[ P ] Instinctual

I

t was afternoon in the high country, and, mercifully, there was a coolness in the air as summer finally seemed to relent. The youth, nearly two years of age, was trotting along a vaguely discernible path with a hare hanging limply in his maw. Hunting had become more challenging as the days passed, and the long-term impact of the drought became more overt: with less water, there was less vegetation, and with less vegetation, there was less prey to be found. It had taken him the better part of the morning to find anything at all, and the hare that he eventually captured was rather pitiful, lean from hunger. But it was better than nothing, and, besides, it was not meant for Cian himself.

His flame-colored eyes darted this way and that as he looked for her, but instead, the boy saw nothing but the surrounding colorful forest. Cian had experienced the autumnal season once before, but in the Mainlands, it had been… just another season. But in the Highlands, with Clover, it was something else entirely, something purely magical and alluring. And it was not just the changing of colors, from green leaves to scarlet and saffron and gold. Something was simply different now

His mind was no longer focused on the army and the law, allowed instead to wander. And wander it did, with thoughts like… How did the leaves know when it was time to change colors? No one gave instruction to the forest, it simply happened.

Of course, if he could not find the intended recipient of his catch… He felt a moment’s anxiety, but it passed as quickly as it had arisen within him. Cian knew that Clover must be close, and his restless vision searched around every tree trunk and bramble. The sound of leaves crunching beneath his enormous paws was strangely satisfying as he walked.




@Clover

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

C

lover found a lovely little patch of sunlight that peeked through the trees in multiple rays that melded together to form her chosen napping place. She was lounged on her side, though she was sitting up, head tilted back towards the sun with closed eyes as she soaked it in. A breeze rolled in and shuffled some fallen leaves around her and she listened to the crackling noise they made as they fluttered along. The warmth against her fawn-colored pelt felt as though it would illuminate her very soul with the blessing of this new season.

It was wonderful to be experiencing what Fall was like in Tir Na Gog and having her best friend by her side made it all that much more exciting! The beginning of their adventure had begun so far so good and she could feel that with every passing day Cian was growing far more confident in himself than he might have ever thought. As she slipped in and out of this comfortable nap, her mind played the sweetest dreams of hers and Cian's future endeavors in Rionnach.

@Cian

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

T

he sight of the girl set his heart to thumping and his tail to wag – though he quickly suppressed this instinct, for his tail was still healing from a previous tumble down a mountain path, and though he never complained and tried his hardest not to show, it still hurt when moved. He ignored the persistent pain as he trotted over to Clover where she rested in the warm sunshine.

Now, the sun was less brutal than it had been weeks previously, and though there still had not been much precipitation, Cian felt optimistic that the rains would come sooner rather than later to heal the land and its inhabitants. Briefly, he wondered how they were doing in the Mainlands, but thoughts of his former life were fewer and far between these days.

He set his prize down before Clover with a broad smile. ”Here. I found this for you,” he offered casually – as if he had not spent much time locating and catching the hare he now presented to his friend. His eyes would turn away with lingering shyness in her presence, though this, too, was far less frequent than it had been before. He inspected the autumnal colors with a pensive expression on his visage. Had his own ancestors gazed upon these same trees, many years ago? ”Nice day, isn’t it?”




@Clover

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

T

he sound of gentle large paws trotting across the ground pulled her from a light slumber. Light pink orbs appeared under fluttering lashes as she blinked her eyelids open, turning her head in the direction of the approaching feet, even though she already knew by the sound of it that they were Cian's. Clover let out a sigh of contentment, a warm smile spreading across her maw at the sight of her friend.

The smile widened still when he set down a hare that he had caught just in front of her. "For me?" She giggled and pawed at the fresh-kill moving it closer to her as she shuffled her body to the side a bit. With her other paw, she patted the warmed earth next to her and looked up at him happily. "It is a very lovely day! Why don't you come and enjoy it with me?"

@Cian

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

”F

or me?" Seeing how pleased Clover was, Cian felt a moment of pride, his smile growing impossibly large across his pale muzzle. Clover made room beside her in the sunshine, and though Cian was keen to join, there was still a moment’s hesitation. He did not understand exactly what was behind this – guilt, perhaps, that he was not worthy, tinged with a bashfulness that seemed intent on renewing itself in close moments such as these.

The words formed in his head before he was entirely conscious of them: I’m not really hungry – but he stopped himself before the sentiment escaped from his brain to his tongue as he thought better of it. ”Sure.” His stomach grumbled in protest, as if on cue, and he understood that to say he was not hungry would be a lie. And even a small lie was a bad thing, wasn’t it?

And so, he settled down in the warm spot beside his friend, but he would not eat until Clover had her chance. It was funny, in a way, how the two had spent days together now… even though there was so much that Clover did not yet know about him – about his family, his father’s vision, and, most recently, his father’s death. He did not intend to keep this silent forever, but for now… Well, it did not seem entirely necessary to share.

After a very short and somewhat awkward pause, he offered up a bit of conversation: "I -- I think that w-we will see rain very soon. I just, um, have a feeling." The kink in his tail had been hurting more that day, and he remembered what his mother said about guessing the weather, a story passed down from her own Highlander family.




@Clover

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

P

atiently, she gazed upon him expectantly. He hesitated and she wasn't sure exactly why, but she could see he was in deep thought about it. "I won't bite ya!" She teased lightly, hoping it would ease whatever weight heavy on his mind. He finally relented and her backside wiggled along with a wagging tail excitedly as Cian lowered himself next to her.

Once he was fully settled, she shuffled closer to him, nestling up against him so that sandstone and ember fur mingled. Her lips peeled back over a wide-set grin and she pulled the hare closer to them so that it was now placed in between them. "A mighty fine kill!" She complimented before taking a paw and prodding it into the prey to shove it closer to him. "Ya earned this one, that's for sure! Have yourself the first bite!"

She blinked at him as he shared his uncanny ability to tell the future of the weather. "Oh goodness...I love the rain. It reminds me of the days where my brother and sister would go dance in it and stomp puddles on the ground!" She remembered fondly, giggling to herself softly before leaning her head delicately on her friend. "What about you, Cian? Any memories the rain makes ya think of?"

@Cian

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

I

t required a level of concentration and intentionality to remain there, present in the moment, for Cian. Am I asleep, is this all one big hoax of a dream? He could feel the girl’s warmth at his side, could see her beaming smile, those pale eyes like soft petals… If it was only a dream, then to wake now would be the ultimate cruelty. He blinked, and the pleasant scene (and even more pleasant company) remained. He took a small bite of the hare – as small as he could manage, anyway, hoping all the while that Clover would not notice so that the rest would be consumed by the one it was intended for.

He imagined a smaller version of Clover and her siblings as they frolicked in the rain, likely as their proud, unpretentious parents watched nearby… It was a far cry from his own experience, save for the rare occasion or two that Father had been absent. Rain had merely been an inconvenience to him. ”My mum loved rainy days best of all. She said it reminded her of home.” Thoughts of his mother were bittersweet, for her influence had always been tempered by his father’s behaviors.

”Mum, she – was actually a Highlander by birth. I never found out how she ended up in the Mainlands, but…” Here, he paused thoughtfully, allowing his thoughts to wander to places otherwise forbidden. ”I believe she missed her home country all the time. And I can see why, really.” His eyes explored the surrounding meadow, a place of peace, so unlike the crowded Mainlands of his youth. Cian could not fathom why she had left it all behind.




@Clover

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

C

lover watched as her best friend nibbled meat from the bone. She nudged the hare closer to him with a sweet smile, her tail gently brushing against him as it wagged. She was happy to share a meal with him always, but he seemed too peckish at times. She worried he wasn't eating enough sometimes and so, in turn, did her best to encourage him to take what he truthfully needed. "Here, have more!"

Cian began to speak of his mother as she bent down to take a couple bites of the prey animal's headquarters before lifting her head again while she listened to him. The girl began to chew thoughtfully, realizing she had never really heard the boy speak of his family. She honed in on this, completely enthralled by him sharing his thoughts and when he seemed to trail off she eyed him curiously. "Why doesn't she come back to the Highlands if she truly loves it as she does?"

@Cian

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

A

gain, the little she-wolf insisted upon sharing the prize. And, once again, Cian found it quite impossible to refuse. How could he say no to the girl’s attentive, affective affect that he had grown accustomed to? There was never an ounce of meanness in her visage, and so he listened, taking another bite so that Clover would be satisfied.

Clover asked, "Why doesn't she come back to the Highlands if she truly loves it as she does?" Cian was quiet as he pondered this, offering only a ”hm” sound. Things were not as simple as that… right? He had no real answer, and felt a pang of guilt in his gut. He had never asked his mother such questions, had in fact never been encouraged to make inquiries of adults. How difficult it must have been for his mother to leave her homelands behind, Cian could only guess.

”I – well, I suppose she felt she had to stay in the Mainlands because of — because of us. Me and my brothers. And Father…” Again, a moment of silence passed, and his expression had unconsciously changed at the mention of his sire, ears folding backward against his skull and a frown tagging at his lips. ”Well, he never would have left the Mainlands willingly. Not for any reason.” Not even for his wife, he thought bitterly. The unfairness of it seemed heavier now that he was grown, and more glaring. How could Father have been so cold, so unsympathetic? It scarcely seemed like love at all.




@Clover

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck

B

etween the long silences, Clover polished off the rest of the hare once she'd figured he'd eaten enough. She still kept an intensely inquisitive gaze locked onto Cian. She studied his expression when he spoke and when he was quiet, trying to understand the dynamics of his family and how it made him feel. Based upon her own experiences, her own family, she could feel that there was a vast difference just based on the aura about Cian when he shared his story.

Her face scrunched up as she tried to imagine the gentle, kind boy next to her surrounded by brothers and a mother and father. She had to close her eyes for a moment and even shook her head when her imagination kept conjuring the interactions that she'd had with her own parents and siblings. No, that wasn't right. The way he spoke of them, it sounded more strained than anything else. "If it was because of you, your brothers, and your father...your whole family could just come to the Highlands! It's beautiful and everyone would be happy and love it!"

When Cian's mood seemed to sour further upon the subject of his father, she leaned towards him, placing a tiny paw on top of one of his, seeking his crimson gaze with her own sparkling pink orbs. "If you want, we can go see him and maybe if I bring him some extra pretty mountain flowers, it'll change his mind!" She smiled hopefully, nudging his shoulder with his nose before hopping up and prancing toward a grouping of tiny white chickweed flowers starting to gather them while humming cheerfully.

@Cian

art and code by Yahtzee-Penguiduck