It hadn’t been long into his conversation with Absinth that the semi-pleasant day had taken a turn for the worst. As they had trailed their way through the winter barren trees and evergreens, the overcast sky had taken on a more sinister appearance. The sound was mostly protected by the looming cliffsides, but even still, the wind coming off the water maintained a kind of force that signaled the eminent approach of nasty weather. The temporary shelter he had found was nearly on the opposite end of the valley. However, just as the first chunks of ice had begun to fall, a fairly deep overhang presented itself on the side of an otherwise flat-faced bluff. Luckily, it would provide more than enough coverage to safely wait out the sudden shift in weather.

As to what they were going to do as the hail storm raged, he wasn't entirely sure. Though, he wasn't too interested in sitting quietly in the dark with his paws crossed. "We didn't get to finish our fight." Aresenn casually mused, not really looking in the monochromatic fae's direction. He had hoped to catch her off guard in a similar fashion that she had managed with him. As soon as the words rolled off his tongue, he lunged at her with the intention of coming down on her back with his forearms- much as a child would do when first learning how to spar. But this wasn't necessarily something he meant to be taken seriously. Even still, if he could force her to the ground for real this time, he would certainly call that a win.

269 / 1500
"Aresenn Praetor"

Something had changed in the air. The weather was increasingly building up to some sort of storm as they trekked through the Sound. She hadn’t gotten the chance to fully explore the area yet so she was counting on Aresenn to lead them to shelter at the moment. And the red boy did deliver- an overhang stemming from a bluff. It was the best they’d probably get with the weather being as it was. Chunks of frigid hail began to fall from the sky, the wind whipping at her face as she stepped foot into the safe haven. Monochrome coat shook the snow from her body as they settled in to wait out the hailstorm. She was watching the storm rage with an interested sort of look- thinking about how if she stepped out into it Aresenn would probably only be able to see her face and tail. If even that! The hail was so heavy she might be buried if she tried to challenge it by going out there!

It was then that his voice pulled her out of her thoughts, a casual tone betraying his next actions. ‘We didn’t get to finish our fight.’ Absinth had only enough time to grin and begin to say something before his surprise landed. “Your shoulder says otherw- ah fuck!” It was not nearly as brutal an attack as she’d given him, but it was sudden enough that it blindsided the girl. His fores had come down on her back without deadly intent, very different from their last fight- she gauged then that it was more likely a spar rather than vengeance. Alright. That’s how it was going to be then!

The impact of his forearms was swift and entirely bearable, but she wouldn’t be taken down to the ground again without a fight. Absinth instead attempted to roll into the motion, turning to try and kick at his abdomen as non-lethally as she could.

[592/1500]

wormwood

The rattling echo of the ice rolling off the cliffside- battering the ground was near deafening as the intensity of which it fell gradually increased. If he hadn't known any better, he would say that the heavens were furious. Though his blatant disregard wasn't a necessarily personal display of disrespect. He didn't have much faith in a god anyways. His own abilities on the other hand- he had a fool's confidence. Even in an exchange lacking intensity such as the spar he had brought upon himself- Aresenn was fairly determined to make this one count.

As he had attempted to pin her with the advantage of his surprise, the girl was a rather slippery individual. Perhaps his remark had been interrpreted as a warning. While she hadn't had time to shriek the entirety of his weight, she made a valiant attempt at trying to avoid the blow. As she peeled away with the idea of instilling separation, rolling to the ground with clear intent- he was intimately aware of her attempt to kick him in the abdomen. In order to prevent himself a more debilitating injury in the event she missed and caught him in a far more sensitive area, Aresenn made the split decision to stumble backwards, taking her blow to the dip of his chest. "Watch where you're kicking!" He seethed as he realigned himself and surged forward. Through narrowed eyes and splayed jaws, he reached for contact wherever it was exposed. A forearm, a shoulder, he wasn't after anything specific. Just something he could grind his teeth on and cause a litle discomfort for the shoulder that said otherwise.

864 / 1500
"Aresenn Praetor"

She’d slammed herself into the ground a lot harder than she had wanted to, her limbs seeking to hit any part of him so long as it would keep him from pinning her down like the last fight. She probably could have just tried to dodge but the attack came so suddenly her first thought had been to avoid him getting a solid hold on her. That meant keeping her scruff safe from being grabbed and used to her disadvantage. Aresenn was wise to move back before her paws found their way into a not so nice place. Instead her counter attack hit his chest with only enough power to set him back for a moment it seemed. She let out a cackle when he warned her to be careful with her attacks. “Right- I almost forgot you had balls!” Absinth grinned widely, sitting herself up as quickly as she could before he came at her again.

This is a spar. Spar. She tried to drill the thought into her head. To ensure her body wouldn’t automatically switch to lethal force and to try and have fun with it; However this distracted her for a moment- a moment too long as he surged forward immediately, his jaws finding purchase on her right shoulder. Fucking karma. The monochromatic girl felt his teeth apply pressure onto her flesh, and she winced in anticipation for the incoming pain… but the searing tear she expected to come did not. Right. Spar. She had to remind herself again, tail lashing behind her in amusement that he had gotten her on the shoulder. “Looking for revenge, Aresenn?” Absinth growled mockingly at the fiery boy, attempting to push her body forward on her haunches to a standing position.

[1155/1500]
wormwood

In the time that he had allotted her with his warning, she was quick to take advantage of it. Pulling herself upright into a partial sit in an effort to get herself off the ground. But she still find time to pull a rather crude joke at his expense. “Oh, you think that’s funny, huh?” He jabbed at her, though he was plainly amused himself. If his masculinity was in question, he held no reservations in reassuring her of it. “I would be happy to remind you of my balls anytime.” He jeered. It was mostly a joke, but a suggestive one at that- though, he didn’t much care how well it landed. When he caught the skin of her shoulder in his teeth, it did bring him some sense of satisfaction. He made an attempt to shove himself over the top of her, in order to maintain the higher ground, though he was too slow on the draw. Before he could find his place, she fought for the ground to right herself into a standing position. A move he wouldn’t contest too harshly. Without putting real force into his bite, the flesh he held slipped out of his grasp with her movement. Even still, he would have released his hold to answer her mockery. The banter was nearly as congenial as the spar itself. “You could say that. Vengance is an idiot’s game, Absinth … but I’m ready to play.” He answered, with a mischievous glint to his calculating amber gaze. What would be the next move?

As she stood up, he lunged- though with a very different intention in mind. If he could make the angle at her side, he’d try and dive beneath her, forcing himself in the space where her chest cleared the ground. If he could force her off her paws by picking her up on his shoulders- or at least knock her off balance once again- he would certainly make the effort. To accomplish what? He wasn’t certain. Where would their spar end up, he didn’t really know that either. But it was mildly entertaining, to say the least.

1508 / 1500
"Aresenn Praetor"

It was a great deal of fun, this spar. It had her blood pumping. She never thought of something so pointless seeming being so capable of this level of entertainment. At her joke Aresenn responded in kind, throwing a suggestive joke at her- something she didn’t think he was capable of. So he wasn’t as stiff as he seemed. She’d been fully herself, or at least pretty open, from the moment they’d met- so this was a refreshing surprise in itself. And she liked those.  “Promise?” She teased, matching his tone as she was caught by his teeth. The resulting struggle was a mess of movement which was kept to a rather amiable clash. She had thoughts of biting his shoulder again but the mantra of Spar. Spar. kept her itching jaws from inflicting the damage that came so naturally to her.

As she pulled away from his grip, he offered little resistance- letting her stand fully. There was a troublesome look in his eyes, one that she quite enjoyed. “I love games as much as I love surprises. Remember that!”  Absinth managed to coo impishly, just a second before he lunged.

She was confused as to what he was doing, never had an opponent gone and did this; his bigger form invading the space below her chest and traveling under her in a flash. “What the-” Absinth’s bewildered voice came, she felt her paws lose all footing at once; monochromatic body draped over his shoulders like a damn accessory. The girl huffed, shifting so she could raise her head to crane her neck just near his ear.  “And this is how I'm going to wear your pelt one day.”  A murmur of a sentence entirely meant to provoke him.
wormwood

Her brazen sense of humor seemed to know no bounds, and he refused to be outdone by this girl. Why did everything have to be a damn pissing contest? “You have my word.” His tone just as teasing as hers among the frenzied attempts to gain the upper hand, without crossing any lines. Only as he stood looking her over, did he vaguely register what she said about her affinity for games and surprises. She instructed him to remember that, and he decided in that moment that he just might.

It seemed that his improvised scoop had caught her off guard as much as he had hoped. But while she struggled a bit for her autonomy, she didn’t put up the fight he was expecting. The warmth of her breath near his ear set his hackles to bristle but not in a bad way. “I count on it.”  He answered as lowly as she. He remained still for a moment, supporting her with his legs locked in place. It was an odd feeling, Contact that he was reluctant to end though that’s exactly what he was prepared to do. “But I still have use for it yet.” He finished in an impishly dismissive tone, dipping his head and neck with one of his forearms, as he shoved off with the other in an attempt to dump her off his shoulders as easily as he had scooped her up. He turned away from her in an instant- if she landed on her feet, or landed in a heap he didn’t pay attention.

At some point in their scuffle, the hail had come to a stop, and they had been to absorbed in one another to have noticed. Clearing his throat, he glanced back over his shoulder. “It’s probably safe to leave.” He didn’t particularly want to. But he wasn’t entirely sure what came after playful wrestle in the storm. Though he had a hunch it couldn’t be good.

"Aresenn Praetor"

Absinth had assumed her increased heartbeat had been due to the spar itself, but perhaps she had been wrong. It was a strange feeling and one that she was not accustomed to at all. But she did not label it. Her heart beat may have been detectable to Aresenn, as nearly her entire form was pressed against the musculature of his shoulders-but she herself did not register any reaction. She refused to.

Instead Absinth enjoyed the banter between them. It was rather amusing being treated like this, she hadn’t even had a friend like this before. Mostly her life had consisted of vulgarities and honestly bile filled conversations. Her form had been still, lax even atop him until he moved to set her down, to which she slid down and landed upright with a sigh. “Aww. I was so comfortable.” She felt a slight displeasure at being put at a distance but Absinth easily shook her fur to dispel such feelings. She was not a weak girl, certainly not going to pout about it. The fun filled spar was over, and so was her reason to remain in contact with him.

She hadn’t noticed the hail had stopped at all, and from the looks of it neither had he. Had they really been so distracted by their roughhousing to have not heard an entire storm cease a mere few steps away? She would have been completely ashamed of herself for losing any sense of awareness but still  she found it worthwhile.

Her tone was flirtatious and daring, a grin set upon her lips mischievously.“Probably. But Aresenn… I’m curious about you.”Absinth drew closer to him slowly, making sure he was not still in the mind of sparring- nor did she want him to think she was aiming to attack again. The monochromatic fae stopped at his side, peering up at him with a curious gaze. “Tell me about yourself. Or  I’ll start a fight again.” Absinth spoke with a coquettish tone this time, her eyes roving his face for reaction. She was entirely serious about her threat and she would never be the type of girl to speak false promises.
wormwood

Was that disappointment in her voice? Even he- who happened to be dry-humored by nature, was beginning to have a difficult time differentiating which sentiments were sardonic and which were genuine. “Be careful getting too comfortable, it can be a hell of a thing.” He warned her as he flashed a glance in her direction- having landed on her paws with considerable ease.

The wedge that he attempted to drive between them with separation was a precautionary measure to some degree. Though, as an individual of clouded morals, his better judgment- while present to some extent- was still pretty weak. He didn’t need much distraction from the implication that it was best to part companies. It seemed that she wasn’t ready to leave either, hailstorm or a cloudless sky. Probably, but I’m curious. Amusement tainted his sharpened exhale as he turned to face her once more in her casual approach. He met the emerald gaze he was certain could see directly into the corners of his soul- even still, she pressed him for more. But truthfully, he hadn’t the slightest idea as to what else she could be looking for. “I apologize if I’ve made myself seem more complex than I am.” He answered, the corner of his lips flicking upward in a vaguely amorous grin, but it was an honest one all the same. She ‘threatened’ him with more fighting, and it wasn’t that he didn’t believe her- he simply just didn’t perceive it as an ultimatum. “What do you want to know?” What curiosities could he satisfy? Perhaps it would provide him some sort of insight into where her mind lingered.

"Aresenn Praetor"

Absinth had always been a perceptive creature, as a pup, a child, and even in her juvenile years she had been capable of observations some dull adults still weren’t. It was an odd thing to see- and perhaps one of the biggest reasons her father had chosen to devote countless hours of his time to filling her head with his strange knowledge. Now, as her adolescence drew to a close and she had begun to forge her path, utilizing that intelligence was paramount. But here with Aresenn in the space of the overhang she found herself letting her cynical exterior come down.

He was surprised by her question it seemed. His lips managing to capture all of her attention as he grinned, “Simple man, are you? No. I don’t pretend to know how deep or shallow your soul truly is. That takes time- and I can be very patient.” She delivered the last line with a sultry expression, casting him a playful look. It was so enjoyable to her when he answered in kind.

She followed up with a sigh, dropping her lower half into a sitting position just a touch away from the red boy. “I want to know what you really think, and my eyes are not just pretty trinkets. You seem  so repressed I can hardly bear it.” Absinth could see a great deal of potential in him, but it felt like he kept all his thoughts locked away. He might have just been a reserved kind of guy, but she was beckoning him to offer some small piece of himself. They were so similar in ways she hadn’t expected- easily falling into sync.

“I’d like you to consider me as a  friend, do you have many of those? I don’t.  So be my first.” Absinth spoke with an air of sincerity, plainly so that he would fully understand the weight of her words if it was up for debate. She was not putting on a show, rather she was responding to his honesty with her own. He’d earned that at least.

wormwood

Where did the game stop, and reality began? It was getting difficult for him to tell. But she said she loved games, even if the rules were being written as they spoke- he had a hunch those were probably her favorite to play. His amber leer narrowed a bit as his attention was so easily trapped. Aresenn was conscious of it, aware of the path he wandered to certain catalyst. Though he followed it willingly. “I would say so.” He mused, unable to free himself from the allure. “But you can take as much time as you need to come up with your own conclusion, just wouldn’t want you to waste your time, that’s all.” He answered a little more lowly. Aresenn felt the draw to sit- it seemed that they weren’t in danger of going anywhere. Absinth must have felt the pull to do so at the same time as he- after she settled, he hesitantly did so as well.

When she answered his inquiry as to what information she was looking for, he was taken completely aback. Aresenn looked away from her then, to hide the stunned acknowledgement as it crossed his expression. How did she see him so clearly? Frankly, it scared the hell out of him. He cleared his throat before mumbling what first came to mind. “It’s not my own thoughts that are concerning.” Though he regretted it as soon as the words rolled off his tongue. He looked at her then- giving himself back to the emerald gaze he could so easily drown in. Honestly, to some degree he was afraid of himself. “What if I didn’t restrain myself, though? How do you open yourself up to something you have no idea how to control?” At what point did their conversation set to such a free fall in depth? They were just sparring. Now he felt like the entirety of his conscious being was being itemized and evaluated before him, and for one of the first times in his life, he felt seen.

And for one of the first times, he felt like he saw her. There was something genuine to her voice as she extended the desire for mutual acceptance. He slowly nodded, before his own conclusion on the matter entered his mind. “Don’t you think there is a reason why those like us don’t have friends?” He countered. In his reality, he had two others. Sephiran, who saw the worst in him, and demanded the worst out of him. Andromeda who saw his best, and he couldn’t stand the thought of breaking that illusion for her, though one day he knew that he would. Now, there was Absinth … what in god’s name was he supposed to do with her?

"Aresenn Praetor"

Absinth wasn’t entirely sure what was happening. She felt a pull to continue on in this inexplicable relationship occurring now between them. Was it a kinship between two beings without a place they belonged? Perhaps. But Absinth was not a creature who thought such flowery things, so she instead stopped thinking and let herself go with whatever flow they were bouncing back and forth. “Oh, I don’t think any time spent thinking about you would be a waste.”   She breathed in an honest tone, one she hardly had to try to attain. She had already said it herself- how curious he made her.

She watched him from her sitting position at his side, then gazed forward when he angled his face away, offering him some privacy to control his expression; though he hardly needed to in her presence. She listened to his worries, something she was guided through by her father.  Her charcoal face now returned to him as he finished speaking, eyes fully scanning his own- analytical expression melting in those amber eyes of his. He poured his fears out into her. She welcomed it entirely, waiting for him to finish. “Then, do you think you can live your life  restrained to this extent? And control? A practiced thing. Don’t be what you’re  expected  to be- by anyone. You have to be what is already inside of you.”   She was certain of it, and she would offer more to him as he had done the same. “I was meant to be sold to a brothel, that's why I ran. My father was gone, older siblings gone away too, mother- a penniless whore. My worth as the king's daughter was gone along with him, all that was left was my body. I refused, and ran, because I was not a lamb for slaughter. I am the butcher.”   She was destined for things far  greater than what her orifices could  take. Absinth wanted him to see her clearly now- as clearly as she felt she could see him. And there was still so much more to both of them.

He began to nod slowly in understanding of her request, but then he brought up a new argument. One she hardly had to think about before she answered to reassure him. Her emerald gaze was consuming, yet seeking to comfort him. “Because we don’t fall into the same black and white category as others. That’s what makes us able to play the  games  with Sephiran, and  dally with the good-natured on occasion. Flexible, but capable of so much.”   By this she was speaking of Talyssa, the princess who’d cared for her after her initial arrival on these lands- though she’d never spoken of that girl to Aresenn yet. Absinth thought to test the waters of his enticement now, shifting to lean against his fiery frame with nonchalance. “Whatever souls are made of, mine and yours are the same. I’d say that’s a good reason to be friends. Don't you?”

wormwood

As she twisted his words, he waited for the punchline- though it never came. How could she sound so genuine. “I wouldn’t be so sure.” He echoed her. Absently trying to push away the indication of whatever closeness was threatening to forge between them. But he wanted it.

Aresenn hadn’t expected an answer to his existential musings, much less the one he got. And as he harrowed his mind for a response. He wanted to tell her that what she was implying was easier to say than to follow through. That he appreciated the sentiment, but it wasn’t worth a second thought. But the truth of the matter was, he didn’t want to wave her off. The words that she said threatened to spark something. And now more than ever, he wanted to borrow the strength from the only one to ever encourage him to conquer the demons by owning them. Release them. Let go. It wasn’t any less of a frightening thought. Aresenn racked his brain for something to say- he felt like he should say something. But then he didn’t have to say anything at all. Casting her a sideways glance, he listened- absorbing the piece of her background that she had chosen to give him. An offered example of the fate she secured herself away from the expectations of others. I am the butcher. But could he allow himself to be? They were on a similar path- he could see that. Their journeys were not all that different … she was ahead of him- but perhaps he could simply follow her lead.

As to why they didn’t have friends- it seemed that she didn’t even have to think about an answer. She knew. He couldn’t help the breathy chuckle that escaped his lips- not because what she was saying was funny. It was just the kind of response someone offered when faced with a truth they hadn’t expected to see. “You’re way too smart for me, you know that?” He answered her then. An observance made of everything presented to him. While he managed to hang on to every sound that rolled off her tongue, how could he possibly absorb it all? Looking out into the world once again, as he sat processing. He wasn’t aware of her intention until she felt her lean into his shoulder. His body went rigid for a moment out of surprise … though the tension released him as quickly as it had taken its hold. “But … I would say you are probably right. It seems like a very good reason.”

-Exit Aresenn via Fade-

"Aresenn Praetor"