[Auri El]

@"Arkyls"

AURI EL

He hadn’t meant to startle them, honestly.

Auri El had simply been wandering about when the helpless chirps of owl chicks had seized his attention. There, at the roots of a great sycamore huddled two baby owlets, clearly far too young to have flown from the nest. They shivered and tried to hop desperately at the tree trunk to no avail. There’d be no way for them to scale the great tree.

And the dire mix – well he certainly couldn’t just leave the helpless chicks there to the inevitable death. He had to try to help. Owls were such magnificent creatures, and these little ones were great horned owls judging by the beginnings of little tufts on their heads. Why, they would be magnificent when they were older!

Thus, began Auri El’s new mission of Get Owlets Back in Their Nest. After discovering that the nest was quite low, the dire mix began to pile all the large rocks he could against the tree’s base to form a makeshift ramp for height. Carefully grasping the owlets in his maw (and desperately trying to hush their frightened screeches), the dire mix gently placed them back safe and sound in the nest with their siblings. It would’ve been a perfectly executed job well done – but perhaps he lingered too long, as he peered curiously at the chirping owlets. But who could say they’ve observed the babies in the nest like this before? It was a new experience!

But two, loud, furious, screeches reminded Auri El of why no one sat around gazing into owl nests. Sharp talons pierced into the side of his face and shoulder, throwing the dire male off the branch and down into the ground where the breath flew out of his lungs noisily. Dazed, breathless, and wincing with pain, Auri El attempted to find his feet, only for the furious parents to swoop back down repeatedly with a flurry of angry pecks and scratches. “Ow! I mean no harm, friends!! Your babies just fell from the nest – OW!” He gasped in attempt to soothe the protective parents, but it was to no avail. All Auri El could do was huddle against the ground and yelp as the owls screeched and swooped about, furious at the predator who went far too close to their nest.

[Gaius]

---

Nothing had ever quite been the same since that day.

Some nights, the clear image of her face appeared to him. Bloodied and separated, a floating hallow thing of a woman he thought, perhaps, one day he might’ve actually loved. But it was more than that, and he’d felt a little bit lost since that day.

Since the day she’d disappeared. From then, even to her death, he was not himself. And now, his partner in the whole ordeal was also missing.

Needless to say he was feeling lonely, perhaps in the most emotionally destructive way. He didn’t do a job, any job. He was supposed to be the council of the Queen and here he was, sitting in a hole of a den in a territory filled with prosperity and youth. Every day he decides to leave his den he is reminded by the children that lived here now, the families, the growth.

Serrate had done well. He’d made a mistake choosing anyone but her, but now— now things were right.

If only he felt right.

Every day he saw a new face, soon he had little faces that looked familiar and kind. Some probably were kind, most even, but Gaius had little energy to spare getting to know them all. It was a shame, really, as he remembered his carefree days before he was marked by her. He twitched his nose at the thought, as if he didn’t think about anything else these days.

Gaius hadn’t realized he was on some cliff’s edge until he heard a distant cluster of squawking; it sounded hostile and unwelcome. Immediately the brutish man rushed to the scene, war chimes ringing in his head as he did so. He was trained to listen for bird calls and warning alerts, often times it meant there was a situation. It could be an intruder, a civil dispute, even —

— even a bunch of owls, seemingly unrelenting on a citizen.

Without taking a moment to judge the situation for the embarrassing thing it was, the red backed fringe took a running charge and leap towards the aggressive birds, aiming to jump right at them and clearing the struggling wolf just below. He’d collided with one of them midair, the other catching his aim and swooping out of the way. With lips raised and ivory exposed, Gaius spared no time turning on his heels the moment he hit the ground again and opening his maw to send a flurry of unwieldy snaps, growling while doing so.

It took a few times before the owls decided this wasn’t worth their time anymore, ignoring the like stinging sensation across his head where minor contact was made by talons and a beak. Ruby reds watched as they flew above the pair, quite obviously showing that this was no coincidence. Lowering his head towards the stranger whom he nearly stood over, he scanned the pelt and markings and realized he’d seen this white-bellied male before.

“Ah...” He groaned, rolling his eyes and debated walking away without saying anything else. “You again?” There was a faint smell of iron in the air; no doubt he sustained some injuries himself however minor.

“Can’t stay well enough away from business that isn’t yours, can you?” Gaius tried to sound agitated but the bite wasn’t in the tone, if anything it sounded tired.

---

@ilunga

[Auri El]

@"Arkyls"

AURI EL

The owls continued their relentless onslaught and all Auri El could do was protect his head and eyes to the best of his ability. With a sinking feeling, the dire mix realized that the situation could quickly turn lethal if he did not get out of it.

But reprieve from piercing talons came in a sudden gust of wind and the sudden squawk of an owl caught off guard. Peering up between pale paws, Auri El peeked at the large figure practically towering over him with jaws snapping skyward. “Ah — don’t harm them!” He blurted out, but the plea was rendered unnecessary as the birds made their retreat. Wide wine eyes continued to watch the birds as they circled above, a certain awe across his freckled features. “Magnificent, aren’t they? I always—” Whatever spiel Auri El was about to go on was interrupted by a gruff groan.

“Ah… You again?”

Auri El tilted his head upward to meet the unimpressed red gaze of his savior. “Oh! My hero!” The gray dire mix suddenly laughed, body jumping up slightly – only to bump his shoulders against the chest of the large fringe who stood over him and knock Auri El back to the ground. “Hahaha, well aren’t you strong, my friend? You’ve rescued me yet again; honestly I should pay you haha! You and Iaera both had been so kind and helpful! She saved me from a feisty little critter a few days ago – I believe she called it a crab…” The runaway Saboran laughed, deciding to roll onto his back and stare up at his rescuer rather than crawl away.

“Can’t stay well enough away from business that isn’t yours, can you?”

“Aahh… well… you see, there were little owlets who clearly had fallen from the nest. I was putting them back up when the parents came back — it probably looked bad to them. A simple misunderstanding, really!” Auri El chuckled while sheepishly averting his gaze for a moment. “How embarrassing, normally I don’t get into this much trouble.” He offered the large fringe dire a smile, only for the expression to drop as he realized the other male was bleeding. “Oh dear! Friend, you’re injured. We should get that cleaned, scratches like that can mean nasty business.” Jumping up (and knocking clumsily against Gaius), Auri El would slip out from his protected space beneath the larger dire. It was then that the male realized how much his back was bleeding – and that he had accidentally gotten dirt into his wounds. “Ah ow, and apparently so am I. Come now, friend, let’s leave before they decide to guard the nest again. Come, come. My home isn’t too far off, and I have herbs.” Offering Gaius another grin, he would merrily begin to nudge his rescuer toward the direction of his den.

“Oh, my name is Auri El, by the way. Iaera hadn’t remembered my name, and I don’t expect you to have remembered it either! To be honest, I don’t recall receiving yours either. The porcupine quills were quite distracting.” Hopefully Gaius was up for some chatty company.

[Gaius]

---

Somewhere in his moment of defensive attack he heard words come from the male’s mouth, but he didn’t focus enough to pay attention to what he was saying. Instead he was glad to see them retreat to their nest without seemingly much more altercations, leaving him to have to properly interact with the animal whisperer. If only he were good at it.

“Oh! My hero!”

Gaius raised a brow, unsure he felt overly worthy of such a title. He didn’t say much or even react immediately when the chipper man bumped into his chest, thinking that likely could’ve been a queue to step out of the way but something compelled him to continuing standing there, looming over him.

It was a mistake.

“Hahaha, well aren’t you strong, my friend? You’ve rescued me yet again;—“

Oh jesus he talks.

”—honestly I should pay you haha! You and Iaera both had been so kind and helpful! She saved me from a feisty little critter a few days ago – I believe she called it a crab…”

“Yeah, yeah. If only I were a bodyguard you could hire…” He seemed dry in his response, his brow very much still raised. At this point Gaius would’ve considered moving away again, but he didn’t stop talking. It would be a little too rude for him to walk away in the middle of him talking; at least last time Iaera was able to keep him distracted while he made a stealthy mistake. Not this time.

“Aahh… well… you see, there were little owlets who clearly had fallen from the nest. I was putting them back up when the parents came back — it probably looked bad to them. A simple misunderstanding, really! How embarrassing, normally I don’t get into this much trouble. Oh dear! Friend, you’re injured. We should get that cleaned, scratches like that can mean nasty business.”

Gaius was almost mesmerized by how many words a second could fly out of his grey mouth. There was a reactive grunt to the collision again, finally unrooting his feet from the ground to step aside, looking at the eccentric man with bewilderment. “I’ve endured far worse.” He would turn his head to almost express focus on the three large scars stretched across his face. But it was silly of him to assume this would stop the doting nature this man seemed to have.

“Ah ow, and apparently so am I. Come now, friend, let’s leave before they decide to guard the nest again. Come, come. My home isn’t too far off, and I have herbs.”

Exhaling a deep sigh, “Does that ever get tiring?” He muttered under his breath, watching the energy levels of his endangered pack mate like he was some sort of hyped thing. It wasn’t erratic, but he felt tired just watching him talk.

“Oh, my name is Auri El, by the way. Iaera hadn’t remembered my name, and I don’t expect you to have remembered it either! To be honest, I don’t recall receiving yours either. The porcupine quills were quite distracting.”

“I don't imagine prickly things in your ass does make for good memory enhancement,” He retorted, somehow a little more lightheartedly. “Gemini isn’t even that dangerous.” He begrudgingly found himself following behind without even taking a moment to consider why. Gaius didn’t care about a few scratches, but yet… there he was.

“Gaius.” He said after a moment, eyes moving away to look around the surroundings as they walked.

---

@ilunga