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 Posted: Fri May 17, 2013 2:46 pm
Of course, Embry was correct again. The sun rose at its usual time the next morning, filtering blue, gold, pink, and lilac lights in the sky and spilling golden green down on the forest floor. The din made by the birds as a greeting was almost deafening, but so ordinary that it didn’t wake either of the foxes from their slumber until they were ready.
It was Boni who woke first, but he was loathe to move. This position was very comfortable after all, and the sound of Embry’s soft breaths right next to him filled his heart with a quiet joy and peace. He lay there and waited, making sure to keep his eyes closed. They never seemed to bother Embry, but the blankness of them was probably disconcerting to one who could see and was just waking up.
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Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 10:16 am
Embry came awake a lot slower than her mate, but not a whole lot later. She luxuriated in the sense of being warm, rested, and happy while her mind was free to take its time working its way back up to full consciousness. She let out a contented little sleepy grumble, nuzzling her face into her mate’s side, then gave a tiny sigh and decided it was time to get up. No use sleeping the whole day away!
“Morning,” she said softly from her spot on the ground, stretching out her legs and warming up muscles before she made the stirrings to stand up.
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Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 10:48 am
Boni’s body shook with a small, silent chuckle. “It is indeed. I hope you slept well. Hungry?”
He felt the minute shiftings of his mate and knew she was preparing to get up. He stood to get out of her way, not feeling any need to stretch since he’d been awake for a decent length of time now.
“I haven’t hunted rabbits in the western edge of my territory for a while, so the catches over there should be easy. It’s also early enough that we might have luck fishing if that’s what you’d prefer, though I admit I’ll be little to no help in that department.”
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Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 11:01 am
Embry considered Boni’s words as she took advantage of his absence to give a good stretch of her legs, then sat up. “Fish, I think, while we still have time. Rabbits are usually out and about all the daylight, so if there’s no luck fishing we can go hunt some rabbits.” She smiled slightly. “I suppose we could also split up to respective hunting zones, but then I’m pretty sure we’d both get good hauls and some of it might have to go to waste.
Embry stood up and gave one last, very feline stretch. “How hungry are you, anyway?”
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Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 11:04 am
Boni took stock of his hunger levels and hummed thoughtfully. “Pretty hungry. If I go out and hunt on my own and just get us a rabbit apiece that would barely be a snack for me, plus it would be difficult to hunt up anything else there for the rest of the day since the rabbits would be on alert.”
He turned his sightless gaze towards Embry, eyes staring past her but ears twitching in a way that he clearly knew exactly where she stood. “Fish first, then. They’re a bit more unpredictable since there’s a lot more variables to consider. The size of your catch will determine the size of how many rabbits, if any, we hunt up later.”
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Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 11:12 am
“Sounds good to me,” Embry chirped, and paused only long enough to give herself a shake to dislodge any bedding clinging to her fur before trotting off in the direction of the river that cut through the forest close to the edge of Boni’s territory. She’d been here before and knew exactly the spot she wanted to fish in, a wide spot that had a relatively calm and slow current, plus a rock shelf that extended a little into the water that she could stand on for better accessibility to the fish.
Behind her she could hear Boni following. It was a shame fishing took sight, at least around here, because Boni had enough patience that she was sure he’d have been good at it. He could still catch fish on his own, but they had to pretty much brush right up against him before he could get them. Still, even if he never got as many fish as Embry his success rate was way higher; she’d never seen him miss a catch he went for yet!
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Posted: Sat May 18, 2013 11:27 am
In the end Boni did have to catch some rabbits for them, but only one apiece like he’d mentioned before. Embry had landed five fish, none really all that big but plenty enough to make half a meal. They’d eaten right then and there, sharing the fifth fish, so that they didn’t have to carry the damp and slightly smelly bundles with them. For one thing it would have been difficult, and for another the smell might have scared the rabbits off.
It took Boni less time to catch the rabbits than it had for Embry to catch the fish, though he was catching less than her and from the size of them they were yearlings, creatures with less sense than even a fish. They also ate on the spot to keep the smell of blood from attracting anything to the den, then headed back.
“That was a very profitable morning,” he said in the companionable silence as they walked.
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 12:12 pm
“Very,” Embry agreed cheerfully, hunger sated and stomach full, enjoying the cool breeze and warm sunshine. And, of course, the company!
She was very proud of her catches that day. The trout had practically been flocking around the still spot, and after scattering from the initial disturbance of her entering the water they soon came back to curiously examine the new thing in the water. Shame they’d all been on the small side, otherwise Embry might have been able to catch enough to make up their entire meal without having to get rabbits.
“So, any plans for the day or are you up for a walk,” she asked, feeling rested and energetic. Walks were also excellent time to talk and catch up with each other.
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 12:31 pm
“A walk sounds nice,” Boniface said agreeably, and he altered their course slightly in a path that would take them around the perimeter of his territory. For a while he and Embry were content to simply walk, letting the sounds of the forest fill the companionable silence between them.
“So how’s Amy been,” he queried. The blind vixen was one of his oldest friends; he’d known her before she’d joined Yasashii, and had been surprised to learn about it from Embry. He was happy that his friend had found a place to call home the way he had, though time had not been kind to her in matters of the heart, it seemed.
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 3:39 pm
“Doing better, though she’s still a bit broken up about Karoko vanishing. He reappeared, you know,” she told her mate. “I think there’s just too much pain there, though, cause Amy doesn’t look like she’s getting back with him. She seems to really like Iah a lot, though I haven’t wanted to pry so I never asked either of them how serious it actually is.”
Embry took a moment to reflect on the irony of the whole situation. She knew Amy used to have a major crush on Boniface but she’d never asked her mate whether or not it was mutual. She’d used to have a crush on Iah, but for a while it looked like Iah and her mother were actually dating so she’d backed off. She’d learned later it wasn’t true, but by then she was happily mated to Boniface so she never repursued Iah.
It was almost comical, really, that, if Amy and Iah did end up mated, then the males the vixens originally had crushes on became the mate of the other.
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 3:50 pm
Oblivious to his mate’s thoughts, Boni made a noise of sympathy for his friend. “I could hope that time would have been kinder to her, given all that she’s been through, but at least it seems like she’s found love again.” He flicked his tail over to caress against Embry. “I can certainly attest to how having love in one’s life brightens things up.
Figuratively speaking of course, since I have no idea if love actually does make things brighter,” he added with a chuckle. “I assume it’s one’s quality of thought that takes on a happier note rather than anything to do with vision.”
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 3:55 pm
Embry hummed her agreement. “Of course, once you come to live with the tribe you won’t have to ask me for information anymore. You can actually talk with Amy and ask her yourself how she’s doing,” she said in a teasing voice, feeling a thrill of triumph and worry shoot through her. Triumph that she’d finally won her mate over to living in the tribe with her, worry that after sleeping in it and waiting while she fished that he might have changed his mind.
She cast an anxious look over at his face, unable to read anything due to a lack of expression that was common with him, and waiting to hear how he responded to her words.
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 3:59 pm
Embry needn’t have worried. “There is that indeed,” Boni remarked in a cheerful voice. “You know I’m almost ashamed to say it, but it’s like I’d forgotten Amy was in the tribe when we were talking about it last night.”
It had been a long time since Boni had last personally talked to Amy, though he was sure she was able to get updates about him from Embry the same way he was getting them about her. He wondered how much she might have changed. Love and heartbreak could really work a person over.
“It would be nice to talk with her again,” he admitted.
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 4:06 pm
Embry felt a surge of relief wash away her worry, followed quickly by a small spike of jealousy for the vixen. It was a totally unfair emotion and she tried to squash it down. Amy was Boni’s friend, one of his first friends and certainly the first fox he’d ever met who shared his condition, even if the circumstances leading to it were different in both cases. Amy had something in common with Boni that Embry would never be able to understand, and thus it was just a bond that she’d never be able to replicate. She couldn’t be everything to Boni, after all!
Still, the little green monster continued to whisper into her mind, making her wonder if indeed the crush Amy had had for Boni had indeed been reciprocated. What if there were still feelings there? It wasn’t like Amy and Iah were ironclad as a couple, or at least Embry didn’t know if they were or not. What if Boni fell in love with someone else?
“I’m sure it’ll be very nice. Make the whole move worth it,” Embry said, and internally winced a little at how stiff her voice had sounded.
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Posted: Sun May 19, 2013 4:12 pm
“It’s a positive,” Boni said slowly, reading his mate’s tone and trying to figure out what was wrong. It had to have been something he said, since he couldn’t think of any other outside reason why she’d suddenly be upset. He turned over his words in his mind, thinking about all the ways they could have been interpreted.
Only one possibility really stood out to him.
Embry was….jealous?
“It’s not a reason for moving to live with the tribe, since I could just visit if I really wanted to chat with an old friend.” This time he carefully drifted to the side until he was lightly leaning against Embry. “I wouldn’t go running to leave my home for any call. Only the love of my life could ever pull me away.”
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