King Elk Forest could frame thy fearful symmetry?

Dated July 2.

As soon as she set foot in the splendid King Elk Forest, Sugar's mind flashed back to the previous winter. She shuddered lightly at the recollection, feeling a chill despite the early July heat. At least you're nearly there, she thought to herself, making haste as she wove through the trees toward Silver Creek and the Frosthawks' domain just beyond.

She very nearly reached the far edge of the woods when Sugar stopped suddenly, the pitch black fur along her spine suddenly standing on end. Her ears pricked atop her head as she swept the surrounding trees with her beady black eyes. She detected absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, so she faced forward... just in time to see the woods' namesake stag rushing toward her.

Title from "The Tyger" by William Blake.

MKAY FINE, you win, here's a Bronco, HBD <3

It took him several days to recover from his altercation with his mother, and by that point, he was practically starving. He'd abandoned even his own, old den and had found another place to hide out, near the southern borders of the pack so that his mother wouldn't find him when she inevitably came looking for him. It was the longest he'd gone without checking in on his siblings, and he did feel guilty about that...He simply wasn't ready to face his mother again, nor did he have any idea when he'd feel up to the task. He resented her, greatly, for having been so hard on him. He felt ashamed of himself for having been dominated so easily- and for having wet himself from fear. 

Having had luck hunting elk with Haoniyao months ago in the forest, he headed in that direction to see perhaps if his friend was still in the area. He'd seen no sign of the friendly and helpful male, which was discouraging. He'd offered for Yao to visit the Copse, and that it might be a potential home for him, but to Bronco's knowledge, he hadn't passed by. Still- he'd been encouraged by their successful hunt, and revisited the area, hoping to find a hunting partner and something for them to hunt. 

He caught the elk's scent first, though he wasn't on its track. The scent came to him on the breeze, so he wandered in that direction with his nose lifted so that he could track the creature down. While he knew it was dangerous for a single wolf to hunt an elk, he couldn't help himself from at least checking the situation out, and seeing if he could potentially bring it down provided he could find a hunting partner. 

He caught sight of the elk- its long, pointed whale tines sloping down over its hind quarters, just as it raised its head. He thought for a moment that it might stare toward him, and that he'd been caught- but it stared straight ahead for a moment, leading Bronco to follow its gaze. He saw nothing at first- until he caught the glint of silver fur between the trees, the gentle curve of her spine accentuated by a ridge of spiky black fur. And by the time he looked back to the elk, it had begun to charge. 

In the moment before impact, he would remember the terror in Sugar Glider's eyes, which he had seen twice before. Once when the landslide had caused a rogue wave to slam into her, and again when the hazel-eyed male had pinned her. Wordlessly he'd charged, slicing through the undergrowth and leaping at the last moment to collide with the elk's shoulder, hoping to throw it off course before it could gore his friend.

Hooray! Please let me know if you mind the following PP and I'll make edits.

Without thinking, Sugar dropped and darted at a perpendicular angle to the stag's trajectory, unwittingly putting herself directly in Bronco's path. She never saw him coming. His forelegs crashed into her flank, the force of impact shoving her ruthlessly to the forest floor. She didn't just drop, she rolled once and ended up landing roughly on her other side, blinking in shock.

A heartbeat later, she darted back to her feet, ignoring the pain in her ribs. Her eyes swept the nearby forest and saw the elk retreating into the trees, shaking his head and snorting as he went. Sugar exhaled shakily and then her brow furrowed as she turned to see who had run into her.

100% cool :3

And just as he became airbourne he felt something run right in front of him, taking him out just where his legs curled against his chest. This essentially made his front end come to a halt while his hind end continued forward, arcing over his head and causing him to tumble arse-over-tea-kettle so that he would land flat on his back with a loud thud. He'd come up just short of the elk which had escaped the entire scrape due to one wolf clotheslining the other. Bronco couldn't hear the elk's hoofbeats as it galloped away over the pounding of his heart which throbbed in his ears. 

Lightly dazed, he remained where he was, and tried to take in a breath- but found that he felt as though his lungs had completely clamped shut. He'd hit the grund hard enough to knock the wind out of himself, and though he'd seen this happen to others, it was the first time he'd done it to himself. He could breathe out- which he did in coughing gasps- but could breath in very little. Stunned and panicking, he hunched over, tongue lolling out as he forcefully coughed in an attempt to suck in what little air he could.

She gasped when she saw him, immediately rushing to stand over him even as Sugar shouted, "Bronco!" She quickly assessed him with eyes and nose, finding no broken bones or even skin, plus no signs of blood. She could tell that he was struggling to catch his breath and it made Sugar's ribs twinge sympathetically. Hopefully it was just a matter of having the wind knocked out of him, maybe some bruising, and nothing more.

Sinking down beside him, Sugar realized she was trembling. "I think you just saved my life," she whispered, putting her muzzle to his temple. "Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"

Bit by bit, Bronco was able to draw in enough oxygen to calm down, though he was still alarmed by how unpleasant it was to have the wind knocked out of him. He'd been drooling, and felt a bit ashamed of it, given the fact that Sugar Glider was right there. He hadn't even realized that she'd been checking him for injuries until she touched a ticklish place near his flank, causing him to kick out with a hind foot as though in reflex. He didn't register what she'd said to him, or what she asked him, but relaxed and started to breathe more regularly when she pressed her muzzle to her temple. 

He was still a bit wide-eyed and frazzled when he pulled away enough to look at her- and see how little she'd changed since he had last seen her. She'd been small then, and seemed just as tiny now- and despite the fact that she'd visited twice and hadn't called out for him, in particular...He was happy to see her again, and forgot his resentment at least temporarily. "Shug. You Okay?" He asked.

One of his legs twitched, capturing her attention, though her eyes soon drifted back to his face as he returned her gaze. He finally caught his breath and rather than answer her question, he asked her the same thing. She smiled a little wryly, her limbs still shaking a little but slowly stilling.

"Aye, I might be sore tomorrow but I don't feel too badly," Sugar said, which was true enough. Her ribs smarted but not so badly that she thought any were broken. "How about you?" she repeated patiently. "We're both very fortunate he decided to go elsewhere," she breathed, glancing at the spot in the trees where the elk had disappeared.

His ears turned back, but he tried not to guilt himself too hard. He'd been trying to protect her, and in the end, if things had gone the way he'd planned, he would've saved her from potentially being gored...So at least he'd spared her that, even if she did end up with bruised ribs [small(which are still, absolutely no fun)[/small]. The bull elk ran off, and Bronco saw the last flash of its tawny fur disappear into the distance, and he answered one of its offended snorts with an indignant chuff. Foolish creature- trying to hurt one of his friends. 

He looked back to Sugar, and she fought bravely to hide her pain, but he did notice how she shook. He instinctively wanted to move and sit beside her, so that she would be warm while her nerves settled, but...He remembered how little she'd allowed him close in their recent past, and felt discouraged. He didn't want to spook her, as he had no idea how long she'd be in the area before she wandered off again. His back smarted, but it was nothing that a few days wouldn't fix. "I'm fine," He said, though when he swallowed, he felt the tightening of muscles that had been strained just days ago, in the grip of his mother's bite. He pushed that thought aside. "He'll be dinner, next time I see him," Bronco suggested casually, though he knew it wasn't likely the best idea to go for a king elk unless he had enough wolfpower on his side. "So hey, I haven't seen you around in a while- d'you think you'll stick around for a bit?" He prompted. He didn't want to bring up how he regretted the fact she hadn't called specifically for him, and preferred to pretend that he simply hadn't heard her at all, and that she must be on her way to see the pack- because just maybe, that might make her stick around. "You c'n come meet my new brother an' sisters," He said, gesturing, and hoping she'd follow him.

Bronco mentioned making a meal of the elk and Sugar huffed a quiet laugh, which hurt a little but not too much, thankfully. Fortunately, the joking ended there as Bronco steered the conversation elsewhere. He wanted to know if she was sticking around and invited her to come meet his younger siblings. She'd heard about them but had yet to personally acquaint with the pups, mostly because she couldn't bring herself to actually set foot beyond the copse's borders. It was just too painful still.

"I'm actually headed to the Frosthawks and I may hang out there a while," Sugar shared, hoping this was good news to him. It wasn't right next door but they both knew it wasn't far, either. "I want to spend some time with Avery and Crow, the others too. Finally get around to picking Raven's brain about all things medical." She'd learned a lot since her last try, yet it would still be awesome to train with the much more experienced medicine woman.

"Are they old enough to come to the borders?" she wondered in the next breath, deciding to check in before mentioning that there was no way she could bring herself to enter the copse.

Bronco's expression fell when she mentioned the Froshtawks. What was so good about that pack anyway? It was where Nellie had spent part of her childhood, and where Sugar seemed to insist that she'd rather spend her time. He was jealous and felt spiteful; he wanted her to want to spend time with him, and to choose the Copse over travelling. Apparently even coming to see his new kid siblings wasn't enough- because she wanted to see the Frosthawks kids more. His disappointment showed, as he was incapable of keeping the ugliness of jealousy from his features and posture. She chose Avery and Crow- and again, he felt like he was the least wanted of the Copse yearlings. Fennec had chosen Penn, and even Nellie and Figment had chosen anywhere rather than staying home. It was utterly disappointing, to have had no one choose him. 

"No." He said. In truth, he wasn't sure- but he knew how clingy and over-protective his mother was, so he doubted that the kids would be allowed to roam that far from the Rendez-vous site. He felt an ache in his throat when he realized that he might be the only one who would actually stick around to be with the four children as they grew up. That all their older brothers and sisters and cousins (save for Weejay, of course) had left them, and had chosen either other paths or other wolves to focus their attention on. He regretted that his siblings would grow up without having the same wolves in their lives that he'd had in his- but apparently, he was the only one that would choose to stay with them, and be their brother. "I guess, come back, -whenever if you want to see them, once you're done with the Frosthawks.- He said. He slipped into Ptero when he felt he could not contain his emotion to simple words, whether or not Sugar still remembered the signs. His back-turned ears gave him a dismissive look, and he refused to make eye contact with her. "You're almost there," He commented, gazing off into the distance. He'd escorted her there, before. But he doubted she'd want him to go with her, now. It certainly didn't seem like she needed- or wanted- him.

He answered curtly, which made Sugar blink. Her lips parted as if she meant to say something, though he continued, only to cut off abruptly and begin gesturing. She recognized that he was signing, though she hadn't ever been particularly fluent in the nonverbal language and was too rusty to recognize anything other than the word "see." His body language was a bit clearer to her; he was suddenly agitated for reasons unknown.

She let him finish before saying, "Bron..." Sugar hesitated only for a beat. "What's wrong?"

It tugged at his heartstrings to hear the nickname she'd had for him. Nobody else had ever called him that, only Sugar Glider, and it was nearly enough to give him pause and prompt him to apologize for his suddenly sullen mood. But he was young still, and his emotions caused a commotion within him that was too difficult to express- not like he'd be willing to confess his feelings anyway. He was too deeply wounded by the abandonment of his peers to tell anyone how he grieved their departure, and how he felt left behind. "S'nothing. Really, Shug, I'm fine," He stated, unconvincingly. "Just tired, maybe. I should go, an' let you get back on your way."

He clearly didn't want to talk about it, at least not to her, and Sugar deliberated. Should she let him off the hook, accepting his excuse and giving him the space he seemed to want? Or should she push him, because they were friends and he should be able to tell her if something was on his mind? Just thinking it through like that made the answer obvious.

"You can tell me what's on your mind, Bron. I'm a medic, not a counselor, but I like to think I'm a good listener. Won't you try me?" Sugar said gently.

"It's just-" Bronco wasn't nearly as tough a nut to crack as he might've thought he was. "You left, an' everyone else left and chose other wolves to go with. You left, and Elfie, and then Fenn chose Penn an' they went off traipsin' into the wilderness together," Bitterness seeped into his voice, though he wasn't even thinking enough to remember that Penn was- after all- Sugar Glider's brother...And if she wasn't already aware of the animosity between the two, she'd likely realize it now. "Nellie left again, and even Figment left." He said. "Just like baby spiders, when they come out of the egg nest, all skittering away from the egg nest in every direction- an' nobody chose me to go out and explore with, an' nobody's chosen to stay with me, either." He said. "You're choosing Avery and Crow," He tacked on, and was silent for a second. "I'm the only one that chose my family, and the new kids." It was an exaggeration, of course- because he knew that his siblings loved the kids, and that their leaving shouldn't be interpreted as loving them less...But somehow, he couldn't help but feel that way. He shrugged. "Nobody chose me."

He didn't need any further prodding, for which Sugar was grateful. She didn't want to pressure him and liked knowing he felt he could open up to her with just a little bit of encouragement. She pricked her ears and listened attentively, black eyes resting in the vicinity of his face, her lips pressed together to avoid any impulse to interrupt. She did feel some defensiveness, not only for herself but the others he mentioned so bitterly, but she absolutely refused to open her mouth until he was finished.

Even then, she didn't speak right away. She tried to gather her thoughts to formulate a reply, inwardly smooth out any jagged edges before she opened her mouth. "Bron," she began, "I can't speak for the others but, as far as I'm concerned, I never thought of it as choosing anyone or anywhere over another." Maybe that was the rub, that she (and the others) hadn't even considered him at all. But in her own defense, Sugar added, "I invited you when I went to the Frosthawks the first time, didn't I?"

She paused, brow furrowing slightly before continuing. "I'm not choosing my siblings over you. I'm sorry to speak so frankly but it has nothing to do with you, any more than it has to do with anyone else who lives with the Firebirds. I just can't bring myself to live in the copse, not after..." She trailed off and took a shaky breath. "I don't even want to go there at all, though I'm happy to keep visiting the borders to see Eljay... and you, as well, if you'd like."

Sugar cleared her throat and finished by saying, "Believe me, I'd never choose Crow over anyone," and offering a small smile. "Although I won't lie: I've always been close to Ave and I just want to spend some time with my sister." And she wouldn't apologize for that, though she didn't feel the need to rub that in his face.

It was hard to hold a grudge against Sugar Glider- especially when she made a fair point. He had been invited to go to the Frosthawks with her, but...It just hadn't been the right time for him to leave. He was beginning to think that maybe that time would never come, as it just didn't feel right to leave his younger siblings behind. And by the time they were old enough to do their own thing- he was certain there'd be more little siblings to help raise. He shrugged, and sort-of nodded to her statement, but the frown remained on his face. 

He still felt as though he was the last kid being picked for a sports team- until Sugar confessed that she wasn't comfortable going back to the Copse. It took him a second to figure out why, but when he did, his features softened. Sugar was an orphan...And this was the first time he'd seen her since her parents had died, and here he was, just bitching and moaning about being 'left out.' He felt ashamed of himself, and felt his cheeks grow warm. He was being a bad friend. He hadn't even had a chance- nor had he taken the chance- to offer his sympathy to her, the few times she'd passed by. He'd had his head buried too far into his own pride. 

"I'm sorry, Shug," He said, quietly. "I never...Never got to tell you that...I get it, why you don't really want to come back; not that you need my approval anyway. You...You doing OK, though?" He asked, tentatively. He could understand her wanting to spend time with her siblings, then, given the fact that they were likely trying to get through the grief together.

The mention of her parents seemed to shift something in his attitude, which quickly softened. Sugar wondered if he hadn't really thought about it, which was of course a little painful. But she decided not to hold it against him, though the answer she gave was honest.

"I'm mostly okay, though it still hurts. I've thrown myself into this new lifestyle and it's been a wonderful distraction. I truly enjoy helping others. But sometimes, in between cases, so to speak, I get lonely. I can't help but think of my family." Sugar let out a breath. "My parents are gone and I can't go home. But I want to visit Ave and Crow. And I'll keep stopping by the copse too, to see Eljay and you," she repeated her earlier statement.

She fell quiet for a beat before adding quietly, "If you wanted to come with me, you'd be welcome. I think my plan is to join the pack with the caveat that I still intend to travel a lot, if that's okay with Raven and Quixote. You could do some variation of the same, if you don't want to be away from the Firebirds too much. Or you can just keep living there and drop by the Frosthawks as often as you like. I'd be happy to see you," Sugar finished with a shrug.

It didn't seem fair for them to have lost parents so young. Of course, their parents had been of a decent age when they'd bourne their last litters, but that didn't matter to Bronco, who didn't remember ever seeing his father's face and thinking that he was any older than his Mom looked. Finley had a limp, and sure, maybe Elwood wasn't as ready to tussle and rough-house as Towhee was, but the Blackthorns had never seemed old...It made him wonder if he would ever come to realize what proximity to death looked like. 

"Please," He said softly, "Call out, any time you come visit, okay?" He asked, brow knitting together above his muzzle. She'd come before- and had called out...But had failed to mention him, in particular, and it had put a thorn in his side. He hoped now, with clarification, she might actually think to call for him, rather than just Eljay. At least with the others gone...He'd have a better shot at being one of the few she'd call for. 

She seemed to still want him to travel with her, but he wasn't sure he could just wander off just yet. The kids were growing up, and perhaps now was the time for him to go and explore, as they didn't need a babysitter all the time anymore. He looked at the ground for a moment, before he shrugged, and nodded. "I'd like that. Maybe...Maybe on one of your next trips, you could stop by, and I'll go with you? As a sort of like...travel companion, or bodyguard, or whatever," He said, with a soft smile.

"Aye," she agreed. "of course. And I'd be more than happy to have a companion when traveling. It helps a lot with the loneliness, obviously." Sugar's lips twitched. It seemed they'd cleared the air and struck a good balance between them. Even if she didn't have a home in the classic sense, it meant a lot to her that wolves like her siblings and Bronco could be the next best thing.

"I need to get going. I'd like to get out of this place sooner than later," she said in the next breath, tone apologetic. "You could walk me there, if you like? If not, we'll see one another soon, Bron."

Feel free to wrap!

He wouldn't get what he wanted, but at least now she knew that he wanted to be called upon, and he'd just have to wait and see if she made good on her promise. Given how well he knew her, he felt that she wouldn't let him down. So when she apologized and made to leave, he took this as his first invitation to see her through her journey safe and sound. He could use some time away from home. 

"I'll come with you," He said warmly. This was something he could do- he could be a travel companion and bodyguard, without having to worry about being away for too long from his family. After all- Sugar was a part of his family as well, and he felt moved to take care of her as well.