The Floor is Lava

 Although he was hesitant to leave his new wife to continue on his travels, time was ticking and Crux was feeling the pressing urge to head home. Yet... he moved on, traveling south, with the intention of turning westward after a time. It wasn't that he wanted to avoid the mountains in particular, he just wanted to explore more and did not feel that it would be right to go on another long expedition for quite some time.

 He longed for home, but he also longed for knowledge.

 Up ahead, he saw a lake. A watering hole, of sorts, with a river stretching southwards. He inhaled the sweet grassland air and approached the edge of the water. If Mordecai was near, he would surely enjoy the rest in the water after their trek through the mountains and their interesting experience with the wolves of Elysium.

 They were lovely ladies and gentlemen, especially Harper, who had instantly enraptured him. It had been known from the start that he could not stay with her, but to visit and travel to see one another would be a necessity. Especially if their nighttime adventures proved fruitful. The idea brought a flurry of butterflies into his heart as he considered the possibilities...

 Little Cruxes and Harpers running around, getting into mischief.

 He couldn't wait.

---

@Mordecai if you want to join, feel free!

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 "Lookout bellooooooww!" Came the below as the large brown male ran pell-mell out of the neighboring woodlands and straight towards the water. The reason for his speed? Well, he'd found some absolutely delicious honey. Honey that the bees were not keen on sharing. He'd been lucky to get away with no stings but he hadn't gotten away without a swarm of bees following him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had to run like that. Fortunately, everything seemed to know to get out of his way as he hurdled through the woodlands and straight towards the plains. His tongue lolled out of his mouth, his breath came in short pants --he was not a distance runner or any sort of runner really-- as he tried to outpace the bees.

 The good thing for him was that the bees had ceased their pursuit after they'd broken out of the treeline, the bad thing was that he hadn't noticed this fact. Not even after he'd seen the familiar white shape, nor after he'd crashed straight into the water with a huge wave and splash.

 He lay underneath the water for a moment, the only thing visible was his dark nose as he breathed air but kept his body underneath the water... hiding, unwilling to pop up and see if he'd be stung.

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 Enter Mordecai.

 Crux looked up, watching with a bemused expression as his friend made a running dive into the water. He noticed with a blink of concern that there was a strange mass of shadow following him. One and one together made three and he recognized that his friend was running from a swarm of bees, of all things. This sort of thing, sadly, did not surprise Crux so he watched curiously to see what his friend would do. They seemed to splinter away but Mordi was still running.

 Into the water the brown wolf leaped and Crux wandered towards him, wading into the water as it rippled aggressively around him, thanks to his friend's sudden voluminous form taking up space that once was water.

 He came as close as he could and would reach out with his nose to nudge his friend up, keeping a wary eye on the forest to see if any stragglers would appear and come to sting them. “Offending the locals, are you?” he'd muse aloud with a wry smile whenever Mordecai eventually surfaced - since he was sure to eventually...

 Right?

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 Oh jeez, oh jeez! He could see a shadow approaching him! The Rubenesque man began to tremble, closing his eyes as he expected the worst to happen... except it didn't. He opened an eye and realized that those were paws. White paws. Large white paws. And that nose poking him... He burst from the water at Crux's prompting. His dripping wet face, with the ugly scar across the bridge of his nose was creased into a happy smile. "CRUX!" He felt like it had been forever! Like, you know, maybe a couple of days but still. He wanted a Mordi-hug right now! He leaned forward with his forelegs extended and wrapped his friend up in a hug. "You rescued me from the bees! I'm so happy to see you!" He held the white monarch in a hug for a moment until he remembered that he'd been asked a question.

 He leaned back then and began to speak about his valiant escape from the bees, "Aww man! Those guys are so easy to make mad! How do bears do it? All I wanted was a liddle taste of honey and they just go-- BZZTBZZTBZZT-- and start chasin' me! I don't think I've ever run so fast in my life and--and-- Oh! How have you been?" Oh wow, he could really go on about things if he let himself get carried away but he wanted to hear what Crux had been up to the past couple of days. He knew it would have to be something interesting. "You find any cool new packs or... OH! Or any lovely ladies?" Said with a cheeky grin and an attempt at an elbow nudge to the star-studded man.

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 At his friend's excited reaction to their reunion, Crux couldn't help but let his tail fall into waving, grinning down at his friend as Mordecai leaped up and wrapped his arms around him. He pressed his head into his friend's neck, laughing all the while, until Mordi remembered himself and landed back in the water, splashing them both.

 The brown wolf continued on about bees and Crux listened intently, nodding along and taking slow steps towards the shore, hoping to encourage Mordi to come with him onto land without thinking too much about it. After all, they were standing in water and who knew what sort of mean crocodiles or snakes lived under the surface, waiting to have Leg of Wolf.

 At the question, he grinned. “Yeah, actually! Both,” he gave a little laugh, almost nervous, “Met a couple packs - Vanderfell Woods and Elysium.” How would he put the next part without seeming really fucking silly. I mean, he'd met the lady and immediately gotten married...??? The idea of marriage so quickly was so bizarre to him that he still couldn't believe it. “Met Elysium's leader's sister and uh, yeah, now we're married and are allies with them.” He'd grin, “It was super fast, I still can't believe it.”

 He'd let Mordi freak out (he expected he might, anyways) then would go on to say, “They want to have a celebration feast and told me to invite you and anyone else,” He was sure his friend would love to hear about a feast.

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 It was difficult to keep talking to someone when they were heading somewhere else! So, while he was happily chatting away, he wasn't letting Valentine get away! He got up and followed along with him. It was a good thing the monochrome male had started heading that way or else the brown wolf would have happily kept on chatting right in the water.

 Once safely on shore, he would shake out his coat and then remember that he wasn't alone. "Ooops! Sorry!" He said apologetically with his warm brown eyes. Although, his mood wasn't dampened for long because Crux shared the best news! "Ooooo!" Vanderfell and Elysium! That sounded cool! How productive his friend had been! And what's more, the best what yet to come! The brown wolf practically bounced on his --very large-- paws! "OH MY GOSH CONGRATULATIONS! OH MAN! WHAT AWESOME NEWS!" An excited freakout was exactly what happened. The wolf dipped into a play bow, bouncing almost nimbly on his paws for someone so large. "Are you going to have a wedding?! OH OH! Can I be your best man?" He didn't know quite what that entailed but he knew it was a good friend thing to do!

 And then it just kept getting BETTER! "A FEAST?! I LOVE FEASTS!" As if one couldn't tell just by looking at him. "Can Valentine come?! Can our whole pack come?" This was just so exciting!

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 Crux waved his tail happily as his friend kept up with him - glad to not have had to voice his concerns about staying in the water.

 Once they were on dry land, he'd shake off. He wasn't nearly as soaked as his friend was, but his undersides and legs had gotten quite wet in the walk into the water and now that they were exposed to the air, it was quite chilly. After hearing Mordecai's apology, he realized that they had in fact shaken at the same exact moment and he hadn't noticed the spray of water coming onto him at the same time as water was coming off. “Ah, it's fine!” He'd grin.

 The starlit boy grinned as his friend bounced around, excitement just as he'd expected. He laughed, “I'm not sure about a wedding, honestly!” That wasn't something he'd ever had in his birth pack so he honestly... wasn't too sure what a wedding was. And a best man? “You'll always be my best man, though!” Best man and best friend!

 Mordi asked about the entire pack coming and he smiled in thought, “Well, we need some wolves to stay back and protect the territory... and I think we should wait a moon or two before heading their way once we get home, since we've been away so long already.” This trip was going on a lot further than he'd hoped. Yet... a moon or two would be perfect to check if his first night with Harper had been productive.

 He did not mind if it hadn't been, but if it did, he didn't want to leave it too late to find out. “But whoever wants to come can, I think. They seemed eager to meet everyone.” He hadn't sensed any ill will in the offer, so he didn't have any qualms. He figured Hawking would want to go and perhaps Palace, but he hadn't chatted with all too many of the others to know whether they would be interested in this feast or not.

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 "Aaww, why not?" He'd say when Crux responded that he wasn't sure about a wedding. "Then you get to say a whole buncha sappy stuff to your wife in front of a bunch of wolves that care about you!" He wasn't sure why but it was a nice tradition. Although, he couldn't definitively remember the last wedding he'd attended. He did remember some sort of vows or something though. Although the next thing had him blushing... or rather, blushing underneath his dark fur. If someone touches his nose or ears they would have felt the heat flooding to them. "Aww, your my best man too, Prince Crux." He said with a modest smile.

 "Oooooohhh, yeah! That's smart!" Always the smart one of the duo, he was. The brown wolf attempted to nod solemnly at that point but it was ruined when he started grinning again. "This is so exciting!" He bounced up on his paws, nubby tail wagging happily. "So, uh, when are we heading back home?" Were they looping back around now or would they have some more nights were they were traveling in another direction.

 He couldn't really remember.

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 Crux grinned and gave a bit of a shrug. “Well,” he started with a soft laugh, “I'm poly, so I wouldn't want any of my future wives or husbands to feel bad if they didn't get the same sort of wedding thing.” His tail wagged in response to his friend's reaction and answer about best men.

 He listened with a grin as his friend couldn't help but grin even through more solemn discussions.

 When were they heading home? “Soon. I want to stop by the Nightwalkers and Empyrean on the way home, so we have to swing by the forests that are this way and then head north. If you want to head on home before me, though, don't feel held back!” Their trip was taking a long long time and he was itching to get back home to Hawking and Kore, and the rest of them of course!

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 Poly? He tilted his head to the side briefly, obviously confused about the term. What did that have to do with husbands and wives? "Poly? You mean like them bugs that roll up when you poke them?" Poly... not rolly-polly... but he didn't know any better. "But what do those bugs have to do with husbands and wives... Oh! Wait, do you mean you date multiple people at once?" Such a thing had never occurred to him... a lot never occurred to him and he still didn't see the connection with that and bugs... but he certainly wasn't one to judge. So, that was why he didn't want a wedding.

 Oooo more visits to neighbors! The large fellow shook his head, "Oh no no, I'm not going to leave! I gotta make sure you're well-guarded!" Even though Crux was more than capable of taking care of himself without the rotund guardsman. "'Sides, I wanna see where these other packs live!" And if they had any interesting new food items And what they were like! He was a lazy fellow but also a somewhat curious one. If he was given the chance to see these Nightwalkers and Empyrean, then he was more than happy to do so. "So, uh, you know why they're called 'Nightwalkers'? Is it 'cause they run around only at night?" He asked, tapping his chin ponderously with a damp paw.

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 Crux gave a soft laugh, shaking his head at the bug comments. “The second one, yep. I had three moms, kind of. So... it was always kind of the norm.” Other families didn't have the same situations, he knew, but it had been his norm. Now... it wasn't quite the same as he wanted to make for himself. His mothers... two had been lovers and the third was their god.

 She had claimed them for herself as her harem, which was also different from what he was thinking of. They had been more possessions than lovers, but he had never understood that until he grew old enough to know better.

 That wasn't what it was like for him.

 His tail waved as Mordecai refused to leave. “Alright! I didn't see any packs here in the plains so far so I guess they're more in the forest and mountains.” His goal was to go south along the rivers and plains before taking a right and heading into the forest. After all, he wanted to make sure he didn't go right past their potential allies on the route up. The whole reason he was heading into the woods was to meet them and figure out where their territory was, after all.

 And, you know, see if there were any ladies around for Mordecai to meet up with and form a connection.

 He considered the question about Nightwalkers and gave a shrug and a laugh. “Honestly, not sure! That might be the case, though I think it was daytime when I met their warlord. Maybe they call themselves that because it makes them sound scarier and more serious.” He was actually quite nervous about meeting up with them again. It would be a lie to say that Vengeance hadn't intimidated him, though physically they were fairly similarly built. Crux kind of felt like he had with his mentor, Garrison. Nervous, wanting to not make a fool of himself, but oh so very young.

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 Mordecai made an awed "wow" sound when Crux said he'd had three moms. He'd never heard of such a thing! Maybe two moms or two dads but never three. He must have been so loved with three parents going around giving all of the cuddles! He could only imagine such good things from someone that was your parent. Just a lot of love and encouragement. He couldn't remember his childhood but he'd felt like it was like that.

 "Me neither!" Mordecai said with a smile... although he hadn't particularly been looking either... Still! He was certain he would have scented something if there were pack wolves lying around. Nothing got past him except everything! He was also fairly excited to see the new areas that they were to explore and all of the packs. What would be lying in wait for them there?

 Oooohh, Crux's reasoning made more sense. "Oooohh, yeah, you're probably right!" He said with a chuckle. "Gonna have to be real serious around those guys, huh?" Especially if they wanted such a serious name! Mordecai hardly felt any fear about the name though, he was just more curious to see what they were like. "Hmm... wonder if I could fit in with a pack like that?" Could he be angry and nightwalker-y all the time? He didn't feel like he could. He was too happy most of the time. Even when he was fighting, he did it because he liked it.

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 Crux chuckled at his friend's awe.

 True, one might hear that he had three mothers and expected him to have been cared for and doted on by all three. Sadly, that hadn't been the case. While his birth mother was always near and often he would see her true mate, the third mother - their god - was so absent that he wasn't sure if he'd actually ever earned a minute of her time. She had cared more about power and control, seeing those she desired and claiming them as hers, to bother with actually being a good mom.

 “Yeaaah, I think so,” he said, in response to being serious around the pack. “I'm not too sure. Honestly, any pack that has a Warlord sounds a bit too war happy for me to enjoy.” He'd had quite enough of that in his birth pack to want to continue it here. “He seemed pretty serious, I think we should try to seem well composed and stuff if we do run into him.” Was it obvious Vengeance intimidated the shit out of him?

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 Hmmm... The brown man looked at his companion, eyes zeroing in as he tried very hard to read between the lines. Was Crux okay? Was he feeling nervous about the warlord? Mordecai wasn't the best at reading emotions unless they were quite overt but he could swear that there was something there. He smiled at his friend and would walk on over to sit riiiiight beside him so that his coat could touch Crux's. "Don't worry! I'll be on my best behavior, I'll make sure we look all tough'n'stuff too!" And then he would attempt to throw a paw over Crux's large shoulder, rather awkwardly because he was smaller. "An' I'll be right there with ya! It'll be great!" It was probably obvious that Mordecai was hardly intimidated by a warlord. Hell, if Crux told him to go toe-to-toe with fifteen warlords he'd do it with a smile on his face.

 "If he scares you at all, just try to imagine him with no fur on! That'll help some." Because no one looked intimdiating without any fur.

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 Crux smiled at his friend, tail waving gently.

 He truly appreciated Mordecai and the fun-loving attitude he gave life. He was strong, he assumed, and willing to battle - but was not one of those wolves who swept into his aggression and let it take on his whole personality. Some wolves believed that to be strong, you had to be constantly formidable, grimacing at anyone and everyone and not laughing at a joke. It was clear to Crux that that was not, could not be the case.

 To be strong, one did not need to lose their love of life.

 To be powerful, one did not need to flatten themself.

 He laughed at the suggestion. “I think I will do that!” His laughter subsided into a grin. “I think I'd like to take a nap before we carry on.” He glanced around, pondering the water hole and the plains beyond. Was there anywhere safe to nestle in for a short time?

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 He'd gotten his friend to smile and it warmed him that he was able to do so. Maybe he'd helped to ease Crux's anxieties just a little bit. Gosh, he sure hoped so. In any case, the man suggested his third favorite thing to do in the whole wide world. "Oh! Me too! Me too!" He said excitedly. "Let's find a nice spot and just snooze." It would be amazing!

 And with that, he would konk out wherever they decided to sleep so that he could be ready for the continuation of their adventure.

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