[ P ] Any Way the Wind Blows

Tybalt Aetós

The sun shone on another spring day in the Fae Forest. Tybalt moved through an otherwise quiet forest with all the grace of a newborn fawn. The youth was still a few weeks shy of being a yearling, but already, he was tall and lanky, with limbs that looked a little too long, and ivory paws that still appeared a little too big. He was lean, fur unkempt, so that he looked the part of the wild beast that he surely was. His expression was neutral, not happy but not sad, either, as he picked his way through the underbrush in search of small prey to sate his hunger. The shabby state of him suggested that he hadn’t been very successful on the hunt in recent days, nor did he appear interested in caring for his dirty coat.

A familiar scent caught his attention, unexpected, and the expression of neutrality melted into a frown on his ebony-masked face. It smelled like… Dad. But it couldn’t be Dad. He had gone down south to the border. Tybalt had crossed the border once before, from Rionna to the Fae Forest - dumb luck had seen him through from one side to the other, when he could have easily been caught. And the boy understood that not everyone was so fortunate in their attempts to cross that invisible line. So the boy was surprised when his sire’s scent seemed so near, and he turned in a big circle to look in every direction for the wolf.

Hesitantly, he called out, voice breaking in an awkwardly adolescent fashion: ”Dad? ‘s that you?” Tybalt dreaded to think who else it might be, if it was not the man who had named him lurking near.



@Tiberius

T

ried as he might, Tiberius wanted nothing more than to see Isolde again, but the blasted guards that wandered the boundary line were a bunch of up-tight assholes, following orders like a bunch of dim-witted drones. They carried out the wishes of Adahm as though it was words from god himself. Tiberius had bene roughed up by one of them, pretty badly. But he was able to escape, though he allowed rumors of his capture to spread through the lands like wildfire. Maybe she would come looking for him to make sure he was alright? It was wishful thinking really. He knew that. But deep down he hoped that she would someday see him the way that he saw her. He made his way back home, and with a rather painful gait as well. His front right leg was not doing very well, possibly torn at the shoulder. He was favoring the right side, taking much longer to get back home than he had planned. But when he heard the sound of his son's voice, a smirk hinted at the corner of his lip. Picking up the pace as best he could, he went looking for the boy. "I am home, sorry I was late..."

As the boy's distressed form came into view, he could tell he was not keeping himself well. Possibly not eating enough either. The unkept look of his coat was distressing to him, especially since he was not one to allow himself to ever really get like that. "Tybalt, when was the last time you had a bath?" He stopped walking, carefully applied pressure to his right side, showing that he was completely fine. The scratches across his muzzle were healing, and with time, he would be well once again - ready to face down the bastard soldiers one by one until they were all dead.

@Tybalt

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

Tybalt Aetós

"I am home, sorry I was late..."

That voice, unmistakable, inspired a big, toothy grin. It was him! Tybalt felt a wave of relief, posture relaxing just a little now that he knew he wasn’t in trouble. Tiberius appeared, but the smile that began to cross the boy’s features was stopped dead when he finally got a look at his sire. Dad looked positively dreadful! He walked with a new limp, unsteady and overtly painful. His darkened muzzle was littered with scratches that hadn’t been there before. Tybalt’s mouth fell open with surprise, staring agape at this newly injured version of his father as if he were gazing upon a ghost.

The grown-ups voice broke the silence again, inquiring: "Tybalt, when was the last time you had a bath?" But the boy didn’t seem to hear the question as tears welled in his verdant eyes, though there were so many emotions swirling within him, he couldn’t quite decipher what it was that made him want to curl up and cry and cry and cry. But he wasn’t a dumb baby anymore. And he had to show Dad just how good he was, now that the wolf had returned to find him.

Tybalt rushed forward, practically throwing himself at Tiberius, not mindful of his own growing size, nor the injuries the other had sustained. ”Dad! What happen’d to ya?” He pulled away to take in the sight of his father, and the urge to cry overwhelmed him. ”Why’d ya go, Dad? I didn’ know if ye’d come back ta me.” Tears streamed down the adolescent’s dark cheeks. He felt like a stupid, helpless child, but he couldn’t seem to help the rush of feelings that escaped now.



@Tiberius

C

rashing through the forest was none other than his own spawn. Spawn of King Tiberius. The pup did not come to a halt and for that, Tiberius braced for impact as the child collided into his form. The pain was excruciating, but he tried his best to show very little of it actually hurting him. He was not doing a very good job of hiding it, as the pup now looked at him with fear in his eyes. He burrowed his face into his fathers chest. Tiberius wrapped a leg around him, holding him close. "There, there. I am alive. I did not leave you. I was trying to send a message to a friend." He thought about this moment as a time to tell the boy exactly what had happened to him and why. "A soldier, one of the army that follows the King Douche Adahm - he attacked me and tried to kill me. As they all will do once given the chance. You can never be friends with someone from the army. They are evil. They will try to kill you, or to come and kill me." Nothing was more helpful than a little fear to keep a kid in line, right?

"Tybalt, try to cheer up kid. I am alive, well, and back home with you. What more could we ask for?" he gave the kid one of his signature smiles. Inside he could feel the pain fighting to break his facade of being just fine. "What have you been up to, other than not taking care of yourself? You look like a bear licked you and left you to die."

@Tybalt

code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck