Bramblepoint my rapier wit hides my inner pain

@Trick :)

The effects of whatever fermented fruit he'd accidentally eaten had faded away, or was it even fermented fruit? Could it have been an abundance of poppy? Or nutmeg? Teagan scowled, shoving the thoughts to the edge of his mind in annoyance. He was here for a reason, and that reason was not to get drunk, or high, for that matter, even though both options seemed way more inviting than going on a mission to find someone that, one, probably hated him and two, probably wants nothing to do with Teag. And there was also the fact that he was trying to find one wolf in this world of so many wolves; the chances of him actually finding the raven furred male were literally second to none.

The idea of that almost caused Teagan to give up. Except he didn't. A part of him was tired of giving up, tired of relenting, tired of letting things be and going with the flow. He was tired of losing those he cared about, and even more tired for allowing them to leave. He was done with that; this time, he wasn't going to lose the man, not if he could help it. After all, Wilde had promised not to leave, not if he did have a choice.

The fox hissed out a breath between gritted teeth as he nosed through some plants, wrinkling his nose at the scent. A rabbit had disappeared into the said plants moments ago, and now the coywolf could find nothing but the barest trace the prey had left behind, muddled with the surprisingly strong scents these greens gave off. He pulled his muzzle out from the bushes and narrowed his eyes, his mind already formulating a plan. Teagan hadn't eaten in days, a week even, maybe more and he was in desperate need for food. Survival came before Trick. Well, only by a bit. After all, Teagan didn't really care if he lived or died, not really, he just wanted to apologise, and maybe, just maybe, make it up to him.

Trick almost couldn't believe he was accepted so easily in the new pack. While he did know he was pretty amazing and good-looking, he never expected Perry to accept them because of Grace. He liked her, maybe as a toy, but everyday he began seeing her more as a friend. The Keep was in the past now, but Trick swore he would find them once again and poison their stocks. He wondered how well they were fairing without the two true Marauders. He hoped they would kill each other and rot in hell so he didn't have to go out of his way to do it.

Perry was interested in Grace becoming a hunter, and Trick had promised to do his fare share of work too. That's what brought him outside the territory today- he'd catch something to share either with Perry himself or Grace. He had seen some others, but none had approached him just yet, so he wouldn't either. Time was food, and if he didn't catch enough, he would never rise up in the ranks. He wanted to claim his Gamma spot, but that would have to wait. He never thought about Teagan anymore, only on rare occasions did the foxy male end up in his thoughts. But that time was not now. Instead- he was focused on a rabbit. A nice plump one, too.

He chased the fat rabbit, his speed making up for his strength, and after some tedious minutes, his muzzle was covered in fresh blood. He sniffed his catch over to check if the animal didn't have some weird disease, but he was lucky. Very nice... He mumbled, taking the rabbit back in his mouth to return to his new pack.

A flash of reddish orange distracted him, not knowing he had just caught the rabbit his former lover had lost. His nose was not wrinkling up at the smell of the plants, he quite liked the scent of it in the morning. He cautiously moved toward what seemed like another wolf, wanting to check if they planned anything nasty against his new home. What he saw next though, let him drop the rabbit in utter shock.

A faint scowl adorned the fallen angel's features as he lifted his gaze to the sky as if silently asking why God, or the gods were so cruel to him. He exhaled a breath softly, lowered his red crown back to ground level and looked around, ignoring the now familiar ache in his gut — the ache never seemed to heal, and so the coywolf had just gotten used to it, despite it's ever nagging presence that reminded him of his failures as well as the dull pain that came along with it. By now, the plan that he'd formulated would be of no use, most likely, the rabbit was long gone. Teagan dumped his mental plan into his mental trashcan and turned around, just in time to see the rabbit fall onto the ground — his rabbit.

"Yo, buddy, that was supposed to be my catch," Teagan admonished, though the corner of his lip quirked upward in his signature smile, signalling that he was only joking - or was he? He was never a predictable creature. It was only then did he lift his gaze and saw who the wolf was. "Holy..." he started, "Trick, you're here...you're okay.." Teagan stared, his green eyes wide in disbelief and he took a small step back, his breaths coming out in short, harsh bursts as he attempted to recover from the shock and surprise. The wolf he'd been trying to find had found him instead, and for once, the coywolf was at a lost for words as he ran his eyes over Trick's body, remembering every detail of it.

Teagan's tail fell, swaying gently by his ankles as he bowed his head, unsure of what to do now that he'd met who he wished to find. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, before clearing his throat and lifting his eyes a fraction, "I...I'm sorry," the hybrid spoke louder now, his voice clearer but the words felt unfamiliar on his tongue, unused to apologising as he was and tentatively looked towards Trick's face, wondering what he would see there and already setting up walls in his heart.

Trick was not mentally prepared for walking into Teagan. His past had come back to haunt him, and for a moment he thought he was hallucinating. Teagan was gone - far gone, somewhere where not even The Keep could find him. Yet here he stood, alive for the most part and breathing. Just as he was getting his life back together Teagan just had to show up. This was mentally bullying him! Trick closed his eyes, counting down from 3 to 0, then opening them again. It wasn't a ghost, nor a vision. It was really Teagan, and the pirate didn't know how to react.

A frown settled upon his face, his smirk as clear as day. Then take it. He responded, nosing the rabbit closer that brought him closer as well. He looked more hungry than anyone at Redhawk anyway, and he was sure he'd be able to catch a second rabbit. He sighed, dropping his mask as the air disappeared out of his lungs, only to inhale the sweet scent of berries once again as he closed his eyes. What for? He rumbled, moving backwards with small steps.

I'm used to things disappearing, like the seasons. It's life... He sighed, not even lying. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to catch another piece of junk for my pack.

He watched with a mixture of sadness and apprehension as Trick closed his eyes, almost as if he was not ready to see a face from his past, and for a moment, Teagan wondered if it had been a good idea to come back. He'd always had the thought that the past was the past and if he ever ditched someone, ever made a mistake, he would enver venture there again, for fear of meeting those who loathed him for it. Now, Teagan was trying to be the bigger man, actually, he'd became a bigger man because he no longer cared who disliked him and who didn't, they didn't matter to the coywolf anymore. That was why he came back, and that was why he wanted to find Trick, to confront his problems and perhaps, find a solution to them.

Teagan supposed it wasn't fair to Trick, to find his ex lover wandering back one day with no explanation on why he'd vanished when he was needed most. The hybrid could imagine what that felt like; though truly he wondered if he'd ever meant that much to the raven furred man, if he'd been the only one who thought their connections ran deeper than the surface. If it was that case, then he'd made a dire mistake in his calculations, but he was 86% sure that he hadn't made a mistake, which wasn't a very high percentage given his current circumstance.

The swarthy male told him to take the rabbit, to which Teagan responded with a crease in his eyebrows and a shake of his head, "I'll be alright," he says in his ever predominant accent even though a sharp pang in his stomach told him otherwise. He was a prideful creature and he hated charity or pity, hence why he refused, though he'd refrained from using the harsher words he would usually say, given the fact that it would probably not help his case in getting back on Trick's good side at the slightest. Nevertheless, the words tingled at the tip of his lip, waiting to be said, waiting for the anger and hurt to ensue. He wasn't a very polite man, thus was unused to not speaking most of his mind but he swallowed the words anyways and focused his energy on the current situation at hand.

Trick spoke then, asking him why he was sorry in an almost weary tone and began moving backwards in small steps. The swarthy male explained that he was used to disappearances and that it was life, before excusing him like a stranger, telling Teagan that he had to catch more prey for his pack. From their location, and the scent lingering on Trick's fur, he deduced that the man was no longer in the Keep. Not that it mattered anymore because there was no way the fox was going back, not if Warbone was not in charge, not if Trick wasn't there anymore.

"Don't go," Teagan says, stepping forward carefully, hoping the other man wouldn't bolt. "Please, please —" he swallowed thickly before meeting Trick's gaze evenly, his eyes wide and imploring though the rest of his face remained carefully impassive, "— stay," he murmurs. "Look, I know you say you're used to things disappearing and I understand if you don't want me to ruin this...new life you have going on but I don't want to ruin anything, I never wanted to leave you in first place. And I'm sorry, for doing so, with Warbone gone and all that I'm sure it was shitass timing but I couldn't help it, I got dragged away and I didn't have time to inform you." He took a deep breath, "You probably don't need me now, you probably don't want me around but I came back to find you, I made a promise. I've lost so many wolves, Trick, I don't want to lose you too, even if it means you'll hate me for it."

Teagan looks away, catching his breath before meeting Trick's gaze as evenly as he can and taking yet another step forward, his posture displaying his neutraility and slight submissiveness. "Hear me out, at the very least?" he was bordering on begging now, and that would be outright embarrassing, so if this didn't work, he didn't know what he could do. Begging was definitely NOT an option. "Listen to why I had to leave? I know you might not want me around to mess it up again but I've dealt with it all, and I'm not here to go anymore. Please..just hear me out and give me a second chance, a shot to have a life with you again." He is breathing hard by the end of this, but still manages a smile and a quip, though it barely reaches his imploring eyes. "Besides, you can have the rabbit. So you can at least spare sometime, right?"

It wasn't like Trick disliked him- far from it. Teagan was a familiar, a true Marauder even if he'd left them for death. But Trick didn't want even him out of his past. He now, after years of struggling, had a future, and he wouldn't let it be ruined by a foxy male with his trademark grin and magically glowing green eyes. Love was not for him, the patched beauty had taught him that. The more he thought about it, the more he began to think the hot night they had shared together was just the result of anxiety and anger more than anything. Whatever had bloomed for Teagan before was gone, ripped from his very soul by hatred for the Keep and his past.

Take it or I'll force it down your throat. He replied with a slight chuckle to indicate it was indeed just a joke. I'm no thief. He added with more seriousness. He had never been one to fight for his food- he was never one to fight physically. He fought for his place and his own, and he found it offensive that the clearly somewhat underfed Teagan didn't accept his generous gift. He ran his tongue over his teeth, making a soft clicking sound as he stood there, waiting to be excused.

But he wasn't. It was stupid of him to think Teagan would let him go that easily. He was practically perfect, he knew, and so it was a curse he had to live with. Spare me your plea. He somewhat spat. He only liked the begging of his enemies, and so far, he didn't see Teagan as one. He felt powerful in the wrong way with Teagan like this, and he wanted to escape it. Teagan was a victim of circumstances, and he had chosen that life, not Trick. Faking emotions, born a psychopath, had helped Trick a lot in life. He simply did not care about it anymore. The only thing he cared was a nice place for himself and Grace, free from the clutches of the Keep and everything associated with it- including Teagan. Grace had to leave behind both her brother and adoptive mother figure to come with him, he wouldn't accept being lucky.

He listened with no expression at Teagan's rant. When he was finished, Trick had already made up his mind. You did not lose me, just my patience and loyalty. I see you still as an ally, nothing more. I see the past of others as unimportant and do not wish to know your reasoning. I will trust you as a friend by your words, assuming you truly had no other choice to leave both me and Grace, and so I do not need an explanation. He sighed. He had time to spare, but if he wanted to spend it on getting all cozy and friendly with Teabag was a question he didn't want to answer.

Listen, if you truly want to make it up to me, you'll try and join Redhawk Caldera. I don't know with how many we are, but asking costs nothing. I will not cover for you- you'll do this one your own.

Teagan raises an eyebrow at Trick's playful threat and for a moment, allows himself to remember the better times they had together. He swallows though, and shakes his head, "Don't worry. You caught it fair and square, not me," he reminds the raven furred male with a small smile. It wasn't a matter of who was giving him the food, it was a matter of someone giving him food. A proud creature like Teagan was not going to simply accept charity, that much was clear. He never did, and he never would.

The fox flinches when Trick spat at him, before anger courses through him. He bites his lip and looks away for a moment, controlling his emotions and maintaining his somewhat impassive countenance before facing Trick again. He wasn't going to let four words dissuade him from what he wanted to do, no, he was better than that. Instead, the coywolf continues his mini speech and breathes quietly when he is done, eyes landing lightly on the raven male's features. Trick began to speak then and while his words were a lot less harsher than Teagan had expected, his heart still sank and he looks away, though soon a ghost of a smile flits across the man's face as he looks back, "You've changed," he murmurs quietly, "in a good way, I suppose," He tilts his head thoughtfully, and wonders if it's just himself who's changed.

The trickster spoke again and Teagan looks wearily back. When he heard what he was given, however, his green eyes lights up with briefenthusiasm and he smiles, though a look of incredulity flits through his features when Trick says he would not cover for him — Teag didn't want that, he didn't need help but he refrains from saying that out loud. "I was planning to join whatever pack you were in, anyways," Teag says, the shadow of a smirk ghosting his lips. He wasn't going to let Trick go that easily.

He supposed he was a bit lazy today, and truly had no hunter mind at the moment. He would bring the rabbit to the stock, he guessed, or give it to someone walking by at the volcano to start a friendship. He wasn't good at friendship at all, and still didn't think it would do him any good to develop feelings for someone, but he guessed they had to know him so he could rise up in the ranks of the caldera. Very well. He voiced, dragging the dead critter back to him with his left, petite paw. 

He gave A Look as Teagan looked away. What had the chances been of them running into each other again? Or had Teagan stalked him? He could see it happen. Teabag seemed quite fond of him after all. Little did he know his now leader thought he was pretty hot- but as soon as he would notice, he'd go for it. Special connections to the alpha meant a good spot in the pack, and he yearned to teach and rule. He was still looking when the foxy male returned his gaze to his own raven pelt. He was surprised at what he heard. Changed? How? He he looked a bit confused, but soon enough smiled. I've grown soft, you mean. He joked.

He waited as his offer was being picked apart by the male's mind, not really caring if Teagan would go the distance or not. He was fine either way. The Caldera and Grace were his only concerns now, and perhaps how hungry Teagan looked. His cocky grin did not waver as the answer was given, nodding. Very well. He said again. What are you going to do now? Eat or go with me?

Teagan met Trick in the eye and smiled the weary smile of one who had encountered this situations more than once before and was simply tired of knowing that the other would never care for him the way he did and not for the first time, wondered why he was even doing it if he knew the end result was not to his liking. Perhaps it was because the fox wanted to see if the raven was any different, see if there was a chance even though deep down, he knew the odds were against him and he exhaled softly, the sigh lingering on his maw as he tlted his head up for a moment, gazing at the sky briefly before looking at Trick again.

"Soft, maybe," Teagan tilted his head, watching the man almost sadly. "I think I prefer the old you, but," his gaze lingered on Trick's face before he looked away, "who am I to judge?" he grinned, though it barely reached his eyes as he studied the Redhawk wolf with an intensity that he rarely showed, as if trying to commit everything he saw to memory before abandoning and leaving once more. Except he wasn't leaving this time. This time, it was the other way around, and he wasn't sure he liked it. Teag disliked new, bad experiences, because the outcome was rarely something that he liked which of course, comes to no surprise.

"Eat, I suppose," he gave a noncommital shrug as if he didn't care much for his wellbeing, which in a way, he didn't. He'd always been a creature who actively seeked death, while not willing to suicide at the sametime. "I can't very well show up to the Caldera's borders looking like a bloody skeleton, however tempting that might be," his eyes twinkled briefly in amusement, wondering what kind of reaction he would get if he did indeed show up looking like that.

The fun thing about Trick that he was never truly satisfied. He was always searching for something, anything to brighten his lonely existence. Teagan had been nothing more but a founding, a lost boy that had somehow grown on him. But that connection was no more. Redhawk Caldera was a new start for both him and Teagan, if he liked to. Perry seemed like the man that would be worthy of following, and the faces he had seen while strolling around the volcano seemed alright. Best of all; there were pups!

The old me didn't care. I think it's an improvement. He voiced his opinion. It was true- he was slowly beginning to care. Sure, he wanted to take over the Caldera, but that seemed more like a silly dream now. He would never fully submit to anyone though- especially not just other members. Trick did not easily bow, and they deserved to know.

Good. He replied shortly, looking around for a moment before picking up his catch and setting a few steps toward where he had come from. This was a great forest- there had to be some poisons and herbs here. Perhaps he should take Grace out someday. Would she even like that? I'll see you there whenever then, my friend. May the odds be in your favor. He said as a farewell, trotting off after waiting for a short reply.

The corner of Teagan's eyes crinkled in apparent amusement at Trick's opininon of his own changes and a sad smile adorned his lips. He lowered his head, hiding the smirk that threatened to show, and breathed out softly, only lifting his gaze back upwards when he'd successfully controlled his irrational urges to laugh like a manic. He wasn't sure why he wanted to, if he was being completely honest. Perhaps it was simply the fact that this whole situation was so...awkward compared to their previous encounters and that Teagan wanted to crawl away into a whole and die because none of this went according to his plans and he absolutely hated it when nothing when according to what he wanted. It was...simply annoying.

Trick spoke in farewell, calling him a friend. Which, he supposed, was better than a stranger, or an enemy, for that matter, but somehow, it still hurt inside. He pushed the feeling aside and swallowed. Teagan smiled at the raven man and nodded, "See you soon," he said, noting that his words were rather ominous but deciding they were a good choice, after all, who knew if he decided to suicide? Stranger things have happened.