03-27-2020, 10:10 PM
Gathering herbs quickly became a mundane task for the tabby. As he plucked berries and pulled leaves here and there, his thoughts continually drifted back to the memory of that day. Each time, he forced himself to focus back on the task at hand, but his attention span worsened rapidly, to the point where he could not remove the memory from the forefront of his mind. With one final effort, he pushed the thoughts away as best he could and moved onto a different assortment of herbs growing not far from the bush he had been foraging from.
The pregnant tigon's words caused Alaric to jump, snapping him completely out of his daze. He must have been downwind, as his normally strong sense of smell had not picked up even a whiff of the angel as he approached. The tabby did not remove his attention from his undertaking as Aurum spoke, preferring instead to work while he spoke. Aurum's lack of subtlety did not go unmissed, but Alaric appreciated the proxy's to-the-point speech. Not having to navigate around social cues certainly made his life easier.
"'Morning," was his curt response to Aurum's greeting. It was the second part of the proxy's speech that struck a nerve in the tabby—"Are you feeling alright?" Until this point, Alaric had not noticed how his actions were demonstrating plainly the way he felt. Almost immediately, he transitioned back into a normal persona; his actions no longer conveyed the same heaviness that they did before. The transition was almost jarring, really.
He considered the tigon's words for a moment. There was no one else around, so he could tell the truth, but Alaric did not exactly trust the angel quite yet. "Yes, I'm alright. Thank you," he lied. It would have been an impressive lie, too, and quite convincing if Aurum had not already crept up on him and been witness to how he had been acting mere moments earlier.
The next to join the conversation happened to be Caustic, whose normally bad scent was marred with the metallic smell of blood. He issued a glance over his shoulder, noting the dead raccoon over his feet. Alaric wondered what it meant for a bit before coming to the conclusion that he did not care and even if he did it was none of his business. The wolf asked of the two what they were doing out so early, and Alaric, despite his foul mood, could not miss the opportunity for a sarcastic remark.
"I'm skinning a deer, Dr. Caustic. Obviously." Hopefully the wolf would be able to sense the humor in his sarcasm. Some found it offensive, for whatever reason.
The pregnant tigon's words caused Alaric to jump, snapping him completely out of his daze. He must have been downwind, as his normally strong sense of smell had not picked up even a whiff of the angel as he approached. The tabby did not remove his attention from his undertaking as Aurum spoke, preferring instead to work while he spoke. Aurum's lack of subtlety did not go unmissed, but Alaric appreciated the proxy's to-the-point speech. Not having to navigate around social cues certainly made his life easier.
"'Morning," was his curt response to Aurum's greeting. It was the second part of the proxy's speech that struck a nerve in the tabby—"Are you feeling alright?" Until this point, Alaric had not noticed how his actions were demonstrating plainly the way he felt. Almost immediately, he transitioned back into a normal persona; his actions no longer conveyed the same heaviness that they did before. The transition was almost jarring, really.
He considered the tigon's words for a moment. There was no one else around, so he could tell the truth, but Alaric did not exactly trust the angel quite yet. "Yes, I'm alright. Thank you," he lied. It would have been an impressive lie, too, and quite convincing if Aurum had not already crept up on him and been witness to how he had been acting mere moments earlier.
The next to join the conversation happened to be Caustic, whose normally bad scent was marred with the metallic smell of blood. He issued a glance over his shoulder, noting the dead raccoon over his feet. Alaric wondered what it meant for a bit before coming to the conclusion that he did not care and even if he did it was none of his business. The wolf asked of the two what they were doing out so early, and Alaric, despite his foul mood, could not miss the opportunity for a sarcastic remark.
"I'm skinning a deer, Dr. Caustic. Obviously." Hopefully the wolf would be able to sense the humor in his sarcasm. Some found it offensive, for whatever reason.
♔ don't do love, don't do friends