chance encounter

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Nikolai found himself returning to the grove more than he intended, finding something of ease amongst the wildflowers and timid prey which seemed to take fright of him, a new sensation when for so long he was an attentive guard of vulnerable creatures. The wolfdog thought not much more than that, though, returning to the same spot in a meadow where his body had begun to leave an imprint. And it was from this spot he stirred one morning, when the sun was cresting the edge of the earth and setting light down through the canopies above, yawning, he stretched out his forelegs all long and sore. It wasn't sleep, still far from it, but an impression of slumber was better than nothing, he supposed.

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@Kohaku

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  He had wanted to hold tight to her, keep her close, just within his arms reach. Though perhaps, even that could feel too far away now. The space that separated them was a doorway for vulnerability— an entry for those unwelcome aspects of life that may try as they might to separate the two once more. To force them apart through some cruel twist of fate, a history repeating itself. Kohaku would not have it.

Her absence caused a strange churning within him, a motor that hummed and thrummed from deep within his chest and kept his paws moving with an almost nervous energy. The aching throb that again and again banged within his chest reminded him of where he ought to be, of who he ought to with. After all those months of fear and anguish, and the mind debilitating anxiety that consumed every last thought he had of the tawny buckskin girl whom he had shared so many childhood memories. They were no longer ones of painful remembrances, but instead rare and valuable sentimental gifts that he would vow never to lose sight of again.

It felt odd, the ties. They were invisible strings that leached from him unto her, tangling her up in the possessiveness he hadn’t realized he could possess. His jaw tightened as he walked the forest, attempting to resist the urges that fought against his muscles. The temptations to turn back, to go to her, to insist she join him hip to hip. That was ridiculous though, wasn’t it? She was resting comfortably now in a field of violet, waiting his return as he sought out with the purpose of acquiring something to soothe both of their tightened stomachs.

A creamy, dark pelt came into view just ahead of him, bringing his paw steps to a slow halt. The breath in his throat hitched, a creature just as large as he. He should have been more vigilant, but consumed with thoughts of her reality had begun to eluded him like a dreamscape.

@Nikolai
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Instinct and general uncertainty of these new lands kept him quick to react—the soft, almost unnotable, footfalls of another nearing instantly spun his head to the source, short ears twitching a little as he sized up the... wolf. Curiosity tilted his head to the right, briefly waiting to determine if the wolf was passing through or an encounter was in line. "Howdy there!" he said, voice a deep, thundering sound that startled the more flighty birds resting in the treetops above. Nikolai scarcely saw anyone as a threat, perhaps out of some bred stupidity that led him to believe he could always defend himself or, at the least, take a good bite so he didn't hesitate in offering the other a sort of polite enthusiasm as he went on, "Ya' alright, fella?"

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the staff team luvs u

His footfalls had paused— an outward stretched paw held just above the ground, stilled with uncertainty. It was then that the male would raise his head, the large swell of his back no longer the only viewing angle representing his form. It was a wolf, or, was it? Kohaku found himself averting his eyes away from the short cropped ears upon the other male’s head, his’s mother’s voice ringing in his head that it was impolite to stare.

“Howdy there!" A polite drawl tumbled off his lips as a small flock of birds somewhere in the canopy above was quick to scatter. Kohaku’s eyes lingered upon the treetops for a brief moment before sliding back to the man opposite him, a breath of relief deflating the rise of his chest. An easy grin befell his lips as the natural baritones of his voice composed a friendly greeting. “Good morning! I wasn’t expecting to see anyone else out here.”

A more sheepish expression began to drift across his black and white features, his dual toned eyes shifting forward and back with uncertainty. “Might you be able to tell me where I am exactly? I’m not familiar with this wood.” Intentionally he would omit the part about waking up with no memory of traveling there, and how the experience had been equally similar for Rin.

@Nikolai
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