He wasn’t sure what was wrong with him and why he couldn’t seem to get very far away from Fireside’s borders. He needed to go see his family, when he left he’d promised to return often to visit. He enjoyed being with his family, he felt complete and at home like Lirim was still standing. Lachlan grit his teeth as he pulled his features up from the trail he was following. He tried to discard the thoughts he had of his kin and the reason that Lirim no longer existed. His mother and brother were safe now, that was what mattered right? As long as he didn’t put too much thought to the state they’d been rendered he could continue on as normal.

Lach continued onward, his steps nearly silent as he slipped through the fruits trees now heavy with their harvest. His mind was racing but he was focused on his task. Lachlan wasn’t the greatest of hunters, he failed much more often than he succeeded. Still, he tried and that’s what counted, he was able to feed himself but not much else. The young man continued onward, following the trail of his prey.

Until the scent of bear overwhelmed him. Eyes widened as he crouched and looked up, bright eyes searching for the creature. The black bear was eating some of the fruit that had already fallen from the branches. Lachlan wasn’t an impressive fighter, he’d never been incredibly interested but he knew the basics of self defense. That didn’t mean that he could fight off a bear. Lachlan made to back away before he was discovered, but his foot hit a branch. The bear looked up and saw him and almost as if a switch went off the bear realized its position.

”Shit.” The boy cursed and turned to run, but the bear was right on his heels. He’d have to fight. A huge black paw reached out to swipe at his back feet and Lachlan only just kept himself from tripping up and falling but the beast was right on him. Lachlan had no other choice and he turned on the bear and let out a roar to put the creature off and maybe give himself some time.

Tyrian was taking a stroll through the Orchard to assess what kind of harvest they were going to get this year. The pack had no claim to the land so rogues and foreigners were free to come and take as they saw fit, which meant the booze makers of Fireside would have to be fast if they wanted a good haul. Jupiter was still kind of mopey so Tyrian, even though he wasn't interested in making any drinks, was trying to drum up interest in his nephew. The obstinate man was difficult to light a fire under, but he was doing his best. Call it an olive branch, if you will.

He paused when the sounds of a challenge echoed through the Orchard. To investigate or nah. On the one hand it wasn't any of his business. On the other, this close to the border it could be one of his wolves. Investigating it was, then. The young King moved towards the noise at a languid pace. He wasn't too concerned. The vast majority of his wolves (particularly the ones inclined to get into fights) knew how to handle themselves. If they needed help - and that was a big if - they wouldn't need much.

His blood went cold as he caught sight of tiny Lachlan squaring off with a bear. Fuck. The bear was between him and Lachlan which worked to his advantage. If he was lucky it wouldn't hear him approach. Tyrian raced forward and sought to slam his shoulder into the bear's left ass cheek while simultaneously raking his canines across its lower back. His goal was to startle it and spin it around. Black bears were cowards. Once it realized it had two wolves to deal with - one of them huge - Tyrian was confident it would give up the fight.

Lachlan snapped his teeth at the large black bear, really it was probably average but compared to Lachlan it was massive. Still, the young Valentine boy had little other choice but to face the beast. He growled and raised his hackles and made himself big like a cat might, but even that wasn’t enough to intimidate the bear. A tried to take a step forward, putting on a much braver act than he felt. Unfortunately his bluff was called and the black ursine swiped its massive claws across Lachlan’s face.

He cried out in pain as his skin was split. The bear was about to make its move on him when Tyrian’s attack took all of its focus. Lachlan’s too, for a split second before he tried to retreat. Blood filled his left eyes no matter how much he blinked. He squinted out of his right, he wasn’t going to be much help to Tyrian, but like he’d predicted the bear was a coward and felt the sting of loss without much effort from the King’s part.

Without so much as a defiant whimper the bear high tailed it out of the woods, there was more fruit to be had elsewhere in the orchard. Adrenaline pumped quickly through his veins as Lach tried to convince his body the threat was gone, but he was breathing hard, mouth agape and his head low from the weight of the pain. His face was starting to throb, his pale fur was stained with blood, and now he was suddenly reunited with Tyrian.

Red ears fell to his skull as one bright blue eye turned to his rescuer. ”Hey,” He started softly, like he hadn’t just been in a life or death situation. ”Thank you.” And then the adrenaline ran obviously as his rump fell to the earth heavily. He was cut up and hadn’t realized the headache that was now swelling in his brain. He’d been meaning to work up the courage to try and see Tyrian again, figured he’d come along at the worst (best?) moment.

As he'd suspected the bear ended up being...well, a typical black bear. It spun to face him, sized him up with beady little eyes, and then made for the hills as though its life depended on it. Tyrian, pleased with his true prophecy, laughed rudely after the bear. How could he not? It was such a comical sight; the rotund, bane of bees, berries and easily frightened things running as fast as its stumpy little legs could carry it. Even once there was a good bit of distance between them Tyrian could see its fat thighs jiggling with the effort. So again, how could he not laugh? He glanced at Lachlan, fully expecting the man to be laughing as well, and sobered immediately as his attention was drawn to the blood that contrasted so sharply with Lachlan's white coat.

"Hey, thanks," Lachlan said, the simple, untroubled greeting clashing with the thin rivulets of blood running into his eye. "You can thank me later," Tyrian replied absently as he stepped forward to gently brush at Lachlan's eye with a paw. Perhaps it was a little too intimate for almost-strangers, but they'd fucked once and that had to put them into a special category apart from normal conventions, right? Besides, as far as he could tell Lachlan might be blind in that eye. He had ample reason to take liberties here.

"You know, it's flattering and all but," he teased as he tried to assess the damage, "If you wanted to get my attention there are less bloody ways to do it." Tyrian shrugged, seemingly nonchalant. "Not that I mind, mind you, I'm just saying." It was a front; bears could do some serious damage and Tyrian was concerned that Lachlan might have been blinded. Even wusses like black bears had formidable claws.

With the release and draining of the adrenaline that raced through his veins Lachlan wasn’t feeling near as cheery as Tyrian. With the amusement that fell from the King’s lips made Lachlan’s pull up lightly despite the pain. Seeing him so easily chase off their opponent was incredible and if Tyr hadn’t impressed him before, the respect Lach had for the fanged man was only encouraged. When Tyrian’s attention was returned to him the moment sombered. He was injured, a fact that would not be ignored with the throbbing he felt over the side of his face and in his brain.

Tyrian showed no hesitation as he approached, the concern obvious on his features as he lifted a paw to the wound. Lachlan tried not to put much weight on the nonchalant way he’d mentioned thanking him later. At the back of his mind Lachlan had wondered if Tyr would even remember him, he had drunk quite a bit that night they met. Of all his memories though, the slate marked King was most clear in his mind. There would be no forgetting their experience together. The close contact seemed natural an oddity for how well they knew each other. The Valentine man would admit the difference between Tyrian and any other stranger. He knew Lachlan intimately and garnered much more liberty than any other individual.

With red ears slicked to his head and his cheeks growing warm with the close contact his blush would only intensify as Tyrian spoke softly while looking over the damage. The massive wolf seemed unfazed by recent events, the cool calm demeanor put Lachlan at ease over the potential harm, but his body was abuzz with being reunited with Tyr. ”No… ah..” He stuttered lightly as he pulled his tail closer to his hip. He blinked his bloodied eye again, unable to see but once it was cleared his vision would return. He smiled sweetly despite the pain, ”What would the best way to get your attention be?” Lachlan returned instead of denying the teasing accusation.

With those words he felt a thrill in his chest, his assumption had been that after such a crazy night that was it. Lachlan didn’t see himself in any kind of… long term situation. He’d known that he wanted to see Tyrian again, and not completely because of curiosity if he’d been remembered or not.

Tyrian frown as he studied the mark. Upon closer inspection it wasn't that bad and the eye was fine, just bloody. Like all head wounds the bear's slash was just bleeding a lot. It might need some stitches but he was the wrong person to decide that. If Lachlan needed someone Tyrian could offer Tashi or, if a langur's rough skills weren't good enough, he'd take him back to Fireside. They had skilled healers who could make short work of that wound. "I think you'll live," he said with his paw still touching Lachlan's crown.

”What would the best way to get your attention be?” At this Tyrian smirked and set his paw down. "I mean..." His smirk widened and then he shrugged, playfully dismissive. "Most wolves howl, but I have to give it to you, this was new. Props to you for creativity." Teasing aside, Tyrian was pleased to see Lachlan again. He'd assumed that what had happened at the party would stay there and that he'd never see any of those wolves again. And yet here was his first boy. Tyrian was not disappointed.

He studied Lachlan, sobering a little as he tried to suss out the smaller man's thoughts on...well, everything relevant to their relationship so far - or even if there was a relationship. They'd had something, but that didn't mean there was more ahead of them. "You're the gift that keeps on giving. Had all kinds of first with you," he ventured cheekily.

Lachlan would receive, if not a clean bill of health, confirmation that death was not imminent. He likely wouldn’t lose his eyesight either. As Tyrian lowered his massive paw Lach rubbed the fur around his eye to remove the blood. Maybe he’d be ashamed he hadn’t drawn any in return if he wasn’t concerned wholly with Tyrian. Bright blue eyes looked back up to the King, his words explaining how it would be better to seek him out. He couldn’t help but chuckle, would it have been so easy to reunite? Maybe, but the question was really would he have had enough gumption for that? Lachlan might not have come to such a simple conclusion on his own, not that he’d been searching for Tyrian’s attention at the moment the bear appeared anyway… Maybe the beast hadn’t been a misfortune at all, he had Tyrian here worrying over him already.

He began to regain sight back in his bloodied eye, blinking often his gaze lingered on Tyrian as his expression shifted. Suddenly he was reminded of the night they met once more, not that he could forget. Tyrian didn’t have to try very hard to get Lachlan to blush, which he did quite promptly as he spoke boldly. ”I don’t think I’ve given you more than a scare today.” He tried to calm his beating heart and feel as cool and collected as Tyrian looked. The things about firsts flustered him more, if it hadn’t been glaringly obvious to Tyrian that night that he was first first everything for Lachlan he was blind. Tyrian was far from naive when they met.

Lachlan felt a rush go through him as he took in a deep breath, he wasn’t as bold as he’d been while drunk. Lachlan was slowly figuring out what he wanted, and however foggy the future was he wanted to be here with Tyrian. ”I could get you some dinner, and um, maybe we could eat together.” He offered sweetly, red ears lowered to his skull as his nervousness showed through. Tyrian made it clear their first night that there wasn’t much Lachlan could do to run him off. He wasn’t sure where any of this would go, but he definitely wanted to take a step back and share a meal together. Perhaps there was more than a one time encounter here.

Maybe it was a bit rude but Tyrian was getting a kick out of Lachlan's jitters. He found his nervousness endearing. Considering the value his family placed on strength of...well, everything, perhaps he shouldn't have found it so, but there was something about this small, shy man that he found irresistible. It was kind of nice to be in the position Lachlan's meekness put him in. The ease with which he blushed was just the icing on the cake.

He reined in the smile that threatened his composure as Lachlan nervously proposed a plan. Because he simply couldn't resist, instead of answering right away Tyrian asked, "Are you asking me on a date?" He just wanted another blush. One more and he might be satisfied. "Because if you are..." he said slowly, drawing the moment out. "The answer is yes." Tyrian let that hang in the air for a second. "But," he paused again, the corners of his mouth drawing up slightly. Okay, he couldn't resist going in for another blush. Tyrian reached out to gently brush the unblemished skin over the bear's claw marks on Lachlan's face. "Should you be doing the 'getting'?"

Lachlan didn’t put much stock in his future, he was winging life for the most part now thta he had no stable place to rest his head at night. Wherever the wind took him and brought to him would due. As such he’d given little thought to his future partner or family. He had his father and mother to keep as an example, the two of them cared deeply for each other and he couldn’t imagine them not being together. When his mother had been captured a darkness had fallen over the family and his father. The love between man and woman was obvious, natural, and something that Lach had always assumed hed have.

Now that he sat here, looking up into Tyrian’s deep stormy gaze he wondered if his future would be nothing like what his father and mother had. He couldn’t deny the butterflies inside nor the attraction he had to the handsome King. Those moments they’d shared drunk on the beach would forever be a treasured memory, and even if he was rejected Lachlan wouldn’t be the same.

Silvery blue eyes grew wide at Tyrian’s observation, Lachlan hadn’t used those words in his mind, but essentially they were true. Lach wanted a date with the man. No matter how nervous he felt he liked the way the words fell from Tyrian’s lips. He was sure that his heart would beat out of his pale chest as he told him yes afterwards, and despite himself the boy obviously relaxed. Even as Tyr drew his paw up once more to his brow, not that he needed a reminder of the pounding headache and throbbing of his wound. He would have eagerly attempted a small hunt for the man he wanted to woo.

”I… uh.. Yes, a date.” His ears fell against his skull and he was sure every inch of skin was now bright red. ”I really want to hunt for you but um, maybe you’re right.” The bleeding needed to stop and perhaps a tinge of pain medication would be best before he attempted anymore strenuous activities.

Tyrian's smirk blossomed into a lopsided grin as he watched Lachlan become flustered again; his pale skin turning a bright, pleasing crimson once more. That was exactly the kind of reaction Tyrian had been hoping for. It was just so...wholesome. Pure, unjaded, etc. So different than what he was used to. His family, both his blood relatives and the unrelated members of his pack, were by and large rough and tumble sorts. They did not blush easily and were more likely to hit him back with a witty retort than anything else.

Lachlan mentioned that he really wanted to hunt for him and Tyrian shrugged good-naturedly and smirked again. "I guess that means we'll just have to have another date once you're all healed. For now..." He got to his paws and looked towards Fireside. They were awfully close to home and knowing the locale as he did, Tyrian knew for sure he could provide a good meal. After a beat he glanced back at Lachlan. "How about I get dinner this time? I know just the place."

Dining with a gaping wound wouldn't do. That was hardly romantic. Thankfully Tyrian had a number of healers on hand who could look at Lachlan's wound including Tashi, his langur. "But first, how about we get that looked at?" he asked as he motioned to the head wound.

Tyrian’s smile didn’t make Lachlan feel ashamed of his overwhelming blush, he liked that he could make him smile so brightly by just being himself. His expression changed slightly after Lach agreed reluctantly, but the mention of a second date sent his heart beating against his chest. He was going to need a nap after all of this. The bleeding over his face had yet to truly stop, and it wouldn’t be long before he’d be blinking back blood once more. Though he was slightly disappointed in the turn of events he was more than consoled with the promise of the future. Another date, and Lachlan would be looked after with great care under Tyrian’s watch.

”I think that I could allow it this time,” he admitted shyly as he pulled himself to his own pale paws, squinting slightly out of the eye covered in blood. Still, he couldn’t help the playful grin that played on his rusty features, nor the way his gaze lingered on the King and his impressive form. ”We should, I wouldn’t want to bleed all over our dinner.” Our dinner. Lachlan was already speaking of them in the plural and he went and made himself blush.

Tyrian made it clear that he wouldn’t be run off easily despite Lachlan’s inexperience, his lack of grace, and the way he tripped over his words. Somehow after all of that he’d still managed to catch Tyrian’s attention and keep it. Being looked after like this made Lach feel special, and even more attracted to the man whose attention he’d garnered.