OOC here!

Word Count → 231

There was a narrow path to the right he could take. But, the question of what the path had previously been used for to cause such a dent continued to make him wary about traveling there. He wished to take the road less traveled. There, he wouldn’t have to worry about encountering traps that his father often warned him about. Taking a hesitant step forward – flinching at his wounded leg – he quickly paused, flicking his ears forward at the sound of movement.

It didn’t take him long to spot the long haired Optime man and a miniature version below him. She was too young to take any other form, Thomas assumed. He caught himself staring, quickly and awkwardly nodding his head with a hand behind his head and a small, just as awkward smile. They might not be as friendly, however. Or maybe the short man seemed a bit scary as the younger one hid behind the other. That was when it came to him… one of the men who had helped him had a similar appearance to these two. Raising an eyebrow, he slowly began to approach.

“E-Excuse me,” he murmured, stopping a safe distance from the duo. “I don’t mean to… um, be a bother, but… are you familiar with this area?” His words were just tense as he felt, but all the while, he tried to appear friendly.

OOC here!

Word Count → 318

The man stood still while the girl came charging at him like a freight train, and for a moment, Thomas felt utterly threatened by a girl not even half his size. He flinched, closing an eye before blinking it back open – almost like a hesitant wink – and watched as she began to chatter about his injury. She asked if he was hurt badly and that her ‘daddy’ could fix anything. His dark brown eyes briefly drew towards the man before he looked back down. His lips parted, but she already began to speak again. ‘Talkative,’ he thought, thinking that she was almost scary in a sense.

The girl rambled, saying he smelt like ‘Unca’, ‘Unca Unca Reedy’ and ‘Unca Franny-Fran’. Was it possible that they knew the men who helped him? He turned to look at the younger man again with obviously pleading eyes for him to explain, but swerved back when he figured he wouldn’t get an answer. “N-No, I’m not hurt… badly,” he spoke, perhaps lying about the long cut. How could he explain that to a kid?

‘Daddy’ came forward, scooping up his daughter and sticking her under one arm. Thomas blinked, leaning slightly back, as he gave him a look that obviously didn’t seem friendly. An eyebrow scrunched and he wore his usual straight face after that, watching as the two were walking away. There wasn’t anything he could do, even if it was rude or that he wished to get an answer. But, he stared after the pair as if knowing they would turn back around.

The black and brown man sighed, turning with a hand on his face and a question sounding much more like a command. He was ordered to follow. Thomas stood there for a moment, wondering why on Earth he would invite him after giving him such a look. Yet, he slowly began to walk after the father-daughter duo.

OOC here!

Word Count → 264

The daughter of the duo wasn’t a threat anymore, she was still a bit… scary in the sense she talked a lot, but she was in her father’s arm. Should she do anything, maybe the unfriendly Afghan Hound-looking man will scold her. Or… maybe not. He could secretly be enjoying his daughter’s mannerism. He blinked, thinking that the ‘can talk’ part of her sentence was a bit much, but didn’t respond to it. She was just a kid, and it didn’t seem like a mother was part of the family. Like his. He wanted to ask, but knew how crude that could be. It could bring back unwanted memories of the past.

He took in a deep breath, pausing as the man put down his daughter, telling her – Eva, apparently – that they needed red berries. His ears flicked, wondering what exactly red berries were used for. Some could heal, others could kill. They weren’t thinking of poisoning him, were they? His dark brown eyes suspiciously glanced towards the anti-social man and away as they begun to walk once again. Little Eva was off getting those berries as her daddy told her to, which ultimately meant they were alone.

Quietly leaning a hand over his muzzle, Thom let out a low cough, perking his ears as the stranger introduced himself as Markus. And, his daughter as Eva. His head slowly nodded, moving his hand back. “Thomas.” He was surprised that this stranger – Markus – knew his saviors. He told him their names. ‘Reed and Francois.’ “Thank you…” He murmured, adding after a moment, “Are they friends?”

OOC here!

Word Count → 222

Eva was back soon enough, dropping a bundle of red berries at the feet of her father, and chatter away before she left once more. ‘Daddy’ didn’t seem too happy about it. ‘The wrong kind?’ Thom watched him lean down and pick up the berries with a palm planted on his face before he put them in a bag. He wondered to himself if it was strange to watch someone’s every movement, but he had always been the observant type due to his undying curiosity.

“Are you sure?” He blurted, once more without thought. They didn’t have to help him, let alone feed him. Hell, he had enough fat on his stomach. He wasn’t the athletic looking type due to the almost beer-belly look he had going on. And, he assumed ‘Reed’ was the black wolf with blue eyes, rather than the one who looked much like Markus. He blinked. ‘Maybe…’

Markus added soon after he asked with a nod, that yes they were friends, but told him that Fran was his brother. They did look alike, the breed characteristics. “I see. I didn’t get their names before…” He quietly explained. Was it some kind of fate that he would run into someone who knew the duo? Shaking his head, he limped on, flinching a bit as the bandage started to unravel.

OOC here!

Word Count → 227

He wasn’t exactly paying attention, just trying his best to manage the weight in his legs so it wouldn’t hurt. It would be easier in his Lupus, as he had thought when he first got the wound, but there wasn’t much he could do. He didn’t have the medical knowledge to tend to it himself. So, when Markus came closer towards him, Thom’s eyes automatically widened, backing up a step. He couldn’t move anywhere else, as his leg decided it wasn’t going to listen to him further. The pain rushing from the spot with a shiver as the larger wolf-dog curled around his stomach and heaved him over.

The sudden touch had, of course, shocked the living daylights out of him. He was never touched unless necessary when sick or, at least, he knew that they would. Markus had not given him an ounce of warning. He stayed on his shoulder like that for a couple seconds before he began to struggle, making sure to keep his leg as comfortable as possible, but the bandage continued to unravel onto the ground below until the large cut starting from the end of his knee down to his calf was visible.

“W-What are you doing?!” When was the last time he had raised his voice? He didn’t remember. Or perhaps it was just the blood rushing to his head.

OOC here!

Word Count → 280

He struggled against the man, who in returned seemed to almost tip over until he got a good grip into the ground. His ears flicked back, teeth uncharacteristically bearing in pure rage. He did not like to be touched. At least, not as he was… it didn’t feel like the gentle hold of his father. And therefore, he rejected it. He parted his jaws, snapping at the man’s long hair but did not aim to do any serious damage. It was a warning, that he didn’t like this one bit.

Markus grabbed hold of his legs, and he relaxed. Not because it was now tolerable, but because the touch stung. It hurt. He was aching already, but the pressure made it worse. His off-white teeth grit against each other, still bared. The Afghan Hound mix began to explain that the bandage on his leg wasn’t any good, and that he wouldn’t like to watch him die… especially in front of his daughter. A good father, perhaps, but Thomas could only think that he didn’t care about him. There was no reason why he would. He just didn’t want to see his child upset. It made sense why he took him in then.

Gulping down, he flicked his ears once more to listen to the man’s words. They were still a good distance away from the camp and they would have to go by water. And, Markus wouldn’t allow him to walk. That much he understood, but why did he have to be carried? Why couldn’t he be… left behind? His lips parted again, this time, he aimed to bite at his shoulder. He wanted to be let go of.

OOC here!

Word Count → 244

His fangs snuck in, drawing blood. It wasn’t the first time he had injured another, but each time, he didn’t know how to react towards it. His lips curled, quickly releasing as Markus threw him off. He landed with a thud, of course. The injured leg re-opened, blood flowing out at quicker rate as he leaned back, his hands extended behind him for support. His ears were pinned back, staring up at the man in distraught. He hurt him. He really hurt him when he had a kid to take care of. Markus was a father, too. It was like another person hurting his own.

He knew he couldn’t be forgiven, especially when Eva came into sight. Tears crawled down her cheeks as she came towards her Dad, holding onto him. Thom could only stare with wide, apologetic eyes. Markus was trying to help. And Thomas let his anger get ahead of him. There was only regret in his choice.

And yet, he still said he could go with them? It only made the guilt worsen. He took in a breath. It wasn’t possible to walk on the same path with them after what he had done. He would not accept someone who had hurt his father. If anyone hurt father… he would rather kill them than help them. Neither of them needed him around, especially Eva. So, he slowly shook his head. “I’m sorry.” His words were but a mumble. It wouldn’t matter if they had heard anyway, would it?

OOC here!

Word Count → 349

He heard her words, but couldn’t bear to look at either of them. His eyes merely stared out at anything, anyone other than the two he assumed hurt gravely. Had he thought this out like a mature person, perhaps he wouldn’t have reacted in such a childish manner. Sure, he was scared shitless of being in the grip – the trust – of another. But, he should not have done it in that matter. Maybe, if he had explained to this man, the outcome could have been better.

The father-daughter duo talked amongst themselves, Thomas did not pay much attention, secretly hoping it was their decision to leave the bleeding man there. He did not deserve their kindness. Not one ounce. And, not from the start of this. He had caused them nothing but pain in this experience. Or, so he deeply believed. His breathing was shaking, as it had been the whole time he had realized what he had done. Thomas truly felt like he could simply bleed out there, that he didn’t deserve to be healed.

His eyes blinked, looking skyward until a figure clouded that vision. It was Markus standing in front of him and then, he was gone. Or rather, he sat down in front of him with his previous bandage. The thing was a bloody mess by now. Old spots of blood had been long covered with new ones. His eyes closed, as if awaiting his punishment. But, Markus spoke instead. He slowly opened his dark brown eyes.

“N-No…” His voice was unusually shaky. “I-It is not your fault. It… would never be. You just… didn’t know. You didn’t know. And I hurt you for something not even… your fault.” His voice continued to lower and rise with his words. He couldn’t keep himself as level-headed as usual. He moved his hands forward, leaning with the motion and placing a hand over his muzzle. The blood of Markus still lingering there and he couldn’t help but shed a single tear.

And, selfishly, it was not a tear for them, but a tear for his adoptive father.

OOC here!

Word Count → 338

The bloodied bandage was handed back to him with the instruction to hold it on the worst of the wound. He did not know what part was the worse, but assumed that any place would work. His hands shakily moved the odoriferous, rolled up bandage to the ‘worse’ part of his injury. He applied the pressure, flinching at the pain surging up his spine. Yet, he remained ‘calmed’.

Markus had left after that, and Thomas stared at his injury. It was the first time he actually got a good look at the thing. It was pretty deep and long in length, surely not a small scratch. The time he had gotten the thing, it was too dark for him to see it very well. And it had been bandaged up anyway. With the morning light beating down on him, and the blood oozing from the cut, it was apparent. His lip curled and finally, he averted his eyes.

He could take in his surrounds now, the almost noon sun or the canopies above him. But, he continued to look at ‘nothing’. His mind simply repeated over the event that had just occurred before him and he thought of the best way of how to apologize to Mark or what he should even say should the male come back.

Markus returned, this time with Eva, some sticks and large leaves. The scent was pretty strong, yet familiar. He watched, nodding his head this time as the Afghan Hound warned him. He wouldn’t snap this time, even if it hurt or felt uncomfortable. His eyes briefly turned to Eva, giving her an apologetic look and back.

He gave him two options. To go and get a new bandage at their camp a ways off or to be left here with a splint, his ears flicked. Of course, he didn’t wish to be left alone when he was in such pain. He didn’t want to deal with the worry of paranoia if someone was protecting his back. “I… want to go.”