Re: The Wrong Envoy

Now that things had finally calmed back down, Bes was willing to let his muscles loosen up, allowing for his shoulders to drop as he let his posture slouch. He leaned back, happy to extend an invitation to the Cavalier as she spoke about coming to visit in a little while. The medic, supporting himself by putting his hands behind him on the table, gave Night the widest grin since they've began talking. "Doors always open, for those brave enough." he said jokingly, now that the air had been cleared of any stigmas. Though his expression grew a bit more serious, as he gave an easy shrug at Night's surprise at his offer.

"I don't mind. Sorry if I acted a bit weird earlier though, don't know what that was about." he said truthfully. It didn't take much convincing on his part though, as Night stood right in front of him, making the wolf-dog sit up quickly, clearly relieved. Now that he got an actual look at the back of the dress, he realized that it went down the length of her back. Blinking rapidly for a second, the boy looked at such foreign objects, like the bow and ribbons it was formed out of. Hesitating for a moment, Bes scanned the fabric for signs of how exactly this was supposed to be undone. "U-um..." he said meekly, not exactly wanting to confess to not knowing how this worked but at the same time afraid that he might mess up Night's dress if he attempted it on his own though.

Once she realized that he was struggling with the concept however, the girl helpfully instructed him on how to properly undo the bindings, and with faithful execution Bes pulled on part of the bow, slipping the band out from the knot as the whole thing came popped into loose string. Loosening up the sections leading up was by far the easiest part though, as he worked the garment loose enough for Night to slip out of it and neatly put it down. With that taken care of, his newfound friend reclaimed her spot beside him, a small smile waiting for her. "I'll be honest, it felt like being handed a mortar and pestle for the first time again." he said, noting on how such a simple task seemed much more daunting when he had no idea what it even was.

When she started talking about her own home, Besekel quietly listened as he watched Night's expression, and spoke up about his own culture where she faltered. His story seemed to resonate with the midnight wolf though, as she explained their coming of age ceremony, how Casa pitted their yearlings against each other in a fight. Hearing about this sort of trial, the healer quirked an eyebrow at Night, picturing her going through such a thing. "That uh, sounds much more difficult than trapping a rabbit." It seems that everyone he knew was a better fighter than him...

Though still, for a moment Night was solely looking at her hands as they were intertwined, piquing his interest when he leaned down to see her face. From what he could tell, Night looked almost, sad. The only time she seemed like that was when he acted strangely, making Bes wonder if there was something he said that was taken differently than he meant it. She turned to meet his gaze though, assuring the teen that she just wasn't used to sharing her story. "I can relate, sorta." he nodded, thinking of his brother. The twins spent much of their time together, but sometimes there were things that even Uri didn't know of, like... the cyclamen their dad found.

Night admitted that not everything about her history was all that nice to think of, to which Bes could only silently agree with. Emerald eyes gazed at him as she started to tell him about herself, the concern on his face replaced with an eagerness to learn. They seemed to have switched positions though, as Night rested back and Besekel leaned forward, lacing his hands together as he listened. Night's life started out pretty ordinarily, but to his shock quickly went to dark places as she explained that her father and two older sisters were considered missing, with not much time in between. But it was hearing on how the Cavalier got stuck in a trap, the Furcas clenched his teeth with a sudden flame of anger. Who would be so heartless as to hurt someone so nice? He shook his head on hearing that the trap dislocated her leg, never having experienced of such a thing but knowing what it was like from his mentor's description.

And then Night really started to open up to him. Night all of the sudden leaned forward, causing Bes to sit up straight so she could have some privacy. The sound of her voice beginning to fail her pulled at his heart still, as bi-colored eyes softened at the sight of Night doubling over. The blood, fur, how she said body instead of mother... it was obvious what Casa had suspected to Night's mom. After trailing away, Bes had the impulse to comfort her, though not wanting to do something to make it worse. But Night had hugged him when he needed it, so maybe she could use a little presence as well. Trying not to seem uneasy, Bes lightly reached out to place a hand, on an onyx shoulder, a gesture of reassurance that was often used on him. He hoped that Night didn't mind, but he felt so useless to just sit there and watch her struggle..

When she had composed herself again, Bes propped a foot-paw up on the table, wrapping his legs around it as he watched the Hushhowl girl. As she came to the close of her tale, Bes found himself welling up with tears, being unable to loose his entire family like her. But even so, he smiled a bit at the end, seeing some redemption to the tragedy. "S-sorry... I don't mean to be embarrassing, but.." he told her, wiping at his face with his arm, coming away with the smile still there as she looked at him. "...but you kinda reminded me of my Mom, just now. She's one of the strongest warriors I know." he said, not without an iota of pride. It was, shocking, to see someone so cheerful but having already gone through such hardships, especially at her age. Well, maybe he wasn't one to talk either.

"It's.. a sad start, but I'd like to believe it'll get brighter with time." he said, trying to cheer her up. "If it makes you feel better about sharing, I could tell you mine if you wanted?" he offered, not wanting Night to be the only one under the microscope. "I have a pretty good grasp on what it feels like to be useless too.." he said solemnly, memories of his own coming to surface.

It's always darkest before the Dawn.

*********

The two comrades spoke of her visiting his home, relatively soon in fact. Bes gave her a big, toothy grin as he commented on the doors always being open to those who were brave enough. She gave him a sideways look with a little smirk on her face. Oh I think I’m plenty brave enough. The dark fae would show him who was brave. She had no problem going to the dark pack, didn’t matter if she went by herself or not.

After seeing her surprise at his offer, Besekel just gave a shrug, stating that he didn’t mind helping her out of the dress. Figuring she would take him up on the offer, Night got down off of her seat on the table to move to stand in front of him. It quickly became clear that he had no idea what to do. With a small chuckle she turned her head towards him to give a quick apology for not explaining how to get it off first. After getting her instructions, he was able to get the bow untied and worked the bindings loose. It didn’t take long after that till she was able to slip out of the garment. The girl stifled a laugh though when he compared helping her out of her dress to being handed a mortar and pestle for the first time. So, youre saying you’ve been completely lost before this? Night teased him, flashing the boy a mischievous smile as green orbs met his mismatched hues. This was certainly turning out to be a much better day than she had expected.

They spoke about their homes and Besekel made a comment about their First Blood ceremony being more difficult than when he trapped a rabbit. I wouldn’t know. I haven’t trapped a rabbit, just hunted them, and I haven’t had my First Blood yet either. Been doing a lot of training with most of my pack mates so I think I’ll be able to do alright. She hoped she would at least. It would be a real disappointment if she couldn’t win the match after all the training she had been doing.

The conversation quickly went to a much darker place, her own past. Night quickly found herself opening up to the boy beside her, though it was still hard to talk about all of it. Besides how she briefly mentioned a couple things to Greed, this was really the first time she opened up and talked about what happened. She felt a pang in her chest as she spoke of her mother, still wishing that one day the white woman would return. It was just the smallest glimmer of hope at this point though. Months had passed by with no other sign of her mother besides the pool of blood and bits of fur. With how much blood was there, it didn’t seem likely anyone would be able to survive anyway, not without medical attention at least and Hartt hadn’t gone into Casa to be healed. It didn’t leave many options.

As she started choking up, the dark fae felt a light pressure on her shoulder. It seemed Bes was attempting to comfort her, knowing the girl was hurting. Night leaned into him for just a moment, her shoulder pressing against his side as her head rested on the side of his chest and she just stayed there like that for a moment. Once she had calmed down enough, she sat back up, looking up at her friend with a faint smile as he repositioned himself. She finished saying all she felt she needed to and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Besekel wiping at his eyes as he spoke up, saying how she reminded him of his mom. Night couldn’t help but chuckle. Well, I’m honored I remind you of someone so strong. I don’t think I’m quite there yet though. He went on to say how her past was full of sadness, but that he believed her life would get better in time. I’m sure it will be much better with people like you in my life. Emerald green eyes flicked up to meet bicolored orbs, not entirely sure why she said it, but knew she meant it. She had just met Besekel but honestly, she already felt better because of his presence. Any worries that had been on her mind on her way there were long gone. He was so kind too, and probably just as awkward as her. Not to mention those mismatched eyes were just gorgeous, the blue one reminding her of her mother’s blue eyes.

He offered to tell his story as well, mentioning that he knew what it felt like to be useless. I’d love to hear your story, though I’m pretty sure you’re far from useless. Her eyes remained on him after that, wanting to listen closely to what all he had to say.

ooc | [wc —326] template by hilli

Night readily accepted his pretend challenge, as Bes let out a small laugh at her apparent determination. He liked the idea of showing Night around the pack territory, letting her see the best spots for taking a nap or to see the sights. The Temple of Helios was pretty cool, but his dad insisted that the old crumbling building was one of the more haunted areas of their lands. Though, that was quickly becoming the case for all of their land, if the rumors were to be believed.

After properly sitting up, Bes was more than willing to help the girl out of her dress, though his lack of proper dress etiquette really started to show as he mumbled hesitantly, glad that Night was quick to explain it to him. "I-It's fine." he said when she apologized, feeling like the fault was more his for lack of knowing. Once she was out though, the Cavalier found his attempt at humor to be somewhat funny, bursting into a smile as he grinned. "I mean, you can't tell and you've been talking to me for how long?" he said with a smirk, having fun at his own expense. The boy felt pretty cheerful, almost daring to say confident for once.

Night had revealed that she actually hadn't gone through the First Blood ceremony yet though, as the medic gave her a curious look but decided against to ask why. Heck, even he didn't want to talk about his coming of age all that much. Which reminded him, he needed to feed his little friend when he got back in case the little guy wasn't eating by himself in the barn Bes stashed him in. Poor thing was often a nervous wreck without the healer. "O-Oh, sorry. I'm sure it'll be fine, though!" he encouraged her, sure that she'd do fine. But then the atmosphere grew more serious, as she began to delve into her past.

He couldn't help but picture how he would feel if he was in Night's shoes, losing his father while he was still barely a pup, his siblings, and then his mother later on. The horrible thought of being all alone in Anathema, without anyone to lean on.. As he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, Night didn't flinch or try to pull away. As a matter of fact, she leaned over on him, and as surprising as it was, Bes quickly switched over to giving her a sort of hug, just holding her there until she felt better. As she sat back up, his gaze softened while watching her talk, even smiling as she finished. He smirked at hearing her thank him again, putting his hands in the air.

"I'm glad you feel like that, then. People used to underestimate her, or so I'm told. Like you just did with yourself." he said, thinking of the best compliment he could come up with. Then Night had a compliment of his own. Now it was the Anatheman's turn to feel the heat rise to his face, not sure on how to respond as he stared into her rich green eyes. "I..." he started, struggling to come up with the words so he just said the first thing that came to mind. "I feel like mine already has."

Sitting there for a second, he suddenly turned away, scratching the back of his neck as he looked away, wondering why that's what he just had to say. "A-Ack, I'm being weird again. Anyways..." Trying to move the conversation along, the boy offered his own story, flicking his ears back as he thought about what he was going to say. He never really talked to others about what went on. Night assured him that she didn't think he was useless, but that made the medic seem to slump further into his seat. "Yeah, sure..." he said quietly, staring at the floor.

"Well, guess I should start at the beginning too then huh?" he said, trying to think back to his earliest memory. "I was born outside the pack's territory, but my parent's belonged to Anathema long before so you could say I was born there instead. I only know that my mom wandered away from the pack when she had us because Dad jokes about it sometimes." he said, slightly smiling at the scene of his father teasing his mother, only to have it escalate to Nyx firing right back and eventually coming out on top. "There were three of us in my litter, my brother and I, and.... and our sister."

He stopped smiling a little while ago, looking sideways at all the discarded clothes on the ground. "We were pretty young then, couldn't even really walk right just yet. But..." He shook his head, knowing that he was trying to rush past, but if Night was going to share everything so would he. "The three of us slept in our mother's den, with our family, including our two half-siblings." Bes clung to his own arm, remembering the sensation of a fire's warmth as he cuddled with his elder sister, listening to tears that didn't make sense at the time. "I don't really remember it all that well, but...
one day, when we woke up to go play outside, Song... didn't." he said, his tone flat, trying to keep explaining. "I can barely remember what she sounded like, but I know Dad and Mom loved her a lot. Sometimes, if I'm walking by I'll hear them whispering, trying not to cry about it. Of course, they don't tell us this.."

"Not long after, we had a funeral for Song. My dad had to hold Mom, after she collapsed from putting on the pyre.
I can remember my other sister May hugging me." Lazily swinging his feet, Bes watched as one leg disappeared before the other arrived, always missing the other as he got to what was really weighing on his mind. "Not too long ago,
my dad came to me, with a bag of flowers.. He said he found them where Song used to play all the time, asking me to have my mentor look at them. Long story short, they're a winter flower, growing under the snow. She used to burrow under the stuff, so dad thinks that when he wasn't looking, she ate some. It's fatal, to pups." Light grey legs stopped swinging, the healer really not wanting to move at this point. "Dad made me promise not to tell my brother, so he doesn't freak out. Uriah has always been pretty protective, and he was afraid that Uri would take it as a personal failure. The flower's called cyclamen, as Miss Lora told me."

Bes suddenly grabbed the sides of his head, furiously shaking his hair as he groaned in realization. "Ah, but that was after I had my first shift and age ceremony. I'm a little scatterbrained sometimes.." he said sadly, annoyed with himself that he started telling the story out of order. Putting a hand under his muzzle, Bes looked up to the ceiling. "My first shift I can remember better though. Our Mom was taking us to learn how to hunt, when a bear charged at us. Later we assumed that it wanted to expand it's own territory or something, challenging us for the land." Mismatched eyes flickered over to Night, as he was never proud to admit this part.

"Mom yelled at us to run but... I froze. I couldn't move." he said, returning his gaze to the floor as he did. "I was so afraid, and because of it my mom had to fight off the bear. We were backed up against a rocky hill, too steep to climb with for legs instead of these." he said, flexing a hand. "In my fear, I panicked, and my body just started to shift, and as soon as I had something even resembling a palm I tried to climb away. My brother though, he stepped in between me and the bear. I couldn't tell you what went through his mind, but he's always been that way. But the bear had reared up, to try and swipe at him. But Mom shoved him out of the way, and it knocked her through the air unconscious. Then it went for my brother."

Hands squeezing together, the wolf-dog's ears laid completely against his skull, having to tell how his family saved his hide. "Before it could get, another chance to try and get Uri though, my Dad jumped on its arm, snarling and biting. Then they started to fight, and to this day I can't..." Bes covered his muzzle with his hands, a vision of red gore in his eyes. "He was like, a completely different person. Eventually, my dad used an injury my mom made before to.. gain the upper hand, letting him kill the bear. He was hurt pretty bad too, and again I just... ran, to get my teacher." That was an order he had received from the Atheed, but all the same, the boy felt like the only thing he was good for was cowering and running away.

"You already know about the Rast, though my parents have a tradition of giving each child a bird for a companion.
You might've seen mine, playing around in the wind outside." he said, giving a huff and a dismissive gesture towards the entrance. Arabel was well behaved for the most part, but if he had something in his head the falcon was set in his ways. "Also..." he began, lowering his head fidgeting with his hands as he thought of the latest family tragedy. "My older sister, May, left for Inferni a couple months ago. She's my half-sister, and her dad lives in Anathema with us,
but... My parents don't seem to like him all that much. Dad never really addresses him by name, and Mom just has this, look when he's brought up. But no one likes to talk about how her and Inca were born, so May went to the pack he was originally from to try and have them tell her what happened that made everything so tense. But..." he whispered, trying not to shed tears as he thought of the bookish girl he was proud to call his sister.

"She never came home, like your sisters. After a month, my parents went to Inferni to ask about her, and... they said she never arrived. And Inferni's a days trip away from Anathema.." he said with a shaky huff, with his only two sisters that he had and grown close to being taken from their family. "Dad and Mom searched for weeks, but they couldn't find a trace. My dad is convinced that she was, taken.. And knowing, my sister, she'd never run away from the pack.. So, yeah.." Taking a moment to breathe, Bes had composed himself, raising his head back up.

"And so I've just kept training to be a medic. Healing people, learning herbs and first aid, always avoiding a fight and relying on Uri." he said, looking back to see how Night thought of all of this from the side. "Until now, on this trip. Just, standing around in the crowd, never trying to stand out or do something amazing."

With a shrug of the shoulder, he suddenly put on a smile again, tilting his head. "Well, that's mine too then."

It's always darkest before the Dawn.

*********

The pair seemed to be hitting it off pretty quick, sharing their life stories and joking between the two of them. The made fast friends, that was for sure. Neither party seemed keen on ending their little encounter any time soon.

Her comment on not having gone through the First Blood ceremony seemed to confuse her companion, giving her a sideways glance before stating that he was sure it would be fine. Oh I’m sure I’ll be alright. I don’t know who I’ll be going up against, but I’ve been training nearly every day since my leg healed. There’s still a few months left before my First Blood too so I’ll be able to get even more training in before then. We don’t have our coming of age ceremony until we are a full year old. Hopefully she explained that well enough, if not, she’d probably just get more confused looks from him.

Night leaned into the silver colored boy as he tried to comfort her, going a bit further and just holding her in a sort of embrace. It certainly did make her feel better and his compliment, comparing her to his mom, even more so. Bes spoke of how others used to underestimate his mother, in the same way she was underestimating herself. Her head tilted to the side, wondering what he thought of her if he was already able to decide she was underestimating herself. She wouldn’t ask though.

Their conversation certainly didn’t seem so sad anymore, at least for the moment. Besekel spoke of how he was sure her life would get better with time. It was something Night could only agree with, stating how she was sure it would so long as she had people like him around. She wasn’t quite sure why she had said that, but knew she meant it. Bes was a really sweet, caring guy. A little goofy at times, but it only made him all the more fun to be around. His little quirks intrigued the dark fae.

The Hushhowl girl wasn’t really expecting any sort of comment back in response to her last statement, but she sure got one. Their eyes remained locked on one another’s for a moment before the boy beside her stated that he felt like his life had already gotten better. This caused Night’s eyes to widen slightly with surprise. Did he really mean his life had already gotten better because she was in it? Surely that wasn’t what he meant...was it? Before she had the chance to ask, Bes was quick to change the topic, claiming he was just being weird. But, she had missed her chance to ask about his statement, her attention remaining on Bes as he stated his own story.

He started off at the beginning, just as she had. Though, apparently, him and his siblings were born outside his pack’s territory even though his parents had long been members. This confused the girl a bit, wondering why one would leave their home to give birth. Wasn’t something like that safer to do inside the territory? They wouldn’t have had the protection from the pack out their on their own. It wasn’t her place to judge though. She obviously hadn’t ever given birth, and in all honesty didn’t really know much at all about it. Maybe that was the norm in his pack.

Besekel spoke of his family, a brother and sister, and two half-siblings. It made Night wonder what it was like to live in such a large family. Sure, she could kind of get the sense of that after living with Jace, her mate, Honrin, and now the new girl that was brought to the pack. Still, it was different when it was your own siblings.

Things quickly took a detour to sadness. Bes mentioned how one day, his sister just didn’t wake up, that sometimes he could still hear his parents whispering and trying not to cry about it. The mention of the funeral was especially sad, hearing about how his mom collapsed and his dad had to try to hold her and comfort her. Losing a child like that, it had to be the worst thing to have to go through. Her companion mentioned how his sister might have eaten a type of flower when no one was looking, that it was fatal to pups. It sounded like it was concluded that the flowers were what killed the pup. Dark hands reached out as she held onto his arm, hands resting on his bicep as she leaned into him again, this time hoping to be of some comfort to him though. With her head still resting on his shoulder, an emerald gaze glanced up at him before sitting up again as he tried to continue on. She let go of his arm, but one hand rested on his thigh, still trying to provide him some comfort, to attempt to ease his pain when there really wasn’t much she could do.

He went on to talk about his first shift, that him, his brother, and mother were challenged by a bear. Bes was apparently told to run but froze, which was a common reaction from what the girl understood. His parents had both been injured in the fight but they did end up being able to kill the bear before he ran to get his teacher to help. It seemed like he was blaming himself for quite a bit, for his parents injuries at least but it almost seemed like he thought he was somehow at fault for what happened to his sister. She wanted to make things better, to make sure he knew she didn’t think it was his fault and that he shouldn’t think that way either. The dark fae didn’t get the chance right away though, as Bes changed the subject to his feathery companion outside, but he trailed off into yet another sad story. He spoke of an older sister, May, who disappeared like her own family had. The girl could tell he was shaking as he spoke, hearing his pain. He tried to compose himself and went on to discuss how he was training to be a medic. It seemed an honorable thing in her mind to want to heal people. Those skills were definitely a necessity in many situations and it just proved he had such a kind nature, wanting to heal and tend to the wounded rather than fight and cause injury. It seemed that was where the pair was very different, but still similar at the same time. He was learning to heal others in order to protect them, while she was training her hardest to be a skilled warrior so she could protect others.

His last comment caused the girl to look up at him, a questioning expression on her face as her hand finally slid off of his thigh. Why do you make it sound like it’s a bad thing to not stand out? Sometimes it’s better to just blend in. You’re young, you’ve got plenty of time ahead of you to do something amazing. I already think it’s amazing that you’re training to heal people. That’s a skill that is needed by many. You’re very kind Bes, you want to help others, and I am sure that you are going to help a lot of people. She spoke truthfully, believing he would do good in his life, but there was still something else she needed to say. But, there is something you need to understand. The dark fae’s expression became very serious suddenly as she kept her emerald gaze locked on his mismatched eyes. You are in no way at fault for anything that happened. It’s devastating what happened to you’re sister, and I am deeply sorry that it happened, but you can not blame yourself for what happened. You were just a pup yourself, there wasn’t anything you could have done. As for the bear, again, you were young, there was no way you would be able to help fight such a thing. Yes, you froze up instead of running, that is a common reaction to danger in many people, even adults. Their injuries are not your fault either. You have absolutely no reason to think of yourself as useless. You might have felt helpless since you didn’t know what to do at the time, but that does not make you useless. You are too good of a guy to be allowed to think so little of yourself, and come on, I only just met you and I already think highly of you. Imagine what your family and pack mates must think of you. The girl paused, just looking into his eyes for a moment. I know your mother would certainly be proud of her son taking the time to learn how to help people the way you are. As for May, I will ask around too and see if anyone has heard or seen anything. Someone had to have seen her. I’m sure she will be found soon and brought home. A soft smile spread across her face, wanting to give him at least some small bit of hope. Her hand reached out to take his, squeezing it for just a moment before simply holding his hand in hers. She will come home, have hope.

ooc | [wc —] template by hilli

The boy was losing all track of time, as they just sat there, enjoying one another's company and conversation. Despite his initial confusion over how Night was supposed to undergo her ceremony now even though she had already shifted, the Cavalier quickly explained that she still had time till her own First Blood, saying that they only test those that are a full year old. "Ah, I see. This should be a piece of cake for you then!" he cheered, with Night appearing to be as confident as him in herself.

Their conversation even came back to another high point, as the best descriptor for what happened that made him feel light-headed. Night's words had caught him completely by surprise, but he felt like he had to say something in return. And well, he did. As soon as the words came out, the healer just felt, calm, up until Night reacted. As they looked into each other's gaze, the white-chested female widened her eyes, making Bes feel like he might've said the wrong thing. His only thought being Abort! the boy quickly switched his gaze and the topic, not wanting to linger in case Night felt unnerved by him running his dumb mouth.

And that's how he started out his story, happy and peaceful as one would imagine for the existence of a young pup. It was only when his tale took a dark and unforgiving turn too that it became hard to recall, as he tried to keep his emotions from infecting his voice. Lithe limbs wrapped themselves around his arm without warning, though surprised, he said nothing, happy for the stability of mind. Once he felt like he could keep going, Night instinctively sat upright, releasing him from her presence, but leaving a guiding hand on his leg, to which he was greatful of the support. Even though emotions were a had thing to cope with in someone else, Night seemed all the more willing to be there for him.

There were a few rough patches left in the remainder of the story, but the ever constant touch of her hand helped him imensely, rooting him down so he wasn't swept away in emotions from his memories. His final words of reluctance seemed to catch the young warrior's attention, as she finally pulled away, causing Bes to look at Night. Her words seemed almost like she was chiding him, but they were also just so, uplifting. After she spoke to him, about being young and how he'll help many people, he could feel some life come back to his tail, as it slowly started to dust off the table. "Yeah... I guess you're right." he said, smiling at the spot in the floor in front of Night. Though she quickly adopted a serious voice once again, drawing his gaze back to her holding eyes.

She began to tell him that it wasn't his fault, none of it was. As much as he wanted to avert his eyes, as much as he felt the blame was his to bear, Besekel couldn't tear himself away from Night, choking up at the girl's words. He didn't think that anyone had told him this, mainly because no one thought to. But now here someone was, and it was like an invisible weight was being lifted, one who's presence isn't felt until it leaves you. His family, his pack mates, everything he had thought he known brought up a breath of fresh air, each word seeming to unlock a link in a chain tying him down.

And then something truly remarkable happened. Night had taken it upon herself to help spread the word around about May, to ask around on his behalf. This total stranger, who he had met not long ago, was suddenly enlisting herself in a cause that seemed lost not long ago. None of his family wanted to utter that which was unspoken, but with how long it had been since May was last seen, but Bes had cracked and thought of his last words to May were their goodbyes, words that weren't good enough. And here Night was, an outsider of his family, but giving him a glimmer of hope where he had already lost faith. And, somehow, he felt like Night was right. Watching as a thin hand reached for his, Bes watched as the Hushhowl wolf slipped her hand in his, giving it a light squeeze as his eyes threatened to overflow once more.

With Night's hand in his, Bes lightly traced ebony fingers with light silvery ones, feeling warmth almost radiate from her palm into him."You're kind, funny, and would even help with finding my sister. In all honesty..." he murmured, looking up at glimmering emerald eyes. "I wish there was a better way for me to say 'thank you'." he told Night, giving a smile filled with warming light.

It's always darkest before the Dawn.

*********

His story was definitely a sad one, but it also held a great deal of blame. Bes was blaming himself for everything that had happened and Night could feel a pang in her chest at that thought. He shouldn’t have to blame himself, none of it was his fault in any way. The dark fae didn’t interrupt though, and let him continue on with his story, though she did keep her hand on his thigh. It was just a small way she could help provide him with some comfort.

Night spoke of how he was a good person who would help many with his medic skills and she could see a smile finally form on his face. The smile dropped as she spoke again, but he did keep his eyes locked on hers. He definitely seemed to relax more though as she spoke of how none of it was his fault, almost as if an invisible weight was lifted off of him. The dark fae went on to offer to ask around about his sister. It was the least she could do, but she wanted to do something to help.

Her dark hand slipped into his and the girl could see his eyes water, squeezing his hand to give him some reassurance. Besekel ran his fingers over her own and the dark fae looked up at those mismatched eyes as he spoke. His words were kind, with Bes speaking of what he thought of her and her offer to help, stating that he wished there was a better way for him to say thank you. The Hushhowl girl looked down at their hands, fingers intertwined as she thought back to a few of the things Greed had said. I can think of one way... Her voice was quiet and trailed off at the end, but since he was in such close proximity, Bes would have been able to hear her. She leaned towards him, intending on leaving a quick kiss on his cheek. That wasn’t quite what happened though. Besekel turned his head towards her just as she leaned in, meaning her lips did not reach his cheek as intended, but on his own lips. Emerald orbs widened, staying there for a moment longer due to shock. It wasn’t at all what she had meant to do, but she did. She kissed Bes.

All the heat rushed to her face at once, eyes still wide as she pulled back, getting down off of the table to stand with her back to him. I..I’m sorry Bes. That wasn’t what I..meant to....do.. She stuttered a bit as she spoke, feeling nervous, embarrassed, excited, and as if her stomach was filled with butterflies. It was an odd mix of emotions all at once and Night wasn’t sure how her friend would take it.

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He was still in awe that someone who just met him not minutes ago would be so kind and caring towards him, someone who had done nothing to deserve their generosity. He felt honored, even lucky to have made such a fast friend, though they might not have known the other all that well at least they understood where the other was coming from. As they looked at one another, Night whispered something, an idea of how to say thank you in a way that Bes didn't know. In a moment of genuine curiosity, Bes tilted his head to his left, clueless as to what Night meant. What is-"

Though his luck did not look upon the lightly furred male kindly, or perhaps it did, because at the exact moment the medic tilted his head Night leaned in, aiming for somewhere else than where she found herself as lips touched lips. Shocked from the sudden contact, both of the young adults sat together paralyzed, staring into one another. It was like he could sense everything at once. Their fingers laced together as the tensed up, the table slightly shivering as the two stiffened from impact, the bewildered expression in emerald eyes as both Night and Besekel forgot to breathe.

And then it was over, as the dark girl quickly untangled her hand and withdrew from him, turning her back to the healer as he had done before. Besekel leapt to his feet, suddenly very aware of the beating of his own heart, feeling his chest thump, thump as he switched between staring at her back and the floor. "N-N-No, i-it's o-o-okay, m-my fault." he stammered, the speech impediment returning. "Y-y-you're... Y-you're.." He said slowly, finding himself glancing over to the Cavalier bit by bit."You're fine." he muttered, eyes lingering before he whirled 90 degrees away. In a moment of blinding clarity, Bes finally understood why he was so anxious around Night in the beginning, besides the business of him being Anathema. Looking at her form from the side, his heart continued to beat in his ears as he realized he thought she was kinda cute, maybe even downright attractive.

Staring at his feet, Bes realized this might not be the best way to think about a friend, and quickly tried to clamber for something that would help distract the two of them from this awkward situation. Frantically looking down at the clothes around him, the Greyfire child snatched one up and tried to take a sudden interest in the fabric as he displayed it before himself. "S-So u-um,
why d-d-did you come here in the f-first place? I m-mean I wanted to f-find something to wear, since I uh..." The boy had a strong start, but quickly began to peter out as he looked down at his, evidently bare body. Sliding a bit further away from Night, he redoubled his efforts, grabbing something else from the ground as he peered into it's stitching. "I mean some of my pack ma- members, wear clothing often, like my dad. I kind of always thought it to be interesting, so I decided to try and find something for myself to wear as well. Of course, I have no idea what even looks good on a person, I mean what would look good on me,
that I'm wearing, clothes for me. Right, I dont.." he rapidly said, slightly able to ease his mind into the strange world of fashion that he knew nothing about.

"I uh, don't know what good clothes look like." he admitted in a quieter tone, looking down at the shirts in his hands. Slamming his eyes shut, Bes took a deep breath in, and turned to look at the one who just did the thing he was trying not to think about. "Could you, um... help me?" he asked Night, looking slightly pitiful as ears flicked submissively to the side.

It's always darkest before the Dawn.

*********

The pair froze as their lips accidentally met, parting quickly, but still sitting there staring at each other. Both were equally surprised by the action. Night wasn’t even sure why she did it in all honesty. Greed had tried to give her some advice on boys, but it certainly didn’t seem to help. It was only making things more awkward.

Night separated from the boy, keeping her back to him as she attempted an apology. She couldn’t look at him and she certainly couldn’t be close to him in that moment. Her heart had been pounding in her chest so hard she thought for sure he would be able to hear if he was close enough. The dark girl felt a fluttering in her belly as the heat rose to her cheeks. She didn’t know why she was feeling like this. Was this how it felt to kiss someone? If this was how it was going to feel every time, the poor girl might have a heart attack if her heart kept beating so hard every time.

Her companion attempted to take the blame and she turned towards him slightly to deny any fault on his end, only to see him looking at her. Something she hadn’t ever really felt before flooded over her as he looked at her that way. She felt shy. Why? Because of the kiss? She had been perfectly fine around him until then so it was really her only explanation. What was this she was feeling? It was so weird. Was this what Greed had been talking about? Was this what it was like when you like a boy? Emerald orbs glanced up at him and that fluttering in her stomach only intensified. Did she think he was cute? His lighter coat was pretty and she certainly did find his mismatched eyes intriguing. Not to mention, he was really nice. She had made a fast friend in Besekel, but was it just friendship she was wanting if she was feeling this way? The poor girl still didn’t understand feelings, not even her own.

Thankfully, Bes attempted to change the subject, asking why she came, quickly going on to state that he was wanting to find something to wear and rambling off a bit. He admitted that he didn’t know much about clothes as she moved somewhat closer to him. Her heart was still pounding in her chest every time she looked up at him now, especially as their eyes met when he asked for her help. The dark girl sat there frozen for a moment, just staring into those beautiful mismatched eyes before stammering a response. Y-y-yeah, uh, I can try to help. Emerald orbs were forced away from his gaze as she looked down at the items in his hands. There was a light grey shirt hanging from one hand and she took it, her hand brushing against his for just a moment as she did. The small amount of contact made the fur on the back of her neck stand on end, a shiver running down her spine. Why was he making her feel this way now? She glanced back up at him, the heat rising in her cheeks as she held the shirt up against his abdomen before holding it out to him. Um, put that on. I-I might have found a couple of things that would look, um, nice. With that shirt I mean. Man she was quickly making a fool of herself, stammering like that in front of Bes. It was just a kiss, neither of them even meant for it to happen. It was no big deal, right?

The dark fae went back to where she had left her bag, pulling different articles of clothing out of it and examining them before bringing two items back to Bes. Here, try these with the shirt. She kept her eyes on the clothing, trying to avoid eye contact so he wouldn’t hear her heart pounding. Night held out a pair of black cargo pants and a dark grey jacket that had a hood. Um, they both have pockets. I uh figured lots of pockets would come in handy for you. Heat was quickly rising in her face as she looked up at him, quickly looking back down. I mean, you could carry a lot of medical supplies and things. Man she sounded like a bumbling idiot, going on and on about pockets. She really needed to just stop talking.

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His only solace at that moment was that Night seemed to be just as awkward as he was, as Bes avoided looking at the Cavalier after that accidental kiss. He tried to promise Night that it wasn't her fault when he got distracted, and ended up having Night catch him gazing at her. In a moment of panic, the young teen spun around to face the opposite direction, hoping she wouldn't be offended from that. Night was his first friend outside of their family, and he didn't want to jeopardize this friendship. Because, that's what he was doing right? If things kept going the way they were, things would get more and more awkward between the two, and maybe Night would eventually stop talking to him or avoid him altogether.

He tried to get their conversation moving again, though quickly fell apart when he realized how alien clothing was to him for a second time. After he closed and turned around to where Night was, he was shocked to open his eyes and having Night stand much closer than he thought, as he had to stop himself from leaping backwards into a wall for the second time, different reason. He flinched at her sudden appearance at first, but eventually calmed back down as they stared into each others eyes, emerald hues encasing his vision. She murmured an answer, as heat rose to his hapless face. "T-Th-Thanks."

Night quickly snatched one of the shirts from his hands, so quick in fact that their hands touched for even less time than they had kissed. It was like a lightning bolt just struck the edge of his hand, as the thump thump thump of his heart made a noticeable return. Before he could do anything than make a pitiful croaking noise, Night held the shirt up to his torso, effectively shutting down any brain activity he had going on as he shorted out into gazing at Night's face. With the shirt being presented to him, the boy mechanically grabbed the shirt from under the sleeves, mutely obeying Night's instructions before something he noticed flipped his mind back on. "Hey w-w-wait, y-y-y-you stuttered, th-that's m-my thing." he said with a bit of innocent laughter, giving a small toothy smile.

That realization had helped with his nerves somewhat, thought now he still could feel his heart threatening to beat out of his chest whenever he looked at Night for too long. Luckily the other teen offered him some more clothing to try on, which he gratefully accepted with a few shy words. "Y-yeah, thanks." Bes turned to the side to put the cargo pants on, sticking a lanky leg through each hole and bringing the fabric up to his waist- Till it got stuck on something. For a moment Bes panicked and thought something was wrong, but he realized that it was just his tail, the wagging mess behind him that was catching the pants. Apparently the original intended user didn't have such an appendage taken into account for the clothes, so instead he quickly tucked his tail into one of the pantlegs and zipped them up, fastening the button. Thankfully, this was a bit more intuitive than the ribbons of Night's dress, because this would've been an entirely different level of awkward if he had to get her to help him with this thing.

After that was taken care of, Bes felt a bit better about his apparent nudity being concealed, and tried for a moment before snugly getting the hoodie jacket on. Looking down and admiring Night's handiwork, the young medic pocketed his hands and smiled at the girl and her talent, raising his upper arms a bit to prevent himself from concealing a clear view of the outfit. "Whadiya think?" he asked her, being well aware that he was avoiding eye contact.

It's always darkest before the Dawn.

*********

The dark fae really wasn’t sure why she was acting so weird after that kiss. It was just an accident after all, it didn’t mean anything. Right? Night could barely even look at her new companion without feeling her heart pounding in her chest so hard, she thought for sure he’d be able to hear.

Thankfully, Bes shifted the conversation in a new direction. He asked for assistance in choosing an outfit, which she would happily oblige. The male didn’t seem to notice her moving closer to him though, jumping slightly when he noticed how close she was. Dark ears flattened against her skull, feeling like she was in the wrong for standing too close. She hadn’t meant to startle him. Then again, he could very well have reacted in such a way because having her so close had the same effect on him as it did for her. That thought was only barely entertained for more than a mere moment before being quickly dismissed.

Dark hands held the shirt up against the male, trying to judge the size and fit on his form, her heart pounding with each moment she stood so close. She gave a simple instruction to try the one grey shirt on before moving over to her bag. His voice broke into her thoughts, commenting on the stutter she didn’t even realize had left her own lips. A hint of a smile pulled at her lips as she looked up at him, her heart racing as soon as her eyes met his gaze. Yeah, uh, I-I’m sorry about that. A hand came up to brush her hair back and out of her face. I uh, don’t really know what’s wrong with me right now. Lies, she knew what was wrong with her. All of this were examples of what Greed had talked about.

She had a crush on Bes.

It was the only explanation for her behavior. The rapid heartbeat, the weird fluttering in her stomach, all the little things she was feeling. She hadn’t ever felt anything like it with anyone else before. Was this truly what it was like to like someone?

The dark fae brought a couple more articles of clothing over to him, leaving him to handle putting them on himself as she examined a few articles herself. Finally, it seemed she found something she liked for herself. Night slipped on a pair of shorts, liking the fit and also the fact that it wasn’t too terribly constricting. There was one thing she needed to do though to make them perfect. The girl slipped the shorts off and cut a slit into the back for her tail before slipping them back on. She also found a top, almost the same grey as the shirt she had handed Bes. Looking at it though, it wasn’t nearly as long. She pulled it over her head anyway, realizing it was much shorter, only coming down to the base of her ribs really. It was certainly comfortable though and it wasn’t like the loose material would really get in the way during her training sessions. Glancing over at the broken mirror in the room, Night decided she actually liked it.

Her attention was quickly stolen away from her own new outfit, as Besekel asked for her opinion. The dark fae turned to look at him, a smile forming on her face, her heart racing as she stepped closer once more. She circled him, looking him over, she noticed something odd, his tail was gone. Did you really tuck your tail into the pants? That’s really not going to be comfortable in the long run. Night moved back over to her bag, grabbing her knife before quickly returning to him. Don’t move around, ok? I really don’t want to cut you.

She knelt down behind him, trying to keep her racing heart from jumping out of her chest as her hand gently tugged on the hem of his pants. The back of her hand could feel where the base of his tail was, knowing perfectly well what other part of him her hand was oh so very close to. Deciding where it needed to be, Night cut into the hem of the pants until there was enough space for his tail to fit comfortably. Unlike with her shorts though, his pants seemed much too loose with that slit in the back now. Looking around, she found a black belt and was about to reach down to the front of his pants to start looping it through, but stopped. Heat quickly rose in her face before she handed the belt to him. Uh here. Th-this will hold them up. The dark fae tried to avoid eye contact, focusing on his form, though that wasn’t much better to be honest. I-it looks nice on you. She really didn’t know what to say that wouldn’t make her look like any less of a fool than she was already making of herself.

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