let's all go to McDonald's

^^Archon was pretty damn determined to find his Bam Bam. Not any ol’ stick (read: antler) was good enough, and while his growing collection of sticks was pretty impressive, none of those sticks was Bam Bam.

And living in the plains was not really the best place to hunt for them. There was a lot of travel involved. Either to the mountains and back, or to the Needle. Ie, a forest of some kind, where sticks lived.

And it was during one of his travels, partially towards the mountains, that he began to get the idea that maybe he needed to live somewhere else. And also, hey, there was a large pool here! He usually traveled further south, but since that zombie appearance, he’d been traveling more north and what did you know, maybe he would find a stick living in or around the pool.

Or, or! Maybe the fish would know where Bam Bam was. Not the most clever of them all, Archon jumped into the watering hole to ask the fish and oh… they all swam away from him. Every time. What the heck was going on here?

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There was a puppy—a puppy—playing in the water.

Splashing, and stepping. Seemingly chasing after the fish and… Failing. Failing, every single time to actually catch one, or whatever the fuck it was trying to do with them.

It wasn’t doing a very good job, whatever the fuck said job was.

He stood there and watched it for a second, then two, then three.

Time ticking on as it approached a cluster in the shallows, the fish scattering at its unsubtle approach, and repeat, ad nauseum.

Around him—them—the rain continued to fall.

Slow, and drizzling.

He decided he didn’t fucking care, about whatever the fuck it was trying to do.

He grunted.

Shook his head.

And circled where he stood, once, then twice, before bodily settling down, huffing. His head resting on his paws. His eyes falling shut. Hoping—hoping—that the thing didn’t have parents around about to maul him for committing the crime of attempted napping in its vicinity.

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There wasn't a lot of water amongst the plains, especially during the dry season. It was a reason Little Haven had settled at The Hireath, and why no other packs at all lived here. The only other pack that had done so, settled around this very barren lake. They had since moved on, but Olive remembered them to be an ornery, unwelcoming folk. That's what happened when there was resource scarcity, Olive sadly acknowledged. It turned good-natured wolves downright sour, every time.

It was the lake that drew Olive that day, and as watering holes tended to do, it had drawn a crowd. Olive recognized both forms and scents, for better or for worse; and almost immediately, the dove was grateful she arrived when she did. She fluttered down to the shoreline where Archon frolicked. "Take heed," she bade him, without greeting or softness to her voice. "A devil crawls amongst these grasses." Olive spoke this part in a hushed voice, though she wasn't concerned with appearing clandestine. The Bloodwraith had almost certainly seen them both, but Olive didn't trust the resting man not to impose some transgression upon an innocent.

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^^

Splash, splash, SPLASH

Archon did not notice the fool in the grass, as he continued to play this game of can I talk to THIS fish?? Plot twist, the answer was no. Every time he moved, they swam away! So he chased them around, splashing the entire time like a kid that was enjoying himself.

Chances were that Archon wouldn’t have cared, but alas, he had better things to do than to meet creepy fuckers in the grass. When Olive finally came, though, she was not cheerful. She did not even greet him! And he might have questioned her about it, since she had seemed so nice before, but the tone of her voice caused him to stop and glare into the grass. He slowly moved to Olive’s side, as if hiding behind her as he continued to glare into the grass.
 

“What if he follows us home?”^^

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He wasn’t a fucking devil.

Seriously, who had fucking pissed in her catch that morning?

It sure was fuck wasn’t him.

He wanted nothing to do with the crazy fucking broad in the fucking first place.

Unless—

Unless someone was still mad about being a fucking phoney. A phoney he didn’t fucking believe in. Seriously, bitch was fucking crazy and delusional to a whole new level. Like he would ever go blind. Like he would ever let himself get carried off by three fucking eagles. And like he would ever let himself drown so easily.

She was psychotic.

And this was her attempt at payback.

Fucking pitiful.

Fucking gross.

He rose, slowly, to his feet.

Muscle taut, and body tense.

Hackles raised and bristling.

And—

‘What if he follows us home?’

“Fuck you.” He snapped, at it, almost having forgotten it was there, with the way it cowered behind the cow.

Little shit.

And why would he fucking follow them home? Why would he even want anything to do with them? A stupid fucking puppy and a crazy freak, yeah, that was the kind of company he wanted to fucking keep.

Tch.

He was better than them.

He was better than the both of them.

They were the ones fucking bothering him.

He had just been trying to lay near the lake.

Not like he could smell either of theirs fucking piss around the place.

“What,” he started, low, stepping forward, threatening, menacing, “Is your fucking problem?”

And then, just because he could—

“Bitch.”

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Olive was pleased when Archon did not protest, and instead shuffled towards her flank and began glowering into the expanse of prairie. "Do not worry, we are always safe in our home," the woman cajoled, partially because she didn't want him to flee to elsewhere other than The Hireath, and partially because it was true. It was only a moment later that the man stood up, almost blending into the grasses with his gilded fur, and Olive caught a glimpse of the deep red of his eyes. As much as she remembered her vision, the dove did her best to swallow it in the name of better judgement. There was a child involved.

Olive lifted a lip in the beginning of a growl. "My problem is that you are as morose as they come," she called out, almost barking. "and I do not trust your intentions, so near to my pack." Could he be truly surprised by this? He was as good as cursed, and like a leper, it seemed that he desired to infect others with his insidious fortune. "So then, what are are your intentions?" His answer would give her all that she needed to know. If he only existed to throw around threats and expletives, then he was very welcome to do that somewhere else.

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lemme know if this needs to be deleted

---

he didn't like venturing out into the plains alone. without someone or something to focus on he felt lost. an amorphous blob passing through the world, not knowing itself. finding the water helped certainly, but it was still flat and empty and formless and-

“uh, scuse?” benry felt his hackles raise. he didn't know the context at all, but his charge was in danger. he strode up to the cursing male. “mmgonna, — you need t'watch yer language? please?” he chirruped despite his lashing tail. “there's...there's kids here.”
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“Fuck you.” He barked at her fucking interrogation.

Jesus.

Did she think he was a fucking villain? There was a fucking puppy involved. What did she think, he was going to fucking kidnap it and fucking murder it? No, it was a fucking puppy. He wanted absolutely nothing to fucking do with it until she fucking came along and immediately inserted herself into his fucking ass.

Or maybe—

Maybe she just thought he was fucking stupid.

Thought he was fucking dumb enough to start shit he couldn’t finish.

But that was her speciality, wasn’t it?

And what was it, the bitch had said by the very same lake just the other day?

Watch out for rivers, or some other cowardly, measly, spineless fucking bullshit?

She threatened him.

She started this.

And he would fucking end it.

He snarled. Black lips peeled back and away exposing gum and teeth. The top of his muzzle furrowed and wrinkled. Ears pulled back against his head.

About to answer, and—

Freezing, when a fucking mountain lion sauntered in, wobbly and shaky as shit.

No doubt her fucking doing.

Thing looked fucking sick and concussed.

And he didn’t understand it, but he didn’t fucking want to, and he didn’t fucking need to.

He saw how it was.

It didn’t take a fucking genius to figure it out.

Bitch couldn’t fight her own battles, couldn’t face her own truths, and needed someone—something—else to do it for her.

Tch.

He licked his lips.

His ears still pressed back against his head.

And he pulled away.

Stepping backwards, once, twice, then again.

Not once taking his eyes off the ugly fucking brood in front of him.

If she was fucking cowardly as to call in a fucking cat when she was caught mouthing off, who knew what kind of dirty fucking gross underhanded bullshit she would pull with his back turned.

He huffed.

Sneered, ugly and twisted and sharp.

And—

“Learn to fight your own fucking battles, shitstain.” He called, once, before turning around and leaving. Stomping, the entire time.

---

Exit Daighre.

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^^Things were happening really fast! Too fast, and Archon wasn’t sure what was going on anymore. He just wanted to talk to the fishies, and now Olive was here, and so was the Devil, and then a creature that he’d never seen before, that seemed focused on the other guy. And then the Devil left.

And things, for the moment, were quiet, until Archon peered over from Olive’s side, with curious eyes. “Who’re you, Mister?” And what had just happened?

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Benry! Lovely, lovely Benry. Just as the golden man raised himself and appeared to look fierce, the cat swept on the scene — and almost immediately the tension dissipated, at least for Olive. This was one part of having a Parole Officer that Olive felt very amenable towards: she essentially had a bodyguard, and that came in handy when the Plains seemed to attract unsavory individuals.

Benry handled the situation better than Olive ever could have hoped. He simply asked, where Olive likely would have spit fire — perhaps this was why she needed a keeper, after all? The woman couldn't have been more pleased when the Lord of the Void relented and gave up his place next to the water. Once another pack lay claim to this territory; in this moment, the watering hole might as well have belonged to Little Haven.

"That guy..." Olive openly lamented when it was only she, the cat, and the kid. "is the worst." It was hard to still the beating of her heart, which continued even after she realized neither her nor Archon had been in any real danger. As Archon began his quiet interrogation of the feline, Olive raised an eyebrow at Benry, as if she too wondered who he was. Mountain lions didn't normally insert themselves in the squabbles of wolves, after all.

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“huh?” his ear twitched. he didn't register that the question was being directed at him at first, even though the small wolf was looking right at him. “oh. mm'benry.” he said before looking over at olive. a familiarly perplexed expression came across his face, tinged with something darker. “you...you know him?”
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^^Two cats in one place? Archon wondered why the cats seemed to like the plains when it was so boring, save for the devil that was super mean! He stuck his tongue out towards the other guy’s direction, wrinkling his nose with a little growl.

“He was mean! He called Olive a bitch.” Archon paused, glancing up at the bg cat, and Olive. “What’s a bitch? Why did he say that?” Archon frowned, glancing back to the cat. “You’re an interesting looking tiger. Are you friends with @Roshanak? I’m Archon. Hi, Benry.”^^

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Benry looked at her, surprised to hear that she knew the vehement stranger and his spitting words. Olive took an unintentionally deep breath, inflating her chest and feeling pressure in her throat. "He doesn't like me because I gave him some bad news," was the best she could summarize it, without going into the metaphysics of how the gods had granted her the sight, but only sometimes, and at random. "We should take pity on him." she connoted with a grit of her teeth, eager to move onto another subject. Two sightings of the man was more than she wanted, and she heartily suspected a third was on its way.

So, instead Olive listed to the boy trill on about bitches, and tigers. Olive left the first question to Benry (Olive suspected his definition of 'bitch' would be far more entertaining than hers), but the second gave her pause. "You've seen another big cat around here?" the woman intoned, curiosity and concern tinting her voice simultaneously.

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“no,” he declared with venom. he didn't even recognize the emotion coloring his words. “he's fuckin' mean — ssssorry” he clamped his mouth shut, realizing his hypocrisy. “didn't...mean...” he looked apologetically to olive, then to the child.

“issa bad word,” he frowned. “don't...uhhh...don't say it. 'specially, not to girls.” his eyes turned to olive again, looking for some kind of approval. “'m notta tiger. 'm a mountain lion.” what was a tiger? he'd heard of it, but never in reference to another being.
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^^Archon blinked with the arch of his brow. Interesting it was, wasn’t it, that two big cats were more kind than other members of his own species. Both Nimbus and Dia had proved that much, hadn’t it? The venom in Benry’s tone caused his ears to flatten, though when Benry apologized to Olive for his language, Archon’s ears perked back up and he tilted his head.

And then Olive was looking at him, asking about cats. He nodded his head. “Yeah! She was bigger than Ben-Ben, and had colors that I’ve only ever seen in the sky, right before it gets dark. And she had lightning on her coat! It was so cool! She said she was a tiger!” Archon nodded his head, and then paused to tilt it, glancing at Benry.

“Are you Olive’s boyfriend?”

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Benry was clearly perturbed by the interaction with Daighre, and Olive truly felt the same — but having experienced the brute's anger one before, Olive was eager not to belabor it and to move on, at least in front of Archon. He was a child, innocent in the ways of the world — but to Olive, the wheels had already begun turning. She was beginning to realize her true discomfort here, in the plains. It seemed to be repelling her, at every turn.

"Honestly, I agree." Olive corrected herself, only after Benry apologized for saying the truth of the golden man. He was the force that likely saved the two smaller wolves from his wrath, and she would not dismiss his judgement so easily. "Just because he's hurting, doesn't mean he can be an asshole." With this expletive, Olive couldn't help but wiggle her ears and glance over from her feline friend to the boy. They had been through an experience together and were more bonded because of it; surely that afforded them the ability to be loose with their tongues, in each other's company, no matter how young.

Then Archon said something that was perceived by Olive as hilarious, simply because she had never truly considered this as an option or possibility. She and Benry shared tender moments, sure. He took personal responsibility for her safety, sure. They triggered each other but also seemed to bring out their best, sure. But he was a cat, and she was a wolf. Biologically, it just didn't make sense. "No, but—" she laughed, responded for him, not wanting her protector to be put in such a precarious conversational precipice. "Maybe Benry's got a shot with this lady tiger," she suggested, sensing that the tense moments prior had melted away, and maybe there was room for some jokes.

"A coat with the hues of a nighttime lightening storm?" she said, tossing a wink at her two friends. "Perhaps i'll go find her myself." and the sylph made a show of twirling around and looking forlornly off into the golden, shimmering distance.

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ben-ben was a nice nickname. he took it on without a word, half listening to the description. he'd heard of such creatures before, compared to himself, but it still struck him as odd. why stripes? tiny cats had those, but he thought that being big meant you went into spots or nothing at all.

benry looked on with disgust. boyfriend/girlfriend... that all had loaded implications. implications that benry was not comfortable with at all, let alone the species difference. “um, ew? no?” he said to the pup, cringing as he did. he continued to shrink into himself as olive joked around, making a quiet gagging noise. “yyyou can do whatever ya, yyya want wit her, i don't want in. gross.”
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^^Archon blinked, unsure what the deal was as he didn’t see them as a cat and a dog, but as two critters who could love each other. He wondered if they had a secret love, that they both denied for the sake of this thing called friendship. That was the totally original and classic story of how his parents came to be, y’know, but perhaps that’s why Archon smiled and smirked, nodding his head and totally not believing them.

They were in a secret love, and they couldn’t fool Archon! It was official now, and they could do nothing to sway him otherwise. “I can’t wait to see the babies.. ” Archon whispered, though mostly to himself, as he turned and headed back home.

exit unless stopped

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