she was not one who followed red woman. her attentions toward him then bore a new sort of intrigue.

augur enjoyed the feel of her lighter weight against his shoulder. when she lifted her rangy limb he did the same. the rise-roughened pad of his paw touched her own.

the redtail wolf rumbled low in amusement. she was smaller than him but she was not without strength. he tipped his muzzle to take her scent more deeply, unsnarling the fragrances of salt and matriarchy.

The warmth from his breath made her skin feel rosy and tingly. She pulled her small foot back to her chest and tilted her head to appraise his face once more, now so close that she could see all the fine details of his features. She’d seen flowers growing in the meadow that were a shade similar to the soft yellow of his eyes. There was a slim line beneath one of them, a scar where she could see the darker hue of his skin. Scars did not frighten her, though- not when so many she loved boasted their own. 

He smelled wild, fresh, and the warmth of his shoulder against her made her reluctant to think they should ever have to pull apart from one another. 

It occurred to her then that she had let her guard down, and had embraced him so fondly and easily as a trusted friend without even knowing much about him. She had no reason to doubt her judgement, but she did feel a bit giddy knowing that she had not followed typical protocol. There had been no introduction, no audition- just impulse, and it had created something very new and lovely. 

Still- she had to wonder. With a mischievous smile she reached toward him to tap the tip of her nose against his, before she chirped ”What is your name?”

she set her eyes on him and seemed to see all of his detailing.

goldfinch asked his name. the hunter rumbled the pair of low deep syllables that prophet had given him to wear. he pressed a questing snout to her cheek and then to her nose, to mimick what she had done.

it sent a new sensation through him. augur had no name for it and so did not dwell. he thumped his plume happily against the earth.

His voice was so deep that the sensation of vibrations distracted her from catching his name. Something deep, low, that had come from the back of his throat. It was almost a growl, but punctuated. She thought the sound was beautiful- though she wasn’t certain she could speak it clearly herself. 

She was too polite and perhaps a bit sheepish to ask him to repeat it. His motion surprised her, until she realized what it meant. With a chirp, she responded. ”Chacal.” Two notes, the second a bit higher, followed by a gentle glissando down and into silence- the way she always spoke her name. Lyrical, but subtle.

her voice resembled those of the birds. augur was captured by its sound. 

chacal.

the tonality of that would be deepened in his own bass, reforged into something to support the velveteen lyric that was goldfinch's title. augur chuffed with delight.

he mouthed her ear and rolled up to stand. he was suddenly restless and wished to share this energy with the seawolf.

She uttered a low, guttural noise as his teeth traced his ear. It tickled, but it also sent a shiver down her spine to be touched in such a sensitive place. He'd teased her, though, and pulled away as he rolled over onto his feet. Chacal, clearly craving more of what he'd just offered, huffed haughtily and flipped somewhat gracelessly onto her belly and lurched to her feet too. 

With a gesture deft and playful, she reached out to nip the air at his shoulder, as though to show her disdain at being tempted and then left wanting. She yipped, and bounded away, frisking with high steps and regarding him with a coy glint in the corner of her eye, to tempt him into a chase.

augur saw her want and felt a bit of surprise.

it melted to anticipation. the grey hunter saw the light upon goldfinch's gaze and darted after her at once. his grace belied his bulk. he nipped for her flank and her tailtip, only aiming to drag his teeth through with a controlled touch.

augur barked once, loudly.

<3 Thank you for this thread! Sorry it took me so long to keep up with it, but it’s truly a gem!

She flitted away from him with the unflinching speed of a sparrow, but he was a powerful breeze she could not easily outrun. She felt the disturbance of air at her flank, shadowed by his shoulder. He barked, and she growled softly. 

With few words spoken, a bond had been forged. In the grace of a playful spirit they both shared sprouted an innocent friendship she would be foolish not to cherish.