The Heartwood don’t believe all the lies that you’ve been told

for @Redshank

So, it was done.

Rian found himself alone today as he wandered the scorched reaches of the Heartwood. The fire that had ripped through the woodland was long gone but the scars still remained. It was a charred ruin of the former glory; a testament to the forces of the world. But the recent onset of spring had produced something of a rebirth within the ravaged territory. Tiny saplings were unfurling from the blanket of ash and detrius. They were small, and had a long road ahead to reach the heights their forebears once commanded, but it was possible that, someday, the Heartwood would stand tall as it once did. 

He felt something of a kindredship with it, as he was going through a similar journey of personal discovery after the terrible events of his childhood. The boy slowed as he approached the burnt out hollow of a tree, and bowed his head to nose one of the sprouts with a gentle touch. The colors were vibrant against the grayscale hues of its surroundings, and it drew a rare smile across his lips, but he didn't linger long. He'd taken it upon himself to find some food for his cousins, so he stepped away and continued on through the hollow out ruin of the forest.

He headed north after his run in with that tiny runt in the forest, his journey aimless but he walked with a sense of pride — as if he knew exactly what he was doing. In truth, the boy could not be any more lost but he'd never admit to something like that. After being Sol's captive and warrior-in-training, Redshank much preferred this newfound freedom, even if it did mean he was hungry most of the time. This burned up territory he had stumbled upon didn't offer much in the way of food either, though he had found a small, somewhat charred and rotten bone to chew on.

The boy carried it as he walked, proud of his find, and did not stop even as another came into view. A large man, almost the same colour as Redshank himself, inspecting a boring carcass of a tree. The boy snorted and came to a halt, dropping the bone before him and placing an over-sized paw upon it. "I've already found all the food that's here, so don't bother lookin' anymore."

Just as he was starting to appreciate the solitude again, a youthful voice broke the silence and startled him. He whirled to face the intruder with his hackles at half-mast, and eyes wide, though neither was done out of aggression. "Wh-!" Rian blurted stupidly until his brain caught up to his ears, and he realized just what had been said. Who said it was an entirely different matter. He glanced down at the trunk then back at the younger earth-cloaked boy with his brow twisted together in confusion. He had about a million questions, but he figured he should answer the child. 

His eyes drifted to the bone, then back to the boy's face. He blinked. "You don't look large enough to have eaten everything..." He answered with a nervous flick of his ear.

As the other whirled around, the boy pulled himself to his full — unremarkable — height. It took a moment before the other responded after a brief stammer. He seemed to be a little...dim. Redshank regarded him with a pair of eyes narrowed in harsh judgement, tail raised defiantly despite the obvious size and age difference between them. As the stranger's confused gaze fell to the bone at his paws, the boy protectively placed a paw upon it. In reality, it wasn't much of a prize, certainly not worth stealing, but Redshank was adamant about keeping it. It was his.

"Yeah, well...well, I did. So don't bother," he retorted with an indignant huff.

Rian very much didn't like how the much younger pup was acting towards him. A growl slowly ignited in his chest as the boy continued with his prickly retorts and obviously possessive behavior over the bone he coveted, but the O'Malley bit it back in favor of learning just a bit more. Was he alone? Or was he being watched by a suspicious guardian. Rian sent a surreptitious glance over his shoulder, then to his left, before settling his jade gaze on the earth-shaped boy. Clearly someone so young hadn't somehow devoured all there was to eat in the woods, so it begged the question: why was he alone?

He frowned. "Where are your parents?" He asked curtly, either wanting to rid himself of the annoying company, or lead him back home if he was a persnickety little runaway.

In any other pup, there would be a little voice in their head telling them to back down from a wolf much larger than themselves and to not try and agitate them any further, however Redshank lacked such a voice. In fact, he lacked any sort of discretion when it came to interacting with those older than himself. Or younger, really. His social skills were as stunted as his growth...maybe even more so.

With heavy paw steps, he plodded towards the other, nosing the bone along with him. He stopped at his question, a blank, dumb-struck expression touching his features briefly. "Dead," he replied with a shrug, resuming his act of cool indifference. In reality, he had no idea. He had been taken from his siblings and not-mother at not even a month old and memories of that time were quickly fading. "Where're yours?" he shot back with a smirk, even though he had no clue how old the other boy really was.

Dead.

Well then. Rian blinked, and all irritation vanished. It explained a lot—more than he was aware. The boy was weird, true, but without parents to guide and teach him, Rian couldn't find a whole lot of fault in his demeanor. It wasn't his fault, after all. A sadness touched him when the question was suddenly redirected back, but he could only shake his head. "Dunno. Too old for parents to bother, now." He admitted, not bothering to go into detail as to where his father was, or if he was even alive. Kieran was a hole in his life, but he served no greater purpose than that.

The subject wasn't really something he wanted to dwell on, especially with what amounted to a child, so he thought of something else to preoccupy them. "Since you found all the food here, wanna help me find some elsewhere? I'll give you the lion's share." Rian asked with a hollow smile.

Something shifted in the other's demeanour, one that Redshank noted but couldn't quite tell what it actually was. No matter. He felt the man was not a threat — even though realistically he could quite easily snuff out his life — and so continued to keep up his own domineering display. An amused grin spread across his face at the his response; if he felt any pity he did not show it.

Thankfully, the subject was quickly changed and Redshank looked down at the bone again, deciding whether or not to keep it. The stranger's offer was tempting and he was secretly thankful it. For all his arrogance, the boy was a terrible hunter and had been living off scraps for the better part of a month. His stomach constantly pained him. "Fuck yeah," he said, perking up and giving the older boy a happy wag of his tail.

i've taken wayy too long to reply to anything, so I'll wrap this up and we can have a more updated thread soon! <3

Rian nearly snorted at the blase use of the foul language. Redshank was more sure of himself than even Rian, even with his poor lot in life, and it was difficult to even fathom it. But, regardless, he wouldn't feel right leaving the boy to his own devices so he was glad when he agreed to join him for a quick grub grab. Rian waved his own tail and turned his nose to the winds, catching the trailing scent of the sweet grass of the fields that would attract even the most nervous of prey.

With a quick glance to make sure Redshank was still on his heels, the older boy set off away from the brambles and into the open fields in search of game for them both.