Good Morning? Who: Marcus and Bramble When: mid-morning, Anesus 3 Where: Solar Room/Marcus' room
When the bricks had mysteriously gone missing from several sections of wall, Marcus hadn't noticed it. He was not much of a night person, and at half-past-midnight he'd been asleep for a couple of hours, at least. The change in the quality of light had not disturbed him, not then and not when the sun had risen, because he had the habit of sleeping mostly buried in covers, only a tiny gap left for his nose to emerge. He was a covered lump in his bed, and if any Lykos in their natural form had climbed through one of the holes to sniff at him, possibly, he hadn't known a thing.
Finally his body's clock told him that it was time to get up, and he sighed, rising slowly toward wakefulness. It was always a slow process with Marcus, and several minutes had passed before he pushed the blankets away from his upper body with both hands and sat up, his longish blond hair a disheveled mess and his eyes bleary. He yawned, muffling it with the back of one hand, and it was then that he noticed something strange against the wall, not far away. He squinted to try to see it better. The color of the wall looked different, not only there but on the other side of the room, as well.
Marcus got out of bed, dressed in the soft cloth shirt and pants in which he slept, and padded on his bare feet over to the closest section of wall, which happened to be the one between his room and the Solar Room. He knelt down, patting the bricks with his fingers, his hair falling into his eyes as he leaned forward. There was a big hole in it! "Wh--?" Marcus started to say to himself as he pushed his head through the hole to try to see what was on the other side.
A startled cry escaped him, and he jerked himself back a little as he came face to face with something that moved.
Bramble's ears were pressed flat against her skull as the face of a human came within reaching distance of her own face. At the other's cry, she yelped and scurried back across the room, head down and tail stuck firmly between her legs. By the Ancestors, how had she been distracted enough to let him get that close? She'd been relatively safe up here, in the room with all the plants and windows, where most scents of strangers were etched in set patterns, leaving safezones for Bramble to exist in on the sides. The unrestricted sunlight also would keep her safe from the blood-takers for now, until she could figure out how to escape outside. The moon madness would no longer be with those under Anesiel's sway, and the next moon would be of her tribe's anyway.
Still, right now she was trying to curl up under a table overflowing with unfamiliar, itchy scents, whimpering because even this awkward position didn't entirely remove her from the human's line of sight. Failing to make it under the table, Bramble fell back on her universal plan of action, making herself as small as possible, ready to roll over in a show of submission should the human require.
Don't hurt me! I'm not challenging you! Of course, the message would only be that clear to another member of her species. But perhaps the human would understand, nonetheless.
Marcus was able to tell that he'd just encountered a Lykos before it yelped and ran, and it wasn't Kai... this one was a different color. Plus, Kai wouldn't be scared of him. "Sorry," he called after it, not knowing if this one was male or female. He couldn't see well enough to make out any particular detail. "I know I look kinda scary, 'cause I didn't even comb my hair yet." His fingers began to explore the dimensions of the hole, patting around the edges to find out how big it was. "I just wasn't expecting to get up to holes in the walls, I guess."
He paused, frowning a little as he heard the Lykos whimpering across the room. Had it hurt itself running, or was it that frightened of him? The thought bothered him, because he'd never do anything to hurt anyone if he could help it, and that especially extended to a Lykos. Again he wondered if it was wrong or demeaning somehow that he couldn't help thinking how cute they were in animal form.
"It's okay," he said, hesitating and then climbing through the hole into the Solar Room. Marcus was tall, but he was gangly, and he had no trouble fitting. Once he'd gotten onto the other side, he sat down, crossing his legs and resting one arm on the bare brick inside the hole as if it were an armrest. "Look, I won't come any closer. I'll sit right here. Okay?" Could it understand him? Kai hadn't seemed to have any trouble with that in her animal form.
From the relative safety of the opposite side of the room, Bramble quivered and hoped if the human would stay in their own den, but as the imposingly tall form folded inward and pressed through the open space, that hope died with a quiet sigh. She listened to his voice, one ear turning just a bit to help keep him pinpointed, in the case of sudden movement.
His words at first confused her. What had the comment been about his hair? Fur didn't exactly frighten her, except when bristling on the backs of aggressive lykos. Maybe humans bristled in the morning, and this human was trying to tell her he wasn't angry?
She sniffed, then sneezed, the scent of whatever foliage above her blocking out the scents the human would be throwing off. Still, he said he wasn't moving. Bramble shifted, watching him. After a while, she slid forward, belly on the ground. If she got a little closer, maybe she'd be able to smell him. Human forms weren't terribly hard to read, but Bramble wasn't willing to trust her own judgment, particularly not when feeling so alone. If he moves suddenly, I can run. No human would be able to catch me, I don't think. She whined again, looking at him imploringly. Be nice, I'm a scared, sad, small being. You're so big and strange and human. I'm very little, no harm, very small, useful, not challenging you. She kept hunkered down, sliding toward him just a bit more. A good ten feet remained between their bodies, and she wasn't picking up any aggression or ill-will, but maybe she wouldn't recognize the signs in time.
Small and harmless!
The Lykos was afraid of him, Marcus thought. It couldn't be anything else, from the way the creature was behaving. Had a human mistreated it at some point in time? It was hard for him to imagine something like that, but he knew there were those who would do such a thing in their world. Maybe the Lykos was new, just like he was. He didn't think anyone who'd been here previously would still be that frightened.
"I'm Marcus," he said, not moving. "Human, but you probably guessed that, since we're out here in the sun." The plants were peaceful. If he had to have gaping holes in his wall, he supposed there were worse places for one of them to be. Slowly he lifted his hands to rake his fingers through his hair, putting it in some semblance of order before lowering them to his lap again.
"Scat," he said when the Lykos sneezed. "I dunno what that means, but my mom always said it when one of us sneezed." He watched with a quiet sort of excitement as it began to edge closer to him. Every nuance of its furry body was downcast, servile, maybe even dejected. He was as still as he could make himself, not moving, barely even breathing. When it whined again, he tilted his head to one side slightly, wishing he could do something to mitigate its distress. "I promise I won't hurt you," he whispered. He had a tender heart, and it disturbed him for anything to be that obviously terrified. "Won't touch you, either, if you don't want me to. That might be rude anyway. I keep meaning to ask Kai but I haven't seen her in her other form again yet."
It had been remarked that Marcus had a tendency to babble sometimes.
Marcus? The name itself didn't mean anything, though now if Bramble wanted to, she could recognize him by more than just scent. A shiver of dangerous-feeling curiosity made her wonder if the amount of clothing he was wearing was meant to be the standard here, but she wasn't willing to shift right now to find out.
His body posture and tone of voice was honest, as far as Bramble could tell, and the promise of someone being nice to her was warring with the fact that this person was also human. He didn't have enough hair, and while he wasn't giving off the signs she knew for dominance, he wasn't threatening either.
Her ears perked at the mention of Kai. Contextually, this person was either a human who knew more about Lykos, or a Lykos themselves. Bramble had an underlying belief any such person who would know intelligent things about a Lykos could not, and would not be a Vrykolas. That being said, perhaps this human knew other Lykos around here who were friendly to one like her, or perhaps he was being marked out for something more. The thought didn't make much sense to Bramble, but she also didn't want to think about strange and unusual circumstances outside of the ones which brought together beings so opposed into an enclosed space.
She inched further forward on her belly, half-allowing herself to be lulled by his voice and nonthreatening posture. When she was close enough, she stretched out her muzzle and sniffed again, her wet nose possibly brushing against the unfamiliar material on his leg. She jerked her head back and rolled over, whining and asking for forgiveness with her belly and throat exposed. The sheer length of her tail allowed it to curl between and around one of her legs, where it lay tightly wound.
I'm sorry! I didn't mean to touch!
Marcus wanted the Lykos to like him even more than he usually wanted new acquaintances to, probably because it was so obviously skittish and frightened. He wasn't entirely sure how to accomplish that, though. It was very apparent that the creature was expecting a sudden blow or even just a raised voice; it seemed poised for the worst to happen at any second.
"It's okay if you sniff me," he hastened to tell Bramble when the Lykos rolled over and exposed its underbelly, whining softly again. "I really don't mind." He wasn't going to joke about biting like he had with Kai... this Lykos didn't seem to be in a jocular frame of mind, exactly. He couldn't stop wondering what had happened to it for it to react like this, but he obviously couldn't ask. Well, he could've, but he wouldn't have gotten an answer.
He rested his hand on one knee, not far from the soft throat of the Lykos, though he didn't move to touch it. He wouldn't be touching this one unless it was made very clear to him that it was all right to do so. It might be a little awkward too, he'd thought after meeting Kai, if he went about petting Lykos and then later saw them in their other form. He didn't know what the etiquette was, or if there was any. "Your fur's very pretty," he said, keeping his voice soft and calm as he sought for something to say to the creature. "I bet it picks up dirt easy, huh? Kai's is more red. She lives next door to me. I never met a Lykos before I got here."
Bramble watched Marcus out of one eye. His near-absolute stillness was a novelty, as unless Bramble was mistaken, he wasn't planning on pouncing her or anything else in the room. Her breathing became less labored, listening to him speak.
Slowly, Bramble rolled onto her side, facing away from Marcus. She flopped her head back, looking at him, then wriggled a bit and stretched out to try and nudge at the hand that had been closest to her. Her tail curled out, not raising, but at least no longer feeling the need to show how much she didn't want to end up in an argument. At the compliment to her fur, she flicked her tail, not understanding the impetus behind the human's choice of words. Her fur was passable, and she was usually fairly well groomed. Did she look better bathed then some of the other Lykos?
Even with his permission to sniff, Bramble simply wasn't sure. This entire situation was too alien, and her heart was still hammering at being this close to a human. He at least looked harmless, and acted harmless, and might, by now, actually be harmless. There was a small measure of confidence in that fact. So, this Kai actually was a Lykos? And she lived near a human, without trouble? The thought was confusing, unless the other Lykos had tried making the human part of her pack.
Marcus was good at stillness, actually. He was the kid who'd spent hours at a time sitting by the ocean mending nets. He didn't think he'd have a problem sitting for as long as this required. He thought he was making progress, since the Lykos looked marginally more comfortable being close to him. It rolled over, uncoiled its tail and stretched toward him; he just barely felt its breath on the bare skin of his hand. That made him smile.
He hadn't been here for long enough to be anything but fascinated by the other species, still. He'd made the comment about Bramble's fur because he did think it was pretty. He'd have no way of knowing if saying so was socially unacceptable, but it had seemed innocuous enough to him. "I don't blame you if you don't want to sniff me, either," he rambled on. Moving slowly again, he lifted his hand to his nose to smell of it. "I washed up before I went to bed, but still. My sister says all boys smell." He was smirking, knowing it was a silly thing to say, but it amused him and he had a captive audience. Sort of. He slowly lowered the hand to his lap again.
"I bet you live somewhere on this floor, right?" Marcus wasn't expecting an answer, but it felt weird to just sit and not talk to the Lykos. "I wouldn't wanna live in the basement. Too dark down there, and I don't see well anyway."
Bramble watched his face best she could out of one eye, drawing back and slowly shifting to her feet. He was talkative, but that was comfortable, since it was all in the same kind tone with equally nonthreatening words. The comment about smelling amused her, since everyone did to a different extent. Marcus smelled, well, like himself she supposed. There were individual scents, but they all tied to things he handled or produced himself, and other than the underlying humanness to his scent, none of it was offensive.
She stood, with tail lowered and ears alternately flicking forward to listen to him, then back. No one else had appeared in this room of sunlight and plants, which suited Bramble perfectly. Feeling a bit more daring, and relaxed, she more actively started sniffing around the sitting human. After hearing mention of his eyes, she was curious. He had poor vision? Her ears pricked forward, and she raised her eyes to look into his, in small spurts, gradually getting longer. Encouraged, she even attempted to nose his knee to see if he'd accept some sort of physical contact.
Had she been speaking at the moment, she would have agreed that the basement did smell musty, but that reminded her of the earth from her own home and so it wasn't entirely unwelcome. The layers of scents obviously other did leave her stomach unsettled. Did this human feel that way too?
The Lykos was calmer, didn't seem actively afraid anymore, and that pleased Marcus. He'd done reasonably well transmitting via body language and tone that he meant no harm, it seemed. Or maybe it had decided that anyone who babbled as much as he did didn't have the brains to hurt anyone, he thought, amused.
When Bramble got up, he'd been concerned that maybe she (though he still didn't know she was a she) was going to dart out of the room, but instead she began sniffing at him. He chuckled as the Lykos' eyes, as blue as his own, stared into his; he could see what color they were now that Bramble was face to face with him. When his knee was nudged, his smile widened even more. He almost lifted his hand to find out the texture of one of Bramble's furry ears, but then he decided he'd better not. He couldn't tell if that would be okay. Instead, he simply extended his fingers to her, to see if she wanted to investigate them.
"This is a nice room, huh?" he murmured as he did. "I think it's one of my favorite ones so far. The Oratory's good too. Lots of echoes and stained glass." The basement had been all right, he supposed, but overall too dark and musty for his taste. He was glad he and Kai had turned upward when they'd been hunting for rooms that first night.
Sniffing his offered fingers, Bramble found she didn't have much of an opinion on the room. It was bright, which was better than feeling caged in like she felt already when stuck in the little rooms which littered this place. It was still made of stone, and much larger and more imposing than anything else Bramble had ever encountered before in her life.
She opened her mouth a bit, making an attempt to lick Marcus's offered fingers before moving on to see if she could get away with poking his other knee. She was really just testing now to see if he'd give an invitation for play, or even further contact. Two days without was driving Bramble up a metaphorical wall, particularly if she was walking the fence as much as she was now.
Her ears stayed perked forward, listening to Marcus. Occasional flicks kept her equally informed of any on-goings out and around them, but for now, at least, things were quiet. She shuffled, then dropped her forelegs down the to ground. With her rear still high in the air, she looked both a bit absurd, and imploring. Her tail performed a slow, lazy weave behind her, still too timid to show much more than a glimmer of potential excitement.
The stone rooms of the compound weren't what Marcus was used to, either, though he was undoubtedly having an easier time adjusting than Bramble was. He missed the sound of the ocean that had been ever-present, a background noise that you didn't even notice until it was gone. Sure, he missed his family too, but he hadn't yet worked up a good case of homesickness. That would probably come later on.
He grinned when the Lykos licked at his fingers and then poked at him, then twitched its ears and dropped partially to the floor, tail wagging. He was getting the idea from his previous encounters with Kai and now this one that a lot of the Lykos were playful. He didn't know that they'd all be that way, but of course he'd only met two. So far. He couldn't stand it anymore and he had to say, "I'm probably gonna be embarrassed about this when I meet you in your other form, but you know, you're really cute." He'd especially feel strange about it if the Lykos were male, something he thought of after the words had already escaped.
But who could resist a fluffy creature nuzzling you, wagging its tail at you and otherwise being adorable? Not him. Carefully, he got to his own hands and knees, adopting a similar posture to the Lykos, facing it in a playful stance. Talk about embarrassed if anyone else walked in... Oh, well. He edged a hand forward to gently bat at one of the Lykos' ears and then withdrew it, smirking.
Whether or not she felt Marcus would be embarrassed by his comment, she was pleased. While not a particularly worthwhile comment among her own kind, in what they claimed mattered, it seemed to mean something to the human, and so meant something to Bramble.
She was even more pleased when the human adopted a posture similar to her own. Granted, the last time she'd played with a Lykos while they were still adopting the human form was years ago, but that was generally since the pack would shift forms together. The fact the human was trying make her much more comfortable, as this was more a language she understood.
She let out a playful whuff when Marcus batted at one of her ears. His hand was much lighter than any contact would be between her packmates and herself, which Bramble decided might be wise to imitate. She didn't want to make him angry after he'd been so kind.
Bramble darted to the side, facing Marcus, then tapped her front feet together down in front of him, letting out another whuff. Her mouth was open, tongue lolling to the side, and she looked excited.
It was easier than a lot of people might think to talk to someone who couldn't exactly talk back, Marcus thought. The Lykos was doing just fine communicating with its posture and body language, wagging of the tail and flicks of its ears. He'd been hopeful that it wouldn't be frightened by him swiping at it, but it seemed that he'd been accepted as a playmate.
"I'm not gonna try to make that noise," Marcus told Bramble the first time she whuffed, "because you'd just laugh at me." He backed up a little, still on his hands and knees, mainly to see if she'd pursue him. He remembered Kai playing with Churat down in the basement lounge, and she'd had a chesspiece for them to wrestle over. Neither of them had anything like that, but he didn't guess it mattered. Play was, well... play. Simple enough!
He slid back another few inches and darted one hand forward to bat at one of the Lykos' front paws... then promptly lost his balance and rolled to the side. "Ooops," he said sheepishly, good-natured about it all.
Excited, Bramble followed Marcus as he backed up, panting. When, after following him again, she caught his hand darting out, Bramble deftly avoided the human, letting out a low and playful growl. She enjoyed this interaction, glad for the lack of threat Marcus offered, and the good will he'd been giving off so far this morning.
It was out of concern, then, that Bramble sprang over to him, attempting to nuzzle and lick around his face and neck to make sure he was okay. Perhaps it was a species difference, this clumbsiness, but Bramble had to admit to herself that moving around as a human was indeed different from her native four paws. She'd been more awkward on two limbs more times than on four, but given what forms the Lykos possessed, two legs were all they walked on two-thirds of the time.
"You're way too quick for me!" Marcus commented just before he fell over. Which was really no surprise. Lykos vs. human? The Lykos would win every time, at least when it came to someone as relatively unskilled as Marcus. Not that he minded. This was for fun, after all. He wasn't particularly a competitive person anyway, in any circumstance.
He had to laugh when the Lykos began licking him, a light, boyish sound that echoed in the high-ceilinged stone room. "Really, I'm fine, just clumsy." He reached up from his position on the floor to rub at soft ears, unable to resist any longer. He figured if that wasn't okay, he'd quickly find out. "I think you won, though." It was nice to just hang out, play a little, not worry about why there were suddenly huge holes in the walls. Not that he would've really worried about it anyway, unless there'd been some immediate threat.
Bramble snuffled, her tail wagging slowly. It was nice, to find this sort of relaxed play that didn't carry the underpinnings of dominance threats. Having to constantly fight for your place in the world wasn't something she admired, deep in her heart, but it was a value she accepted as part of her People. The fact she felt occasional shame for not being able to bring herself into caring to fight for higher rank was overbalanced by her belief that such unrest would ultimately tear apart the heart of a pack. Apparently, she was mostly alone in this thought process, though Bramble wasn't bothered by it like she should have been anymore.
She plopped down next to Marcus, rolling so that her legs were between the two of them. After another sneeze (there was more dust coming off herself and the ground than her nose had expected) she tried straightening her legs to push against him, curious as to what he'd do. It was obvious this human, and perhaps humans in general, weren't as fast, and he felt more frail. Like playing with the very young, she was making sure not to accidentally get too excited at the prospect of friendliness and play to actually harm her playmate. Bramble assumed that would mean she'd never get to see him again, either through his choice, or a shift in personality. She wasn't the greatest judge of personality, really.
Marcus would not have done well as a Lykos. He wasn't a fighter, wasn't aggressive at all, wouldn't have been able to imagine having to battle for rank or dominance. Had he known what Bramble was thinking, he could have related to it very well. He'd always been at a loss for understanding when his siblings and siblings by proxy started squabbling, fighting and one-upping; more often than not, he couldn't even make his voice heard when that had happened. Usually he'd just wandered away and found something else to do.
Marcus wasn't concerned about Bramble hurting him; what his main concern had been was that he'd scare her. The Lykos had been so skittish at first, seeming ready to bolt and run at any second. Now he was a little less cautious, chuckling as furry paws pushed at his shoulders and thighs and reaching out with his hands to push back. He wondered if they were ticklish as he noticed the expanse of belly that was in his view. Maybe they were like humans and ticklishness varied from one to another. He was close enough now and positioned so he could see that this Lykos was female, though he didn't stare beyond a quick confirmation. It made him feel better about telling her that she was cute earlier.
In a matter of fact, if he had tried tickling Bramble in her current form, she would have languished under the touch. In her other two, she had a much more conventional reaction, but most touch which came across as uncomfortable was merely an acceptable means of gaining contact to her as a fully animal Lykos. Feeling Marcus push back, she gave him the closest thing to a grin in her current form, and thumped her long, furry tail.
Bramble was slightly sad that Marcus wasn't, in fact, Lykos. It would be so much easier to start forming pack bonds with proper members of her species; Bramble wouldn't realize such bonds beginning to form with members of another species. It simply wouldn't occur to her to recognize what she'd be feeling, even with her extreme neurosis since arriving.
She extended her neck, seeking to some of Marcus's exposed skin in thanks for being a good diplomat. Alpha personalities might want to duke out differences, but as a submissive, Bramble was grateful for this much gentler introduction to humanity.
Marcus obviously didn't have the Lykos need for pack acceptance, but like any other reasonably sociable human, he wanted to make friends. Being in a new place seemed so much easier when there were others to talk to and interact with. He felt that he'd been lucky so far; he hadn't met anyone he could say he didn't like. Even as naïve as he could be, Marcus knew that would eventually happen, but it hadn't thus far.
He guessed that the canine sort of grin he received and the tail wag meant that he was doing it right. This reminded him slightly of wrestling with his father's Partner's five year old; he was really the only one out of the older kids who had the patience to play with him. Thoughts like that made him start to miss home a little, so he stifled them as best he could, grinning as the Lykos' muzzle traveled over one side of his neck. It tickled, but he wasn't going to complain. Nothing wrong with a little tickling!
Bramble snuffled some more, then stilled as her stomach let out a convincing growl. She felt slight consternation - she either needed to figure out that room with all the good smells and how it worked, or go hunting for herself. Still, it was almost like admitting a weakness, and though Bramble wasn't anywhere near as frightened of Marcus as she had been when they'd unexpectedly come face to face, she also wasn't entirely comfortable.
Tucking her paws up to her body, she looked up and snorted, then shook her head. She had been glad to find that at least one human wasn't terror on two legs. Starting to stand, she gave another slow wag of her tail along with the equivalent of a gaping, animal smile. Her tongue lolled out of her open mouth, and almost made her look a bit simple, even if her eyes paid proper respect to Marcus's own. Glance to, then away, then back again.
Marcus couldn't miss her stomach growling in the echoing silence of the Solar Room. His was close to making similar sounds, he was sure; it was a little later than he usually ate breakfast. "About that time, isn't it?" he asked. Not because he expected her to answer, but because he'd gotten used to talking to her now. "I guess I should go put on something presentable to go downstairs. I have to clean the halls and closets up here today." That was his chore for the day, and he didn't want to get started with it late.
He sat up, since playtime seemed to be over, and smoothed his unruly blond hair back out of his eyes, smiling at the Lykos. "I'll see you around?" It came out sounding like a question. "You'll have to tell me who you are if you're in your other form." He figured she could find him easily enough even if she didn't know where his room was. By scent, if nothing else.
Bramble gave another wag of her tail, and softly yipped. She would look forward to scenting a familiar person around, particularly when he was so kind. In the meantime, she needed to take her chances in order to fill her belly.
Turning and trotting back down the halls, Bramble found herself both curious and happy. People weren't quite the demons she was expecting, and they weren't waiting to take her fur, or any of the nameless horrible things that happened in her mind. But what, exactly, were these chores Marcus had mentioned? She had a sinking feeling she would remember whatever was dancing in the back of her mind about that word later. Hopefully much, much later.