Hushed Willows a world apart; a dream

A thread for @Caw, taking place whenever it makes sense!

While he was here for Eleuthera's sake, the willows were beginning to grow on him, and he could not spend every waking moment by her side. There were things to look and poke at around every corner, and as long as he was confined to this territory, he was going to learn every inch of it as best as he could.

Today, it was just moving through the willows, making a game of touching his nose to every tendril that came within his reach. This led him, eventually, to a small and peaceful clearing, where Kin flopped over on his side and wagged his tail as he watched butterflies and clouds and little flocks of tanagers flutter overhead.

sorry for the delay!!

the faerie court is a very pretty place. this makes sense, since it is the faerie court. there are many things he is supposed to be gathering and hunting, but he is still very new, and also very curious, and so he is spending the day just walking. probably the faerie queen will not mind!

he is not really trying to be quiet. he is just trying to be careful. he does not want to squish all the plants under his paws – they might be useful in the future, and it is just very rude to the faeries. so he tiptoes along, stopping every minute or so to nose at a new flower or bit of brush out of place while vrána glides along above him.

he is paying attention, though. he is paying enough attention that when he turns his head to the side after a passing butterfly, he very quickly notices the big reddish lump emerging from the middle of the flowers. caw pauses midstep and sniffs curiously at the air – this wolf does smell like a faerie, even if there is something other there – and trots off in his direction, tail wagging slowly behind him.

caw is still not being very quiet. but he steps all the way up to the faerie without speaking and, standing over his head, blinks curiously down at him through bright scarlet eyes. "hello!"

No problem! There's no rush :)

At the sound of another's approach, Kincaid lifted his head to peer around, and eventually caught sight of a greyscale male heading in his direction. He was surprised to find himself the larger male, for once, and immediately appreciated the man for his smaller stature.

"Howdy," he replied, rather bemused by the stranger's undeniably sweet mien. He thought they could use a few more like this one in the world. Then he thought, Probably they've all been eaten.

The ruddy male rolled onto his back and wiggled until he could reach the stranger, and tried to pincer him between two reaching, fawn-colored forelimbs. The sun and the lazy breeze and the slow shift of the sun was setting him all at ease — it was so peaceful, here, and in the absence of Nine Lives to frolic with, he was willing to try and get just about anyone to wrassle him.

Kin tried to land a painless and impish bite on Caw's paw, legs still wheeling oafishly in the air.

caw is very much used to wolves being larger than him. he does not even register it anymore, which usually does not matter but sometimes becomes an issue. he has, after all, never been the sensible type.

the pace of caw’s tail picks up. as always, he is happy to meet new friends! this close, he is a little familiar from the arrival of the cougars. he helped, and nobody minded him then. so surely if this one was not a proper faerie, orlaith or lumiya would have chased him out by now.

caw does not mind the idea of strangers being in the court. but it is not his court. it is good, for their own safety, that they have permission first!

banking above them in an arc, vrána gives a low caw of warning. he blinks, and looks up after it, and is distracted long enough by her presence for a pair of limbs to catch him around the neck.

caw gives a startled yip, front limbs waving in turn, though it is hard to lift them far off the ground with another pair of legs on his shoulders. his tail, still wagging at his back, does not falter. he does not even consider the possibility that this may be herald to an actual fight – he would not even if this man did not smell like a faerie. as kincaid’s teeth come down gently on his paw, caw reaches down, an excited, playful growl rolling from his throat as he tries to grapple kincaid’s jaws with his own.

No more words were needed after the initial greeting; it was clear the balmy weather had them both in an affable mood when Kincaid's attempts stir up a "fight" were eagerly and immediately met by the other man's jaws. It was a contest of who could open their mouth wide, for a little while, as each tried to get the upper hand — but being on physically lower ground made Kin less mobile, and the male was beginning to get the better of him.

A grizzly yawn widened Kin's jaws as he vocalized his frustration, but his rusty tail was still beating the ground. The ruddy male began to shove at Caw's face and throat in an effort to repel him, but the smaller wolf would find Kin's jaws chasing his own if this attempt to repel was at all successful.

vrána’s presence above very much forgotten, caw’s play-growl comes uninterrupted as they wrestle each other for a long few moments. he scrapes his teeth over skin but is careful not to draw any blood. blood is for hunting and offering. for now he is just having fun!

caw has missed his family a little. his lessons, his siblings, his pack. but this is what he would do back in the valley. it feels good now, to be in the faerie court with his new friends, even if they are not exactly what the stories taught him to expect of faeries! and even if there are things he must protect the court from.

he is content to mouth aimlessly at kincaid’s muzzle, his own jaws more often free than not, but he goes willingly when paws press aimlessly into his face and throat. that is part of the game! he also does not stop the larger wolf from gripping his own muzzle in turn, but after another short span of wrestling he is too eager to stay still.

pulling free, caw prances in a tight circle and then bows down, crimson eyes locked directly on kincaid’s, forelimbs stretched over the flowers and tail arced high over his back in the universal signal for chase.

Eventually, the lazy male was left on the ground while Caw bounded away. The smaller wolf appeared to be hanging off the ground like a bat to upside-down Kin. But even upside down, it was impossible to misinterpret the play-bow being leveled in his direction; ginger paws wheeled in the air for a moment before Kin got them underneath him, and then he was off after Caw like a shot.

He did not immediately try to catch his cohort, however. He froze a few feet away and slapped the ground himself, a booming bark snapping out of his snipey muzzle.

caw waits for him, tail wagging gently. his tongue lolls from open jaws. he does not have to wait long! kincaid looks back at him, paws wheeling in the air – caw yips encouragingly – and then gets up and shoots after him.

he is very fast. caw's neck pulls backwards as kincaid charges him, tongue curling back into his mouth as he snaps at the air and uncurls from his bow. but his playmate stops before they crash together and slaps his own forelimbs to the ground with a bark. with a perk of his ears, caw barks back, dropping into and out of his bow once more.

then he lunges forward, nipping for kincaid's muzzle or shoulder or whatever he can get his teeth on, and then wheels about to take off, yipping as he goes. his tail streams bannerlike behind him, feathers rustling beneath the heavy fur of his scruff.