He knew they were together. The coyote couldn't kid himself about that. It wasn't like this was the first time Aro had slept around. He'd even ended up impregnating a couple females. Raoth had just pretended that he'd been special to Aro. Close to him. He was always there after all, always willing to do anything Aro asked him to do. The glances that the wolf shared with Sidra however couldn't be ignored. Even worse, he wasn't capable of hating Sidra, since the bubbly female would just bounce right over to him and do her best to become his friend. He hated all of it.
Perhaps he should just leave. That wasn't the first time he'd thought it. It certainly wouldn't be the last. The coyote had dozens of reasons why he should just leave the pack and take off. This just happened to be the one that was causing him to attempt it this time. Hopefully he would actually get past the borders this time before the urge to return overwhelmed him yet again. No matter how many times Raoth tried to escape, it was always the same. No one even bothered chasing after him. They didn't need to. This time would be different though. Taking a deep breath Raoth stared out, and broke into a run. Now he would be free.
Sebastian was bored again. His hyperactive mind was far too easily dulled by such a thing. There was so little to do these days. Autumn was slowly getting to grips with the land, Jazper was mated, Hadley was mated, Sebastian wouldn't be surprised to hear that Dixie and Wayne were finally going to make it official any day now. The pack had seemed so much younger when he had first joined, despite its history. Perhaps he was simply growing jaded.
The Italian lingered in the tree branches of the wood that covered much of Casa di Cavalieri's land, his bow and arrows left at home in favour of two long daggers. He needed to improve his close-combat skills, as well as his hunting skills. He couldn't always rely on long-range weapons to save him.
It was not long before a the steady sound of paws thudding on the ground in a run grabbed his attention. Sebastian leaned against the bark of an oak, both paws supported on a single steady branch as he peered down at the forest floor.
As the man appeared, Sebastian leaped to a lower branch and squatted onto his haunches, looking down at the coyote.
"Chasing something, Messere?" he asked mildly. The man had Casa's scent woven within his pelt pretty strongly. Probably wasn't an intruder.
A sudden movement above his head panicked the coyote. Trained to fight he leaped backwards, skidding wildly on the ground as he tried to regain his balance. It had been a sharp change in direction, slamming into the tree behind him. His lips curled automatically, fists tightened and ready to strike at whatever was there. Flaming orange eyes settled on a small wolf, resting on the tree. The bright red coat caught his eyes first, a bold white pattern across the chest. How could he have missed that sight?
His gaze rose up to the owner of the bright fur, eyes gleaming down at him. It was just a member of the pack. There was no need for him to leap into defensive mode. Uncurling he brushed at his body, pretending that he hadn't been doing anything. Shaking his head he stepped over, a sharp predatory gaze examining the small male. Raoth was bigger than him. Not by a lot, but he was tall for a coyote, and dwarfed the smaller wolves. He definitely fell into that category. Looking around he wondered what the wolf was doing in the tree. Pointing up he gestured, puzzlement now in his gaze.
Oh, he was jumpy. A skittish coyote, it seemed. One rather taller than him, a bit bulkier too. But completely silent, which was rather odd. A vow of silence, or something wrong with his tongue? Perhaps it had been cut out. Who knew? Well, obviously the coyote did. But he didn't seem quite capable of telling, even if he were so inclined.
Sebastian neatly slipped down, catching the branch in his hands before dropping to the ground in front of the tall coyote. The Italian rested one hand on his hip, letting his other arm hang down by his side as he flashed the bigger male a bright smile.
"You cannot speak," he surmised with a sagely nod to the fuzzy man before him. "What are you asking? What I was doing up there?"
The wolf's movements was smooth, wrapping around the tree and slipping down with the ease of a gymnist. He kind of reminded Raoth of Dhiate with that slim form of his. Not as feminine, but still pretty close. Even the pose was similar, confident and showing off hips. It was a good thing that he wasn't like Dhiate, or Raoth would have been finding himself extremely uncomfortable at that moment. Instead he kept his focus on the pack member, wondering if he always climbed trees.
Snorting Raoth nodded his head. Didn't he realize that he would speak if he could? It was far too obvious, really. Unless he knew from Aro. Raoth hoped the guy wouldn't find out about his missing tongue. As long as he kept his mouth shut and didn't forget himself that wouldn't happen. Nodding again Raoth looked back at the tree. He could probably climb it. Why anyone would want to do that was the mystery though.
Oh, so the coyote had some attitude despite his disability. His sharp gaze was kept on the foxy man, despite the snorting that indicated his thoughts upon the archer's question. Sebastian raised an eyebrow. Normally, those with disabilities were more timid than that. Of course, Sebastian did like the fire that the taller male had within him.
Sebastian nodded wisely. "I was surveying the land," he informed the silent man. "Seeing prey, familiarising myself with the woods. It would be vital, should we need to defend ourselves against attack." Defence was vital. The best offence, in his opinion. The Italian looked him up and down. "Can you communicate in any other fashion?" he enquired.
Surveying the land? He listened sharply to Sebastian's description, taking in what he'd gained from that brief lookout. It would be a good idea to know the woods off by heart. Raoth knew some sections of it fairly well, thanks to the fact that he rarely tried to escape taking the same route. He could still increase his knowledge of the pack by a fair bit though. The borders he could describe backwards. But when it came to other parts, even ones as simple as parts of the fort where Aro didn't normally roam, Raoth was woefully inadequate in his knowledge.
Tilting his head at the question Raoth considered it. He spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to talk, not that he had been very successful at it. He could do some basic writing though. He mimed writing on paper, glancing back over to the brightly colored male. His vocabulary was woefully small, really only able to talk about basic subjects. He could improvise though. He pointed to the tree, then the red wolf, cupping at his ear. What had the wolf learned up there?
Hmm. It was difficult, communicating without the spoken word. Sebastian had never been good at charades, and could only guess what the silent male meant when he cupped his hand to his ear and pointed up at the tree and the Italian. His brow furrowed slightly. Well, that had probably meant he could write. Hmm. Loath as Sebastian was to give up his precious paper, it would be needed for this venture to work.
"One moment, handsome." Sebastian stepped smartly around the back of the tree he had been leaping around, bringing his satchel with him as he sauntered back to where the coyote stood, flashing him a grin as he rifled through its contents before he managed to pick out a cheap square of paper and a pencil. He held the precious objects out to the lean canine.
"Perhaps you could tell me your name?" he suggested. "I am Sebastian."
It didn't look like he understood. Raoth had done his best to make his intentions obvious. Unfortunately not everyone held a talent for figuring out what the mute coyote was trying to say. He was forced to exaggerate, only his emotions ever getting across in the large scowl that appeared when he realized that the wolf couldn't understand him. He blinked in surprise at being called handsome, not expecting that from another male. Shifting a little Raoth wondered what the wolf was thinking of.
His expression was one of calm curiosity when the other returned, passing him a small piece of paper and a pencil. Understanding he nodded, wishing that he could communicate with more ease. Sebastian. It was a relief to actually know that. Raoth hadn't had a clue to how he was going to ask for the other's name. Just being told it was much better. Staring down at the paper the coyote's ears flicked back. He didn't actually know how his name was spelled. He could still try though. Rath. Wat c? Passing it back he waited anxiously, hoping it was good enough.
/late late/
Well. Someone certainly seemed grumpy. At least the enormous scowl on the mute man's muzzle was wiped away by the expression of surprise, and then calm again when Sebastian placed the paper and pencil into his hand. Perhaps the poor dear needed to lose some stress. Maybe a visit to the hot springs was in order.
Ah. Sebastian took the paper back gingerly, squinting slightly.
"What... cuh- oh. See." Sebastian looked up expectantly. "Rath, hmm?" Sebastian took the pencil and wrote down the correct spelling of "what" and "see" beneath the coyote's writing, just to be helpful.
"That's how you write it," he added, just in case. "Regardless... I did not see much, I fear. Just the land, unchanged as ever." The Italian flicked his ear and swivelled it in a neat circle. "And why were you out here, hmm?" he asked mildly, passing the pencil and paper back.
Sebastian gingerly took the paper back, stepping backwards to give more space to the coyote. Raoth's ears flicked forwards, wondering why the red wolf did that. It wasn't like he was going to bite. Well, at least not without coming up with an excuse to do it first. Since communicating what that excuse could be was difficult, Sebastian was fairly safe from Raoth's fiery temper. He waited as the wolf sounded it out, scowling a little. He didn't like that he was still learning how to write, and hoped that the wolf would think it was because he thought he was being stupid over trouble reading it, rather than embarrassment at the lack of skill.
The help only made the young male more prickly, his features darkening as a flush rose up. He moved to snatch the paper back, knowing that he'd be looking at the spelling later so he wouldn't make that mistake again and hating having it pointed out by a stranger. Asked why he was out Raoth's ears flattened. That would be more difficult to explain. Taking the pencil he fidgeted around a little, wondering if he could come up with a decent excuse on why he'd come out. Patrol.
Sebastian took on a knowing half-smirk as Raoth snatched the paper back. Evidently he was a fairly proud soul. Poor bunny. He was likely learning to read. Who was teaching him, though? Jazper, maybe? The Italian didn't know anyone else in Casa who could read, though he didn't actually know anyone who couldn't read either. Perhaps an investigation was in order.
"It is nothing to be embarrassed about, cara mia," he said smoothly. "We never stop learning." And even beginning to read was a step further than most luperci.
Sebastian peered at the written word.
"Patrol," he mused, looking at the coyote knowingly. A likely story, he was sure. "You have an interesting method of patrolling, Rath." Running in a straight line, rather than following the curves and contours of Casa's edges. Still, Sebastian did not mind.
"Who is teaching you to read?" he asked, moving the subject back to one that Raoth would probably feel more comfortable with. At least a little, he hoped.
What was he smirking back? Raoth's scowl deepened, knowing that he hadn't gotten away with it. It was none of his business if Raoth didn't know how to write! He was just learning, and he knew more than a lot of canines did. Snorting slightly he let the wolf take the paper back and read it, humiliated and wishing that he could put him back in his place. He didn't care for this embarrassment that was burning inside him. He waited, and this time Sebastian didn't have any trouble figuring out what he had written. Of course not. Raoth was too smart for something like that.
His fangs flashed up at Sebastian's doubt, straightening up. He patrolled a lot of the time! So this one time he hadn't actually been patrolling. Catching his lie like that was still hard. Asked who was teaching him to read Raoth relaxed, accepting back the paper. He started to write out the name, and froze. He didn't know how Aro's name was actually spelled. How was he supposed to tell Sebastian who was teaching him? He stared at the paper, fidgeting for some time, before deciding on what he thought was an acceptable answer. Master. He passed it back, no shame in his eyes for the word he'd chosen to describe the tuxedo male.
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