ooc: Me-OW.
The wolf looms, and the shepherd protects the flock. As easily as he called, she came, and as soon as X’yro spied the coat with hues that mirrored his own he halted, his march drawn up short mid-step. Looking upon his sister as she traversed the expanse between them both cooled an ache and seared one anew, and somewhere in the midst of it X’yro was caught in the twisting whirlpool. Hands clenched at his sides as yellow eyes narrowed, and soon glanced away. This wasn’t fair. The reunion with his sister should have been a happy one, but her actions from seasons past had, even after all this time, followed them like a curse to mar the beauty of the moment they might have shared.
Even as his gaze deflected to lessen the sting, another claw cut deep when his eyes fell upon the ashen tones of the Lambda. He breathed a disdainful snort that was likely loud enough for the couple to hear, and he cared not. His resentment turned the very air around him bitter, it was a wonder what was left of the grasses after the storm did not wilt at his feet. The sight of X’ies renewed his ire, and he collected his rage into courage, raising up to his full height and no longer casting his gaze aside. Instead, he stared straight at his sister, watching her approach. Perhaps she was as nervous as he, but she wore little of it on her countenance. What he could see, though, was her obviously bulky shape, and the extra weight her body carried. His brows pinched together. Once, he thought this tense moment might once again come down to the physical, but there would be no honor in challenging a quickened woman.
No doubt they were the Lambda’s. He crossed his arms. Testosterone filled the air.
‘X’yrin,’ he replied, in the same grunting language that was their nature. She was shorter than him, but they weren’t even in comparable forms. He tilted his head down, some of the hardness leaving his eyes as he looked her over for one drawn out, silent moment. Then there was the slightest, almost imperceptible twitch of an ear and he inclined his head in a half nod, which was a hell of a lot more than he afforded X’ies. There was little body language that would acknowledge submission to her; his tail was stark still, ears pert and forward. Without so much as glancing at the cloth that was wrapped around his waist, he clutched it with a fist and tore it from his body. It fell rather unceremoniously to the ground.
“Little more than tick repellant,” he sniffed, eyes flashing to X’ies for the briefest moment. “You chose a rather infested place to play house.”
He tilted his head towards the Lambda, and grunted, shot X’yrin a look and then grumbled another guttural sound, abandoning the common word to better express his displeasure at X’ies’s presence in their family’s more wolfish way of communicating. She would have recognized his voice, and to bring the Lambda at her side as though he was her choice support when coming to greet him was a slap in the face. By his expression, though, he didn’t really expect anything more from her.
For another beat his expression softened, and he crouched so he was lower to the Secui level. He could not stand there hard and cold in the presence of his once beloved sister and feel nothing. His firm resolve faltered, and a pale glimmer of the love he held for her reflected in his eyes. A softer sound, a nod towards her, a twitch of the tail – part of him was happy to see her. He wanted her back. He loved her dearly. And he despised her for leaving his side. She made a mockery of him, and no amount of sentimentality was going to make him forget that. His eyes hardened again and he stood.
“…but I cannot say I am as pleased to see him.” He suddenly returned to high speech, switching language and picking right up from his momentary falter. “You may not wish to see me lost, but I wonder about him.” He waved a hand at the grey one. “Somehow, I doubt our separation was accidental.” The fiery look in his eyes shot accusatory daggers at X’ies.
“At least a skin is my only folly. It looks like yours is far worse,” again he motioned, and this time he was looking at his sister’s swollen belly. “If I were a betting man, I would say those weren’t just the Ancestors’ work there. You always did have a soft spot for your little Lambda, it’s no wonder he finally got it. Frankly I’m disappointed that you’re not in fighting condition.”