He hadn't even bothered to move at first. The more he thought about his situation, the grosser it got. He had seen crabs, flies, fleas, seagulls, and all sorts of things crawling around on the sand earlier. They were probably all crawling through his fur now. Minus the seagulls, they probably were not in his fur. And the germs, oh god the germs. Ash was grateful for the thin layer of cloth between most of his body and the ground, but began to fret as he thought about the stains it could produce. In reality, there wasn't much sand could do in the way of stains, but he was on the ground and that was enough to set his mind into a state of panic.

Thankfully there was a distraction. Ashbrooke sniffed idly at the air, picking up on something weird. It didn't smell like salt or rotting flesh, so it obviously did not belong on the beach. It was nice, whatever it was. Light and airy, with a hint of rose, perhaps. He silently prayed it was a giant bottle of levitating shampoo coming to save the day. His happy dream was cut short by a long series of outrageous giggles. His ears flipped up and he started to move, but instantly froze once the laughter turned to words. He looked silly? Oh god, someone had seen him. He cringed, wondering how he could escape. He wished he could just bury himself in the sand and hide. As dirty as it was, at least he wouldn't have to face this new stranger.

Ashbrooke's dark blue eyes traveled upwards to find the wolf who had mocked him. He was in Optime form. Good. He always felt awkward talking to others when they were on all fours. The second most noticeable attribute was the boy's clothing. Or lack thereof, as was the case here. He was wearing only a thin pair of panties, which struck Ash as odd. Not because the guy was wearing panties, but rather, because it instantly made Ash feel overdressed. He did not think for an instant that a boy marching around in panties could be considered weird. The white male pushed himself up into a sitting position, anxiously giving his head a shake to free his hair of any granules of sand that may have clung to him.

He then looked up at the boy again, this time finding it much easier now that the world was right-side-up. He was awfully slender, and his coat blended in nicely with the color of the beach. Mostly a dull greyish hue, but there were all sorts of soft browns and reds scattered throughout as well. At almost six feet, Ash often found himself feeling short compared to other Optimes, but this stranger was considerably shorter than him. He had nice slender hips, and smooth limbs unburdened with bulky muscles. Even his calves were shapely. That, combined with his giggling and clothing choice, would probably confuse most. But Ash recognized him immediately as male. He had struggled all his life with his own feminine body, and was able to recognize similar traits in this guy. Simply because he was taller, Ash felt he could revel in the strange delight of being slightly more masculine than someone else. How odd.

"You look pretty." Ash had not even planned on speaking. At first the words startled him, not even realizing they had come out of his own mouth. His eyes widened in horror and he quickly tried to fumble for more words to complete the sentence. "Silly too." There. "You look pretty silly too." No, no wait, that was bad too. He didn't want to go around insulting people he didn't even know. Oh god, this guy probably hated him already. He had messed everything up, hadn't he? First he was laying on the ground like an idiot, and now he was insulting people. Why did he even come here? Of course he was going to mess things up. It was better to just stay back in his own pack and try to stay out of everyone's way. "I mean, no. No, you don't look silly, I uh-" He fidgeted, unable to summon any other words to rescue him.

Goddamnit. Was he really this pathetic? Well, yeah, yeah he was. But he was sort of hoping he would be able to hide that from others for a little bit. He should have known better. He should have known that his very presence declared to the world in bright neon letters "loser". Ashbrooke seriously considered patting the sand around him with his hands in search of some pointy driftwood with which to stab himself with. How else could he possibly deal with what was happening? He had unwittingly complimented a guy.

And the guy liked it. Ash had thought the greyish boy was just joking, but then he actually seemed upset once the compliment was taken away. The stranger's frown caused Ash's own ears to flatten with worry and concern. Although he was now at the height of discomfort, he still did not want to punish the guy for it. It wasn't his fault, after all. Everything bad that happened to Ashbrooke was his own fault. He knew that.

At least his babbling had done some good. The male seemed to understand now that Ash had not been intending to insult him. He hoped the stranger also understood that he had not been trying to compliment him either. He had said a compliment, but he didn't know where it had come from. Perhaps he had been possessed momentarily. Whatever it was, it was completely unintentional. But then, he didn't want to make the guy feel so disappointed as he had a moment ago. Maybe it was better if he thought the compliment was real. The boy came closer, causing Ash to tense up. His next move was so unexpected, Ash wasn't sure how to react. How the fuck was someone supposed to react when a stranger sat in one's lap?

He figured he was probably a pioneer in this field. He could not imagine this scenario having happened at any other point in history. He was the first, and therefore, had no rulebook for how to act. His body was frozen in place, coincidentally making for a rather sturdy seat for the boy. His lips were parted, eyes wide and glued to the greyish form on his legs. His throat grew dry, and his heart threatened to lunge out of his chest and chase the kid off. Still pretty? If it weren't so socially inappropriate, Ash would be screaming by now. Was it this guy's mission to humiliate him to death? It was certainly possible.

He smiled and laughed nervously. "H-how would I know? I'm just another dude." Dude. The word slipped clumsily off of his tongue. He was a guy after all, but "dude" just didn't seem to work when describing himself. But what else could he say? Yes? No? His eyes sought after the boy's, looking for help. His gaze finally did land on the other's, but he found no solace there. The color reminded him of an old painting of a shipwreck he had seen in an abandoned mansion in Quebec. The sky had been a blur of dark colors, creating a twisting and twirling storm. He could practically see the torn sails in the boy's eyes. The energy in his eyes did not match the death and desolation of that old mansion. There was too much life here. Realizing he had been staring at them with as much curiosity as he had the painting itself, Ash looked down shamefully. Even if the other guy was sitting on his lap, he still felt uncomfortable being so familiar as to stare at him.

OOC: Sorta powerplaying here, so PM me if you need anything changed. <3

His hand was suddenly taken in the smaller paw, and led around the boy's narrow waist. Ash had the strength to shove him off, but he didn't. He was still frightened of hurting the stranger's feelings, and quite frankly, curious to see what the hell the guy was doing. His arm was now wrapped around the stranger's warm body, and he instinctively pulled him in closer. Ash didn't know why he did it, it just seemed like the thing to do when you were holding someone. Or, whatever it was he was doing. Surely he wasn't holding the boy. That would seem odd. No, through rather unexpected circumstances, his arm happened to be around someone else's torso and he just so happened to squeeze that body tighter into his grasp. It was all normal. Or so he wanted it to be. He was desperate to please, and would put himself into awkward, perhaps even painful situations just to accomplish that.

His heart wrenched at the stranger's continued disappointment. He was inclined to shoo him away, to be disgusted at everything that was happening to him, but the guy's sincerely hurt look was keeping him from doing any of those things. How could he deny someone who needed his kind words? He was not a cruel person, he never had been. It led him to being extremely gullible, but Ashbrooke prided himself in the ability to empathize and sympathize. Still, he was too nervous to say anything to the other male's simplistic complaint. Suddenly his hand was once again in the greyish male's grasp, his paw now traveling quickly to his front. His hand ended up on the soft flesh of the boy's inner thigh. Ash sucked in a breath as he felt his warm body against the palm of his hand. His eyes were transfixed on the thigh, his fingers spreading to touch more of it at once. His hand slid down the thigh to the knee, and back up again, ruffling the fur. "Yes..very, very pretty," he murmured.

His left arm reached out toward the still-nameless guy's back, his palm towards his fur. He stroked his back, his fingers climbing up to his shoulder first before dropping down again. His fingers brushed against the edge of his panties by accident. Ash froze. Dear god, what the hell was he doing? He withdrew both his hands and placed them back on the sand to steady himself. He looked down at his chest, breathing hard. He felt horrible. What was he even doing? He felt dirty and disgusted with himself. He did not blame the guy on his lap for anything, he only blamed himself. It seemed like he was looking for more than just some kind words to make the boy feel better now. How dare he touch him if not for the stranger's benefit? Ash was finding some strange pleasure from "feeling the pretty", and it was concerning him.

OOC: I love that Bastion was almost willing to fling his panties off to show his "pretties" xD

This boy knew how to work Ash over, whether it was purposeful or not. Every little pout or frown tortured him. He was almost able to reach out and hold him again just to make him smile again, but it was not quite convincing enough. It felt wrong. He was typically submissive and shy, he never took advantage of others. But he felt that if this went on much longer, he would be taking more from the guy than he was asking for. Or, maybe he was asking for something more, but Ashbrooke assumed everyone to be as innocent as he, and figured that was not the case. The very fact that he had urges at all was revolting. He had thought he was better than that. He was not some filthy beast, he thought with his brain. The fact that he was touching another male did not frighten him so much. He had never really thought of sex before, so he had not had the time to develop any sexual preference, or guilt for abandoning it. It was the whole scenario itself, regardless of who was on his lap, that was so horrific.

The stranger shifted on his lap, and Ash shifted accordingly to protect the more sensitive areas from being touched. He bit his lip, almost enough to bleed, when he was given permission to touch. No, no, no, that was not what he was looking for. He wanted the boy to yell at him, to push him away for being so forward. He wanted to be smacked back into place, not encouraged. He looked to the stranger for help, even though he knew he would not get any. His hand was once again grasped, and placed between the boy's legs. He shuddered at the touch, feeling a rather odd sensation from his own hand being so very close to things he could not see. This was the worst yet, but his hand was glued to the spot. He was fascinated now. His heart was racing and his body grew warmer. The stranger leaned in and stroked Ash's lips with his tongue. He gave an involuntary purr of pleasure, feeling completely cold and alone once the other pulled away.

He felt the delicate touch of the stranger's hand on his lap, which then grew to the more forceful kneading. He lurched forward, not expecting the tingling feeling that resulted. His own hand, which was still placed between the other boy's legs, squeezed lightly by accident. He was now breathing as if he had just finished a marathon. "What do you want? he asked, exasperated. Just by the way the other guy talked, he sounded so childlike and innocent. But whatever it was he was doing..down there (he couldn't even bring himself to think the words), was definitely not innocent. Ash wanted it all to stop, so he could go crawl in a hole somewhere and try to forget any of this had happened. That's what his mind wanted, anyway. But his body was more than ready to go, and it was hard to use common decency at this point.

His hand moved upward, clutching the top of the boy's panties in his fist. They stretched downward, but not enough to reveal anything. Ash was still leaning forward, his head hovering above the nameless one's right shoulder. He needed an answer. He needed instructions. He was too confused and panicked to make decisions on his own. He needed help. He forfeited all rights to forging his own path, and looked to the boy on his lap for guidance. Whatever he said would go. He could only hope it was the right choice.