Jade Fern Grove you don’t want no beef, boy

it had been a few days now (probably longer, whoops) since tristan have reunited with @Bat… who was still struggling with the weight of her moms death but also being more helpful than he would’ve been if the situation were flipped. so, props to her. 

she’d helped a lot with cleaning up that nasty wound on his ear. it hadn’t gotten infected thank god, but it was still really bloody looking and gross. like, ew, we’re not sure how he almost picked up ibis looking like that. and she’d been a good hunting partner thank GOD. tristan had really been struggling out here on his own. 

they par-oozed whatever territory they were in currently, i’m writing this from my computer which i have to paste into discord and then send to myself and then copy that and paste into a new thread on my phone so the map search feature isn’t really an option rn. they’re in the valley. anyway. as they walked, tristan decided to derail whatever conversation they were having (probably something stupid anyway). what’re your plans right now? like are you just wandering or are you going somewhere? he asked her, genuine curiosity spread across his face as he looked upon his little friend. for once, it actually wasn’t a weighted question… he just wanted to know.

This was where she'd met the pregnant Dawn a few weeks back. Bat didn't mind that she'd been here before and that she was wandering in circles. It didn't matter to her which direction they went. It was good to be traveling with Tristan again, that's what mattered. Wonder if she's yeeted those kids though, the yearling thought with a quiet snort.

She actually repeated that out loud but rather than appreciating her witticism or answering her, Tristan fired off a question of his own and incidentally gave Bat the opportunity to think aloud some more. "I don't have any particular destination in mind, no. I'm just wandering for its own sake. You?" Maybe they should've had this conversation days ago, though Bat wasn't in any hurry.

She'd been thinking about her mom a lot and she'd considered visiting the Firebirds at some point. But Bat wasn't ready to face all that yet. But that made her think of something and Bat threw yet one more thought onto the pile of words. "I think I want to take Dracarys as my last name. It means 'fire' and the first part of it reminds me of Drageda. So it's kind of a nod to, like, stuff."

coo coo coo, muttered Tristan like a pigeon thoughtfully as he padded alongside her, tail swaying, same, probably. i don’t really wanna go back west, though. 

he was kind of caught off guard to her second comment, and swayed a little as he thought it over in his head… trying to think of something that wasn’t insensitive to say. cause ya hot n spicy? he joked despite trying not to be insensitive, though he added, I think that’s nice. 

after a few beats, tristan continued. did i tell you what I changed my last name to? uhm! please put your attention back on Tristan, thanks, it’s not all about you.

He said he didn't want to go west and Bat merely nodded. "Seq and I actually spent some time to the north and east. It was pretty interesting, though not too different from stuff around here. I bet if we'd gone further, things would've gotten more different." She probed her cheek with her tongue thoughtfully. One day, maybe she would find out for sure. Maybe Tristan would even come along too.

"No," she replied right away, blinking curiously at him. It had taken some time to get used to his new name, though by now she only called him by his old name once, maybe twice a day. Bat was actually more surprised by the thought of him dropping the Blackthorn surname. "I know you said everybody left and that's why you changed. Does 'everybody' include your mom and dad?" she asked in a soft voice, thinking of her own late mothers.

well.. I guess we’ll see what else is out there, he said, offering a quick nudge to her shoulder. he didn’t think it was anything crazy different, really, he just figured he’d meet new wolves. that would be what would make it different than home… er, the plateau. he guessed he couldn’t call it home anymore. 

she said no, and if she was actually interested or not tristan literally didn’t care. it’s b, he said with a little bit of excitement, like, just the letter. cause like — what’s the b stand for? blackthorn? bitch? blueberry? literally up for interpretation. he thought it was quite clever.

but then bat had to go ruin his excitement with some hard hitting questions. ugh. well, he supposed he kind of owed it to her. he sighed. i mean, yeah. mom and dad left too… i don’t really think I changed though… just my name. and I couldn’t even drop the t. he explained with a shrug. he paused to roll a few words around on his tongue. I just… felt like I was being left behind. and obviously no one really meant to hurt my big sensitive baby heart but… it made me feel disposable.

She blinked again at his grand announcement. It was an initial more than anything. Bat shook her head, then smiled. "Bat Dracarys and Tristan B," she drawled. "Our album drops later this year." She clucked her tongue as if tasting the shiny new names. Jokes aside, they both sounded pretty good to her. And in her head, she decided the B definitely stood for Blueberry.

She'd always thought he and his mom were inseparable, though Bat decided against mentioning this out loud; what purpose would it serve? "I'm sorry if I ever made you feel that way," she did say, sincerely. He was right: she and likely others never meant to hurt him or leave him behind, though that didn't stop him from feeling understandably disenfranchised.

Bat said nothing else for a few moments as they continued plodding through the grove, though after a moment, she gave him a sort of speculative look and said, "I'm really enjoying this: traveling together, I mean. It feels really... right. We could just... keeping doing this." She was about to say more, though she stopped herself there to let Tristan sound out his thoughts.

tristan gave a good, hearty snort at that. skraight fire flames, bro, came the slur of nonsense from his smacker. It made sense to him, bro. 

when she apologized or whatever tristan just shrugged. it’s okay. i mean, it sucks and made me sad or whatever but like.. no one really has any obligation to me. which, i guess made it suck more, he said, trying not to pin the blame on her because… I mean really, it was everyones collective fault — including his own. I dunno. I’ve moved on, he said, which was a big phat lie but he was at least talking more sensibly than he had spoken to his mother (and to towhee) in the prior weeks. look, one good mental breakdown will add some sanity to you. I think. kind of. 

he smiled a bit when she kind of… well, was she stumbling over her words? he couldn’t tell, but bat was definitely hesitating a bit. well yeah, he said with a few waves of his tail, I’ve got nothing better to do. like he would’ve rather been anywhere else, ha.

His response could've hurt her feelings, if Bat didn't know him better. Her lips twitched and she rolled her eyes at him, albeit fondly. "Me neither," she concurred, wrinkling her nose. There was more she could've said but she decided to leave it at that. Being on the road and living day to day had softened some of the jagged edges of her emotions, so when Tristan agreed to traveling together indefinitely, Bat decided she would just go with the flow. But she was secretly more pleased than she would admit out loud or to herself.

"I don't want to come up with a whole itinerary or anything," she opined after a stretch of companionable silence, "because that would definitely harsh my vibe." Bat smirked. "But what if we checked out the local packs? Not to join. Just for something to do. And we don't have to pinball from one to the other, just maybe scope them out as we come across them." Her attention drifted up from a nearby fern to Tristan's face, wondering what he thought of that (casual!) agenda.

harsh your vibe, repeated tristan with a light snort, tail waving, thinking about the statement in his head a little bit. not his favorite, but certainly new. 

to her other, actual comment, though, he nodded. sure, yeah, he said with a flick of his damaged ear, just to like... get information? or like, join for a day, eat their food, and then dip? cause i'm down for either. actually! the second one sounded way better... also totally a way to make some serious enemies. tristan wasn't really sure he needed to be like ... bitten. not anytime soon.

we should also check out the ocean. it's hot as balls and i wanna go swimming with some c r a  b s, he added as a side note, and then with a sideways glance at her, we could also check out drageda... if you haven't been yet.

In response to Tristan's either/or question, Bat only offered a cheeky smile and a, "Yes." The swing of her tail said that she was in agreement: she was down for anything. This sort of lifestyle suited her well, where she could roam at will, exploring and discovering, without having to worry about anyone but herself... and Tristan now, as well. It was simple and sweet.

"I'd love to see it again," she admitted when he mentioned the sea, a sense of nostalgia stealing over her. But his suggestion about Drageda had her shaking her head almost immediately. "I'd rather not, not right now." She slowed in her step as she brushed past yet another cluster of ferns, a bit of dew catching on her slate pelt. "I think Kiwi's starting a pack near there and I'd just rather steer clear of all that ish, you know? We don't get along," Bat said, unsure if he knew that and unaware of Tristan's own altercation with her sister.

She'd spent much of her first year of life suffering some sort of strife with her family, from nomi's departure to her reunions with Wildfire (mostly happy) and Kiwi (mostly angry). Now two of the three were dead and Bat didn't feel like dwelling on the past right now. She wanted to live in the present, here, with her best friend, doing what they did best: traveling together.

i guess that's... fair, returned tristan with a flick of his ear, we don't have to go towards the ocean, then. but if i don't get to eat another c  r a b before i die then you're coming to hell with me. cause in wolf land idk what constitutes as a good, pure life, but tristan probably didn't live it. i mean, he has fuckin bastard children somewhere in this world for christ sake. and he killed a bird because no one was paying attention to him... i mean, fine it was just a bird (a FUCKING BIRD) but he definitely scared that one kid half to dead so. that merits something... the other one was blind so he didn't know where he stood there.

anyway. tristan was probably going to hell, or a version of it.

and then at the mention of kiwi, tristan's nose wrinkled. yeah fuck that noise. i don't get along well with kiwi either, he said in agreement, tail flicking rather aggressively, lets just stick our dicks in whatever holes presented to us. like that was a commonly used metaphor to describe 'going with the flow'... ok, tristan.

Whether in response to his comment about her sister or sticking dicks in holes, Bat turned to face him fully, brow arched comically. She said nothing though, not right then. Her lips parted as if she might ask a question, only to press together again. She swung to face forward, continuing their leisurely plod through the grove.

Finally, she said, "I didn't mean we couldn't go to the ocean. I'd like to. Just not Drageda in particular." She paused, then Bat had to know, "What's up with you and crabs, man?"

tristan, so focused on the idea of eating another c r a b, didn't answer right away. and mag, really wanting to save this story for the time that tristan actually finds a thread, is making her toon hold off. i'll tell you when we get to the c r a b s, he insisted with a lil nudge to her shoulder, something to look forwards to. or something, idk? 

but yeah -- let's do it, he said with a broad smile. and, knowing they're already been over this in their previous conversation but really feeling the urge to say it again, tristan got a little weird for a second before he tacked on, i'm really glad we're traveling together again.

She chuckled at his reluctance to explain himself, though she supposed it did give her something else to look forward to once they reached the seaside. Then a damp fern leaf smacked her broadside and Bat swatted at it idly, thinking she'd had just about enough of this grove.

When Tristan echoed her earlier sentiment, she tossed him a grin. "Me too," she replied, not caring that they were being redundant. "This place is too... green," Bat added in the next breath, "Let's get out of here. We should head west as far as the mountains, then follow them north to the coast." She was pretty sure that would carry them well past old Drageda.

Bounding ahead a few steps, Bat swished her tail, trying to smack Tristan in the muzzle with it. "I feel like running, at least until we hit the Sunspires. You coming, B?" With a playful grin, the yearling faced forward and darted, suddenly eager to put the grove behind them and taste the sea salt air again.