WARNING This thread contains: graphic sexual content, graphic violence, or extremely offensive material starting with the 2nd(?) post. Reader discretion is advised.
WC: 382 OOC: p. bastion
The night stormed over the Sunset Sunflowers field, thick, dark clouds looming over, thunder rumbling off in a distance. It was perfect for the two beings that were stalking through the fields on all fours. Both of them were in their hunting modes, Panda having stolen Venom's axes and his belt that held them, while Venom had his bows and arrows that he had been diligently making since Panda had been wanting to dispose (burn) of some pretty good arrow branches and Venom was not having all of that now. He let her burn the ones he made mistakes on, and that he didn't need anymore, but he kept a lot of them, so he was stocked up on arrows as of now. Panda had no issue with him for wanting to make arrows, so she let him take what he wanted since she was also disposing of them. She did need the broken ones and the ashes from the unusable ones though so that she could make lye, and then get some lard. She needed the lard part now, which was why they were in short, being ninjas.
They were looking for a specific type of animal that would have more fat than meat, so they needed something gamey that they both could take down easily so they had been on the look out and the search had driven them outside of Anathema lands. They were not foreign to leaving home and wandering around until they found food though, so it wasn't like they cared too much. The two crept low enough for them to be hidden in the tall sunflowers and they moved in a straight line, their paws moving across the ground silently, only the brushing of leaves against their fur was the sounds that could be heard in the air, unless something else had come along. The breeze passed over their pelts, the shadow of the night covering them mostly, though Panda's pelt did tend t stick out where she was snow colored. Venom had an easier time blending in only because his fur was also dirt colored as well as coal in some places.
A low grumble would come from Panda's maw as she made her way slowly though the fields, trying to scent something bigger than a rat...
The small boy was out late, no doubt. But he was still a short sprint from home. He felt relatively safe where he was at even if he was out past dark. It wasn't like he ever worried too much. He could take care of himself well enough even if he didn't exactly look like it. He didn't have physical strength on his side but he did have his mind. And well, he had his puppy whenever the other male was around. He knew that he could always rely on his puppy to help him out. And really the other was only a call away. Or at least he was fairly certain that Janos was within a distance to be able to hear him should he alert that he was in trouble.
As had become a routine by now Bastion had bathed himself in a floral bath to cover up the scent of the pack. He also had on his pair of panties in order to cover up his mark with. These were preparations that he took each time he left the area of the pack. It was something, at least he assumed so, that everyone did when they wandered away. And well, Bastion was getting used to the sweet smell that permeated his coat. It was perhaps another thing that led to his feminine like qualities. Even more so with the panties hiding away his sheath from view beneath the stretch of fabric. Of course it as his scent that always gave him away, if not for that then he could almost past for a young girl not yet at the reaches of maturity for the body to fully fill out yet.
Even his mannerisms were childlike. The reason he was out late was because of his fascination with a small mammal. Actually it was with a couple of them. It was the smallest that had his full attention though. The ermine looked to by riding around on the back of that bunny. It was a strange, yet quite amusing, sight to see. But eventually the bunny had fallen over, vanquished by the smaller mustelid. And of course Bastion had to celebrate the victory of the smaller with a giggle and a clap of his hands. No doubt the sudden noise scared it off and had it darting into the hole that was once the rabbit's home but now belonged to the stoat.
Bastion claimed the kill for himself, picking up the bunny to look at the back of the thing's neck where the small bite mark was at. He poked at the wound as he explored it. The young boy wished he had something else to enthrall the stoat with so that he could watch the display again but he had nothing. Oh well, he just ended up seating himself on the ground to play with the rabbit instead. The warmth was leaving the body now that the life had fled but it didn't stop Bastion from placing the animal on it's back so that he could use a claw to cut open the belly in order to peer inside.
The flesh was peeled back from the incision so that he could open it up. He leaned his head down in order to sniff at the opening before he lifted it back out of the way again so that he could poke around. He pulled out one of the smaller organs and held it up to his face to that he could examine it. Of course that examination included having looked at it, sniffed it, and having licked it. He then tried to fit it back inside where he had taken it out from but couldn't manage to get it back in again, or at least not the way that it had looked when he had pulled it out. It was like a jigsaw puzzle and he simply couldn't figure it out. He had taken it out but it didn't fit back in the way that it had been removed. Why wouldn't it work like it was supposed to? The small wolf was tempted to just give up and toss away the piece to just end up forgetting all about it.
WC:334 OOC: because we don't need the childrenz to get scurred.
Panda and Venom continued to stalk through the large sunflower stalks, their furs brushing against the stalks as they walked past. The feeling of this happening against their fur was slightly weird, and otherwise uncomfortable; the two just couldn't wait to get to where there were trees for them to jump around in. Panda was the first to catch the scent and sight of another. There was also the stench of rabbit blood in the air, perhaps the other had caught their dinner. The two wolvens had continued to walk in their direction and once they were within a few yards of the other being, they had watched in silence. The boy seemed to be trying to push the rabbits organs back into it's body and it confused both of the Anathema wolves. Panda sniffed again at the man's scent and found it to be rather weird. It was of a pack she did not know. Her ears fell back on her locked skull and her maw let out a rather tiny growl that was suppressed in the last half of it.
Venom heard the tiny growl and turned his head to the woman as if to ask what the problem was. Panda shook her head once to dismiss his concern, and so the man looked back at the boy who was stuffing rabbit parts back into it's body. What exactly are you doing? the woman called to the boy, her head cocked lightly as she pinned her chocolate eyes on the dead rabbit for a moment before returning to the boy's face and his green eyes. Venom stayed silent, and in the background, simply there for protection if Panda needed it. Even though panda could protect herself, there was a part of Venom that would throw himself in the middle of her battle just to make sure she was not hurt. His job was to keep Panda happy, along with himself, and he was happy protecting her, so that's what he would do.
Why wouldn't it fit? It just didn't make sense to him. He was stuck focusing on that dilemma, at least until another's voice pulled his attention away from his dilemma. He glanced up tot he pair that had come... from somewhere. He wasn't even sure where they had come from since he hadn't even noticed the approach or anything. "It broke, trying to fix." He held up the organ that he was trying to get to go back into the body to show just what it was that he was trying to fix. "You fix?" He extended the organ out to the duo. Perhaps they could make it go back in the way that it should since he couldn't seem to manage it himself.
He would be entirely grateful if they could manage it. And of course he would pay close attention so that he knew how to do it himself next time. After all this was his first time trying to piece together what it was that he had taken apart. Generally he just took out the pieces ate them as if he were looking into a snack pack or something. Before he would choose pieces based on looks and just popped them into his mouth to consume. But he tried to do something different this time. He wanted to learn to be able to take them apart and then put them right back together again.
Was it really any surprise that as he got older that he would try to do more? That he would try to branch out and learn new things? He was slowly trying to be become even more capable. After all he had only had this optime body for such a short period of time but he had already grown accustomed to it and they hands that he possessed. They allowed him to do more than he had been able to do prior. He could be more delicate with his hobby. Since he got hands he hadn't had quite as many accidental breakings of his toys as he had before.
The boy was rather strange, he spoke to the two, telling them that he broke the rabbit and was trying to fix it. Panda and Venom both would cock their eyebrows at the being, and wonder why he was trying to fix it. Panda approached the being closer, on her fours and she sat down next to the man and looked at what he was talking about. She looked at the cleanly cut rabbit. The man did not look like he was going to eat this rabbit, only look at it's organs. Panda had gutted plenty of rabbits to know where all of the organs went, but she never had tried to put it back into the body. She never needed to, never had the curiosity of how it all worked. She looked at the young male and shook her head. I dunno how it goes back in. Imma sures that it attaches to some other organ in there and it goes around this area she spoke, pointing to the lower stomach of the rabbit. Venom felt slightly left out so he had walked over and leaned on Panda's shoulders and looked over at the rabbit. He did not speak though. He silently asked himself why the other would want to fix it. Why are you trying to fix it anyways, if I may ask. the boy finally spoke to the other boy whom was older than he.
With the way the older male acted,you would think that Venom was older, but it would be the other way around. Venom had just turned a year old this year, and this other would be coming of age. Venom watched at the other male's aura, him losing it at some point and then finding it once again. He watched the other male, seeing what he would do, what he would say to respond to Venom and his question. You smell of an unfamiliar place. Where are you from? Panda asked curiously, since she had noticed that his scent was of a pack, but one that was not familiar to the Panda patterned woman.
Well the boy was curious as any child would be perceived to be. It wasn't something being faked. No, he really wanted to know how the insides worked. Bastion actually embraced the role everyone saw him in. He delighted in being seen as a child and simply acting like one. So at current he really wasn't putting on false airs. He was truly interested in knowing how to fix what had been broken. It was a puzzle that he couldn't figure out at all. And much like a child he had grown frustrated because it wasn't an easy fix that he could come up with the solution within the first couple of tries. So even though he wasn't really a small child his reactions and emotions were truly felt.
The boy looked over to the female as she came to rest next to him. A frown worked over his features as she said that she didn't know how it went back together either. But still she had a suggestion at the very least. That was better than anything that he had come up with so far. The small male reached over for the female's hand so that he could try and drop the small piece into her hand. "You fix." The words were repeated from before but rather than being a question they were a demand this time. He truly expected her to be able to put the mammal back together again for him.
"Cause it broke." The answer made all of the sense in the world to him. If something is broke then you fix it, simple as that. And really he had no other explanation in mind other than that. He wanted the broken thing to be fixed just to say well, that it had been fixed and wasn't broken any longer. Did he really need some other purpose than that? He didn't think that he did but he wasn't able to predict how these two thought. After all he was only just now meeting them and they weren't on adverse terms so that was no need for him to try to get into their heads.
The boy frowned a bit with the female's question, clearly concentrating on trying to explain his answer. He ended up just shrugging and pointing off into the vague direction of the west. "That way. Near water." It was the truth even if it was a vague truth. "Where you from?" The questioned was turned around and posed to the duo instead. If they saw it fit to ask him then it would seem as if he was expected to ask in return. And so he had done just that. He was parroting and mimicking what was already asked and said just like any child would do. But he also struck out on his own chord and blurted out a random opinion into the air. "You pretty." The words were given to Venom as he looked at the larger male's face before dropping down to look at the scarring on his chest. Without thinking about it Bastion leaned close to the male so that he could try and tilt his head at an angle that would allow him to lick at the scars if he would be allowed to do so.
The Trombetta found the child's aura to be quite...different! It seemed immature, though Venom was almost sure that this man, this boy was older than he. The man looked at his friend, then to the boy again; the hazel eyes on the boy with dark green eyes. His aura was pink, but not in a dishonest way, just an immature way. Venom pulled his ears back and looked away from the kid. Panda on the other hand was being handed the organ that the kid had taken out of the rabbit and it was demanded that she fix it. Panda looked at the rabbit and then the kid. Look, I dun think that this will go back together. the woman spoke to him. She tried to place the organ back inside of the rabbit's body and she tried to reorganize the organs to where she thought they would be. Her ears fell back on her head as she realized that there was no way that she could reattach it. The organs were too small. The boy continued to speak about how he wanted to fix it because it broke to Venom. Venom looked back at the kid and snorted lightly. "There's no point. It's dead and it's not like it'll heal.." the Italian spoke to him, and he cocked his head slightly.
The kid went on to talk about where he lived, and said something about him living near the water to the west. They were confused about this because they had not heard about a pack to the west of them. Panda cocked her head and abandoned the task of trying to put the rabbit back together. A pack to the west? What is your pack called? the woman asked, cocking her head before she had heard him ask her where they were from. We're from Anathema, in the mountains. To the east. the woman told the boy, nodding her head. Then the boy had gotten up and moved towards Venom. Venom tensed up and looked at the male sideways before the boy was say "You're pretty" and then make a move to lick the scars that littered the Trombetta's chest. He had froze at first but then he stumbled away from the other man and his ears fell flat on his head and his lip lifted to show his white fangs. "What the fuck dude?!" growled Venom as he stepped away from the other male yet again. Panda looked confused at both of them and she cocked her head. Calm down, Alex. He's just being friendly. Panda actually defended the other boy, but Venom wasn't having it. "Don't lick me." he told the other boy and he snorted before he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and he put it to his mouth and then he lit it with a lighter and inhaled the tobacco smoke.
Panda looked at Venom and frowned before looking back at the boy. By the way, My name is Panda, and that's Venom she introduced them to the boy. Who're you? she asked him afterward.
Well Bastion was different. He enjoyed being underestimated and lived up to the pretenses of being one. If it was what everyone else wanted him to be then well, he was going to be it. It earned him attention and had even netted him some gifts before. Being considered to be helpless had others had them doing things for him. He hadn't ad to learn how to efficiently hunt for himself since he had pretty much always had someone to do it for him. Being thought a child also got him out of fights as well. So really the positives outweighed any negatives that he could come up with.
He watched as the female tried to fit it back together to no effect. He frowned, looking mildly upset, as the rabbit couldn't be fixed. He had really hoped that it would be able to be pieced back together. So yes, it bothered him that it hadn't happened. The man's words just made things worse. He shook his head slowly from side to side. "There point. To know how to fix next time." This wasn't the first thing he has broken and hadn't known how to fix. He was just hoping this time would be different and he would be able to figure out how to fix these problems now that he had hands to work with. So yes, it really disappointed him that he was unable to figure this out. He had really hoped it would be different this time.
He glanced up as he was questioned but ended up quickly shaking his head. "No pack. Home. Where family at. Mother. Father. Brothers. Sister." The boy tried to explain in his clipped out manner of speaking. He was trying to explain about where he had come from before reaching the Souls area. He had been born in a port town full of fishermen. So he was used to living in the remains of human society rather than something more natural as others seemed inclined to do. "You live in mountain?" He questioned with a curious tilt of his head. He had no idea what such a thing was possible. Then again he wasn't able to climbs the mountains to even know.
The small male quickly dropped his gaze to the ground and pinned his ears back against his skull as he was growled at. He looked very much like a child that had just been scolded. It surprised him when the female stuck up for him. It even caused him to glance up and offer her a grateful smile. He really hadn't meant any harm. He just had this thing about tasting scars. He really had an affinity for such deformities. So for the female's kind words he shifted closer to her once more, keeping his head bowed. "Bastion." He gave his name quietly, still not looking up. After all he didn't want Venom to be more upset with him than he already was. He had only wanted to see what the other male had tasted like and nothing more.
The other was strange, this was for sure. He was weird in a different way than Panda and Venom were, and it made the two extremely curious about the male. Venom was more on the defensive than Panda though, for he always was the one to become more put off than Panda. He was the protector, in most every situation so he needed to be more on his toes he supposed. He pulled the cigarette from his maw for a moment, taking in a breath of clean air and letting the smoke from his mouth and lungs. When the boy told them that there was a point, both of the beings furrowed their brows. There was not a valid point to the boy, since he had already noticed that the rabbit had perished. If the creature was still alive, then there might have been a point to the male, but since it wasn't then there wasn't. Venom began to question the intelligence of the other male that was in front of him. He took another drag from his cigarette and he kept his distance. Panda turned her head to the chocolate Italian and she gave him a smirk. She understood his ridiculousness. She probably would have been weirded out if the male licked her.
The gray boy had spoken of how he was not of a pack, and that there were only his family back where he was from. She knew that he was from a pack, there was a certain smell about him that was of a pack, but she did not know what pack that was. Her half ears fell back and she furrowed her brows and cocked her head. Your family is part of a pack then? You smell of many other wolves, and of a certain place. the woman spoke to him, but shrugged afterward. She was curious but she might not be able to get much out of the male. He didn't seem too intelligent to her either. He was also far from mature. The boy asked if they lived in the mountain and Panda nodded her head. Yeah, in the mountain. It's in a pack called Anathema. she spoke to him before he went on to speak his name. The boy had a submissive look to him with his ears back and his body small. He looked younger than he was. The boy said his name was Bastion. Well, it's nice to meet you Bastion. And don't worry 'bout Venom, he's just grumpy sometimes. she spoke to the boy, a smile on her face as she looked down at the male whom had scooted closer to her.
None ever really seemed to think Bastion intelligent upon first meeting him and talking to him. Sure, he could use longer sentences but he chose not too. It felt like too much of a hassle to use all of those extra words were only a few were actually needed in order to get the job done. None, at least none had ever expressed so, had ever had trouble with understanding his clipped way of speaking before. He stuck to it because it worked for him. It was something about him that others had grown to be used to with him. The boy was quite simply lazy with his efforts.
He shook his head fervently as he was questioned. "No pack." That word had never once come up. He hadn't heard of either place that he lived as ever being called a pack. Salsola referred to itself as family rather than pack. So yes, it wasn't lying about denying being in a pack. How could he when he had never once heard of the word in use? "Lots wolves. Lots houses. Lots fishes." He at least agreed with the rest of what was being said. He couldn't deny that he came from a certain place with other canines that surrounded him and lived within the same area. It was simply the term of pack that he was disagreeing with.
"No family?" He questioned as he was told that they lived in a pack. He seemed to be having trouble grasping the concept that a pack could be made up of families. Instead he seemed insistent on them being two different things and having no sort of connection to each other at all. This would just be another instance of others noting that the boy lacked in intelligence, or even common sense. But then again hearing him talk about his puppy and then actually meeting his puppy would be another case to add to that notion as well.
Bastion seemed to start relaxing at Panda's reassurance. In fact he relaxed to the point that he tried to reach up in order to touch the female's clipped ears. "Pretty too." He gave his assessment on the condition. It added up to be a clearer indication of just what the small male liked in physical appearances. He enjoyed the physical display of where some sort of harm had been caused. Perhaps it was just the sadist in him. He enjoyed the pain of of others. He enjoyed creating those marks and watching them heal. He liked that permanent display of just what he had done and caused. So even if he didn't do these ones himself he knew what it took to create them. Because of that he appreciated the results of the efforts that were left behind. Of course he wished to add some more of his own. He wouldn't mind being able to revisit what he had done with his own hand. But then again he had his puppy for that. He had one that would willingly submit themselves to harm by Bastion's hand again and again.
