The forest is slowly falling asleep; the canopy above, once a sea of green, is now a kaleidoscope of fiery reds, golden yellows, and rich oranges. Sunlight filters through the vibrant foliage, casting a warm, dappled glow on the forest floor.

Béla walks quietly, chirping and whistling to himself, entertained by his own company for the moment. Each heavy paw crunches the dry leaves under them, the noise loud and fun in the otherwise silent forest. It’s not long before the boy spies a particularly large pile of autumn leaves and his eyes widen in delight, and without hesitation he runs head-long toward the leaves and, at the last second, jumps to launch himself into it.

Find me where the wild things are

I lose my balance on these eggshells You tell me to tread, I'd rather be a wild one instead. Don't wanna hang around the in crowd. The cool kids aren't cool to me. They're not cooler than we are. So aye, we brought our drum and this is how we dance. We will carve our place into time and space, We will find our way, or we'll make a way. We have no apologies for being. Find me where the wild things are. Find me where the wild things are. Find me where the wild things are.

code by corvus || art by drifty

He clung to the shadows, as he always had.

As he likely always would.

It was cooler than the awful height of midsummer, but the day was clear and bright and altogether too cheery for the shadowed creature. Drenched in darkness already, he chose often to shroud himself even further, to slip quietly and unobserved through the shadows, the shade, any kind of obstacle that would prevent notice from others. And thus far, it had kept him alive. Perhaps not thriving, never that. But surviving, living and breathing at least. Certainly it had not been without its run-ins, the scars hidden beneath scraggly, inky black fur a testament to the times when he’d gotten it wrong. How he hated to be wrong - each one burned more for the shame than the initial injury. In the worst possible ways, Fen wished he had the ability to simply vanish entirely, beneath the ground or into the darkness forever, unseen and unbothered.

Today was not going to be that day.

He found himself in a Grove, the young forest spacious but with enough undergrowth for the feline to curl himself up beneath a large pile of autumnal leaves. A carefully curated, meticulously piled hideout with which he could peer from the depths and watch, wait for nightfall. He hadn’t thought that any would disturb him, hadn’t considered anyone carefree enough to launch themselves headfirst into the collection. In fact, he had settled himself for a foolish nap, head on curled up paws, when suddenly he found himself very much disturbed. As the weight of another creature crashed into him, the melanistic tiger exploded into motion.

Like a dragon rearing from its golden horde or a crocodile detonating from the waters edge to capture an unsuspecting zebra snout, Fen reared forward and outwards, the feral roar-hiss of his species erupting from a mouth full of fangs. Ears pinned, arms shunted forward to try and shove the intruder out of his space, his ferocious rebuttal was almost blind in its delivery. Leaves everywhere, flying every which direction, he could not get a solid picture of the buffoon who had landed almost on top of him. "Get the fuck away from me." He snarled, thick black tail lashing out behind him as finally, shadowed eyes focused on the gold and white fur of his would-be attacker.

@Béla
"SPEECH."

code by scorpixia♡︎

It isn’t exactly the soft landing Bela had been expecting.

In the explosion of crisp autumn leaves, Bela lands on something warm and fluffy and very much alive with a soft ooph of surprise. His laughter dies in his throat as that alive thing moves, quicker than lightning, and Bela sees only teeth and shadows as he tries to backpedal, too slow. Something hits him hard, a shove that unbalances him enough for his long, uncoordinated legs to tangle between themselves and send him tumbling, landing on his ass amongst the scattered leaves.

It takes all of a second for the golden boy’s vision to clear, brown eyes blinking in the sight of a - a shadow? - snarling from the middle of the now destroyed pile. Leaves still fall around the creatures, settling on Bela’s unkempt mane and shoulders. It isn’t until one lands right on the tip of his nose that the boy suddenly breaks the tense silence with a laugh, going crossed eyed to follow the small golden leaf’s path before it settles.

"Sorry!" He chirps, untangling his legs and standing up to shake himself off. Big ears flick forward, sending a few small bits of debris outward. Now that the commotion is over, he can properly look at the other creature, all teeth and snarls that do very little to disway the liger. In the filtered light, Bela can just make out faint dark lines across the smaller, dark frame, spread out in a familiar enough pattern, where the sunlight hits him directly. A tiger? "I didn't see you. Why're you hiding under leaves?"

@Fen

Find me where the wild things are

I lose my balance on these eggshells You tell me to tread, I'd rather be a wild one instead. Don't wanna hang around the in crowd. The cool kids aren't cool to me. They're not cooler than we are. So aye, we brought our drum and this is how we dance. We will carve our place into time and space, We will find our way, or we'll make a way. We have no apologies for being. Find me where the wild things are. Find me where the wild things are. Find me where the wild things are.

code by corvus || art by drifty

Once it had been a tiny, abandoned cub hissing and spitting at those who intruded upon his hiding places. Now, he was bigger (though admittedly somewhat smaller than others of his species), his explosions tended to have more power behind them. His shove was enough to shunt the larger golden boy backwards, away from the piled leaves and the angry tiger beneath. It wasn’t enough for Fen to feel safe, it wasn’t far enough for him to relax his posture - ears slicked back against his head, black eyes narrowed, muzzled wrinkled to show fangs and fur sticking on end in a naturally defensive posture. Even as he watched the other hit the floor, his rump taking a jarring - there appeared to be no aggression in the golden boys expression or posture. The sprinkling of leaves around the pair seemed only to amuse him - as one small golden leaf landed on his nose, the male laughed.

Laughed.

Like he had not a care in the world. As though he had not just been shoved forcibly from the pile of leaves by a hissing, spitting ball of rage. Fen’s expression slackened, the fierce defensiveness melting into suspicion and uncertainty. What did it mean? Why would he react like that? Given a role-reversal, Fen probably would have come back swinging, even if he had been the instigator. The jovial apology was easy to fall from the golden boys lips (a feat Fen had thus found almost impossible to replicate in other situations) as he stood and shook himself free of much of the debris, while the black tiger remained tense in his exploded nest of leafage.

The excuse rolled smoothly from the other’s tongue, claiming not to have seen him and swiftly followed by a (reasonably valid) question about why he’d been there in the first place. For a moment, Fen considered the implication of his words - he had intended not to be seen, had wanted to remain hidden. He just hadn’t counted on a leaf-jumping fool to disturb him. "What are you doing, fucking about in leaves?" He queried back, finally pushing himself up from his crouched position to stand. He did not bother to shake free any of the debris clinging to his shaggy and unkempt coat - what was the point, afterall. He wanted to scold the boy further, tell him he could have been hurt. "This could have been a trap - an ambush tactic." Fen snarled, muzzle once again scrunching in agitation.

@Béla
"SPEECH."

code by scorpixia♡︎

Nothing seems to soothe that anger, but Béla feels a twinge of guilt for having caused it - he had startled the other boy, after all. No one likes being woken up suddenly.

But the other boy seems more interested in demanding his own questions, going on to point out it could’ve been a trap, and the liger’s brows shoot up into the thick fringe of his mane. That little twinge of guilt fades away rather quickly. This tiger is just… mean. Béla is fairly certain tigers can be prickly and aloof; most of them prefer living alone, after all, but this isn’t just that. Surely.

His mother isn’t the exception, right?

"Well, it wasn’t a very good trap - you fell asleep." The boy points out with an haughty jerk of his chin, ears flattening. "Besides, I was just playing." And who would want to set a trap for a random yearling running around the forest anyway? He scuffs his paw along the ground before him, sending up a flutter of leaves. He feels like a scolded child - and this boy can't be that much older.

@Fen

Find me where the wild things are

I lose my balance on these eggshells You tell me to tread, I'd rather be a wild one instead. Don't wanna hang around the in crowd. The cool kids aren't cool to me. They're not cooler than we are. So aye, we brought our drum and this is how we dance. We will carve our place into time and space, We will find our way, or we'll make a way. We have no apologies for being. Find me where the wild things are. Find me where the wild things are. Find me where the wild things are.

code by corvus || art by drifty

The sunshine demeanour dimmed.

Whilst Fen was not very good at all when it came to reading others, he was also not blind either. Social situations, cues and body language were not his forte, having spent most of his life actively avoiding everyone and everything. But with a face as openly expressive as the golden boy had, it would have been difficult to miss. The raise of his brows towards his mane and the laughter that seemed to die from his lips - perhaps he realised what a stupid thing it had been to do. On the other paw, as the adrenaline started to calm in his body, Fen started to think that maybe the boy hadn’t meant any harm by what he’d done. He certainly hadn’t continued his ‘attack’ and Fen was forced to admit that perhaps the perceived danger wasn’t so serious.

Until the hard words came back at him.

His own ears had remained flattened, but now the haughty jerk of a chin and the equally flat ears of his opponent were noted. His body tensed, ready to either turn and run or launch an attack when the words actually registered. "I wasn’t fucking sleeping." He hissed, shoulders rising up towards his head. (He had been). "What does that mean? Playing?" Fen sneered, though there was genuine confusion underlying the derision in his tone. He didn’t know, or inherently understand, the word or its context in this situation.

@Béla
"SPEECH."

code by scorpixia♡︎

Béla stares, brown eyes molten with annoyance and some lingering curiosity. As angry as the other boy is, it does little to the liger. There’s no real threat here, not one that Bela can see. He’s too big, been too safe and too sheltered, to think that the tiger - or anyone, really - can or would hurt him. The idea that he might one way get hurt has never occurred to him.

So for all the hissing and snarling, to the golden boy it is just a display of anger, something to take seriously only so far as he doesn’t want to upset the tiger further, not because it might end up in a fight. He’s defensive about being called out for napping, so Bela doesn’t push. It’s what he says next - the question - that draws his attention anyway.

"Playing?" Bela repeats, blinking his confusion. "Having fun, joking around…" His voice trails off as he realises this isn’t a language issue, but one of understanding. The tiger doesn’t know what it means to play. Innocently, he asks, "Don’t you play games with your family?"

@Fen

Find me where the wild things are

I lose my balance on these eggshells You tell me to tread, I'd rather be a wild one instead. Don't wanna hang around the in crowd. The cool kids aren't cool to me. They're not cooler than we are. So aye, we brought our drum and this is how we dance. We will carve our place into time and space, We will find our way, or we'll make a way. We have no apologies for being. Find me where the wild things are. Find me where the wild things are. Find me where the wild things are.

code by corvus || art by drifty

It almost riles him more, the lack of aggression in return. It’s almost worse, the fact that while the boy could certainly display annoyance, it did not escalate further. If Fen was fire, then this golden boy was grounded earth - unwavering and steady. It was infuriating. But it also enticed his flames to simmer slightly, to calm enough that he at least didn’t immediately leave the area or attack. It was a pattern of behaviour that had worked before, that had worked well and certainly one that he would use again. But for this brief moment, he felt neither compulsion. His sneered question was met with a more blatant confusion and briefly, the shadowed males ears lifted from atop his head.

Having fun - joking around.

None of those words helped and the consternation on his face remained. It would be hard to say there was innocence on his face - it was mostly a look of prickled confusion and annoyance as it did not become any clearer what the boy was talking about. And then, like a thorn in the paw or a slash of claws across his chest, the innocent question that felled him. Family. His face shuttered, an utter icy wall that fell so swiftly over his features that the change seemed almost instantaneous. This was not anger, this was no longer fire - this was a complete shutdown. "No." A finality, a block - the word itself wasn’t even spoken in anger but a desolate and definitive barrier. "And you’re fucking stupid for doing it." Whatever it was, whatever it meant, if one needed family to do it then it was unworthy of his time and attention.

@Béla
"SPEECH."

code by scorpixia♡︎

Something shifts in the tiger’s expression, but Bela has no reference for it. From fire, he turns to ice. Cold and distant. The twinkle of light that had been in his bottomless black eyes dims, and dies. Somehow, it’s worse than the hissing and spitting hellcat he’d been only a moment ago.

Maybe in a few years, with a bit more experience, Bela will understand Fen’s defensive anger. He’ll understand where the hate comes from. But right now, he is just a sheltered boy facing the outcome of a life he has no concept of - one where family is not a word to be cherished, but hated.

"I’m not." He says quietly, not heated or defensive but simply stating a fact that cannot be shaken. Bela is many things - loud, obnoxious, silly, and sometimes a bit naive - but he isn’t stupid. Just because he likes games, he likes adventuring, doesn’t mean he’s stupid.

And hearing someone say it shouldn’t hurt. But it does.

Bela isn’t as kind as his mother, unfortunately. His father has had an equal amount of influence on his genetics, including his personality. And like Dragos, Bela doesn’t deal with insults and hurt in the best ways.

He stands a little taller, eyes narrowing. "I won’t ask if you play with friends, cuz with your attitude you don’t have any."

@Fen

Find me where the wild things are

I lose my balance on these eggshells You tell me to tread, I'd rather be a wild one instead. Don't wanna hang around the in crowd. The cool kids aren't cool to me. They're not cooler than we are. So aye, we brought our drum and this is how we dance. We will carve our place into time and space, We will find our way, or we'll make a way. We have no apologies for being. Find me where the wild things are. Find me where the wild things are. Find me where the wild things are.

code by corvus || art by drifty

The low, calm rebuttal and the cool assurance that came with it threw the boy for a moment. Once again, he had expected a flare, the bright burst of anger in return and it had not come. But the golden male had asserted himself nonetheless. Fen had no idea what to do with that kind of reaction, had nothing to base his own natural inclination towards explosives on. It left him stumped, unable to read the other boys expression now, unable to understand the situation and what it might mean, where he could go from here. The straightening of the larger male caused an equal response from the shadowed creature, their postures mirrored even if their height difference was clear.

- you don’t have any.

Family, friends, anything really. The boy is not wrong, even if the words had been deliberately hurtful. They were like a bee sting on the back of a rampaging honey badger - expected, fleeting, reinforcing. His expectation had been met - everyone was just out to hurt everyone else. "I don’t want or need friends." He snarled, body already moving backwards and away from the desecrated pile of leaves. "Especially not ones like you." His final jab, the barb that would keep the golden male away for good. Even if, somewhere deep in his gut and entirely unnoticed by him, there was a twinge that said that might not be the truth.

/exit
@Béla
"SPEECH."

code by scorpixia♡︎