Seeking Treasure

everywhere i go i drag this coffin just in case

“Seems like you are about to be late for class…we can resume this tonight as homework, Professor,” she gently teased the man that was melting just from her touch as her muzzle brushed against the tender flap of his ear, knowing he was so close to breaking. All the same, it was an incentive to return home in a timely manner and not to go sneak off anywhere like he confessed to doing at that random lagoon she had never encountered before. Drugs didn’t need to be in their lives of any sort. They only needed each other to continue to thrive as they had started to right before the war took root. It wasn’t impossible, she knew it wasn’t because once upon a time everything truly had been perfect. They had to find their rhythm again. One of fervent passion and the joy of newlyweds. It had been almost a year since they married, and she didn’t want their anniversary spoiled with disillusions of happiness. She wanted that happiness to be real. To not be full of anger and regret.

Leaving the past behind had never been her strong suit, it marched along in her head day in and day out. Most of it housing death after death, crimson the only color that seemed to exist within her mind’s eye. She wanted that to change, at least for the sake of others, not so much herself. She could only be happy if they were.

Still, as she pulled from her husband, her ears tilted back, swishing her tail as she walked away, leaving him there along the benches hidden by bushes and trees. She let out a couple soft chuckles as she glanced back to see him walking awkwardly back toward the new college entrance. It was still surreal to know the new building was so close to home, but it brought with it comfort in knowing Khepri and Aurora were both a skip away instead of thinking about them being all the way in Melrose. It brought some relaxation to her otherwise chaotic life.

Even with her mind foaming with thoughts, she would notice the feeling of eyes on her, and she would slow her walk. It could be a variety of wolves, the campus full of children and teachers alike but this one felt heavier than just a passerby. She couldn’t really explain it. “Enjoy the show?” she breathed, waiting to see if the presence she felt might reveal themselves before the leery veteran that rarely allowed her guard fully down.

code by claerie ▬ art by areot

There were a lot of questions he didn’t have the answer to in life, but above all was one in particular: was all of this worth it? He hated the fact that the thoughts kept him up at night some nights, all over something so insignificant. And yet… they persisted nevertheless. Maybe it was always some instinct of his to see something through. Maybe he actually really did care. Maybe he had no other outlet for his skills these days than to spend them recklessly. Either way, it left him a question without an answer. To most it was akin to stalking, but in truth he hadn’t been following the wolf all that long. It wasn’t like a wolf of this kind, as he so surmised, was the type to hide himself. Tiamat, that’s who the boy said he was, and that name carried a great deal of weight. Back in the day, he went toe to toe with them, never a step ahead, nor a step behind. They never let any business go according to plan, but then again he never got caught. And then, as fate would have it, he’d cross paths with another Tiamat, only this time he was the peace, and they were the trouble. But why bother with his interest in the family? Times were tough, and although he was promised a great reward for his assistance, none ever came. But surely, any other wolf would have forgotten the kindness and moved on with their lives. One insignificant life, too, was hardly worth the mental anguish over, especially if it was of a wolf who he didn’t even know. But then again, Savard always had a tradition of keeping tabs on those he protected, and that included that very insignificant, yet valuable young Tiamat. None of these reasons were logical… but they didn’t need to be. As if he needed to still prove to himself he had what it took, he had tracked this Khepri Tiamat down, and learned more about him by the minute. To what end, he wasn’t even sure himself… but a debt is a debt. Sooner or later, they’d come to an agreement for how to be paid. He’d done pretty well to blend in all the way here, not that a wolf of his appearance stuck out amongst the dregs. Of course, on such a neat and tidy plot of land as this new college campus, where one was either rich or wealthy, young or old, that was a different story. In fact, he felt so much more out of place, almost as if he lacked the stamina he used to have. But his senses more than made up for that fact. The small, cream-colored wolf stuck out pretty easily enough, especially with the company he had, and surely, the looks on some of the students’ faces. He was an esteemed professor, after all, a public figure in the right circles. But his partner, she was someone Savard was only now learning about. He had suspected her existence, but never quite got to put a name to a face. And now, he had, and the results were surprising. Though about his size, she had a much stronger build to her, fierce orange eyes with a tricolor pelt. And of course, her numerous scars and missing eye. She seemed everything he wasn’t. It wasn’t his business to intrude or suppose about such things… but he wondered why opposites like them attracted as they did. But he was foolish to underestimate just how well his reconnaissance had gone. He had gotten close to them, taking a seat to look at the greenery of the large estate, the massive structure which houses supposedly the wisest of all wolves in Rionnach. But not everyone would be fooled so easily. Although he looked the part of a nonchalant visitor of the college to some , as the duo parted from one another, it seemed that Khepri’s partner had an acute and observant eye. She seemed to have seen him earlier, perhaps as they had entered campus, perhaps from before, perhaps she knew of him from what Khepri had said. It didn’t matter, as he was not here to be hostile in any way. They could be assured of that. And yet… he was desperate for certain information. She asked him, without looking his way, if he was enjoying the show. He knew when he’d been made, always had a knack for that. The only question was how to play it. Carefully, was the answer. “If by that you mean see what college is like these days,” Savard responded, at last, “not really. Too artificial, I say.”

everything he touched fell apart

code // art

everywhere i go i drag this coffin just in case

Her lips parted a hair to take in the scent upon the gentle spring breeze, seeking any scents that might alert her to someone she might know even if on the bridge of strangers, she had only seen in jail. There of course were some fragrances familiar or like her husband’s, known all too well.

All the same, her tail twitched with anticipation, having a feeling it wasn’t any of those that popped into her head creeping along the campus with their focus all too set on her. An ear would twitch at the sound of ruffling foliage, seemingly startling a few misbehaving students out of hiding as they ran off into the building, not that it was any of her business. She had long denounced the title of Captain, getting involved with public affairs wasn't her duty anymore unless she absolutely had to intervene, such as someone being harmed or in danger. The teachers could deal with something so trivial as fraternizing instead of being in class.

It wouldn’t be long after her voice rose that an older masculine voice would respond, causing her ears to preen back with mild dissatisfaction. She had rather they had been spooked too and ran off, not much up for socializing any more than she was for being stalked like prey by a stranger. Turning her head just enough for her good eye to rest on him, an ember was far from friendly though the hostility was minimal for now. Her expression is mostly placid, as it often is when not around family or those she once called friend before the wars claimed them.

Before her was a man of earth, unremarkable. He did not stand out among the rest of those here, though she wouldn’t call him unpleasant to marvel. Perhaps one of the most plain of wolves but the warmth of his pelt, she couldn’t deny, carried some comfort in the familiarity of timber. At a glance he was large but also seemed soft despite the scars that marred him and the bulk of his weight. Still, she wasn’t any more interested in interacting.

“This is a place of learning, court and medicine. For some it is their life and for others it seems trivial. If you are only present to criticize the establishment and have no true purpose here, it would be best if you depart from the premises, so as not to disturb those that do see value in the foundation,” she stated, her tone that of a soldier rather than just a visiting pedestrian happily partaking in the company of her spouse on his break. She wouldn’t enforce her caution and as she went to be on her way.

-exit sif unless stopped-

code by claerie ▬ art by areot

It seems that his choice of words sparked offense in the wolf, who was quick to chide his remark before making for an exit. Was this how honesty was rewarded in the university? No doubt that this place was an extension of the crown, and by such means was dissent unwelcome, even as it was said not to be. Which of the few word he spoke, Savard wondered, upset the Tiamat so? Artificial, perhaps? As in… life at the campus was a false sense of normalcy reserved only for those who could afford it? That to do well, a wolf need only think in the exact way they were told to think, to accept that their fate was as determined as one’s eye color at birth? What world did the university truly prepare wolves for, he wondered? And was that world something he even recognized? Maybe they were just far too strange for one another, each of them seeing life a little bit different. Maybe she was in no mood to talk to a wolf that was different. Wolves like him were the problem anyways… and that was at least one thing they agreed upon. But as she started to walk away, Savard knew that it was important to cut right to the chase. He hadn’t come all this way to talk about why this place would never had been open to him. He had been there for one specific reason, one that was so urgent that he need not care who heard what he was about to ask. “How’s the boy?” Savard asked, his tone inquisitive yet sincere, “has his wound healed? Is he safe?” He knew to mentally prepare himself for quite the reaction to that. Though, being in such a public space, he felt at least partially secure that it would not resort to violence. At least, he hoped as much. And yet, no doubt this wolf would have no shortage of accusations and questions to bestow upon him, even if she so much as knew what had transpired. Her husband had to have told her, since it isn’t quite easy to keep one’s child missing their tail under wraps for too long. Still, the consequences of his blatant check-in were not entirely lost on him. Come as they may.

everything he touched fell apart

code // art

everywhere i go i drag this coffin just in case

She would pause as she noticed he wasn’t in any hurry to get out of here or away from her, hearing him call for her as though they were friends and that she should know who he was. It would take her a second to register that he meant her son as question after question posed about injuries sustained. Granted he could be referring to a handful of different wolves she knew to some extent, especially that of kin. Sethos for one harbored rather unkind injuries, and Ahkoris had died but she was fairly certain he had only been hunting with Sybil when that tragedy had happened of a second loss to the Tiamat name. With those checks marked, she would figure he only meant Haskell and some things were starting to click into place, though would garner a mixed bag from her as to which of the two wolves that had been in the attack on her child.

Mutilator or supposed hero?

One could deduce the second as more likely with this hanging concern on the air, each word holding purpose and not cutting to other options but her suspicions were always on a hair trigger. Still, her son kept calling his attacker Half Face and scary cool. Her eye rolled at the thought, not understanding the boy finding someone mauling him as cool. Not that he was ever exactly a normal little boy, so forgiving of others and so quick to take the blame for things. Never once blaming the one that hurt him, only himself for heckling the stranger. Where she couldn’t lie and tell her daughter her missing eye wasn’t her fault, she could calmly tell her son he didn’t deserve to be attacked just for being a bother. He was a child and it wasn’t even in the middle of a war. It was all just malicious in her view and she was determined to snake her fangs into whomever it was throat, hoping to make the fool beg for forgiveness he would never receive some her, only prolonged torture into a cruel death.

A sigh flared her nostrils as she took into consideration that this stranger here wasn’t scary, wasn’t cool, wasn't missing half of a face and matched closer to the description of the one that saved him. An unremarkable earthen male that towered over them. Turning around, it was rather true, she had to look up at him to meet those honey eyes. “I presume you are Savard?” she asked bluntly though with weariness rather than the prior command.

“My little flame is fine. No need for further concern; your efforts didn’t go to waste. No more weeping nor falling over. He is learning how to live with his loss of a tail quite well. Thankfully he is young and was able to adapt to the balance issues better than most that lose it later in life,” she stated after a moment, allowing him to hold her attention instead of trying to walk away again. Should she thank him? Perhaps but she would rather not waste a breath if she was wrong about who he was. For all she knew, he could be the barkeep at the place the nub was burned closed.

code by claerie ▬ art by areot

Asking the questions that he did sufficed to getting her attention, as the once eager to hastily exit wolf froze in her tracks. All at once the awkwardness of their initial exchange seemed to dissipate, as the subject was quick to change to that of her son. She knew what he was referring to, even if took a moment to register. But after that mere moment, everything fell into place. From her next question alone, it was clear that the boy’s father had told her everything. From the looks of it, it had gone over better than anticipated. Even with the wolf’s short fuse, not even the loss of her son and the absence of the wolf’s parents had not moved her. Maybe she knew precisely how it had happened, or maybe the father had kept certain things obscure. But, there was one thing that stuck out from her question, something that even he had not anticipated. Something that surprised him, and seemed to underscore the awkwardness of the exchange between them already. He had not given either the boy, nor his father, his name. But somehow, that knowledge was not lost on her, the mother Tiamat. Savard knew a thing or two about them, to be fair, but he was oddly surprised to hear that he wasn’t the only one keeping tabs on other wolves. Not desiring to answer with words, Savard merely nodded his head subtly to her question, though if she blinked she might have missed it entirely. Confirming her research into him was not what he had come here to do. Rather, he cared to only have answers to his questions. Fortunately, she delivered, that the boy was well, healthy, able to compensate his balance as best as one could hope to. It seems that the wolf knew her way around injuries like these, not in a medical way that the boy’s father might. But in a way that a soldier or brigand might. Combined with her sharing information that was not hers to give, Savard seemed to be getting a much clearer picture on who he was dealing with. He was already cautious in any social interaction, but he had to admit, it had been quite a while since he’d been followed. And he had to admit, too… he missed the discomfort of it. “That’s all I needed to hear,” Savard said flatly, though with a subtle warmth. He was at ease, breathing an invisible sigh of relief to himself, now that that boy was alright. It was funny… how revenge never crossed his mind. The wolf who attacked him, he got away easy from it, too easy in fact. But something in Savard prevented him from finishing the job, when he saw the look on the boy’s face. He had had to make a choice, remove one poorly-bred mutt from the gene pool, or save the boy’s life. He had made the right choice, no question about it, but it was no longer a matter of choice. Occasionally he thought about finding the wolf who did it to the boy and finishing what he started. But what right did he have to do so, even if, against all odds, they were to cross paths again? Maybe in time. But for now… all that was left was there present business. And, with one mere question alone, that business between Savard and the Tiamats had become far more interesting. “I can’t imagine Khepri’s explanation was the easiest thing to hear,” Savard stated, “it’s good to hear he didn’t keep it from you.” He was a kind soul, though soft, panicky. Before blood loss took him, the little flame had bragged on how smart his father was, a doctor or something similar. Savard would later come to learn that Khepri was much more than that, and fortunately for him such information came easily, as it always does for public figures. A renowned professor of Herbology, this Khepri Tiamat seemed to be, one of the top professors at the university, popular among his students, respected among his peers. And he was part of one of the wealthiest, oldest, most powerful families in all of Rionnach. But in the moment where it mattered most, in the moment that his own son’s life was on the line, Khepri Tiamat was nowhere to be found, and a panicked wreck that was incapable of taking control of the situation. Savard wondered to himself wish of these two descriptions was who the wolf was at his core? But more on the honorable Professor later. What had become clear to Savard in that moment was that perhaps they were truly wolves of their word. He had come all this way, wondering if Khepri’s words of remembering Savard’s deed were false. But it appears, that since this wolf knew his name, they were well aware of who he was. “I take it too he told you about his promise to me,” Savard continued, “you wouldn’t have bothered to look into who I was otherwise. I never told Khepri, or your son.” He had a question, then, he wished to ask, as if to get confirmation to something he already knew. It was wasted breath, he realized, as he looked at a passerby, no doubt a wolf running late to lecture. He settled, then, on a question he found far more interesting. “You strike me as someone who’s served,” Savard said then, “Imperial officer, I’m guessing? Can’t imagine footsoldiers have access to the information you do. That… or your family has some considerable reach.” He wondered, though, as he made his subtle accusation, just how well the Tiamats looked into him, and with what intent they had done so.

everything he touched fell apart

code // art

everywhere i go i drag this coffin just in case

The lack of talking back made her relax a bit more, taking the edges off of the military visage that was normally cold and calculated. If he remained silent, life would be easier and she could be on her way, moving to the beat of her own drum instead of dragged into this strangers. Her lips parted only a touch at his nod, still hesitant to provide any gratitude in fear he would start blabbering and driving her batty. Still, as thin as her patience was, she wouldn’t jolt off the moment silence remained steady, feeling as though it was only a matter of moments for this man to interject her in any attempts.

“Then I see we are finished here,” she replied back just as flatly as he, feeling like that was a perfect end to this brief interaction as her head tilted toward where she wished to go. Her paws itched to carry her in that direction, but those honey eyes seemed undesiring in wanting her to flee. They never left her, as if just a snake eager to strike her the moment she let her guard down any further. It seemed rather peculiar behavior for a man not in an army and thought brought her to wonder if he was actually a Jacobite looking to sink his fangs into her life for one reason or another. Just because the war was over, the tensions never ceased, hostility was ever prominent.

A brow raised at the mention of her husband, and she only shrugged. “My child told me more than Khepri had, though I see little as to why that would matter to you,” the words were growing tart and suspicious the longer this interaction lasted, and it only rose higher upon a question hinging on promises she could not say she knew of and pointing finger in directions she didn’t care to dwell. Any desire to be friendly had fled in an instant and playing pleasantries became estranged in a matter of seconds. This man was after more than just hoping her son was fine and that was clear now and it would cause her tail to thrash and her gaze to narrow.

“I’m the king’s hand that exacts punishment on criminals as he sees fit, most often to bleed one dry and feed the soil. Of which I intend to do to the one that harmed my son and anyone that gets in my way in doing so,” her voice stern but quiet, a lack of emotion in admitting she was an executioner was stronger than the bubbling bloodlust that wanted to pull her fangs into a snarl. She felt no wish to bring attention to them by letting her anger flare. She had killed many and she had no issue adding more to the list if they deserved her fangs. There was no point in mentioning her rank prior to this job, not even the youth of the army knew of her anymore, as much as she loved training children as a Captain years ago. To be a shadow was better than to be the sun. "There is nothing left for us to speak of. I thank you for what you have done. A boy's life was saved and that should be plenty of a reward for your selfless deed. As for promises, if there is one at all, I am not the one who wove it and therefore it is not mine to keep," she stated calmly, not leaving him time to speak and sauntered off into the bustling city streets.

-sif exits for real this time-

code by claerie ▬ art by areot