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 Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:04 pm
How did he get himself into situations like this?
No, really. How did anyone ever find himself in this position? For that matter, *had* anyone else ever found themselves here? Iosef was certainly thinking not. It all seemed so ridiculous...so utterly ridiculous...Really, he wanted to do nothing more than crawl into a hole and quietly die.
But, unfortunately, someone would likely notice him digging his own grave.
Sighing heavily, he made his way across the pack land to Tui's den, as he had done so often now these past few weeks. It was difficult, juggling the time...work...Seraphin...Tui...and it was showing in the wear on his expression, the haggardness of his eyes and the roughness of his pelt. Hell, even the Sisters were asking him if he had taken ill.
He should have just cut it all off in the beginning, of course. No, he should have never even started...with either of them...should have kept his head down and done his duty and left it at that. The pursuit of happiness never did any man any good.
And yet...and yet. The way Tui made him feel...the time they spent together...it was so unlike anything Iosef had ever felt before. And like a drug, Tui's very presence seemed to swim in Iosef's thoughts and veins, clouding his judgment and making things so complicated. Did he love him? He didn't even know. He didn't know what love was anymore, not really.
Sighing, disgusted with himself and hopelessly confused, Iosef paused at the mouth of Tui's den, and waited for the other wolf to catch his scent.
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:05 pm
The den, however, was empty. The white wolf, still scraggly and beleaguered-looking but rather less gaunt these days, had been poking about some yards away; there were some things he could get to thinking about that made his little den feel more like a tomb than a hiding place. He noticed Iosef's approach, with that hyper-aware extra sense that infatuation can lend you, and stood quietly for a moment to look at him, and feel his heart beat painfully against his chest.
"Hi, Iosef," he wuffed quietly, his tail wavering in the air; even with Iosef's dearth of both experience and options, he could never get past the feeling that he'd stumbled onto some holy relic, that if he ever treated the situation with less than reverence...well, any manner of awful things could crash down onto him.
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:06 pm
Iosef froze, like a rabbit caught in the gaze of a predator, and for a moment considered bolting.
But he couldn't do it, and he knew it. He turned his gaze to the white male, smiling softly. The expression on Tui's face was enough to melt his heart; the look of complete, undeserved adoration...bordering on worship, really...it was baffling but oh so appealing. He wondered why others found it so very easy to love him, when he found himself so repugnant.
"How are you, tonight?" He asked, with a stiffness and formality that was not unusual for him even on a more normal evening.
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:07 pm
Tui's head dropped as he picked his way a little closer to Iosef; even with all his strange moods, he still felt especially off-balance today. This thing with Iosef was going along like the relationships he was used to flipped over on itself, and where he was used to feeling mostly constant anxiety along with adoration, he found the disorientation kept him almost calm.
"I got bit by a snake," he admitted, sounding a little melancholy about it. His eyes wandered for a moment before he realized he needed to put forth a little more information, at which point he quickly amended, "not a poisonous one."
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Posted: Mon Oct 11, 2010 5:08 pm
His eyes widened in alarm, and despite himself he stepped forward with concern even as Tui was explaining. "...are you sure? Let me see," he said, immediately falling into his hero-mode, temporarily forgetting the purpose of tonight's visit.
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Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 12:31 am
Seeing that alarm, that unexpected gallantry made his heart lurch; he squinted hard and tried not to up and run off as his only friend stepped forward and pinned him with that worried stare. "It's just a bite," he replied, nearly whispering, having to fight down panic at the thought of Iosef examining him in any way. For a few seconds he seemed internally very busy, several impulses wrestling desperately against each other, and came back to Iosef with a stuttering blink. Unable for the moment to say anything further, he gulped and tried to look apologetic, tried not to think about what a sharp wrong turn he had taken this early in the game.
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Posted: Wed Nov 03, 2010 1:49 am
Iosef suddenly found himself rather closer to the fellow slave than he had anticipated, discovering the other's lank white body invading his space -- or, perhaps, he was invading Tui's. "So long as you're all right," he said, with the tone of one who was imminently distracted, the line of his maw drawing close to Tui's cheek.
His ears swept back against his skull, and that trembling in his limbs -- so iconic, so usual for the meek little wolf -- took on a different character than it generally did.
With effort, Iosef heaved himself back into his own space, forcing himself to his haunches. He busied himself by becoming suddenly very interested in the foliage, primly tucking his tail as far about his haunches as it would go. "It's, ah, been awhile since I've stopped by. And I apologize for that."
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 6:59 pm
Belatedly, falling out of his panic, Tui caught the sensation of Iosef's gaze. It didn't slow his heart down any, or make it any easier to meet his eyes (or at least see where they were looking), and it passed before he figured out what to do with himself. Iosef pulled away and bundled himself up, and Tui tried to follow suit, sitting carefully and trying to listen over his own embarrassment. "I don't mind," he returned quietly, throwing a glance in Iosef's direction.
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 7:00 pm
Iosef tried to catch his gaze, to wrestle him down with his eyes. "I've missed you, though," he said. Why was he saying this? What possible good could it do? This whole thing was absurd! It's not like they had any chance of...well, of anything. He looked to his paws, setting his jaw resolutely. His ears folded back to his skull. "Have the others been treating you well?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 7:01 pm
He was doing a good job of avoiding eye contact until surprise made him jerk his head back to Iosef before he could help himself. It was flabbergasting, to see his own awful weaknesses come out of Iosef's mouth; how on the other side of them they could be so incredibly infatuating. Even more inconceivable was finding some way to respond to something like that, so he didn't try, just concentrated on not looking away. "It's been fine, yeah," he croaked, "nobody's been paying much attention to me." He went for a little smile, though he thought Iosef would understand the benefits of being ignored here without it.
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 7:02 pm
Iosef's maw twitched with a smile as well. There were far worse things than to be ignored. "Casimir has come back to us," he said, conversationally. "Another of the slaves, from the before-time with the other queen. I think you'll like him." The sentence, spoken aloud, sounded different than he had anticipated, and he let out a nervous bark of a laugh. "...He's very nice, at any rate."
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 7:03 pm
The scraggly wolf nodded, uncertainly, trying to remember what the trick was to small talk. "Nice is nice," he mumbled, failing to find a good way to really say he'd like to meet another old slave. He blinked and gulped in a breath, stuck on a pleasant face. "How's Seraphin?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 7:04 pm
"Will give you someone to work with. If I'm busy," Iosef pressed on, doggedly, but couldn't fully stifle the giggle that escaped his maw. The whole thing was so absurd. He shook his head, trying to steady himself, to put on a straight face. "Seraphin. She's..." Did he have a word for this? Was there any word in any language that could accurately describe this situation? Language was useless. he sighed, then, exasperated. "I have to tell her," he said, suddenly, and cast a paranoid look around himself. "I have to tell her about you. About us. I can't hide it, and she's...we've...I..." he stumbled over the words, his tongue failing to shape itself to what he wanted to say.
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 7:05 pm
Iosef's nervousness was finally beginning to relax him, and he beamed in earnest at his giggling friend. I doubt he'll make a very good replacement, he couldn't quite manage to say, fixing Iosef with one of those worshipful gazes as he struggled with it. Listening intently, trying to divine just how Seraphin was from Iosef's fumbling, he felt the same, immediate pall at his pronouncement, resonating to a well of dread encompassing the whole of his body. His brow furrowed into a look of grave concern, but he stayed mute until he'd heard everything Iosef was trying to say.
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Posted: Wed Dec 01, 2010 7:06 pm
Iosef took a deep, steadying breath. He couldn't stand it when Tui looked at him that way, it made him all shivery. He looked away, so he could concentrate, and started over a little slower. "We...Seraphin and I...we were, ah, together," he said, delicately. "And I think she knows that I'm not..." He cast a look around, making absolutely sure they were alone. "Well, anyway. I think I should tell her. And stop it. Her. Stop her, before anybody gets hurt."
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