Remnants of the Earth
EDANITH => The Frontier => Topic started by: Rhi-Rhi on May 09, 2013, 03:04:24 pm
-
Food was hard to come by on the frontier, and Des was beginning to grow desperate.
He had passed through a small frontier town and raided the rubbish heaps and drank from the horse troughs, but before he could think about where on earth he was going to get some clothes so he could blend in and ask for a place to stay, he'd been caught and forced to run or get shot.
Now back out in the dusty middle of nowhere, tongue lolling out of his powerful jaws, Des felt himself running low on options.
He needed to eat, and he needed to hydrate, or he was going to die.
He'd managed to sate both basic needs by catching rabbits or slaughtering livestock here and there, their meat and blood providing the nourishment he needed. But he hadn't seen an animal for miles now.
Maybe he should turn back and take his chances, show up naked and beg for help, say some criminals stole his shit. Maybe. That sounded the logical choice, but part of him was paranoid they'd be able to figure out that he was a criminal, himself, dumped out into the middle of nowhere and left to die. Others had, but he had a hyena's endurance.
Sniffing the air, that was when a new scent caught his nose, something distinctly mammalian, canine, and he began to salivate. Good enough. He'd take it. When he was younger, he would have been queasy at the thought of eating a dog, but nowadays he couldn't afford to be picky.
Picking up his pace, he loped toward the source, licking his lips in anticipation.
-
Skylar was toiling away in his little plot of land again, as he did every day. Up at dawn, in bed by dusk, it was his life’s routine. Being by himself did have its advantages - for one, he didn’t have to till all that much land, which meant he could focus what little green magic he had into it and make it thrive. His canine’s body missed meat though, and he was even skinnier than he ought to be, and had been that way a long time. On some level he knew it affected his strength and endurance greatly, but so far he’d been able to use his horse to escape rather than having to flee himself. He kept that horse in better condition that himself, terraforming a whole swath of land to house grass and other greenery for it to eat. He feared the day it died of old age though, at which point he’d likely have to venture into a town to barter for a new one, expensive as they were.
It wasn’t the expense he was that worried about though.
It was having to deal with the people.
Shivering, he looked up again, large sky blue eyes scanning the hazy red distance warily. He did it often enough, checking for the familiar outline of people, or a rider. Generally the horse’s hoof beats reached his ears well enough in advance. If the wind was good, he could scent them out even further than his sharp eyes or hearing could - today though, the gusts were traveling away from him.
He had no idea it’d cared his unusual scent to a creature that thought to have him for lunch.
Working as he was behind a sun-rotted fence of slender branches, with nothing in hand but a very well worn hoe, Skylar was completely vulnerable. He’d never once run across a creature that didn’t have that familiar fear-inducing outline.
He was in for a surprise when his head glanced up again, something loping toward him alarmingly close now. Already large eyes widened further, and he dropped the tool into the heads of cabbage abruptly. A strange new form of terror spiked through him, and the scream that let lose quickly turned into a high pitched chirping yowl.
The skinny boy with dreadlocks had almost instantly melted away into a scrawny painted dog, instincts driving him to flee from what was a great threat.
A hyena.
Skylar managed to easily slip from the large overalls, but his stiff white shirt (though it was hardly white these days thanks to all the work in the fields) refused to come lose. He’d have to back out of it, and there wasn’t time, for he was already bolting off across the field toward the far fence. He vaulted over it as if born to fly, and continued to flee on spindly sprinters legs.
Granted, painted dogs had an insane degree of endurance themselves, but Skylar was many years weakened from a lacking diet. Alarmingly, he found his lungs burning almost immediately as he dashed across red clay, dry tongue lolling uncomfortably.
Oh to hells with it, was this really how he was finally going to be caught? Torn apart by an animal?? After all the years fleeing people, it seemed a cruel irony to end it this way.
-
A shape formed on the horizon, and Des picked up his pace, moving from an easy lope to an all out run. There it was! It would see him soon, no doubt; not many places to use for cover. So he had to cover ground now before it did, so it wouldn't get too much of a head start. At an all out run now, it wasn't long before the shape began to take form, the scent growing delightfully strong.
And that was when he saw that the shape was that of a human.
A human that let out a scream that turned into a yip, as that human shape melted into something more canine.
...A shifter, then.
Well. That complicated matters.
But the chase was still on.
The dog took off, and Des poured on the speed. It was miserably hot, but he'd spent enough time traveling, covering miles a day and hunting what he could, to have built up considerable endurance. He tore over the earth, sides heaving, and though the pretty little dog had gotten off to a fast start, it wasn't long before he was gaining.
And then he overtook him.
In one quick, decisive movement, he pulled up alongside him and shoulder-checked him, knocking him flat to the ground. And then he pounced, covering the little dog's body with his own and placing both paws on his chest to keep him pinned.
"Mine."
-
Everything in Skylar was screaming, aching forward, trying to escape the pain that would be powerful jaws catching him. In his panic he could feel the creature gaining, and for a moment it seemed his heart would leap from his body in a bid to save itself. The dry air stung his eyes, his nose, his tongue was like leather even as he pounded the red earth with small paws.
When the decisive blow finally came, it wasn’t at all what he was expecting.
The blow to his bony shoulder took his legs, and he tumbled head over tail twice before a large dark shape was on him. For a blinding moment instinct took over, a peel of terrified chirping yowls escaping his jaws as he was pinned. He struggled to breath under the weight, lungs desperate to draw in air with heaving pants. His entire rear end was curled up pitifully under Des’ body, front paws stiffly sticking out against that muscular furred neck.
His blue eyes were wild with panic, but he ran out of breath for the cries of fear, and instead laid there stiff and silent.
This was it then, he was going to be eaten. And he had no hope of fighting it off, everything in his instincts told him as much.
He was only dimly aware of the fact the creature had even spoken. Somewhere in his mind, he knew that was important, but the fear had overtaken his ability to think like a human. He himself was beyond words, and beyond sounds.
-
If Des had been in human form, he could have laughed. Instead, he grinned--but with so many sharp, glistening teeth it looked less like a grin and more like, "I'm going to tear out your throat."
Which he would have already done if he hadn't reached such a strange dilemma.
This pup was a shifter, human just like him. Would that make eating him cannibalism, since they were both human? Or not, since in these forms they were different species? Wait. What were hyenas, anyway? Were they considered dogs? Fuck if he knew. Either way, he had to admit, the idea of eating a dog was a tough one, as he'd had pets before. And killing a human? He was past that. He'd sworn never again.
No matter how he spun this, he couldn't do it.
Besides, the fact that there was another, sentient being out here meant maybe he knew of a good food and water source. He sure felt scrawny, though...
So after a moment's pause while the little dog cried and stared in abject terror, he finally gave a snort and leaned in.
And gave the pup a big ol' slobbery lick all up the side of his neck and face. Just because.
"Relax, little doggie. I'm not gonna eatcha," he said. "But I'm also not gonna letcha up 'til I know ya won't run. Ya hearin' me?"
-
This might have been the longest, most excruciating wait he’d ever endured. His heart was still hammering in his chest, and he wished he could just pass out rather than stare up into that mouthful of teeth about to come down on him. Then that massive, powerful jaw was approaching, and a scream of terror caught in his dog’s throat before…
…
…
One side of his head was suddenly wet with slobber, and his huge sky blue eyes blinked a few times. His instinctual mind knew this was a good thing, but his human mind was scrambling and confused.
Then the hyena was speaking.
This time the realization caught up with him. This was…a shifter?? His chest was still heaving, but some of the tension slowly relaxed out of him. After staring what he assumed to be death right in its face, anything was better, even despite his innate mistrust.
Abruptly the dog body disappeared, leaving an equally bony young man beneath those paws.
“I-I-I won’t! I-I-I swear it!”
He all but squeaked it out, dreadlocks in a state of disarray, and a good deal of fear still on his face.
-
Aaand suddenly there was a scrawny human beneath him, his paws still planted on his chest. The whole situation was kind of hilarious to him, he had to admit; wasn't everyday you scared the pants off them--or made them yelp with fear. Literally, in both cases.
Des held him there like that for a few moments longer, considering him, and then he stepped off of his chest to let him up.
"Good," he said, and then just as seamlessly as the dog-boy he shifted to human form--only unlike the dog-boy, he had significantly fewer clothes. Which was to say none at all.
He didn't seem bothered by that.
"There. Now will ya fuckin' stop freakin' out? That squeakin' hurts my ears. What's your name, kid?"
-
Skylar sat up so fast it was like a spring had gone off under his head. One side of his face was sticky, his dreadlocks in a state of disarray, but his huge blue eyes were stuck on the hyena. Who then quickly shifted into a man. The nakedness didn’t phase him at all - he was frozen simply because this was a person. The thing he most wanted to avoid.
Sitting in just a shirt, hands pressed into his lap, his skinny form continued to heave as he dragged breath into his lungs through his nose, as his jaw was clenched shut. He was a thrumming ball of nervous energy, but he could hardly help it. This had become an everyday reaction to ‘visitors’.
And now he couldn’t even escape.
He tried to swallow, but it took a few tries with his throat as dry as it was.
“S-Skylar.”
He managed to croak it out, and then made no further attempts to talk. He just wanted this man to leave. Whatever it was he wanted, he could have it, and just go. Go away…
All the same, something in him felt more at ease than normal. Even if this creature had given him the worst fright he’d had in years, he was…he was…similar. Another shifter. A creature that was familiar, even if an enemy in most cases.
Just that was enough to inflame all the loneliness in a pack animal without a pack.
-
When Skylar sat up, Des tensed and was ready to tackle the kid down again if he tried to bolt, but then he relaxed when it looked like that wouldn't be the case. Kid probably wouldn't get far, anyway, skinny as he looked, and probably malnourished and dehydrated. He wouldn't last; there didn't seem much left for the sun to shrivel up, and from the way he was breathing, it looked like this scare had done a number on him.
"Skylar, huh?" Des repeated, scratching at his chin, which bore some stubble. It had been days since he'd been in any town, and thus days since he'd been human, and thus days since his last shave.
"Well, Skylar, nice to meetcha, kid! I'm Des. And today is yer lucky day. Lucky 'cause, well, heh, ya got no idea how damned close ya were to becomin' meat! 'Cept yer human, and I ain't no cannibal, and that's against my convictions and shit. So!"
Reaching out, he slapped the boy on the back. "So instead, welcome to the pack. Or somethin'. I guess. I guess that's what dogs do, right? Make packs? And shit, figured since ya was out here, ya must know where a town is. That, or we're both fucked. But there ain't generally people out where there's no town."
He paused, reconsidered. "Uh, unless yer me. Or maybe even you, since ya don't look so fuckin' good. Whatcha been eatin' out here, anyway? Dirt? Shit, kid, don'tcha hunt?"
-
The man’s words did little to reassure Skylar, the scrawny boy still trembling something fierce on the hard packed dirt. He barely even registered the man’s name - Des. The slap on his boney back made him yelp, and he hunched over a bit more as the stinging subsided. He was such a big guy…Skylar felt even more skinny by comparison.
Wait.
What?
Welcome…to the pack??? If it was possible, those sky blue eyes became even wider. For a long moment after Des had finished speaking, Skylar continued to stare rather dumbfounded at him, jaw slightly slack. He felt overwhelmed, and more than a little bit sick. His panting was subsiding, but his trembling was only getting worse. Still, he was too afraid not to respond.
“N-No town…n-n-nearby…I-I don’t hunt…j-j-just farm…”
He still didn’t know what to say about the ‘pack’ comment…was that a joke? If so, it was pretty cruel…
“Wh-What do you w-want…???”
-
Farm? Des gave him a puzzled look. He sure as hell didn't see any farms out here. Hadn't passed any for...ages. Kid must not be a very good farmer, either, because he sure as hell didn't have any meat on those bones. Yeah, even if he hadn't had the moral convictions to not eat someone of the same species, eating him would have been pointless, anyway. He was just skin and bones.
"What do I want?" Des snorted. "I want food, first and foremost. And I wanna be outta this goddamn sun. I'd like a little human contact, too, so I know I ain't fuckin' out of my gourd. Like, shit, I hope yer fuckin' real here and I ain't talking to a tumbleweed. But heat and solitude, makes ya trip balls faster than a bad acid trip."
He tilted his head, frowned at the kid. "Goddamn, kid, relax already, will ya? Yer makin' me nervous, all yer shakin' and stutterin'. Anyway, it's hot as balls out here, even without fur. Why don't we get on over to that tree over there?"
He pointed to a tree in the distance, a shabby thing indeed, though it at least cast a shadow.
-
Oh, if only he were a tumbleweed…this was all but his worst nightmare right here. Although, at the very least, he hadn’t been beaten or killed.
Yet.
The request for food was a predictable one. He didn’t have much stored away to be honest, but maybe if he gave that and whatever else he had to this man, he would leave??
The order to relax, ironically, made him jerk and stiffen. He was a bundle of nerves alright…but he was far from able to help it at this point, after years of living in self imposed fear.
“S-s-sorry…”
His voice was hardly a squeak, and then those large eyes flicked quickly toward the tree. Maybe this was his chance? Maybe if he swore he had nothing of worth to give Des…he’d go away? After all, Skylar knew he wasn’t the picture of a thriving lifestyle, so maybe…and this man didn’t know about his earth mage abilities either.
“O-Okay…b-but I don’t h-have anything…”
Sure, he’d already mentioned the fact he farmed, and his tiny homestead was in the distance…if worst came to worst, he could let Des ransack whatever he could find out of his home. He wasn’t exactly lying, after all…there wasn’t much to be had.
-
Des's eyes narrowed and his lips twisted into a scowl of annoyance. He looked at Skylar, long and hard. And then with a low growl he rose to his feet, grabbed Skylar under the armpit, and hauled him to his feet.
"Bull. Shit," he said, dragging the boy with him as he trudged for the shade of the scraggly old tree. "Maybe ya ain't got nothin' with ya, but ya said ya farm, didn'tcha? So ya gotta have a farm. 'Cause that's how farms work. So where is it, huh?"
-
Skylar yelped loudly as he was grabbed, and for a moment he froze. And then he was being dragged along, and the panic set in.
Thrashing and flailing with spindly limbs, the malnourished teen did his best to get away from Des’ much larger frame.
“No! No! I’m sorry! Please! Please don’t! It’s over there! Please!”
He was practically crying with hysterics. At this point there was nothing but desperation - to live past this experience. To not have to go through the past again. Even if he had to lose everything, he didn’t care.
-
Des froze when the kid he'd just grabbed to help to his feet and stuff devolved into flailing hysterics. It startled him enough that he almost let go, but instead he tightened his grip on him as he struggled, and stared at him in some odd combination of horror, annoyance, and confusion. Here he was, bringing the kid over to the shade, and the kid was acting like he was hauling him off to the butcher's block.
"What the--what the fuck, kid!" he said, and took Skylar by both shoulders so he could give him a little shake--and get a better grip on him so he didn't squirm free. "The hell're ya bawlin' 'bout?! The hell ya think I'm gonna do? Now knock that shit off before ya hurt yerself! I ain't gonna hurt ya, so calm yer ass down!"
-
Despite how ridiculous the situation must have seemed from afar, all Skylar could think was that this man was going to kill him. Or worse. The shake made his eyes snap shut, but the rattling of his own bony frame brought him out of his hysterics at least a little bit. He kept his eyelids shut tight, but through the fog of panic, he heard at least some of what Des was saying.
Not going to hurt him?
His first reaction was disbelief. Of course he was going to hurt him! Why else would he be here?? Then again, the rational side of his brain managed to get a word in. There was really no reason for Des to lie at this point. Skylar was already completely at his mercy. The farm was easily within view, and he was in no position to escape himself. There was no reason why Des would lie about hurting or not hurting him at this point.
No longer fighting, Skylar simply stood there in his pitifully oversized shirt, caked with dirt as it was, and trembled in Des’ grip. Had he ears, they’d certainly be drooped back against his head, and his tail would definitely be curled between his legs. He wasn’t sure what to say, so he kept quiet and attempted to calm his uneven breathing.
At this point, it might have been obvious that the wereboy had been pretty severely traumatized in the past for such an extreme reaction to happen.
-
Something seemed to have gotten through that thick noggin of Skylar's, because his struggles ceased and then he just stood there, looking pathetic and sounding on the verge of some sort of asthmatic attack. Des sucked in a breath, calling upon his patience reserve, and loosened his grip on Skylar until he was just holding his shoulders instead of restraining him.
"There. There we go. That's better. Alright, see? Just gonna go over to tha' tree over there, get outta the sun, take a breather so ya can calm yer ass down a bit, and then we're gonna head to yer farm, got it? Get some food. Water. Look, kid, I ain't interested in robbin' ya or nothin', but I ain't eaten for a bit now, ya dig?"
And then, rethinking that sentence, he sighed and added, "Before ya panic, don't read too deep into that. Like I said, yer not on the menu. I ain't a monster. Got no interest in hurtin' some defenseless kid, alright?"
Ah. There it was. That was what was bothering him the most about this situation--how Skylar was acting. It was like his past coming back to haunt him, because sure, he had done horrible things in the past, but he was trying to escape that now and had no desire to go back. Being treated like the monster he was trying to flee was...
Upsetting.
-
At this point, Skylar was too winded, his throat too parched, to even manage words. He settled for a weak nod instead, no longer attempting to flee, though he still trembled here and there. Honestly if he wasn’t so exhausted, he’d probably be shaking a lot more, as his nerves hadn’t really died down all that much.
Again that promise not to hurt him, and again he didn’t believe it. He couldn’t help the kneejerk reaction of his brain screaming ‘LIES’ at any such promise. Yet at the same time, he was again reminded that Des honestly had no reason to lie at this point.
Fingers dug into his shirt at his belly, he allowed himself to finally be led into the shade of the tree. He hardly felt the heat anymore these days, having always been out in it, working hard from morning til night. He probably only had the dog in him to thank for not having suffered some kind of heat stroke long ago.
-
All he got was a nod, but a nod was good enough. Once in the shade of the tree, Des released Skylar after giving his shoulder a friendly squeeze. "Good. Alright. Now just take a breather and chill, got it?"
It was also an excuse for Des to catch his breath, because although he wasn't winded, dealing with such a high-strung, panicked kid was...well, just watching him was making him exhausted! How the shit hadn't he given himself a heart-attack yet?
He stretched his arms over his head until his back popped, then stood there looking at Skylar with his hands behind his head. "Now, that's yer farm over there, eh? Just tell me when yer ready to get a move on, but don't take too long. I'm fuckin' parched. Ya got water over there, too, don'tcha? Fuck, I hope ya got water."
-
Being in the shade did help a little, as his heavy breathing was finally starting to even out. Sadly the decrease in temperature didn’t help his painfully dry mouth and throat. The popping sound drew his attention, and he glanced nervously up at Des for a moment. But as soon as the man looked back at him, he averted his gaze.
He did have water. It was always the hardest part of any move, digging a well and crafting his earth magic around it. Honestly, his effectiveness at terraforming was getting worse and worse, and he knew it was due to his slowly weakening body. If he had to uproot again, in all honesty, he probably wouldn’t survive it.
Since it seemed his ‘guest’ was ready to go, he gave another stiff nod before slowly backing up and out of the knobby overhang of the tree. With trudging steps he led Des toward his home, only pausing to retrieve his overalls just inside the rickety fence that outlined barely fertile earth. He awkwardly stepped back into them even as he held open the dusty wooden door for Des, head still down. His home was all hand built and thus very small. It was essentially just one large room, with a small kitchen setup at one end, and a cot at the other.
-
Leaving the shade was painful, for it was several degrees hotter beyond it, but it wasn't so bad now that he had a goal in sight. He followed along after Skylar as the kid lead him to the small settlement--and watched, amused, as the kid picked up a pair of overalls and put them on.
Aha. So that explained his lack of pants! Haha. The kid hadn't been too far from where he'd tackled him. Did this mean...?
Des barked a sudden laugh and slapped the boy on the back while the kid held the door open for him. "Motherfuck, kid. Did I literally scare the fuckin' pants off ya or what?"
Still chuckling, he strode into the little one-room hovel and, with a happy sigh, plopped his butt down onto the cot. Goddamn, that felt amazing. The first soft surface he'd encountered for miles.
"Pretty sweet set-up ya got here, boy," Des said as he took in the room. "Huh. Oh, yeah, while I'm here, ya got any spare clothes? Before I get a fuckin' sand rash on my dick or some shit."
-
Another squeak was pushed out of him as, yet again, he was slapped on the back. Ouch…wincing slightly, Skylar graced Des with a rather pouty look.
“…W-When I transform…they slide off…”
He mumbled, before shutting the door in the middle of Des’ next sentence. He didn’t really want to think about the fact he had a large naked man sitting in his house right now. Spare clothes?? He hardly had enough clothes for himself! They definitely were not going to fit!
As he mulled over these thoughts, he went to his makeshift well and uncovered it. With much effort he hauled up the small bucket, untied it, and then endeavored to carry it back inside. Toddling over to Des, he awkwardly held the bucket out to him.
“I-I…don’t think…a-anything will fit you…”
He then blinked, as if remembering something.
“I’ve…um…never gotten a s-sand rash…”
-
Water! Goddamn, he didn't think he'd ever been so happy to see a bucket of water before.
Des practically snatched it from the kid's hands and wasted no time in putting it to his lips and gulping it down. Of course, he drank a wee bit too fast and wound up choking, but hell if that stopped him! As soon as he could breathe again, he went straight back to chugging and only stopped because, deep down, he knew he'd get sick if he drank too much.
He splashed some of what was left onto his face and rubbed at his face and neck to wash off some of the red dust caked onto his skin. Looking at Skylar, he snorted. "Never, eh? Well, I ain't had it on my dick, but I sure's fuck don't wanna have a first time. Too easy to get dry and chaffed out here in the fuckin' heat."
He put some water in his short hair and sighed happily at the coolness. "Well, shit. Ya ain't got no big shirts or nothin'? Do ya at least know where to get any? 'Cause fuck, it's either walk around naked or be a goddamn dog and I can't go to town naked or furry."
-
It seemed…his ‘guest’ wasn’t joking when he’d said he was parched. Skylar watched with some amazement as the man guzzled practically the entire bucket’s worth of water. Seemed he’d be getting his own drink later…
He jerked as Des began to use it to wet himself down, large eyes watching the trails of muddy water follow the pull of gravity.
Oh no.
Oh no!
Not on his bed!!
Fidgeting something fierce, he could hardly concentrate on what Des was saying at that point.
“I-I only have…one other set of clothes…um…they’re the same…size as these…”
He was internally panicking now. Skylar was incredibly diligent about scrubbing off before getting into that bed. It was his one and only creature comfort - crawling into a clean bed. He took great pains to keep that simple cot free of dirt and mud.
Taking half a step forward, his hands froze somewhere between himself and Des. He really wanted to tell him to get off the bed before that muck made it all the way down to the sheet, but at the same time he was far too terrified.
“T-Town’s far away…um…”
He was practically thrumming with panic, brow furrowed, and he bit his lip hard.
Gaaaah please get up! Get up get up! Why would you try and wash on someone’s bed?? Nooo…no no no…it’s getting closer!!
Skylar let out a plaintiff whine before a rush of words tumbled out of his mouth.
“Pleasegetoffmybed!”
-
Oblivious to Skylar's horror, Des listened to Skylar speak with a look of forced patience. He really wanted him to just spit the words out already and quit his stuttering, but ugh. Patience. Let the kid talk, he had a right to be scared, though it was annoying that he seemed to still believe he was going to murder him messily at any moment.
"Mm. Far away, huh? Fuck," Des muttered, glowering at a point on the floor so he didn't unnerve the kid by glowering at him. He set his elbow on his knee and propped his chin on his palm. "Well, hell, how far away is 'far away'? How many days d'ya think it'd take?"
He dipped his hand into the water again, prepared to splash more onto him. The kid was really looking panicky, and it was starting to unnerve him. "I mean, d'ya think it's somethin' we could--what the fuck, boy!"
He practically jumped to his feet, startled by the whine and the sudden rush of words, and stood there glaring at the boy, water dripping down his body and leaving tracks in his skin, where the red clay washed off to reveal rich, dark skin. "The hell's wrong with ya? Whatcha goin' on about now?!"
-
The tension washed out of him as soon as Des got off the bed, making his shoulders visibly sag. Thank goodness…thank goodness…
He let out a heavy sigh of relief, then sidled over to the bed to double check it without having to get too much closer to Des. Satisfied that there was only an auspicious butt-shaped dusting of red clay, rather than a puddle of mud, he finally glanced back up at the hyena-were.
Gulping, he fidgeted slightly.
“…M-My bed…uh…”
Wincing a little, as Des was obviously angry, he pointed at the trails of water moving down Des’ dirt caked body with a shivering finger.
“…the mud…was going to…erm…”
Finally he just jabbed that finger to the corner of the room closest to the bed, where there was a simple, but somewhat ingenious, area to wash off. The floor was slightly indented, and there was a simple three-slot grate in the center. A tiny shelf on the wall was where the bucket of water would usually be set, and under the house he’d been careful to construct it properly so the run off didn’t cause damage.
“I-I’ll get…more water…”
-
What was he even going on about...?
Oh.
What.
Seriously?
Des stared blankly at Skylar, a what, really? expression on his face. He was afraid of a little dirt on his bed? When he was a fucking dog and lived out in the dusty middle of nowhere? With a roll of his eyes, Des stepped further from the bed.
"Oh, well, sorry I was taintin' it with my filth," he said under his breath, and followed where Skylar was pointing to see the indentation.
With a grate in the floor.
Oh.
Glancing back at Skylar, he folded his arms over his chest and shrugged. "Alright, yeah, guess that, uh...makes more sense. Fine, yeah, fetch that water, kid. I wanna get all this shit off me."
Really, he'd only been expecting to clean his face and cool off a little; water was scarce, so a full-on washing wasn't something he'd been anticipating. But if he could get a thorough washing out of this? Fuck yeah.
-
Even in human form, Skylar had incredible sharp hearing. Those muttered words didn’t escape him, but he wasn’t sure what to say, so he bit his lip nervously again. Aaah it was so stressful having someone around…even if it really did seem unlikely Des was going to try and hurt him any time soon.
Still, he couldn’t let his guard down.
Unable to do anything other than awkwardly stand there, he finally decided to collect the bucket and scamper back outside to the well. He took an extra minute to get a drink for himself, before bringing in another bucketfull for Des to use. Though even as he set it on the well worn ledge, he glanced back at Des.
All of Des.
Gosh he was big. Would he need two bucket-fulls…?
-
There wasn't much to look at in Skylar's place, so Des mostly paced the room and glanced at what few things there were to look at. Oh, and he made sure to stay away from the kid's bed, since he was so goddamn prickly about that.
When Skylar returned with a bucket of water, Des gave a grunt of acknowledgment and headed for the indentation, where he stood over the grate. Grabbing the bucket, he crouched down and started to splash at himself with it, scrubbing himself as best as he could with his hands. He felt eyes on himself as he worked so he glanced up--and saw that Skylar was staring at him.
With an arched brow, he snorted. "Whatcha lookin' at?"
-
Awkward as it may have been, Skylar didn’t really own any spare cloth with which to wash with. It was just water and his hands, but he’d gotten pretty good at it in all honesty.
Des’ question made him literally jump, and he took a cautious step back. It wasn’t even a conscientious thing for him anymore - he was skittish by default these days.
“…Y-You…probably need…a-another bucket…”
He would just wait until Des was done with the first one, since he…well, he only had one. At this point, he didn’t even realize that his staring was probably uncomfortable. He really…had no people skills to speak of. He’d not interacted with anyone in any great amount since his…his family.
-
Des grunted at that and went back to scrubbing, delighting in the cool water on his hot, sun-parched skin. "That's it, huh? That's what all the starin's about? Yeah, I'll probably need another, at this rate."
Lifting the bucket, he upended it over his head to get the parts of him his hands couldn't comfortably reach. Brown water ran down the drain, and though he knew he wouldn't be clean long out here, it was nice to enjoy it while it lasted.
"Ya must have a lotta water here or somethin' if ya can afford to waste so much bathin'."
-
Blinking, Skylar couldn’t help the tilt of his head. Why else would he be staring? Well…ok maybe staring wasn’t exactly the most normal thing either. Ah, he didn’t really know what ‘normal’ was in these sorts of situations! He was doing his best here not to burst a blood vessel with as quickly as his heart was beating!
Soon enough that bucket was gone, and he moved nervously to retrieve it - ie shuffling closer to Des awkwardly, and hoping he’d get the hint to hand it over.
“Er…I-I have…a well…uh…I made it, I mean…”
-
Skylar shuffled closer, and Des's eyebrow arched higher. "Yeah? Ya made it, huh? And it ain't gonna dry up? Alright, then," he said, and scratched under an armpit, still staring at Skylar.
Finally, he snorted. "What're ya doin'? Ya wanna bathe with me or somethin'?"
-
Skylar had considered the well drying up before, of course. That’s why he always spent the most time scouting out a good place for one, and then using his small bit of green magic to keep it clean and good. He had an excellent sense for where the water shelf was and where it was most saturated, and all his wells lasted until he was forced to leave due to…other circumstances.
But that took too many words to explain, so instead he fidgeted as usual, giving a slight shake of his head to let Des know that it wouldn’t dry up, at least not any time soon.
Still shuffling closer, he glanced at the bucket, which was practically between Des’ feet. He wasn’t gonna get that close if he could help it! He was about to nervously ask for it when Des spoke up again, and the large eyed young man just blinked back at him. And looked him over again, head to toe. And then bit his lip as he frowned.
“…t-too big…er…you are, I-I mean…”
He then blinked a few times. Well, also that would be having to be real close to him, and he really didn’t want to do that. But he’d sort of forgotten, because so long ago, they all bathed together. And it was fun! Grooming was wonderful…
Oh, grooming…
He shuddered and looked momentarily struck by both nostalgia and the urge to cry. Aaaaah no, come on, focus here! Shaking his head, heart fluttering painfully, he finally managed to hold out a trembling hand.
“B-Bucket please…”
-
A slow, salacious smile spread across Des's lips and he glanced down at himself before looking back to Skylar.
"Why, ain'tcha the little flatterer?" he said with a rough laugh, just to fuck with the guy. "Ain't no one complained it's too much, though." He knew that's probably not what the kid meant, but goddamn, he looked ready to hemorrhage or something. He needed to lighten up already! His nervousness was about ready to make him anxious, and unfortunately, his own anxiety manifested as irritation.
Bending to scoop the bucket up, he held it out to Skylar with a raised eyebrow. "This whatcha been freakin' out over? Here. That make ya feel better? Goddamn, kid. Whatcha think's gonna happen here, huh?"
-
Skylar blinked, and tilted his head slightly through his nervous haze. The comment had gone right over his head, and it showed very obviously in his somewhat puzzled expression.
There was absolutely no reason or way for Skylar to make the connection between
“We can’t both fit in the bathing corner because you’re too big”
And
“Hoho I’m well endowed thank you for noticing”.
But he’d gotten the bucket back! A small victory! He snatched the dented, beat up thing back and held it to his chest, already walking backward away to retrieve another. Having nearly made his escape, the question made him pause at the door. He swallowed hard, and then quietly opened the door to slip through, but he stopped for a moment. And for once, he spoke without shaking, and while looking right at Des.
“You’ll murder me.”
And then he was back out into the dusty red.
For Skylar, that was the only absolute. Anybody who came here, anybody near him, might turn around and slit his throat. He was positive it could happen because it HAD happened, to his entire family. And now he was too terrified to think differently, because one lapse could mean he would suffer the same fate.
He returned shortly thereafter, another bucket it tow, looking just as nervous as before. And at least now, Des had a slightly better idea of why, though good luck trying to convince the ball of nerves that it wasn’t in fact going to happen.
@Rhi-Rhi
-
...Well, okay, Des could get that.
After all, he was a large, naked, brute of a man, and he had sort of tackled the kid as a hyena, and demanded to be taken to the kid's home. There wasn't really a part of him that didn't scream predator!, from the way he looked to the confident, purposeful way he moved. And if he wanted to hurt Skylar? It wouldn't take much, and there wouldn't be a thing the poor guy could do to fend against him. Des was a large man, and he had taken plenty of men far larger than even. Like a hyena, he was built for power.
So, it was a valid fear.
Now he just had to figure out a way to put that fear at ease, before the kid burst a vessel. Besides, he didn't like being looked at like that, like the monster he was trying not to be.
Skylar returned, and Des reached out to take the second bucket. "I can't hardly blame ya fer thinkin' I might kill ya," he said, and this time he took his time, dipping into the water and cleaning himself instead of dumping the water over himself. This time, he wanted to make it last. "I know what this looks like. And I'm bigger than ya. Wouldn't take much. But I'm tellin' ya, kid, if I wanted to hurt ya, I would've done it a long time ago."
He splashed water over his face and short hair. "All I want right now is to get clean, get some food and water, and not...die in this godsforsaken heat. And, y'know, I ain't gonna complain 'bout a little company, either." Looking up, he gave a little shrug. "What can I say? I'm a pack animal, heh. Humans like company, and so do dogs or whatever. Hyenas. Dogs. Same difference. Anyway, that's like a double whammy right there. What I'm sayin', kid, is maybe I've been lonely, too. Or some shit."
-
The skittish teen only got as close as was necessary to successfully let Des grab the bucket, and then he took a good two big steps back and fidgeted stiffly. The idea of running really did sound wonderful…but he couldn’t leave without the emergency seeds, which were stashed here in the tiny one room home. Obviously he couldn’t do that without garnering some unwanted attention from his huge guest…and besides, his horse was getting up in years by now, and running break-neck through the desert in this heat might prove to be it’s undoing.
He couldn’t really afford to lose the precious animal now, and he tried not to think about the day it did in fact die of natural causes. The ground was so hard, and he was so weak, there was no way he’d be able to till successfully.
Dying alone in the desert had always been on his mind, but sometimes it was startling to remember it could come from something other than an unwanted ‘visitor’.
Jerking as the man spoke, Skylar listened through the haze of fear, and simply shivered near the end. On the one hand, this was essentially true - Des could have killed him out there on the dirt. But the people before had played friendly, and waited for their time. He tried to think through the panic racing circles in his mind - was it because there were so many of them in his family, that they had to wait until everyone was asleep?
Still that didn’t really change the fact Des could dispatch him at any moment - Skylar was literally helpless. Even in his dog form, he’d be no match.
He shrank a little in his dusty clothes, shoulders hunched.
What he didn’t expect was the comment on loneliness. Had he his large ears, they would have perked up some. Come to think of it…hyena were social too, weren’t they? And humans well…they didn’t count. They lived in close proximity, yes, but it was not the same. They didn’t communally help each other, support each other, and love each other. It was different from a pack.
For the first time, something in him wanted to relax ever so slightly. Somewhere in the back of his mind, a little voice was crying out, that perhaps if they both needed a pack then they could make one together.
But he wasn’t ready to actually give in to that fantasy yet, if ever. He had to stay on guard, just in case. The desperation to live drove him, even though he no longer really knew why he wanted to go on so badly.
Looking anywhere but at Des, fidgetting and squirming, he finally spoke.
“…Th-there’s food…there…in the cupboards…mm…”
He made a vague gesture behind him, where what probably served as the kitchen was. Very simple shelving at waist level was what apparently worked as counter space, and there were a few dried foods hung as well as collections of more recently dug up vegetables. Everything was a little small, and a little washed out, but it was the best he could do out here on his own.
@Rhi-Rhi
-
"Holy fuckin' shit, ya even got vegetables?" Des breathed, and his mouth watered at the sight. Sure they didn't look like much, but it was more than he'd had in...a while. He'd been living off meat--mostly desert rats and lizards and snakes--and while he was a red meat sort of guy, goddamn did he miss variety. Fruits! Vegetables! Bread. He'd murder even for a doughnut.
Of course, he'd not say that in front of the kid. He'd take it as a literal threat.
"Fuck. I used to whine about eatin' veggies as a kid, now I can't wait to chew somethin' other than meat."
After giving himself a thorough washing, the dirt and grime rinsing away to leave rich brown skin in its wake, he ran his hands over his face to smooth away the water running down it and stepped away from the little wash station. He didn't worry about drying himself; the heat would whisk away moisture in no time, and right now it just felt good.
With a look Skylar's way, he motioned toward the bucket. "Go on, now. I left ya plenty of water," he said, and after snatching a carrot from the cupboard, he took a seat at the edge of Skylar's makeshift bed. Now that he was clean, he hoped that was okay and that the kid wouldn't have a conniption that he was wet.
He went quiet for a moment as he took a bite of carrot and crunched away at it, thoroughly enjoying it, he said, "You've had it pretty rough, haven't ya?"
-
It was likely for the best that Des wasn’t planning on actively drying himself, for Skylar owned nothing similar to a towel at all. All the cloth he had was otherwise occupied, mostly in his two outfits.
Scurrying out of the way as Des passed by, he eyed the bucket of water in response to the offer of bathing. Ordinarily, he wouldn’t bother washing until completely done with his fields - often after sundown. But it didn’t seem he’d be doing any more work today, so…there was really no good reason not to scrub down to wonderful cleanliness.
He glanced at his ‘guest’ as he made himself comfortable on the bed, and while it was uncomfortable to have someone in his home, he no longer had to worry about his precious sheets getting gritty or grimy. He fidgeted slightly, and then quickly shed his stiff, red-caked pants and shirt.
Standing there, bereft of clothes, he was clearly all skin and bone.
Kneeling silently, he quickly began to wash the dust from his skin, which was much easier than it was for Des, as he was not nearly so filthy to start with. He took particular care with his dreds, and it was during this self grooming that he was questioned.
Pressing his lips together, a small tremor traveling his shoulders, he nodded. Everything he had was scratched together out of desperation, and most of it was about ready to give out. This unforgiving place was not really suited to a lone teenager trying to scrape together an existence. He didn’t even remember what it was like to be full, let alone the taste of meat.
Done with his washing, he stood back up, free of the red earth that permeated his life. He too was rather tanned thanks to the sun, and so it was nearly impossible to see any of the spatterings of freckles he sported. The dry air was already leeching away the moisture left behind, but still he stood awkwardly at his bathing area. Ordinarily he would leap right onto the bed and crawl beneath the covers, basking in the feeling of being clean and comfortable. He didn’t really want to do that now, but walking around and getting dusty again would also be unpleasant. Finally, setting his jaw, he lept nimbly onto the foot of the bed, and then curled up at the corner furthest from Des, spindly arms wrapped around equally spindly legs.
@Rhi-Rhi