were all just scars in the making
SSWM Word Count → 459
Umber-red eyes fell to the flames for a moment, and Vesper could feel her stomach twisting and turning at the pause. She had the urge to retract her question, but then he turned toward her and made his apology.
Immediately, her mind flashed back. The scars of the wounds inflicted on her that night tingled in the heat of the fire, but there was a more dangerous heat sweeping through her body as she remembered his large frame pressing down on hers, trapping her between his hips and the claw marks in the dirt. It was something that she had shoved brutally out of her mind, refused to acknowledge at all, choosing instead to focus on the shame of her defeat. But no—the memory came back, all the stronger from the alcohol dropping her guard.
Helotes was apologizing, acknowledging the error of his ways. The man she had secretly feared for weeks since that night was apologizing. Regardless, when his hand fell sloppily down onto her brown-splashed shoulder, the she-yote jerked away and nearly lost her balance due to the effect of the alcohol. She flattened her ears and cast her blue eyes toward the trees, the fire, anywhere but his near-solemn face.
“It’s… ’s’okay.” Her heart fluttered in her chest, but whether it was because of her fear or the relief that she shouldn’t be afraid, she didn’t know. “You weren’t wearing pants,” she added, the detail so damn silly that she tried to force a laugh. Instead, a hiccupping belch escaped from her narrow muzzle, and she startled herself, eyes wide and body tensing—until a more sincere laugh bubbled up from her chest. “Never happened, okay? Y’ just kicked my ass. But I… I know you’re sorry and…” Her tongue stumbled. “Thank you.”
She was quiet for another moment—but when he fell back off the log, she laughed again. She settled down next to him, rolling onto her pale belly, her dark-tipped tail dancing up in the air briefly before it fell against her legs again. “Mmmhmm,” she agreed, glancing up at the sky. “I like clear nights. Used t’ tell where I was by the stars.” The skill was unpolished as she became more intimate with the lands of Nova Scotia, but she was sure she would be back to navigating by the heavens once she ventured out a bit farther. Until then, she was content to stay in the pack territory; Inferni had everything she needed if she worked at it.
Another serious moment passed briefly as she reached over to prod his muscular arm, pale blue eyes fixing on his face among his dark hair. “I’m gonna be glad to have a friend like you,” Vesper told him warmly, and smiled.
Vesper Optime by Nat; table code from the Mentors!
<style>
p.template-credit {text-indent:0px; text-align:left; font-size:10px; font-style:italic; width:425px; text-align:center; margin:0px auto;}
.vesoptime-box {float:right;}
.vesoptime {font-family:georgia, serif; font-size: 12px; letter-spacing:0px; word-spacing:2px; text-align: left; margin:0px 25px;}
.vesoptime .words {font-size:30px; font-family: 'Gloria Hallelujah'; text-align:right; line-height:20px; padding:0px 5px; text-shadow:#000000 1px 1px 1px;}
.vesoptime p.ooc {font-style:italic; font-family:arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:12px; text-align:justify; text-indent:0px; padding:0px 5px;}
.vesoptime p.ooc + p {padding:0px 5px;}
.vesoptime .wc {text-transform: uppercase; font-weight:bold;}
.vesoptime p {text-indent: 25px; margin:0px; padding:5px;}
.vesoptime b {letter-spacing:1px; font-family:georgia, serif; font-size:12px; letter-spacing:-.05em;}
</style>
[/html]