Exhaustion had forced Gavroche to rest on his way back to Polaris. He had lost track of time, but he had found them, the ones that held his mother. He had been unable to see if Beauregard was kept there too, and the map was hastily notated, but he had done everything he could to memorize the borders of their camp. He’d been careful, careful as he could be, scoping things out. The prisoners were kept more toward the middle, and his mother, though she looked thin, was still as fiery as ever. She had been giving the guard hell when he saw her last and Gavroche knew, once he got the map to his father, that he’d be after the group to get her back. On one paw Bae-Syl was going to be furious that he had left… but the news of where Lucette was, and the fact he hadn’t tried to act on his own would probably save him from part of the earful he was sure to receive.

Gavroche had sought the comfort of flowers when he laid down. They were soft, the petals brushing against his nose and coat. They seemed to tickle him, and Gavroche found himself twitching and turning a bit before exhaustion finally claimed him. He slept deeply, lying spread out across the flower patch wearing his collar and dagger. Minutes turned to hours and, before Gavroche knew it, he had slept through the night and into the next morning.

When he stirred, it was with a twitching nose, and then a violent sneeze that shook his whole body. He pushed himself up with a soft groan, head throbbing as he blinked blurry eyes. What the hell…? Why did he feel even worse than when he had first lay down to sleep? He closed his eyes again, swaying a little as he attempted to breath in through a congested nose. He couldn’t see it, but a golden dusting of pollen was all over his coat from the flowers he had chosen to lay in. His tossing and turning had disturbed it, and now he was paying the price.

-----

Word Count:
+355
355 / 1500

"Speech," 'Thought.'

table coding by bunni ♥

Jiro was feeling sheltered. Not that he hadn’t been allowed to roam other lands before his first birthday, but after meeting non-familial wolves, he was beginning to wonder what else he didn’t know. Each day he would venture a bit farther, stay a bit later, until he was eventually spending a few days away from the maze at a time. With the change of seasons bringing rains and chilly breezes, he noticed with it the sudden bloom of late season flowers and clouds of pollen.

His own sneezes would alert others to his presence as he walked along the sloping falls and creek. Nostrils dripping slightly and his eyes feeling itchy the further he wandered through the territory, he wondered if maybe it were the reeds that grew along the water. Turning east through the cedars, he moves away from the water and toward a flowery meadow hidden within the grove.

Paws knock the flowers about, pollen rising into the air, further making his nose itch. As one more big sneeze leaves him, he gives his whole body a shake and a throat clearing cough. Rubbing his eyes with a paw, he blinks away pollen and dust to see a small winged wolf not far away. The other boy didn’t look any better than he was feeling either. ”You getting the worst of it too?” Jiro calls out in his stilted common tongue, approaching the stranger with puffy eyes and lazy grin.

Wc: 242
Total: 597/1500

Gavroche rubbed at his eyes. They itched, watering and feeling even worse the more he rubbed at them. This wouldn’t do at all! He sniffled, drawing back from his runny nose as he brought himself to his paws. As the fog from waking cleared Gavroche realized that what he was feeling had to be a reaction from something. He coughed, trying to clear his throat, but even that felt itchy. He blinks bleary eyes, ears pricking as the sound of a loud sneeze catches his attention. Well it sounded like he wasn’t the only one struggling with these symptoms.

Gavroche turned his head, using his hearing to locate the other wolf. The blurry blob of color approaching him was only so helpful and his nose was positively useless right now. “Seems so,” He managed a small smile. Even if he felt a bit off it wasn’t like it was painful. Just distracting. He rubbed at his eyes again, smearing more of the pollen across his face. “Having some sort of reaction to something in the air…” Another sniffle.

“Don’t suppose you have better use of your eyes right now? Mine are so itchy I can’t see a- aaaa- achoo! Ugh… a thing…” His ears fell. If he knew what was causing him to feel this way, would he have a better idea on how to treat it…?

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Words: 227
Word Count: 824/1500

"Speech," 'Thought.'

table coding by bunni ♥

As the small stranger addresses him with bleary pollen covered eyes, Jiro wonders if he's suffering from the same affliction. His nose scrunches up and eyes squint through the itchy bouts, even clamping his teeth together to try and prevent another sneeze. While his symptoms didn't see as dire as the wolf in front of him, he still couldn't deny the runny nose or urge to rub incessantly at his eyes.

"All I see is this yellow dusty stuff floating around," Jiro comments as he takes a look around the flowered field they were in. "You think that has something to do with it?" He questions, brushing just a bit of pollen from the bridge of his nose. Unfortunately, the action causes the hairs in his nostrils to agitate and another sneeze whooshes from him. Taking a quick step backward so he isn't blowing germs all over the other guy, he gives a hesitant smile.

"If you got it and I got it, it must be something," he muses thoughtfully. If it was the pollen that was stirred from the flowers and potentially other plants, maybe if they went somewhere else it would help. Or even washing their faces... "Not sure what it's called though, but it's not fun," Jiro tries to hum, but his dry, itchy throat only forces him to cough and his eyes to squint. Ugh, whatever this was was not fun!

"You think if we go wash our faces in that stream over there, it'll help?" He lifts a paw in the direction of the flowing water that can be seen through the cedar trees. From here, he can hear the rush of the falls tumbling over rocks and perhaps even the flop of fish heading upstream.

word count: 291
total: 1115 / 1500

“All I see is this yellow dusty stuff floating around,” The comment makes Gavroche’s ears prick. Yellow stuff? Like the dusty yellow stuff inside flowers? Sometimes he’d come across bees covered in it when they were moving from flower to flower, though he hadn’t expected it to be so thick that it would be floating in the air. Was that what was causing their itching? He sniffled and rubbed at his eyes. “It could be! I’ve never really dealt with it before, but it sounds like the stuff that gets on bees when they are visiting flowers. I didn’t expect it to make me feel so itchy and uncomfortable.” Was this something he had missed when he was working with plants before? Gavroche tried to breathe in but his nose wouldn’t take in the air. He coughed in response, a groan leaving his lips as he shook his head. He felt awful… his head was pounding from everything feeling stopped up. His ears fell, though he was able to catch the suggestion the monochromatic wolf had. “I’d imagine it’d at least help getting it off us. We should give it a try.” Gavroche reached down for his bag - He’d have to clean that later too. But for now he had to take care of himself. Blinking blurry eyes he sought the shine of the water, stumbling toward it. He was sure the other wolf would be following after him. He’d keep going until he stumbled into the water, splashing as he fell forward. He just hoped that this would work! --- Words: 261 Wordcount: 1,376 "Speech," 'Thought.'

table coding by bunni ♥

Jiro lets out a thoughtful hum as he too glances around at the little field they stand in. Flowers bloom around them in bright colors with bees buzzing from one to the other. He had never gotten terribly close to bees before once he knew that their sting could be dangerous, but he had no other reason to not believe the stranger. "It'd be too simple if it was just the yellow dusty stuff," he lets out a relaxed laugh though it is quickly followed by a harsh sneeze that has him tucking his chin into his shoulder to stop the snot from going anywhere.

A quiet groan leaves Jiro almost at the same time as the other boy. At this point, he would try anything to stop from feeling so miserable! "Let's give it a go," he insists, turning to follow the miniature winged wolf over to the burbling stream nearby. His eyes aren't as gunky so he has a better time walking over to the water, but his nose would not stop running and everything felt so... clogged. Ugh!

Without hesitation, Jiro splashes into the stream and plops himself down into the shallow water. Rolling onto his side, he dunks practically his whole head beneath the water, swishing it around to full rid his fur and face of the itchy allergy inducing product of the wild world.

wc: 229
total: 1605 / 1500