The Wrong Envoy

The young wolf-dog had split off from his expedition group, as they decided to take it slow and explore Halifax as they gave Casa a wide berth. Even though they were ambassadors of Anathema on a diplomatic mission, Casa was not their target, and there was too many situations that could negatively affect their standings if two groups of Anathemans were found close to the knight pack's land. The last thing they needed was the Cavaliers thinking that they were up to no good. And since they were going to be up against the ruined city, the others suggested that they try to scavenge a bit from what was still good around. Of course, the Furcas wasn't complaining, because he had his heart set on something for a while. They all agreed to stay relatively close by, at least in earshot if someone yelled, but when he thought of it they could hear each other from far away if they just howled. And besides, the boy assumed that at least his half-brother and their... interesting ambassador would stray a bit farther than they agreed to as well.

And so he wandered the barren streets, save for the carcasses of metal and stone relics of the past. Arabel, his gyrfalcon companion, was thoroughly enjoying the effects of how the wind blew through the concrete skyscrapers. The bird of prey ascended and dipped, playing with how the speed of the breeze changed depending on where he was. Besekel glanced up at the falcon, his brow furrowing at the antics of the raptor. He wasn't an authority on weather effects, but watching the bird dance in an almost hazardous way made him slightly nervous. Shaking his head, the medic looked back to the ground, spotting what he had been looking for. Carefully pacing across the broken avenue, Besekel walked up to the entrance of what looked like a retail store. Glancing back to the avian, the mix gave a huff of disappointment to see Arabel flying around in a swirling pattern, almost effortlessly for whatever reason. "Don't get stuck up there." he called out, shaking his head as a chirrup echoed back.

Adjusting the strap of the satchel that he took from storage, Bes walked into the abandoned building, making sure to avoid any broken glass from the windows that were displaced by the wind and weather over the years. Looking around in awe over what the beings before them left, with it's high ceiling and overall vastness of space, he silently padded around as he searched. It didn't take long to find what he was looking for, as racks and shelves of clothing were laid out before him. Well, a lot of the clothes were strewn everywhere, and the displays some of them rested on were in desperate need of a fix up, but he'd take it. Clothing was an interesting concept that his father seemed to find use in, and even the Malpas mother wore an article or two of cloth every now and then. He knew that the Atheed would often talk about appearances and dressing nicely for whenever he stood before the pack, so the Greyfire male thought it might be a good idea to find a look that suited him before meeting with a strange pack.

Except, a new unaccounted for problem had just arose. Bes picked up what looked to be a shirt with no sleeves, gave it an experimental sniff before trying to examine it again. What the heck was he supposed to wear? What in here was actually nice? Having no personal taste in attire, with only obtaining the ability to stand on two legs a few months prior, he had no experience in this field. Tossing the strange garment to the side, the light grey adolescent sighed, feeling like Miss Lora was quizzing him on herbs right then. Scratching the back of his neck, Besekel gave a puzzled look at his surroundings, spotting a mirror a few feet away but nothing all that practical. This is gonna be harder than I thought. he thought alone, standing in the dark as he tried to make sense out of the fabrics.

It's always darkest before the Dawn.

*********

After certain things occurred in Casa, Night felt the need to get out for a little while. It certainly seemed like a good idea as she wandered around the neutral territories outside Casa di Cavalieri. In all honesty though, the young girl didn’t really have a plan on where she would go, nor did she know where anything was. She was more or less just out for a little adventure, to find something to occupy her time with.

It didn’t take too terribly long for the dark fae to find the remains of an old human city. It was all crumbling to ruin, though some buildings were still standing. Her curiosity definitely had the better of her, pushing her to go inside and look around. She would need to ask Jace about this place when she saw her later that night.

The end of her dress caught on a piece of the broken window as Night climbed in, ripping part of her dress. It wasn’t too badly damaged, but seeing as it was a gift she should probably see if one of Casa’s tailors could fix it for her later. Looking around inside, the green-eyed girl found a bag that wasn’t too badly damaged. It still would function the way it was made to and since no one was around and the things here didn’t seem to belong to anyone, Night figured it was free for the taking.

There really wasn’t much besides the bag that interested the Hushhowl girl in that first building so she quickly decided to move on to the next one, and the next one, just moving from building to building, collecting anything that interested her. Even if she wouldn’t keep it for herself in the end, she could probably use them to trade for things she did want. She had stuffed a few articles of clothing into her bag, along with an accessory or two, figuring she could probably head home soon to show Jace her loot. The girl headed into one last building, though there was something different in this one that none of the others had. This one had another Luperci standing inside. It was a boy, seemingly around her age, looking a little lost as he looked around at the garments in the room. Looking for something? Maybe she could offer some assistance and help him find whatever it was he seemed to be searching for.

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Bes stood there, fiddling with whatever this thing was called on a hanger, standing in front of the mirror at this point. The thought occurred to him as he was looking at the different options, maybe it would help to practice what he'd say when meeting the Courtiers in order to get a sense of what felt right. He spent an untelling amount of time there, holding whatever he found up to the broken reflection as he tried to perfect his greeting before pitching the items to the side in futility. "Hello, I am Besekel.. No, that sounds weird. Hey, I'm Bes... That's like I'm talking to Uri, urgh..." Holding a shirt with buttons running down the front, he told the mirror "Good evening, we're from Anathema... Gods, how does Dad do it?" Letting the shirt drift to the floor, the healer leaned against the table behind him, raising a clenched hand under his muzzle as he tried to think, not really paying attention to his surrounding.

What was he even trying for? If everything went to plan, he was just there to make sure no one got sick or broke anything. Charletter would be doing all the talking, not him... But on that thought, maybe he should practice his speech. Her impression on him during this trip didn't help to bolster his confidence in her social skills, the comparison of leaving a pup in the care of an indifferent lynx that could go for a quick snack coming to mind. Maybe he could rely on Inca for some political tact? The Furcas hadn't really talked to Inca in a long time, especially since... May's disappearance. It was like the half-brother was intentionally driving a wedge between him and the rest of the family. Besekel worried about him sometimes, he didn't come around them as often as when they were younger. He hoped the Tuyul wouldn't stay like that forever, he wanted to be friends with him once more.

A soft voice addressed him from behind, sending the medic shooting up and stiff as a board, hackles raised in a blink of an eye as ears flicked forward, every hair bristling as his tail stuck straight out. All in all, it look someone just sent a few thousand volts into the boy, as he slowly craned his neck around to see who just spoke to him. It was a girl, not even older than him, wearing what he assumed to be a dress. In Anathema, dresses were much more simple, if not having a few elegant additions, but nothing like this. Seeing that no threats were being given, mismatched eyes relaxed back to their normal size as he seemed to deflate. "A-ah,
h-hi. M-M-my- hrrm" he quickly cleared his throat after realizing he was still stuttering, composing himself before turning the rest of his body to face the younger wolf.

"My name is Besekel. Nice to meet you." he said, giving a slight bow from the hip, as he was taught to do when meeting a stranger. He felt a little silly, not having enough perception to notice this newcomer walking right up to him. Her scent was familiar, resembling that of Casa's border. Of course, he should've known that the Cavaliers venture outside of their own territory, Anathemans weren't the only ones to do so. "U-um, if you don't mind me asking, what are you doing here?" he asked, partly out of curiosity and another part of awkwardness. This person seemed a lot more, friendly than how Casa was relayed to him. Were they too hasty in assuming that the warrior pack was spiteful of Anathema's existence? He guessed that was a good thing, considering they sent a group to the Cavaliers in the first place.

"Also, do you... Normally wear that?" he asked, quirking his brow at the attire. He was far from the one to be judging another's fashion, but it felt like a little, much? There was just so much to the outfit, the closest thing he's ever seen would be if his Dad broke out the full ensemble for a meeting or something. Besekel didn't even want to begin imagining the steps someone would have to take to wear that.

It's always darkest before the Dawn.

*********

She hadn’t meant to, but the dark fae had startled the boy, causing his body to go rigid with his fur bristling. He honestly kind of looked like a big floof ball and Night had to try to stifle a chuckle. It was a pretty humorous sight, but it would be rude of her to laugh at him and likely just cause him some embarrassment so she did her best to hide it.

Green hues looked over the boys form, stopping at his mismatched eyes. The girl hadn’t ever seen anyone with bi-colored eyes before. It was really very pretty.

The boy stuttered as he tried to get out a greeting before clearing his throat and trying again. He was much more successful the second time around, giving his name and bowing to her. Night returned the gesture, bending at the hip to give him a bow as she kept her green gaze locked on him. Night Hushhowl, It’s nice to meet you too.

Besekel was definitely an odd name. The young girl hadn’t ever heard anything like it before. Maybe she would shorten it and call him by a nickname like she did with all the other boys she knew. Remus was known as Re-Re, Arlen as Len, and Rohan as Ro. Granted those boys got those nicknames when she was still a young pup and couldn’t say their full name correctly. The little shortened versions just kind of stuck. Well, maybe this boy wouldn’t mind her calling him by a nickname.

As she moved closer to him and further into the building, she noticed that she recognized his scent. It was just like the scent on Greed and Wrath who she had met just recently. Excited to meet who she thought was another Anatheman, the dark girls tail started to sway side to side as a smile spread across her lips. She was asked what she had been doing out there and also if she normally wore her dress. I was just out and started looking through some of the buildings here. I found some interesting things so I thought I’d take whatever I found home. And no, I don’t normally wear this. She looked down at her dress, a look of discomfort on her face. It’s not very fun to wear and kinda gets in the way, not to mention it’s a pain in the butt to get on and off. My friend got it for me though and it makes him happy to see me wear it so I do every once in a while. Night looked back up at Besekel with an awkward smile. It’s a bit much huh? She had found a few things she’d rather wear, but it wasn’t like she’d be able to get the dress off herself. There was all those weird ties in the back that were pretty hard for her to reach. If she remembered right, Arlen had called it a corset? Whatever it was called, the back of the dress was not fun to deal with. She’d have to have Arlen help get it off again later. Hopefully he wouldn’t see the rip in the fabric though.

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It was a funny yet apt comparison for the boy, that whenever he fluffed out like so, and due to the color of his pelt, that he resembled something like a marshmallow, if one knew what that was. The lightness of his fur resembled an off color of the puff balls, and the metaphor seemed to fit his personality as well. Besekel tried to quickly unpoof himself, rather sheepish as he heard what he assumed to be stifled laughter. Smoothing down his fur, the light-hearted teen chuckled as well, knowing how to laugh at himself sometimes.

The strange girl quickly looked over him, which was a little awkward for the medic, mostly because he was already used to people knowing what he looked like and hadn't really encountered someone who would study him. Out of curiosity, Besekel glanced back as his head was facing slightly off to the side, noting the white patch in an otherwise purely black coat under her clothes, but what got him to look directly at the Cavalier were her eyes. the Furcas had never seen such brilliant green eyes, the only similar coloring from his mentor, who only had a single eye... That comparison did not leave a pleasant image in his mind when he looked at this girl. His face crinkled into a worried expression, before shaking the thought away. Regardless, this wolf's eyes shined with a light much brighter than the head doctors, almost like jewels.

The stranger followed suit after Besekel introduced himself, referring to herself as Night Hushhowl. "That's a nice name." he stated honestly, giving a small smile. A swift thought sped through his mind, as Besekel suddenly perked up with his tail slightly wagging. Wait, you have a last name? I have a last name too, mine's Greyfire!" he said cheerfully, grinning before his ears drooped a bit. "I, probably should've mentioned that when I said my name huh?" His sheepish smile returned, tilting his head as he mentally kicked himself for looking like a dunce. Fiddling with his bent ear, light blue and yellow eyes avoided contact until Night moved.

As the Cavalier pawed toward him, Bes had to freeze himself before he took a step back, reminding himself over and over that this person wasn't threatening him. After hearing stories of how Casa marched on Anathema, more than once and threatened them with war, he was a taken aback at how friendly this person was being towards him, though he guessed that she didn't know where he was from. Besekel forced himself to look directly at the Hushhowl girl as she continued to talk to him, trying to pass himself off as calm and casual as he scrambled to lean against the table beside him in the most natural manner. It sounded like the Cavalier had similar plans as the Anathemans, though her comment about the dress was a bit peculiar. Giving her a perplexed look, Night continued on to say that wasn't very fun to wear this particular outfit, as he noted a disquiet expression on her muzzle. Letting her explain, Night went on to give him the reasoning behind it, even going so far as to say almost exactly what he was thinking, which took him by surprise.

Her smile made him a bit flustered as well, asking the medic on his opinion of the dress. "Well, uh-hrrm
It might have, complexity, but I think you make it look good." he said, giving a vague hand gesture as he clambered for a response, bewildered that he just said that aloud. Glancing around the buildings interior, Bes flicked his vision back to Night. "But, he's not here right? Why still wear it?" he asked innocently, not really understanding the logic behind it all. Another thought zoomed through his head, as he took a step out to the side to glimpse past the Cavalier, quirking an eyebrow back at her. "He isn't here too, right?" he said a bit nervously, not sure he could handle any more embarrassing flops of missing another luperci. The musty smell of this store was messing with his sense of scents, but the idea that another Cavalier was hidden away while the one before him had his undivided attention was a little concerning to say the least.

It's always darkest before the Dawn.

*********

The two exchanged names but the boy became visibly excited when he realized she had given him her family name as well. There was a large grin on his face as he cheerfully announced his own last name as Greyfire. With a soft smile on her face, the dark fae looked up at Besekel even though he seemed to be avoiding eye contact. Besekel Greyfire is a very nice name. I’m gonna call you Bes though, ‘kay? That small smile turned into a wide grin as she spoke, her green orbs locked on him for any sign that showed he liked the nickname or not.

As she moved closer to him, Bes seemed nervous, scrambling around like that. Almost reminded her of those chickens her pack had back in Casa, how they would scamper around. It was actually a little funny but the Hushhowl girl wouldn’t let herself laugh at the boy.

She asked him about the dress and instead of him simply agreeing with her, the boy surprised her with his words. He stated that while it was complex, she made the dress look good. A smile broke out on her lips as her hands touched the material of the skirt. Really? You think so? Besides Arlen himself, Bes was really the only one to make such a comment. The light colored male went on to ask why she was still wearing it if Arlen wasn’t there before he looked around a little panicked, asking if he was there or not. A light chuckle came from the girl as she shook her head. Nope, it’s just me. This dress is a little hard to get off by myself, the back has all these ties and whatnot. So, unless you’re gonna help me get it off it’s going to have to stay on till I get back home. Arlen had called it a corset back if she remembered right. Whatever it was, it was a pain to get on and off, so much so that Arlen himself usually had to come help her with it.

Night had been hoping the boy would warm up to her a bit, but he still seemed so nervous around her. Perhaps he would relax a bit more if he knew she didn’t have any negative feelings for Anathema. You’re from Anathema right? Your scent is just like my friend Greed’s. What’s it like there? I haven’t ever been in a pack besides Casa.

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Besekel was fairly unsure around this newcomer, though he was slightly more cheerful when Night decided to give him a nickname as well. "Haha, my family calls me Bes too, so I don't mind." His tail wagged easily, not nearly as bushy as it was when frightened. The medic was smiling rather easily at that point, even going so far as to indirectly look at Night's eyes before panic invaded his grin as she came closer.

She didn't say anything about his erratic behavior, and even smiled at him again after his ramblings. Seeing her happy like that made him want to complement the girl more, but he couldn't think of anything so he just said "Yep!~ I bet you have that effect on all clothes." The young healer took a moment as he froze, his jaw not fully swinging shut after that comment. He was completely rigid after that, not daring to even blink as he tried to divine what on earth had possessed him to say something so weird. His inquiry soon brought back his conscious hesitation though, as the wolf-dog drew back within himself, thankful for thinking of something to change the subject as he glanced around.

The boy relaxed his shoulder's at the Cavalier's reassurance however, claiming that she was the only one present from her pack. Then she suggested that he help take off the garment, and his bewilderment continued to find new depths as he crossed his arms and averted his eyes to the side, hunching over a bit. "I, uh, I, I, I-I-" Eventually he just turned around, completely bashful for reasons he didn't realize. He suddenly felt very flush, mind racing as he tried to understand what was going on with him right then and there. This was like the worlds weirdest slide down the mountain snow, suddenly feeling very excited and happy mixed with intense anxiety. Of course, hearing the name of his home spoken didn't exactly help his nerves either.

Ears swiveling around to make sure he heard her right, the boy's neck locked up as he whirled around, stiff as a board and mismatch eyes wide as can be. "Y-Y-Y-You k-kn-know w-w-w-w-w-w-" Just before he engaged full flight mode, Bes intertwined his hands behind his neck, staring at the floor as a wave of shame washed over him from this display. Of course she knew, the Greyfire teen just didn't realize that she could tell because he was so used to everyone smelling similar, even him. If he could tell what pack Night was from, why wouldn't she be able to do the same?

Taking a deep breath, he looked up, giving a slow exhale. She said she had a friend from Anathema, his uncle Greed. Calmly, he tried to focus on the fact that she knew he was from the mountain pack, and that she was already friends with those from there. "O-Ok, I think I'm fine now. That was, a bit of a shock." Hands still laced behind his head, Lukos met Night's emerald eyes with a look of humiliation as ears flattened. "So, you know where I'm from? I guess I should've guessed, but I just... I grew up on stories about how Anathema and Casa were never, on the best of terms." Letting out a shaky breath, he lowered his muzzle and gave an uneasy grin. "I didn't want to hide it, but I thought if you found out, you wouldn't... be so nice to me.."

Well, now that all the cards were on the table, Bes seemed to significantly relax, even going so far as to take a cautious seat on the table next to him, lightly swinging his legs as he looked at the Hushhowl girl. "Uh, yeah, Greed's my Uncle, on my mother's side. My dad, doesn't exactly have relatives..." he said, furrowing his brow at the thought of his dad being all alone before the wolf met Nyx. "As for what it's like, well..." Looking up to the ceiling, far more composed this time, he pondered on how it could be different to the knight's home.

"And well... It doesn't seem all that special to me, of course. We mostly live in the caves, they're pretty confusing if you don't memorize them, which I'll admit I'm not the best at. My earliest memory is of my mother's sleeping den, where the whole floor is covered with pelts of her hunts, with my parents and my siblings playing and dozing off together. Even.." he trailed off, suddenly having a very pained expression. "Then I guess there's the kitchen, and the Great Commons, where we keep big fires in the winter, since there are cracks in the caverns that let the smoke out. Some nights you could sit there by one of them, and a strong breeze will blow over, billowing through the cracks and airways that makes it sound like our very home is howling with us... And then there's the village, where my dad spends a lot of his time when he's not with us, sometimes even he'll be walking around, and my brother and I will walk with him and stroll around, looking at all the trees and houses as we listen to the nature around us..."

It took him a while, but Bes realized that he had such a soft expression as he recounted his homeland, faintly smiling at the memories of a young life as he explored and roamed from the forests to the plains. Quickly clearing his throat, he smiled back at Night, tilting his head. "What about you? What's Casa like?"

It's always darkest before the Dawn.

*********

Besekel certainly seemed to cheer up a bit when given the nickname, something Night was grateful for since the poor boy only seemed uncomfortable in her presence so far. He stated that his family calls him “Bes” as well, so it seemed he would at least have somewhat of a familial comfort if she used the condensed form of his name.

Though the dark fae was unsure how she looked in such a complex dress, her companion seemed to like it well enough, going a bit further with his words and complimenting her by saying she likely made all clothes look good. Night couldn’t help but feel shy at such a comment, her cheeks heating up as if they were turning red with blush. Her hands reached up to grasp a lock of hair, running her fingers through it as she looked down at the ground for a moment before she could meet his eyes again. Well, thank you. The Hushhowl girl had no idea how to respond to such a compliment. Was she supposed to say something nice to him back? Was this that flirting thing that Greed had talked about? At the thought that he might possibly be flirting with her, Night only became more nervous and unsure of herself, but she at least still wanted to try to make the uneasy boy comfortable around her.

She was more or less joking when she stated that he would need to help her get the dress off otherwise she was going to have to wait till she got home. The reaction she received from the boy was certainly not expected. Besekel seemed to get very embarrassed all of a sudden, but the girl didn’t really understand why. It wasn’t like helping get clothing off was a big deal or anything, Arlen and Remus helped her do just that fairly often. Then again, Remus did end up admitting he had feelings for her so things were just kind of awkward between them now. You don’t have to you know? I’m fine, don’t worry about it. Hopefully he would stop stressing about it, but she wasn’t sure he even wanted her company anymore as he turned her back to her.

Night’s last effort to try to get him to relax around her was to voice that she knew where he was from, that she had no ill feelings towards Anathema, and that she had a friend from there. At first it only seemed to make things worse. His head snapped back towards her, wide eyed as he spoke just three words. Well, stuttered three words was probably a better description. The dark fae was sure she had done something wrong now. Her ears flattened against her skull and she took a step back as she prepared to leave. It seemed clear to her that she wasn’t really wanted there. She waited just a moment though and Bes seemed to calm down well enough. His hands were still interlocked behind his neck as he stated how her words had been a shock to him. He went on to say how Anathema and Casa weren’t ever on very good terms and how he thought she wouldn’t be so nice to him if she knew.

The dark fae made a bold move after that statement and took the few steps necessary to close the gap between them. Her arms went around his abdomen in an embrace and she stayed there for just a moment before taking a step back to look up at him. Even if I didn’t know someone else from Anathema, I would still be nice to you. You’re a nice guy, no matter what pack you’re from. Besides, all of that stuff happened before I was even born so it’s not my place to judge. She took a few more steps back to give him some space, positive she had just violated his personal bubble. Green orbs watched on as he sat on the table, looking up at her as he explained that Greed was actually his uncle on his mom’s side. Apparently, his dad didn’t have any relatives. He went on to explain what life in Anathema was like and Night moved over to the table and sat beside him, though being sure to still give him plenty of room between them.

Sounds like a pretty calm and peaceful place. I’d love to see it sometime. It was the truth, she wanted to see for herself what Anathema was like, along with other nearby packs. The conversation quickly shifted to her though as he asked what Casa was like. Night wasn’t quite sure where to start, Casa was great, but she herself had a few too many misfortunes, not all related to Casa. She figured she would go ahead and be truthful, no point in lying when she had already mentioned some of it to Greed. Though there was one bit she hoped Greed wouldn’t mention to anyone, especially Bes.

Well, if you’re wanting to know about my life in Casa, that’s likely different than life in Casa in general. She paused for just a moment before deciding to start with Casa rather than her own life story. We all live in the Fort, kind of like a big stone building I guess, but some live in houses instead. Everyone is always really nice and helpful with one another and we usually try to help each other train and spar. When we first shift we get a mentor, an adult member of Casa that teaches us about Casa and anything else they think we need to know. She paused again, knowing she just recently obtained her mentor, having been forced to wait due to her injured leg and the attack from the Syndicate. Sorry, I’m just not really sure what else to say. My own experience in Casa was a little different compared to most. The dark fae looked down at her hands clasped together in her lap, a bit of a frown on her face as she tried to figure out how to talk about it. Her hardships weren’t often, if ever, the topic of conversation. Not to mention, it likely wasn’t something he wanted to hear.

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For a little while, it seemed even normal to him, the two of them standing there talking. Night seemed happy with his words, as she glanced to the floor while twiddling with a strand of hair. For some reason she thanked him, which Besekel felt was undeserved. He only said what he felt was fitting at the time, though he had no idea why his mind came up with that on the spot. Still, the Cavalier was thankful, and he supposed that was a way of showing glee. "Of course!" he said cheerfully, grinning at the well dressed girl.

Then the unexpected embarrassment washed over him as Night teased him about helping her get free of the dress. It wasn't like he was unfamiliar with clothes, he came here with the very intention to find some for himself. But from his parents, at least his father, the medic would see him be very embarrassed whenever he went without certain clothes, especially pants. His dad seemed particularly bashful whenever Nyx was also there, but Bes' mother never wore clothes, so it didn't bother her that much. But then again, he never really saw the Malpas in clothing, so maybe it was the inverse for her?

At any rate, after these observations being asked for help to change out of garments seemed oddly shameful, like Bes was doing something he wasn't supposed to. At least, he thought? He never usually recieved this much attention outside the family, especially on his own. Suddenly having this person to talk to one-on-one, it was a bit overwhelming to him. Night sounded apologetic from behind the healer, though he didn't dare to look her in the eyes for fear of his heart beating so hard she could hear it. Instead he tried to speak back, turning his head to talk. "I-It's not t-that, I-I-I... errr..." He didn't know. Besekel in all honesty, did not know how to explain why he was having such trouble. Though he didn't have to worry about a racing pulse, seeing as his heart just about stopped when Night uttered "Anathema."

The initial scare was pretty harsh, but the more he thought about her words the quicker the Anatheman was able to calm down. Though it seemed like it would be a moment too late, as when Bes looked up at Night she had taken a step back. Afraid that he just chased off his first friend outside the pack, Bes took a step after her with a panicked look, before it was immediately replaced by what could be described as stunned stupid when she ran up and embraced him.

He had no idea what just happened. This whole scenario was crazy. Looking down at the Cavalier that was hugging him, Besekel mechanically and awkwardly returned the hug, not entirely sure if he should be touching Night, but if she was going to take chance so was he. Letting the girl step away, the medic had a look that could aptly be described as 'blissful stupidity.' Night told him that it didn't matter where he was from, that she thought he was nice and how the packs history doesn't define what she does. All he could do was stand there, with that gormless look and say "Ok."

She backed off, and Bes quickly came back to his senses, feeling much more at peace. "Thank you... And you're right. For all the talk my father does about moving forward, sometimes he gets swept up in his own past." That was how he started to explain his relation to Greed, moving on through his recollection of home. While he was speaking, Night walked up to him, sitting close by as he talked. Bes didn't mind, as a matter of fact now that both of them were sitting down he felt a bit more at ease. She said that it sounded very peaceful, and expressed an interest in visiting. "Well, I'd be happy to show you around if you came. I think visitors need to be escorted at all times anyways, so it wouldn't be a problem for me. Pretty sure someone just had puppies or something recently, so it won't be quiet for too long." he said with a small laugh. Having said that, he quickly looked over. "Ya know, you said that thing wasn't exactly fun right? If you really want, I don't mind helping you out?" he offered, no longer uncomfortable at the prospect.

Night began to talk about her life in Casa, as Bes looked over to her as the Cavalier spoke. "Well of course I want to hear about your life." he lightly teased, falling quiet as she continued. It all sounded interesting, though when Night said a big stone building the Temple of Helios came to mind for him.. Though Night ended with an apology, sounding very unsure."No, you're doing fine! In Anathema, when we become of age we have to undergo a hunt, and make something out of the hunt. The Angela then reads what our crafts indicate about ourselves, and we choose where we want to start our lives within the pack. I uh, ended up trapping a... rabbit.... then healing it and bringing it to my Rast." he said with a hint of shame, hoping the girl wouldn't think he was weak for not being able to finish off a small critter and ending up taking care of it to this day.

Something about Night's body language caught his attention however, as Bes leaned over to see her expression. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked out of worry, a concerned expression on his face. Even though they just met, Bes already felt like he could trust this person, hence the Rast story. In such a short amount of time, he'd come to be interested in the Cavaliers own life, and he wanted to hear more about it.

It's always darkest before the Dawn.

*********

Worried she had upset her new companion, her ears flattened against her skull as she took a step back, unsure if she was still welcome there. His eyes went to her as she backed up, a panicked expression on his face as he took a step towards her. Maybe she could make things better. The dark fae closed the space between them as she embraced him. The Hushhowl girl spoke of how she would still be nice to him no matter where he was from. Besekel certainly seemed thankful for that, commenting on how his father would get stuck in the past often.

He spoke of his home and the two seemed to be much more relaxed. When she mentioned that she would like to see Anathema sometime, Bes spoke of how he would be happy to show her his home but that someone there just had pups so it wasn’t likely to be quite so peaceful much longer. I guess I will have to come visit soon then huh? The dark fae wouldn’t mind traveling to Anathema sometime soon, though she wondered what Jace would think of her wanting to do such a thing.

Mismatched eyes glanced over at her as Bes offered to help her out of her dress. Night looked up at her companion with surprise. You sure? You don’t have to. It was getting to be a bit uncomfortable though in all honesty. Well, if you’re okay with it, then that would be great. The dark fae stood in front of him, back facing him as she pulled her hair away from her back. The corset back was just too hard to get off by herself. If her friend knew how to get one off, he would have to untie the bow at the base of the corset, just a little higher up than her tail. Then he would have to loosen each section until it was loose enough for her to slip out of the dress.

Once she was out of the dress and it was set aside, Night sat back down beside her companion. She spoke of how life in Casa normally was but trailed off at the end, apologizing since she wasn’t sure exactly what to say. The girl didn’t really have a typical childhood in Casa. Her gaze lifted to look at Besekel as he assured her she was perfectly fine, going on to talk about Anathema’s customs in regards to coming of age ceremonies. Evidently, it was customary for the pup to go on a hunt, create something from that hunt, and then their Angela would interpret what that item said about the pup. Bes had trapped a rabbit, healed it, and brought it to his Rast. It wasn’t an item or even a kill like he had made it seem was necessary for the ceremony, but Night thought him brave for showing his skill in healing rather than choosing to kill the creature. Our coming of age ceremony is very different. When we are a full year old, we have a test of physical skill called the First Blood. The yearlings are matched against one another in close combat, ending when one of the fighters gets three hits or cuts on their opponent. It’s one of the main things kids in Casa train for.

The girl trailed off again, not really sure where to go from there seeing as she hadn’t gone through her First Blood yet. What else should she mention? He did say he wanted to hear about her life, but did he really want to hear about it? A good deal of it wasn’t exactly good memories, nor was it something she talked about. Sure, there were those in Casa that knew some of what she had gone through, but it still wasn’t something she openly talked about. Apparently Bes was able to see her expression change and was quick to lean closer and ask what was wrong. Green hues met his bicolored eyes, a small, forced smile on her face. It’s alright. I just haven’t ever really talked about my life. She paused, looked down at her hands again. They aren’t the most pleasant memories. The concern on his face tugged at something in the young girl. He wanted to know about her life, so she would tell him. What could it hurt anyway? Not like he could use anything in her past against her, not that he was even the kind of person who would do such a thing. Well, I guess the beginning is the best place to start.

Night leaned back a bit, her hands reaching back behind her on the table to support herself as she spaced off, not looking in any direction in particular. Her gaze did glace over at her companion every once in a while though to attempt to gauge his reaction to her story. I was born in Casa, I had two older sister that were born somewhere else but I never really knew where. My father disappeared when I was only a few months old, I barely even remember what he looks like anymore. I’m not sure if he left on his own, if he simply got lost, or what happened to him, but we never heard from him. My sisters left together to try to find him and bring him home, but we never heard from them either after that. Mom would go outside Casa for the day every so often to try to find their scent or any sign of them but couldn’t ever find anything. She paused, keeping her eyes off of Bes for a moment. I was out near the border one day and got caught in a trap that had me hanging upside down by my leg. It triggered my first shift and, since I was in such an awkward position, it hurt my leg shifting like that. I think I was told it dislocated my ankle or something like that? My friends found me and cut me down, but they had to reset my leg. That probably hurt more than actually shifting like that.

It was all just pouring out of her at this point, everything that happened. I had to walk around with a crutch for quite a while while it healed, but two days after my incident, my friend Remus and I went to the border again. Other Casa members were finding traps and we wanted to see if we could find and take them down before anyone else got hurt. She stopped again, her voice getting caught in her throat for a moment. The dark fae leaned forward again, keeping her face away from Besekel’s view as she tried to keep her eyes from watering before continuing. We found blood, just covering the ground, along with some of my moms fur stuck in a trap. Her body wasn’t ever found, but there was so much blood. There’s just no way.. Her voice trailed off and she took a deep breath to try and calm herself. We found out we were being attacked by another pack and since my leg was still injured, I had no fighting skills yet, nor was I even able to help. I was completely useless. We defeated them of course, but we still lost a couple members and I couldn’t do a thing to help. Why she was pouring her heart out to this boy she just met, Night would never know. He wanted to know about her life after all. A friend of my moms took me in since I didn’t have any family in the pack anymore. Once my leg fully healed, I started training every day. I get up before the sun even rises and go for a run through the territory and then I usually spend the rest of the day training in hand to hand combat or learning how to wield weapons. It’s hard work, but I want to make sure I’m strong enough that I don’t lose anyone else I care about. I want to protect them. Her emerald gaze flicked up to the boy beside her, wondering what he thought about her after all that. Well, that’s me. That’s my story. She specifically left out the fact that there was an incident with a loner. It wasn’t something he needed to know and it really wasn’t something she wanted to talk about. For now, she would just let it all sink in with Bes and wait to see what he would say.

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