Sheepeater Cliff To gather, such curious things

Need to start making up some trade threads for my crazy doctor gal so that she can actually receive her medical license in canon. All welcome <3

Wandering, wandering.

and even more wandering! It was a ceaseless endeavour, really; and though hunger drew forth a general state of discontent, she had a conflicted relationship with the 'freedom' she now held. 

Or rather, perhaps it was her 'packmates' who were freed of her. Regardless of the finer details, Envy found herself indulging in the ability to simply travel and learn the places where the herbaceous plants of this land took root. To memorize, she'd always excelled at. 

What a good little student. Bravo! Well done to you, perfect one!

She'd do the appraisal all herself, as there was noone else here to give it to her. Sad. Lonely. She'd made it a habit, to regail herself with all the stories once saved to pester the ears of another. 

But like a bad dog, given up on, she was cast out into the world to let it have its way with her. A merciful euthanasia, one others didn't have to look at, or recognize that her blood would be on their hands.

Fine.

She was not a stupid dog, at least. She would have her way with the world instead.

Between the cragged rocks and sheer cliffs, the imp would trot about, a spring to her step as she hummed a soft tune and let her gaze travel and seek for only plants of a specific nature. Like this one, come up ahead, lady's mantle nestled resiliently within the crack of two rocks.

If it could survive here, so too could she.

She had no use of the plant however, as beautiful as it stood, as useful as its properties would be, she would not pluck it from its home. She had none to use it on, none to test its various properties with, and to top things off, it was immature anyways, not yet decorated with the buds of golden flowers. Still, it made for a great spectacle for one so enwrapped within the embrace of natures medicine. 

So instead, she'd simply look, commit it to memory in case she'd find use for it someday. Come back here, time and time again, to take what she'd need, and no more than that. Imagination too would rear its head, mind aflutter with thoughts of a guilty sort of pleasure, she missed that which sated her. That purpose.

Oh, how she longed to lay her eyes on injuries of a most grievous nature. A feast for her. A challenge. A stimulation that made her lips quiver and her heart soar.

She'd lean back onto her haunches, and sit, and stare. Lost in thought.

There were wolves that yearned to be reborn. Through the tempestuous fires of self-immolation, only then were their impurities wrought out. Then, there was Cassian who’d been gifted it. Effortlessly, but was it in vain? The threads of fate spastically wove amok without the wolf’s say in a twisted, parasitic ploy. As if to entertain themselves with a new toy, one who could fall on the drop of a dime now that he was free. Lost. Boundless. A foreign corpse born with the tracings of their previous master.

Life, from what’d been able to be garnered so far, was no different than a coin flip. Some wolves landed on heads. Others on tails. Then, there were those who dwelled on the sides. The grey, where few souls wandered without purpose. The grimy, twisted, gnarled grooves none other would dare pay attention to. Here, he would carve out a home. Here, he would hopefully find answers of who he once was. Here, he would find purpose and a way of life that suited him or he would die trying.

One thing that earned its gratitude in leaps and bounds was the wolf’s instincts. Those that went beyond the simple, shared core capabilities they all had. No, the previous owner of this vessel he now inhabited was a fierce one. One whose rampant, raging practices were ingrained well beyond the nimble palms of amnesia itself. Hunting was natural to Cassian, as a result. Being made well aware of what could be garnered as feasible game and which scents to steer clear of. These beasts were ones that did not come with any image, unfortunately, but their mere daunting presence was enough to send static weighing down upon his fur. True apex predators that would, without an ounce of remorse or thought, still their claws into his being and take his soul for their own pleasure.

The thought alone was enough to jostle him awake in any tired state. Even in the slumber he’d found himself in just a pawful of hours ago. His heart skipped and coupled itself with a blatant, deafening tone; and, only when it stilled, did Cassian rise. Why did that occur? The foreboding visions that haunted him when his eyes blanketed into darkness, were they truly his own? “Too many questions,” he mumbled, gruffly before rising and shaking off the debris that accumulated since he last laid down. Westwards he went, aiming for the jagged cliffs that laid beyond. Scents were a powerful thing, he’d since learned, but sight reigned supreme. While other wolves may have had this neck of the world memorized to perfection, it was a privilege he sorely lacked. Any visual aid would be well appreciated.

This forest, short lived as it’d been, had brought good fortune upon him. Within his stomach broiled half a colony of rabbits, the other half having made a successful escape. Despite this positive venture, a particularly prideful corner of the wolf's mind festered. Not a single one should’ve escaped. They all should’ve been felled, but just as quickly as the thought was born…it died off. When he brushed past the last verdant shrub, a stellar view bore its beauty forth to the reborn wolf. A clear sky, accompanied by the sun's splay and a contrasting, chilly breeze that’d been previously stifled by the berthed trees. It felt good to be alive. It felt good to be in the here and now, even if there was another wolf sitting on its haunches over yonder.

A single sniff was made by Cassian. Did he mistakenly cross into another pack’s territory? Surely not, unless his nose betrayed him. So, if not that, then why was there a lone stray out here? The question could’ve easily been flipped on him, he concluded. Quite easily, actually. This helped bring him some sense of clarity as he bridged the gap between them. By the end of his endeavors there lay a distance of approximately three yards between the two of them. Gray fur coated the other’s frame. A stark, feminine scent was mired into her. The way they sat, he found it amusing.

So, he copied it, following their example despite them being unable to see the replication. From here, Cassian could see it. A rushing, ferocious river just over the edge of the cliff. Although, it was too far out to jump into. If it hadn’t been, perhaps he’d have dived into it, despite how foolhardy of an idea it seemed.

“What are you doing?”

His voice, it spoke with the innocence of a being not yet tampered by the world and its cruel, haphazard ways. Curiosity, genuine in its purest form, rang forth from the sun-kissed wolf. Those brown eyes of his swam across the grey storms of this stranger’s coat, carefully watching for movements and twitches of muscles. Getting lost somewhere along the way.

“Is there anything I can do to help you?”

Sorry for the late response, been terribly uncreative lately <3 

She'd been locked away in her thoughts, plagued by those which threatened to tear her asunder and swallow her whole; those of a dirty, vile sort of pleasure; and here came one with the key, quickly spurring her from her idle drifting.

In fact, he surprised her so much she'd scramble backwards and scuffle along the rocky terrain before regaining her footing and straightening her posture, as if such a scare had merely been a work of imagination. Envy narrowed her gaze and looked upon the stranger, kissed in the soft hues of prarie and muted gold, as if the sun itself had sought to reach out and touch him. 

Perhaps she was ogling him a little bit; she couldn't help it. The line was muddied in her mind, between merely observing another and raking a hawkish, devouring gaze down their form. 

Where caution could be warranted, she exhibited none; he spoke all friendly, and that was enough for her to believe he was. 

Envy tilted her head to the side, wide-eyed and ears perked attentively Well I'm- She trails off, pearly mitts scraping against the stone. ..S'pose I'm makin' myself a collection. The wretch would inform pridefully, her chest puffed slightly and her tail swishing behind her as excitement manifested itself physically. She'd made a bit of a plan.

She'd scrounge up every little bit of anything useful in this area, make it so the wolves she'd been observing for the past week;  those ones who lived in the valley, would have no choice but to turn to her, no choice but to accept her aid, and in turn, provide her with their own. It seemed that such a skillset was a hot commodity, after all, though that hadn't exactly stopped others from rejecting her before. 

And if they never did allow her to worm her way into their ranks? If she never would come to use what she'd collect? Well, she'd simply sit smug and delighted with her own actions. it would serve em' right, after all, if they were to turn her away. She'd feign indifference toward suffering caused at her hand, but really, that too would tickle some dark fancy of hers. It was a little far off from the usual ideals most healer's kept to, though she'd had her fill of that stifling, pretentious, do-gooder air. There was no pretending here.

She was a trickster, a desperate little trickster who only hoped her tricks would work.

And along came a tool for her whims, as if a divine delivery set out to fall perfectly at her paws. She was quick to accept his offer of assitance.

I could use help, actually. Do you know much about plants? ....Or maybe you could catch me a snack... She'd idle on the thought, her tongue clicking against the back of her teeth. The scrawny one would bound forward dramatically and begin to circle him, studying, testing the boundaries.

Scuffling raked across the ragged terrain the two of them were sharing. Beyond the inner chasms of Cassian’s mind it spurred forth a memory; but, be it as it may, all it did was clamor amongst the chains whence it was sequestered to. The sensation was a numbing chill that whirled its merciless path across the wolf’s cranium. A taunting, fleeting touch from the fates themselves and a reminder that the experiences this sun-kissed soul once held truly never belonged to him in the first place.

Boundless, curious, and overtly trusting was he. When met with the gates of hell, this temporary guest found refuge rather than discomfort. The murky brown waters that glazed over Envy’s figure took in the full essence of their physical self. From their boney frame, downwards to the silver and whites muted perfectly across her frame. To Cassian, they reminded him of nothing. She was the first since his inception and these sequences of colors would forevermore be tied to her essence.

”Well, youuuuu?”

The first shifts in her demeanor were mimed by Cassian. Tilted head, wide-eyed stares, perked ears. Simply for no other reason than finding strict glee in the act itself. ”A collection, huh? Out here? Alone? I think it’s difficult enough to live daily without something like that. You must be really talented to accomplish something that astronomical!” Granted, there was no information on what exactly it was that this stranger was hoarding. Still, the blossoming desire to lend them praise came freely from within this wolf’s chest nevertheless. From where he stood it was clear that they took satisfaction in whatever that was. Solidarity, the acclimation of living in a foreign world, and the uncertainty of the next day’s meal was enough to lay stake to a claim of ego. The fact that she wrought forth that same sensation from elsewhere opened mental doors for the wolf.

There were other things in life that could stake their claim as being worthy of pride.

”No, I don’t know anything about plants. I know about as much as the next wolf honestly, haha! I know you can’t eat them. Most of the time, anyway. A lot of them taste bitter and aren’t anything compared to meat. So, I avoid em!”

His gaze glued itself to her frame as she leapt forward. Flying, even if only for a brief moment in time, much like the birds in the sky that he enjoyed pursuing. Then, a faint whisper curled itself against the sun-kissed wolf’s ear. A twitch, haphazard and erratic, sprung forth. The voice within Cassian rarely ever spoke its piece. A fading, dwindling ember amidst the abyss it’d been banished to. Still, it had its moments, and right now it screamed from the ether to stand still. To tuck his tail around his frame and monitor the situation. So, he did, albeit there wasn’t an ounce of stress weighing down on the wolf. There was no reason and there had never been a reason.

It was foreign to him, the feeling of distrusting another.

”I could get you something to eat, yeah! You seem to be lacking meat in all the right places. I’ve never seen somebody so tiny before! Maybe you’ve been focusing too much on your collection or whatchacallit?”

The idea never blossomed to him that she might not have been able to hunt for herself in the first place. There were a variety of prey felled by Cassian that were scanned through for the purpose of her proposal. Why, the wolf’s first memory centered around blood draining off the side of his maw, kissing the earth below with each sickening, satisfying crunch of bones beneath the pressure of gnarled bites. A fox wouldn’t be enough to feed her, would it? But then again, she said she wanted a snack. There was no specification on an entire meal.

”A fox is a nice treat. At the end of the day, it’s meat, and you did say you wanted a snack. I want something in return, though.”

Only when she rounded her way back out in front of him did Cassian rise from resting on his haunches. Steps were taken towards the opposing wolf, leaving just enough space for an entire yard’s worth of distance. A smile splayed itself out, hospitable down to the very core. Then, a swaying of the male’s tail, in an eerie replication of the tempo her own had been going at mere moments ago.

”I would like to know your name. Mine is Cassian. But, if you don’t want to give me your name, then maybe you can give me something else. I think I’d be okay with telling you what that is after gifting you your treat. It’ll be something simple.”

Innocence met morbid curiosity today. In a twisted conspiracy melded together by their circumstances Cassian found that his heart was beating avidly. Racing, at the mere prospect of having this wolf choose between two options. But, why was that? What was this sensation? One that escaped him entirely up until now. A greedy, sinful, bumpy wash over his skin.

”So, what’ll it be?”

Envy sat back casually as the stranger spoke, his flattery beckoning a museful purr that rumbled in her throat and drew a delighted grin that weaseled its way across pallid features. Astronomical, talented. Yes yes. Don't stop now. Keep going. 

The attention felt like the warm embrace she so desperately craved from many others in her life, yet of course she was resigned to seek it from strangers, rather than flesh and blood. A seeker, she was forced to be. A soul tainted with desperation, it was not her fault she was this way. Nothing was, nor could it ever be. It was others that had soiled her so. 

Give your words to fill that empty, cavernous place that yearned for approval. This sweet little treat of attention merely inspired her to do more, to act out, to push herself further. 

Don't take your eyes off me. Keep coming back for more. I can be good.

And then he'd introduce himself, stranger no more. Cassian now. She listened attentively to his words, absorbing them into her very essence. Feeding an ego she bore out of defense. 

He was friendly, and so she trusted. Deception was unknown to the wretch, beyond that of her own, of course. No, any she'd encountered were always upfront, unable to hide their feelings on her. She had that effect on people. Tunnel visioned and erratic as she was, those derisive glares which failed to mask disturbance were far from lost on her; they were merely an echo of a sentiment long internalized.

She knew the look so well. Mother had it. She'd always had it. 

Cassian seemed to withdraw on aiding her herb-gathering venture, though his offer of a hunt still stood. She wouldn't allow it to slip away.

 Indeed, they're bitter little things, but good for other uses! Much more fun uses! Better than being snacked on by some doe and her fawn. I can handle the plant gathering okay on my own, come to think of it... 

She'd  drawing a pearly fore mitt to her maw and rubbing it down the length of her muzzle. 

But the snack! Oh yes, you'd be great for it! You seem like a fit hunter, strong legs and pretty teeth. You could catch me something nice, I'm certain.

Envy rose to circle him, crouching and eyeing every feature as she too would shower him in a motivating barrage of flattery. Intentions lingered beneath every word. She slunk along his flank, not shying from touching a man she'd only met hardly a breath ago, and allowing her tail to linger and gently flick before she'd retake her seat in front of him, a soft thump as she sat back.

She'd indulge his request for her name, though at this point in her travels, he could've asked for much of anything, and she'd have indulged. Her name was an easy feat. 

Oh no, I can give you my name, it's no secret a' mine. My name is Envy... Maybe because I was the prettiest of the litter, or maybe cause mama wished she could restart. Or maybe it has no meaning at all. 

She mused and offered an idle shrug, her tongue drifting intentionally over pearly ivories, exposed for only a moment as she'd pause to yawn. 

...But now you've got me curious on what else it was you wanted. 

She remarked in a higher pitch, curiosity leaving its mark on her tone, she'd flick an ear restlessly. 

...Bring me that snack, if it is a fox, try an' bring it alive if you can. I like to play with my food. If you can do that, then I might do whatever it was you were thinking of. We can share it too, if ya like.

Mature Content Warning

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The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: Scar inflection mentioning!

You seem like a fit hunter, strong legs and pretty teeth.

To Cassian’s recollection, there wasn’t a single point in time where another soul had gone out of their way to actively compliment him. The sensation that it bore, the revelation that sprung forth out of it was….it was….

Boring.

To this man, there was no pleasure to be found in the paltry words of others. Save for when they actively chose to engage with him, of course. If there was a challenge to be had, a task to be given, some sort of directive to aim and aspire for only then did those murky, brown waters of his gleam tirelessly. This was a simple, tellable sign that only blossomed forth shamelessly when the next sentence drawled its way out of the woman’s maw.

You could catch me something nice, I’m certain.

Yes, he could. He would. He should garner something for this stranger who was clearly naught but a bag of bones cascaded in illustrious, captivating fur. Yet, the most alluring aspect that Cassian found were the scars delicately placed around the dame’s ears. So captivating, in fact, that when their bodies made contact the man edged just the tiniest bit closer to run the edge of his nose against one of them. There was now a new object of interest presented forth and chasing the dopamine that fueled the everyday antics this soul peddled in proved time and time again to be the simplest, most effective way of life.

Envy.

The name in itself was so…eerily fitting. Cassian etched it within the confines of his mind, making certain to never let it run free. A core memory that would stand the test of time. At least, the sun-kissed wolf prayed for such a thing. It’d already transpired once and the mere prospect of it occurring yet again was something that filled him with a foreign sense of trepidation and fear alike.

“Okay, I’ll be back, Envy! One fresh fox, nice and alive just for you! Envy, Envy, Envy, Envy, Envyyyy.” The way it coiled off of the tongue was charming to him. Even if it fell deaf on her ears it mattered not to Cassian. 

It would be but thirty lonesome minutes before Cassian returned. The scarlet fox encased within the wolf’s pretty teeth once scrambled about tirelessly but now its body hung limp and hopeless. But, it was still perfectly alive to be played with.

“Here! I did my best to not do too much to it besides catching it. Oh, and you had a question about what I wanted earlier, yeah?”

The words came by initially muffled. Then, an entire moment whisked by. In that time, Cassian laid down, allowing the fox to run free for a singular second at most before stamping a paw down on its tail to keep it in place. There, brown met with red, and in the mired sea of the unknown a twisted interest was born anew between these two wayward, wandering souls.

“You can keep it, the fella is basically tuckered out at this point, haha! You had a question about what I wanted earlier though, right? Sorry, I thought I answered!”

On that day, Cassian felt true joy run its course through his veins.

“I want my ears to be like yours. The scars are…so alluring! Plus, even if my memory goes away one day, I’ll still have something to remember you by! Does that sound fair? Pleeeeease, Envy?” He asked; no, he begged . Almost innocently, too, were it not for the sadistic way his paw grinded itself into the dirt to cause pained yelps to spring forth from the fox caught for her.

Mature Content Warning

This thread has been marked as mature. By reading and/or participating in this thread, you acknowledge that you are of age or have permission from your parents to do so.

The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: violence, slight mutilation, I figure perms are given but lmk if otherwise and i will edit :)

She waited patiently for his return. Dainty paws scratched against the stone; she'd rise to pace around the little nook in the cliffside, taking in the valley below from this vantage point. Her stomach growled, a sound she'd grown accustomed to, the pangs were familiar, and it only made her all the more restless and eager for his return. She'd never tried fox. Never really put to mind that they could be more than things to toy and experiment with. 

Meat is meat. She'd accompany her thoughts with a shrug. Now if only he would come back faster. Faster faster faster. Perhaps if she thought it with enough vigour, she could will it into existance. Her paws flexed and her frame shook in anticipation—and when those thirty minutes were up, and she'd catch his radiant form peeking over the hillside, Envy met him halfway, excited. 

This is good! She grinned, looking down at the pitiful creature, its strength failing. No match was the quick one for the threat of pursuit; even fast limbs could not outrun that which never ceased chasing. She'd have to deal with it before its lungs caught breath once more.

Cassian played a sweet ballad for her, within the grinding of his paw and the pained screeches of the red. She was beginning to look at him with a hungering gaze. 

His request was certainly not one she'd heard before, and it drew a slight tilt of her crown, before an amused smile would tear its way across her features. He was funny. Hehe.. Alright, I'll bite. I can even give ya somethin' for the road, make sure you don't get any nasty infections later on... But uh, first things first..

Envy leaned down to the struggling fox, aiding in its restraint by placing a paw onto its back as well, and tracing her nose down its spine—searching for something. She'd pull it's skin as far as she could, holding it tight to the frame of the whimpering animal. She dragged her lips along its neck and down its back, feeling the vertebrae residing there, before nipping the sixth, enough to break through, her canines held no mercy on their journey; and the sudden jerk of the fox proved that she was successful in disabling its ability to run away. Where will you go, when your hind limbs neglect to carry you?. It would not fight any longer, but instead lay as subject to the whims of the wretch; after all, what better to test her skills and knowledge on than a fox- oh so similar to a wolf in many ways, all the right anatomy to pick apart and study. 

Sit and wait tight, toy.

Her tail assumed a quick wag, she was clearly pleased with herself. Now he won't be goin' anywhere. As for yer ears.... Can't say I've gotten such a request before, but I can definitely give ya a few nicks, if thats watcha want. You wanna match? She inquired with a giddy grin, pacing a circle around him again before leering forward to snip her jaws along the tip of one ear, canines piercing in an almost uncharacteristcally gentle manner before ripping back and shredding a neat line through the top. The taste of metal lay heavy on her tongue, and swept across her maw as she ravished him, adding one additional slice to the other, the side this time. 

Though, she'd halt here, not wanting to overstep on the one who'd just brought her a snack. If he wished for more, she was inclined to give him more. 

How good it felt, to be wanted, even in this depraved manner.

My apologies for the delayed response, I've been ill and have been in particular looking forward to this thread! Thank you so much for your patience! Also, the edits are just minor spelling errors in the last paragraph. Hole -> Whole and a minor error regarding Cassian's third to last line of dialogue!

Alright, I’ll bite.

Well, that was sort of the plan, now wasn’t it? Cassian found Envy’s choice of words to be hysterical! Charming, even, in a certain regard. Why, they didn’t have to go out of their way to make true on their promise in the first place! All the golden wolf did for them was garner them a snack. A simple enough task at the end of the day even if it wasn’t for the nutritional benefit of his own self. If one were to ask Cassian why he was this way they would likely be met with a full on warm grin and a simple, carefree “I don’t know!” It was just the way the man was after having been jolted to this world.

”Haha, yeah, you sure will bite! Heh, ya know, you’re pretty alright, I think! Um, what’s an infection though? I’m not sure what that is. It sounds…awesome! Why would I not want one?”

They could take the time to answer if they so aspired to do just that in the future. Instead, for the meanwhile, Cassian’s attention was soon swiveled to Envy and their words. Words that led to beautifully tangible actions that in their own way were a hallmark of a budding artist. This one just so happened to aspire for more emotion in their pieces. Despair, agony, pain, and the simplistic beauty of fear incarnate. It was riveting, watching the cycle of life play itself out so freely.

There were people that would’ve been disgusted by this. Their maws would’ve shriveled in disgust, battle might’ve broken out from a visceral desire to defend the defenseless, and maybe even some chastising would be exchanged with utter disregard for Envy’s character. Cassian was no such being. No, this wolf was an entirely empty, blank canvas. He followed the whimsy of the world and was receptive to any brushstroke regardless of the artist’s intentions. Today, a new lesson was imparted onto Cassian. A remarkable one and one that would stay true to the man until the day he drew his last breath.

The world was cruel and it was breathtaking with how fair that cruelness could take form.

”Wow! Really?! It’s just that easy? Haha, you’re amazing, Envy! I wish I could do that! How’d you do that thing with your nose? Ooo, that was super, duper exciting! The ears are something I definitely want, even more so now that you’ve done a cool trick like that! I’ll get to tell everyone about this nice little piece and the story that came with it when they ask!"

Genuine amazement practically radiated from this wayward soul and in the epicenter of the man’s feelings he truly did feel indebted to her. When she paced a circle around, Cassian did not flinch. Instead, the wolf opted to make it easier for Envy, tilting his head backwards to grant them a better access point to fulfill his selfish, disgusting, horrid request. Something that a sane wolf would never aspire for. Scars, those of which could be avoided, seemed to be the most prized to Cassian Nevuma. The pain seared its rancid pathing through the wolf’s nervous system holistically. Yet, those very ears that were mutilated stayed incredibly still the entire time.

Cassian’s tail wagged, eagerly, despite being between Envy’s legs. For a split second, the wolf imagined himself as the fox. In a way, he truly was jealous of that furred maggot. They got to receive such an honor! Oh, the horror of being a wolf and not a skrunkly little guy! Peering back to Envy, red met with brown and a devout smile spread its haphazard way onto the man’s maw.

”Thank you! Ooo, it stings so much, but it feels GREAT! I can’t wait to take a look in a pond or a river and see your craftsmanship, Envy! Haha! So, now that that’s done…do ya think you’d be okay with the whole…fixing the infection thing? You sounded genuinely insightful about it! Maybe you could teach me? I could get you another treat! Ooo, ooo, ooo I could be super useful and maybe get you something a bit bigger this time! Aw, but then I would want you to teach me that neat trick you showed me…what if I caught two things?! Liiike…I dunno…some rabbits! Yeah! Big, fat, plump ones! What do you say to that?”

gosh i am so sorry for the wait here, back at it. I'm probably going to shorten my own posts going forward just for the sake of myself getting out quicker replies. Also slight suggestive warning(?) She's just like that. lmk if I should tone it down :))

She found herself giggling through her teeth as she snipped away at the corners of his ears. What was an infection? She grew to think him a little clueless, though perhaps he'd simply managed to be lucky enough to only come upon scrapes and bruises in his life. A sheltered boy, maybe. Was he loved? Would someone come to his aid, rage-filled at the thought of his mutilation? She grinned. 

He smiled, he praised her, and he stayed still as a stone all the while she did it. She stared back at those eyes of his and saw that same hunger for knowledge—though he appeared to her as a fledgeling, not long from the nest... She wasn't too different. 

To cause hurt, it was blissful. It shouldn't be blissful- but it was, and he thanked her for it. Power hungry, she grew. He was beneath her, a feat reserved often for whatever unfortunate little beast she'd tracked down. It felt good to press those urges unto another, intoxicating. She wondered if this was how mother felt, when she'd get in one of her moods. Now, how could she blame her, when it was this invigorating.

That? With the fox? Just a little trick I learned from the older wolves I used ta live with. They'd cripple rabbits, so we could practice on em' as pups. You see.. She moves her muzzle along him slowly as she finishes with his ears. With him lain beneath her, she lets her eyes trail over the subtle line of his spine. Her lips pressed to the nape of his neck, and down a little further. You got bones in you. Some of them are more delicate than others. Bang em' up, or downright snap one, and the body crumbles. You just gotta know which ones do what... For me, I like to feel them, and count them until i find the perfect one. She finished, stepping off of him and skipping around to sit in front of him.

You don't know what an infection is? She mused, drawing her tongue over her jaws to sip up any remnants of the crimson she'd stolen from him. ...It's... well... When an injury gets real bad—an' I mean real bad. Rotting off the skin bad. Can leave some pretty scars, if it doesn't kill ya first. She seems to enjoy her little bit of fear mongering, stating the information with a giddy snicker.

These are small little cuts, won't need nothin' crazy, but its good to be safe anyways. She trots a circle around him, her tail raised. I don't exactly have the supplies to do so as we're speakin', but if you wanna go fetch men a rabbit... I can peruse the cliffs for something to help... Get me a good one an' I can teach you the basics. 

Envy withdrew slightly, laying on her belly afront of him and stretching her forelimbs out in his direction. A transaction struck between them. A devil and one slightly misinformed, kind-hearted stray. She had not even needed to bargain with the golden boy, his offers alone gave her ample opportunity to even their little pact. She'd leave out the fact that her teaching skills were lackluster at best. 

The quickest way to a woman's heart was to feed her, and here he was, preparing a feast. She'd offer a sliver of her knowledge in kind, if that was enough to satisfy him. 

She figured she would slink off to seek for sage, horsetail, or something that would get the job done, even just something to soothe the sting would be better than nothing—here, the doctor's brain took over. Her paws missed the work, her mind missed the work, at least she wasn't doing it free of charge... Perhaps she'd come to make all her patients offer her snacks to earn her care.

After she'd chuff under her breath, a subtle laugh at her own thought, she would flick her tail across the dusty stone dismissively. Jokes aside, a part of her wanted to help him out a little. Deranged as she could be, she would not be so callous to a friend, and that was what he had become, courtesy of his offers to bring her meals. He should know of simple things, lest it be his undoing. 

Her gaze trailed back to the fox, languishing nearby. She'd have to get good use out of it before it succumbed.

The soul before him was well beyond that of the average wolf. To Cassian, Envy was a well brimming with knowledge. Friend, foe, familiar…it mattered not to the man what their classification would surmount to in the end. What did matter to him were the words she spoke. They curled out willfully and dripped with experience for Cassian, relatively free of charge. What did a fox’s paltry life matter when it could be used in exchange for opening this woman’s canines in an amicable manner? She gifted him with what she carried in droves and if it were possible to physically manifest such a thing then Cassian was certain that Envy would drown him alive.

Other wolves. So, at some point, Envy had been a part of a pack. The question of whether he’d been part of one didn’t find itself onto her lips, but it certainly plastered itself within the confines of Cassian’s mind. Crippling rabbits, the revelation of bones, their delicacy, and the inkling of sinful desire bore itself onto the golden boy when she mentioned feeling them. What would it be like to engage in such a thing? Typically, when Cassian hunted, it was nothing more than a short, delicate transaction. The thought of exploring a creature’s body, nipping at them in an analytical manner, and dedicating their lives for his own goals was not something he could’ve ever thought of on his own.

“Feeling bones must be nice. I’ve never felt one before! I just tend to break through them with my teeth! It’s super, duper easy, too! They break a bit too easy sometimes, honestly. It’s not my fault though! They’re like twigs, sometimes even easier to break through than twigs. Counting though, huh? So there’s a method to it? Man, that’s so cool! I can’t wait to learn!”

Infections could kill. With this knowledge, a thought occurred to Cassian. A simple one, bereft of any malintent. It came from the purest confines a soul could muster forth, yet if anybody were eavesdropping on their conversation they might have donned him nothing short of a madman for piecing together such a vile, emotionless, inhumane thought. Or maybe they’d join them! Wolves, he learned, were not so cut and dry as many would’ve thought them out to be. There were some that were white or black morally, but those that dabbled in the grays were what seemed to draw Cassian’s attention the most.

“If infections are so bad, and if they can kill, then why don’t you heal your prey and keep them around? You seem to love that! I’m not one to judge though, do whatever makes you happy, you know? I’m just…curious, I guess.”

Both fluffy, scruffy ears were attentive during the entire interaction. Cassian was well aware that a rabbit was in high order and before long the man rose, shaking for a handful of seconds under the bask of the sun to coil the accumulated dirt and debris off of his pelt. Yet, he did not immediately leave. Instead, Cassian’s eyes stayed affixed to the woman. She lied down in front of him, stretched, and seemed to muse to herself.

“Okay, I’m going to go now. I’ll be back soon!”

Oh, and soon it was. The wind was in Cassian’s favor today, coupled alongside the dastardly fates which had interwoven their destinies together for this brief moment. Five, ten, twelve minutes passed and the wolf already strode back to their initial meeting point. There was a rabbit within his maw, held by the tail to discourage it from fleeing. It bore weight to itself in droves, however, and was well above the standard height for a regular animal within its typical species. Setting it down for the briefest of seconds, Cassian’s paw slammed on the creature’s back. A squirm, a yelp, a bite, whatever it chose to throw would now be rendered impossible.

It was a hare!

“Mkay, I’m back! I got this one but, boy, is it huge, haha! It put up such a good fight, too! If I hadn’t cornered it I’m not sure if I’d have been able to get a hold of it so fast, you know? I wasn’t able to get two, but I hope this is enough! Ah, also, after I was done catching him I got caught up in thought on the way back. Just another question! You don’t have to answer, but you said you grew up around other wolves. What was that like for you, Envy? Did you enjoy it? Make any friends out of it? Good memories or at least anything that’s worth keeping a strong connection towards?”

In a way, perhaps Cassian was attempting to live vicariously through the woman She seemed seasoned - well, certainly far more than he was. His self in particular tended to just roam about freely with no real recourse. A kind soul in the beginning of his conceptualization warned him of packs and as such he made attempts to stray away from them. Even if the entire notion still couldn’t wrap itself around the man’s head clearly, the aspect of being mauled to death by those fanatics was something far beyond Cassian’s own desires. Death meant no more fun and no more fun was boring!

“I think it’d be nice to know that kind of stuff. Oh! Did you find the thingies for the…infection? I don’t think I’ll die, but I think it’d be nice to feel you work your magic! You seem to be good at everything, kinda makes me a bit…”

Filled with envy.

“...proud to know you!”

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Sorry for holding you up again! Had this one drafted for a while, wanted it to be perfect :)

A thousand thoughts seemed to swim through Cassian's mind, she could see it on that pretty face of his. 

Heal prey? S'a waste of good herbs.... if it isn't for practice anyways. Some are only around for so long through the seasons, some can be a bit of a commodity to get your hands on. All I know is that if I climbed a mountain to get somethin', I wouldn't use it on a rabbit that'd probably get eaten by an eagle if it wasn't eaten by me first. She shrugs and wraps her tail around her hide.

His departure was met with a cheesed grin, and gentle wag of her tai. Good luck then~ 

                                                                                    ---

In the meantime, whilst Cassian pursued the endeavour of bringing her even more to snack on, Envy turned her attention back to the crippled fox nearby. Laboured, panting breaths fell heavy from its jaws, and it had crawled a few steps away while they had been speaking. 

The drive for survival was fading. She could see it when she locked eyes with the beast, that it was not all there anymore. It was somewhere else, perhaps somewhere nicer—a field with enough mice to feed its kits, a burrow that spanned the width of the earth. Some place void of predators.

Void of her.

Though it may have been somewhere else, Envy was still here. She did not know what foxes dreamt of in their dying moments.

She did not particularly care, either. 

For what are you, but a soul bound in misfortune, about to meet your end? That was how the world worked. Some got the short end. Some got the painful end. This, Envy knew well. It was just another day, just another death.

Ambling closer, she laid with the fox, cradled it in her arms. It lacked the strength to fight back. She liked them this way. With scrying eyes, she examined it, looked at the gentle crook in its spine, far worse that appearances suggested. She looked into its mouth, at the rows of canines, and stared at the indents that caved in its ribs and legs—Cassian's own contributions. When she ceased her admiration, she looked into glazed, absent eyes. 

She would not snuff it out. She would wait. She would watch. By the time there was no movement, and no breath, she was satisfied. She opened it up through the belly, and gazed upon the innards tucked within, studying. Was it callous? Was it cruel? No. It was simply a necessary step in the grand design. How long would a wolf survive similar injures? How long would she have to work before they'd pass the point of no return? Within the torment of the smaller canines, she could find these answers. 

Or maybe, she just liked to watch things die. Who could tell?

                                                                                   ---

She'd damn near forgotten to find something for Cassian, and scurried to her paws to set off across the cliffside. A trove of knowledge, her mind could be, were it not so damn scattered half the time. Little white petals, in a bundle on stiff, strong stems. This was what her eyes scowered the rocks for, Osha, but more importantly, its roots. Pale paws pattered against the stone, and eventually her search wound up fruitful. 

Unusual, was the gentle manner with which she plucked the plant from its rocky home. It was a gentleness she did not offer to her patients. She rolled the roots into her jaws, careful, so as to not puncture any delicate pieces. She'd take only what she needed, this very moment, and leave the rest to collect more sun. Scampering back across the cliffside, she'd return to their little rendevouz.

As Cassian's golden cap peaked over the rocks, she grinned wider at the sheer size of the hare he'd brought her. Surely she'd manage to put on a few pounds after eating that. Scrawny was her default, but as it currently stood, it was becoming her detriment. Oh but, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog."—Not true. She'd gotten her ass kicked plenty, no matter how vicious she'd been. Small and starved just wasn't the ideal combination for... well, really much of anything. It left a bitter taste in her mouth. If only she could've been born larger, and not half-baked. Mother had cursed her from birth. 

...Oh no, this one's good. She hops to her feet and trots over, a skip to her step as she ogles the perished hare, and steps to take it from his jaws, and place it into her own. Stormy haunches would fall back to the stone as he asked his next question, her features faltering a bit. 

More than a bit rather, she slumped, and kept her eyes averted, looking out on the meadow below. 

...It was nothing special. She mumbles, ripping a few pieces from her hare, and then coming over to work on his ears. A silence fell between the two while she chewed and minced a poultice from the bitter herbs—A disgusting process, but she was in no mood to use stones to grind them when her teeth worked their magic just fine. She licked at the cuts, her tongue coated in the foul taste of earth would spread the medicine around, allowing them to seep into each nick and slice she'd lovingly crafted for him. When she was done, she spat the mixture onto the ground.

She steps back a little, returning to the hare, and talking between bites. ...I mean, its nice, to have a pack. There's always scraps to pick off, so you don't always have to do the work, and I get lots of things to do, fixin' up injuries, sniffing out supplies. It all feels.... purposeless out here, sometimes. But it is nice alone sometimes, not having to hide things. Not having to sit and listen to these pious, old idiots ramble on about "Be gentle, don't do that." Blah blah blah. Old fools get set in their ways real easy, yknow. They don't wanna hear about change, or about new ideas... It's... stifling. She grumbles, tearing another piece for herself. ..I had my brother. That was all. There's no worth in any other connection, not there, at least. They didn't want me, so I don't want them.

There was a clear disconnect, a flicker of hurt dancing across an otherwise consuming, delighted gaze. Deflection had gotten her this far already, and to admit any fault was off the table. 

You can have some too, yknow. She mumbled, nudging the hare a little with her muzzle, now stained a messy sanguine hue.

Envy spoke regarding pack life and to Cassian it was a treasure trove of knowledge.

She was well versed in the ways of the world in manners that Cassian couldn’t have even begun to dream of. Twisting, bending paths that those silver haunches no doubt became eventual masters of. Her words struck chord after chord with him, too. Maybe that was why divulging attention to this soul in particular came so easily? Naturally, almost as if every word that drawled its way out of the female’s mouth was crafted expertly to curl the man’s ears to her tone.

Always having a meal, basking in fun, and no longing being weighed down by a sense of purposelessness. Admittedly, that did sound… alluring. Boring days were no stranger to Cassian. Yes, there was the occasional encounter here and there, but so far none of them held a candle to the warmth of the one he basked within now. Briefly, imagery began to form within Cassian’s mind. Older wolves? Were there any he’d managed to cross paths with yet? What exactly were the signs of age? Were there any wolves out there who were near the end of their natural lifespan that were not meddling in the affairs of the youth within a pack’s protection? Why, they sounded awful with the light that Envy shone on them. Detestable, disgusting, deplorable geezers who sought to snuff out their encounter from ever occurring beyond the reaches of time itself.

”I haven’t run into any old wolves yet. Every soul I’ve come across has been young, I think? Maybe a bit older than me, but then again it’s hard for me to tell exactly how old I am to begin with, haha! I just have to go off of their faces, you know? Oh, and their scars. The ways in which they handle themselves and their speech patterns, too! Old wolves sound like they’d be annoying, though! What’s the fun in doing the same thing every day?! Why stay rooted in your ideas and not explore other ones? If I didn’t explore I wouldn’t have met you, you know! I think that would’ve been pretty sad, too! Yeah! We don’t know each other all that well, but I feel like…”

Cassian’s brown eyes transformed from their typical, softened demeanor to one that was of a more calculative and cornered nature. Analytical for a change as the wolf’s mind churned to encapsulate the correct words, the cornerstone of his sentiments, and the sharpshooter angle to play this off of. Infatuation was a foreign ideology to Cassian, and it would likely continue to elude him so,  but even with the lack of such a notion what the man felt in his heart of hearts was well off the beaten track from that to begin with. It was something… horridly and naively unique. Envy, despite the chagrin they expressed during their conversation, was entirely honest at face value. Such brutal honesty was all it took to garner Cassian efforts  towards a more…fruitful endeavor.

”I feel like…we’re cut from the same, weird cloth. Maybe on polar opposite ends, but there’s common ground and if we’re made of the same material then I guess it doesn’t matter where we originally come from on that piece of cloth! I guess, if that makes sense? Who knows, haha! I’m not even sure what I’m really trying to say, but if you were to jump off this cliff and asked me to follow I’d probably do it. Just because it’s fun! You’re fun and the things you teach and know are fun, too. The scars you gave me were fun! That’s all I really want in life, I think. To have fun, even if it isn’t my version of fun or someone else’s version of fun. As long as it’s a collective version of fun and it gets my blood pumping the…the….”

There was a word that fit perfectly here and Cassian was certain of it. The man’s mind rattled and clamored for it, too. If it were possible steam would’ve funneled out of those soft, floppy, scarred ears while the Mini Cassian’s inside of the wolf’s mind scrambled. Tirelessly they searched for it and, eventually, they crossed the foggy prison where the past two years of the man’s life dwelled. There, the word was brought forth and with it a spark of life that sprung in those typically joyful, yet awfully vacant eyes of his. A grin, twisted yet sincere in nature curled atop the man’s muzzle.

”Morality. Yeah, the morality doesn’t matter as long as fun is being had! Haha, man, it feels great to get that word out! Oh, and I’m not really hungry, but that’s really nice of you to offer! Besides, that was part of the deal! If you can’t stomach any more then I’ll finish off what you can’t, but hunting isn’t all too bad of a task for me right now. I can usually manage to catch what I’m after. My legs rarely fail me, especially when something manages to scare me enough to chase me off. Funny story, actually! I ended up going too far south once and one thing led to another and…I ended up stealing a bear’s meal. If I hadn’t ran into another wolf and jumped on top of a boulder I’d be dead! So, if that doesn’t tell you what kind of trouble tends to follow me I  don’t really know what will!”


Watching her eat her fill was entertaining enough. Cassian’s head lay between both paws while watching her and his tail swung leisurely behind him. Unknowingly, the wolf leaned forwards, body language giving away that she held the entirety of his attention right now in a way that nothing else did.

If he knew the word earlier Cassian would’ve said it was loyalty that he felt towards Envy. An inclination to protect her? Far be it from him to ever even suggest a thing. This woman was marred in memories and experiences that dwarfed his own by leaps and bounds. Sometimes, in life, one just met another that was so explicitly captivating and utterly unique it grabbed at the soul’s frontal lobe and demanded their entire attention. This was the case for Cassian, but there lacked an ember of obsession to the mixture. It was simply commonplace, temporary, cheap loyalty and nothing more and it was through that that Cassian continued to engage with this twisted, murky, invigoratingly grey soul.

”What’d you end up doing with the fox from earlier, by the way? I didn’t get to watch the rest of whatever you put it through. When I was catching the second meal I thought about trying to break the bones, but they were thicker than the fox’s. So, I wasn’t sure how to go about it. I didn’t want to kill it, either. I wanted to do it the way you did and my weight is more than yours so I strayed away from it. If it hadn’t tried to run away it’d still be alive, but the thought of it escaping and you growing hungry set me off into just ending its life then and there. Which was boring! I think I’ll try the bone thing another day. Even if it leads to a killed meal I think I’ll get it eventually! It’d be nice to play with a meal. I’ve never done that before, you know! That’s an Envy Special, haha! Thanks for that!”

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She lied, for the first time in their conversation. She didn't know why. It came naturally because it was a half truth. She had no need to masquerade as someone faultless in the face of someone so departed from her homelands. She did not have the fear of being chased nor the reason to fear it. But still, she could not form the truth as words on her tongue.

It wasn't her fault. She'd done nothing more than exist. In part, it was true.

She pretended like this was the undoubted truth. She would muddy it in fog and punish herself when she strayed.

Purveyor of a vile misdeed, stuck between a rock and a hard place. She'd faced judgement. Perhaps not what was intended, but judgement nonetheless. What did it matter, out here? Besides,

She could trust him. He poured his words into her ears and looked at her the way he did, and she felt trust. But still, she lied. She'd make no corrections, and the fog would swallow her mind.

She looked into soulful eyes and does not see that he can see her difference. There is a look, you know, one she'd learned to see, and felt powerless to change. It crushed a part of her and invigorated another with a vile, dripping hate each time she saw the slightest drops in expression, the lapse in tone, turned hesitant as if she would shatter at each word, or shatter them themselves. That look that made her alien.

She looked into soulful eyes and something wrong was something absent, it was something crafted perfectly for her husk. There was perfection as it was always meant to be seen.

Vanity haunted her, or she chased it. Either way, it washed over her and sated her hungers. The validation quieted the rest of her like she was underwater. Weightless. Hushed. He'd jump off a cliff, if she asked, and that sort of dominion felt good.

He had fed her, and treated her when he needn't have stopped at all. He had not met her with teeth but instead with intrigue, and it was infectious... She would not send him off a cliff.

..You're the first I've come across that's talked to me like this at all. besides her brother, of course. She stares at him unblinking, and sits up to rest on her haunches without breaking the line that connected their eyes. Urchin, foul blood and foul soul. Stranger, intruder, sadist. He echoed her sentiments and none of those things were present here. She could pretend she was none of them and this felt god-like. She bled god's blood and was confident that Cassian would lap it up. It was just what she needed in this time of unwravelling doubt. Validation. Assurance. An ego stroked to climax.

It died, after a bit. I looked inside it. Its fascinating, seeing all the bits that spend our whole lives hidden. It had a mouse in its stomach—or what I think was was a mouse. It smelled terrible. She informs him almost casually, shuddering at the recollection of the pungeant, warm air she thurst her face directly into earlier.
I tried to eat some off its ribs, but it does not taste good. Vultures'll be at it by now.

She paused, and scraped the ground, lifting herself to trail past him and brush alongside him. It was in her nature to reach out physically for anything she wanted to grasp and twine herself with. Soul, body, or minds, all were equal without discrimination in her eyes. All left an imprint in the searing heat of her fire-stoked heart.

..Sorry to waste your hard work.. I am grateful! She slinks around, and then shortcuts underneath him to get to his other side and looks up at him with a cheery grin, her gaze lingering on the newly acquired nicks in his ears. She found his willingness alluring and deeply kindred. I can teach you more tricks, if you ever want. I think I'll stick around this area for a while.