Beau is standing amongst the swamplands. It’s not for the first time, and definitely won’t be for the last, however…this time is different. He’s left the grove and his brother behind, if only for a few hours, but those seemingly few hours of being alone, of having absolutely nothing to do but exist here is exhilarating. There’s nothing to hunt, nothing for Beau to bring back for Lucian, and nothing but him and the open emptiness. This is Beau’s first time outside of the grove without a true purpose, without explicit permission from his brother. It’s exhilarating, and terrifying all at once.

ick. this place is…something. Spider scrunches up their nose as hot air presses down on their lungs, making every breath uncomfortable. they aren’t entirely sure why they’re even here, except that, well…they’re trying to explore as many places as possible before their impending teenagehood. that’s what warriors, do after all – right? as a future Armada warrior, they ought to be familiar with as many landscapes as possible! gritting their teeth, Spider pushes on, pulling a face as mud squishes between their toes. they pass bogs of putrid water, poking out a little pink tongue in a faux gag.

but it isn’t until they come across a strangely wiggling – bush? – that they even realise they’re not alone. freezing, a frown crinkles their dark brow as the bush begins to emit noises, rustling fervently for a bush in relatively calm weather. creeping forward, they stick their nose through the branches investigate…then give a squeal of shock as a white tail pokes out from the bush, covered in grime but distinctly wolf-like.

"Speech"

Beau freezes. There’s someone, another wolf, and fuck, he all of his brother’s warnings about the others, about their enemies, and all that is out to hurt them suddenly fills his head. He’s suffocating in it, along with the unrelenting desire to hide and run and never stop – but then, the unknown wolf pushes on, their snout sniffing at the bush, close enough to Beau that they could smell this scent if they wanted to. And they do. They’ve found him. Beau squeals, a terrifying bolt of panic jolting through him. His brother’s warnings, his stories, his preconceived ideas of the world he’s come to know suddenly infect his mind like a disease, and for a moment, all that Beau can do is stand frozen as the new wolf sees him.

the bush squeals - squeals - and Spider flinches and stumbles backward, tripping over grass tufts and patches of mud in their surprise. pink eyes fly to the bush and find a pair of wide blue eyes staring back at them, so full of fear that the whites of their time is showing. the longer they stare, Spider begins to pick out a nose, and a snout, and a pair of black-tipped ears. it’s not a bush after all…but a boy. a boy covered in muck and grime and emanating so much terror Spider can practically taste it in the air. guilt and concern meet in the pit of Spider’s stomach, whirling together to create a nauseating cocktail of emotions. they remember what it’s like to be alone and scared, convinced that any little sound or movement might be a predator looking for a quick, easy meal. thankfully, they’d had Hazel, then - maybe they could be for this boy what she had been for Spider.

“h-hello?” they call out, taking a tentative step forward. they try to keep their voice low and soft, as non-threatening as possible. “i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to startle you. you can come out, i won’t harm you.” they set their brow let a determined note spill into their voice, hoping to stress their honesty. “i promise.”

"Speech"

“i promise,” the other wolf says, and beau knows he’s been caught. he’s hidden in the swamplands, smothered under damp, disgusting earth and mud, shrouded in the darkness of the bushes and yet – someone found him. he is lost and now he is found, and stars, he doesn’t think he’s ever felt as terrified.

he shouldn’t speak. He shouldn’t say anything at all. Lucian would kill him if he knew that beau had broken every single rule he’d ever laid out in the hopes of keep beau safe. But there’s something inside of him, something awful and agonising and yet, begging for him to step about from the shadows, away from safety.
“how did you find me?” beau feels himself ask, a whisper of words that can barely be heard over the ambience of the swampland.

as soon as they leave his mouth, he squeals in spite of himself, his mind caught between an awful storm of needing to hide the way he’s been taught, and the need to escape and know things about the world that has been concealed away from him.

a war of emotions are wrestling across the boy’s face, and Spider feels a wave of guilt for having caused such a confliction. a part of them wonders if they ought to just leave, pretend they’d never seen the boy and allow him to continue hiding amongst the Swamplands. but…no. imagine if Hazel had done the same thing to them? just decided Spider was too timid to approach and leave it at that? but despite their resolution to stay, Spider doesn’t dare come any closer, just in case they scare the boy off completely. “i…i saw you moving,” Spider confides, keeping their voice soft, low. they incorporate a lightly teasing note as they add, “i thought you were a bush.” they run their eyes over the boy appraisingly, eyeing the muck entangled in his pelt with thinly veiled concern. “er…why are you all grubby?” had the poor thing fallen into the swamp? it’s the only reason Spider can conjure as to why he’d look so filthy. but then, why hadn’t he cleaned himself off?

"Speech"

For a second, beau feels his ears shift inwards, a rosy-pink blush dotting across his nose in self-consciousness. “maybe i like being grubby!” he exclaims rather defensively. Why he has to explain to another wolf his own grooming and cleanliness behaviors is beyond him. Lucian never says anything about it, and if anything, he praises beau’s ability to blend in, to camouflage, to remain hidden and unremarkable. Panic suddenly forgotten, he pouts, sticking his nose from the bush and asking, “why aren’t you? do you not have any sense of self-preservation?”

oh, okay – clearly they’d hit a nerve. Spider stumbles a step backward in surprise, brows shooting upward as they regard the bristling boy. “you can’t like being grubby!” they protest, wanting to snort at the very idea.

it wasn’t like they were the paragon of cleanliness – their own pelt was scruffy and often home to a thistle or two – but no one liked to be coated in swamp mud like this boy. he had to be making the suggestion just to be stubborn. but the next thing he says stumps them completely. “what are you talking about?” self-preservation? was he in danger? Spider looks around warily, casting the swamps a disparaging look. just what kind of dangers lurked about here that they didn’t know about?
"Speech"

Is this wolf stupid? Are all wolves like this? The wolf in front of him isn’t matching up to any of Beau’s preconceived ideas of the ugly, awful, dangerous parts of humanity that Lucian has so vehemently drilled into his head. They’re supposed to be vile, inhumane creatures that ruin everything, break apart homes, destroy families – destroyed his family—but it’s not making sense. They’re not making sense. Beau stares at them for a long time, his scrutinizing blue eyes hoping to make the other wolf shift or falter underneath his gaze, but they don’t. Nothing happens.

Beau looks away, pouts again, brings his eyes back to meet the unbearably brilliant pink glow of the wolf’s eyes in front of him. “You’re the one who’s not making any sense.”

Spider frowns, growing more and more confused by the second. this boy just keeps getting frustrated with them; it’s like everything they say makes it worse. for a moment, they open their mouth and close it again, growing frustrated. “look,” they settle on, fixing him with a stern look, “we can unravel your nonsensical mutterings later. for now, you need a bath.” they take a step forward and begin to nudge the boy’s shoulder with their own, urging him away from the swamp while they fall into step beside him. it might not be the best strategy, but clearly this boy is a little confused and in need of help – and Spider has decided to give them that help.

"Speech"

Beau can’t decide if he’s more relieved that this wolf isn’t living up to the terrifying idea of humanity in his head or annoyed by it. he does however know that this might be his one and only chance to ever get away from the swamplands, away from Lucian – if just for a moment – and well, this wolf is confusing and frustrating and has terrible sense of survival, but maybe, just maybe, they could be the thing Beau has never thought he could have.
Beau searches for the right words, the right thing to say in this situation. “You’re not -- bad,” is what he comes up with. He mutters this, mostly to himself, and maybe to Lucian, still hiding away in the cave waiting for him to come back with food that will last them until the next week, where Beau will have to enter the world and shut it away all over again. Maybe, just this once, he can stay a little long. “Okay,” he decides. “I’ll come with you.”

- exit