Neverwinter Forest Two-fifty for an eyeball, and a buck-and-a-half for an ear

@Aibreann

An unsuccessful hunt had led Jackalope through several brambles and bushes, until he found himself stalking back into the forest with a stiff-legged gait, the grey fur of his underside and the feathering of his legs tangled up in clumps by the burdocks he now sported. The small, round seed pods had buried themselves into his pelt when he'd failed to leap over a large patch of drying bushes, and had cost him his meal by rendering him incapable of making any swift turns without screeching from the discomfort. The little hooks at the end of each bristle embedded them tightly in his grey fur. 

With a sour look on his face, he ambled back across the borders and into the pack, muttering under his breath as he carefully sat himself down, and craned his neck around so that he could start pulling the burdocks from his fur, one clump at a time, wincing as he carelessly pulled out tufts of hair with each tug as well.

thank u sm for starting!! tag for reference + slight pp, lmk if i need to edit

She leaves the children with @Mal, seeking her brother on a whim. She doesn't expect to find him in his current state, however. The sight makes her pause for a moment in her approach — but only a moment. Oh, Jackalope, She starts, chiding him yet full of affection. You'll hurt yourself more that way. She steps forward, using her own muzzle to brush his aside and taking one of the burrs in her mouth without hesitation. She works it free a touch more slowly, but the ripping effect is lessened, and she's certain the skin is less irritated when she pulls it away. If he doesn't stop her, she continues with the rest until they've all been worked from his fur, gentle and patient throughout the process.

Jackalope managed to avoid growling at the observation his sister made, though it didn't stop him from scowling at her remark, and mouthing silently as though imitating her. She was right- but she was always right, and he echoed himself from many a previous admission, by groaning as he spoke "Yeah, yeah, yeah." He simply didn't have the patience to pull the burrs out gently, to comb through the fur with his teeth and wriggle them free, he simply wanted them all out of his pelt, yesterday. He rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh as she nudged his muzzle aside, and uttered a soft, moody growl as she started pulling the burrs from his fur. She was gentler than he'd been- but Jackalope was a horrible patient. 

His lips twitched every time she pulled a burr loose, and occasionally he uttered a soft yip in protest when a few hairs were pulled loose with a burr. Of course, he had very little patience for pain, and by the time she'd freed most of them from his pelt he'd had more than enough. He uttered a short snarl of warning when a few stray strands of fur came free with a burr near his ribs, and scooched away from her. "Damnit Glee," He protested, shuffling his hindquarters away from her, so she couldn't nab the last few that were embedded in the fur of his flank, where the flesh was most sensitive. "I'm tryna grow my fur out, y'know, for winter," He explained in a childish tone, before he reached back, grabbed the last clump of burrs and wrenched them free, pulling a fair chunk of grey fur with it. "Pull enough of my fur out and I'll have to bunk in with you and your ankle-biters just to keep warm. And believe me, none of us want that to happen."

apologies for the short posts! im still a bit rusty

She can't help the soft laugh that escapes her when her brother snarls and pulls away, feeling a certain youthful edge return to her. When the last of the burrs are pulled loose, she steps toward him again, swiping her tongue over his cheeks and forehead a few times. Her brother might be a pain, but time has only strengthened her affection for her favorite littermate. You never know, She teases as she steps back. Maybe a bit of family bonding time would be good for you. You always did love it when we were young.

No worries about length!! I love the way you write her :D

He looked up at his sister, whose tenderness was evergreen but likely wasted on the grump who weathered her gentle fussing for a few moments before he winced and pulled away. Instinctively, he cast a glance about to see if anyone had noticed him accepting some form of affection- after all, he had a reputation to keep up, and he wouldn't have the other pack members thinking he'd gone soft, even for his own family members. Aside from flirting shamelessly with some of the young women of the pack, he showed very little fondness for anyone and felt more comfortable with the others thinking he was the sort to remain distant, aloof. 

She was still working on him, though, and had not given up trying to convince him to spend time with her children. "Maybe in another year or two. However long it takes for kids to stop being annoying." He said, and he shook his head, cackling at her comment on their childhood. "There were nine of us in that litter, Glee, nine. I didn't love it- there just wasn't enough space in that frickin' den for me to get away from it. I mean," He said, and snickered unattractively. "That's why I ditched a day ahead of the plans. So I didn't have all the dead weight slowing me down." He said, reaching out with a paw to bat at one of Aibreann's peachy legs in a rare offering of playful spirit.

aww thank you!! i love the way you write jackalope too, grumpy boys are my favorites

You ought to have followed me when I left, She responds, only half serious. Her amusement with his words is apparent, though she avoids going into detail on the subject of their other siblings for now. I thought about inviting you — but I decided not to open myself up to others asking to come along. Yet somehow my favorite brother found me after all. She smiles at him, tail swaying slightly. What do you think of Neverwinter Forest — and Mal?

wc: 310

Jackalope chuckled dryly, but he was at least partially warmed by the sentiment that Glee wanted him around. He reached out to bump the tip of his muzzle against her shoulder as though to playfully shove her away, though there was a certain softness to the gesture that lacked any real sincerity. “Nah. You wouldn't have liked teenage Jackalope,” He said softly, and there was a hint of regret to his voice. Even he didn't like who he'd been when he'd been a yearling, and it'd taken him years to feel even somewhat comfortable in his own skin. In part, he was relieved that Glee had missed that part of his life; she might not have wanted him around had she known who he was.

He rolled his eyes dramatically when he was labelled as her favourite, and snorted, the air whistling slightly through his narrow nasal cavity. “Favourite sibling. Right,” He groaned. Given there were seven others from their litter alone, he found it difficult to believe that out of all of them, Glee liked him the most. He'd been the difficult one since birth.

She asked how he felt about Neverwinter Forest, and he stretched, pushing his long, thin forelegs out before him, and when he relaxed, he flopped softly over onto his side. “Meh,” Was his first answer, and he was quiet for a few moments afterwards, as though that was all he really had to say about both of them. “Boring. And boring.” He commented honestly. Mal was a decent enough wolf- but there was little about him that rubbed him the wrong way, which was a rare enough occurrance. “So,” he clarified, “Not too bad. What do you think of Mal?” He asked, curious to see how his sister felt about the man who'd fathered her children, but had not taken her as his mate.

She was about the only wolf in the pack whose opinion mattered at all to him, and he'd listen to her, trying not to judge Mal too harshly, so long as he made his sister happy.