HOME | DD

Description

Kouki lay pressed against the pelt blanket, exhaustion and fear driving him to near silence under the stern gaze of the old phoenix. She… didn’t seem awful so far. She’d dragged him out of the cold and into a warm tree-home. The savory scent of some sort of meat broth made his aching stomach churn in equal parts longing and revulsion, and his mouth seemed determined to leave him dehydrated, watering at the prospect of food. He shuddered as the phoenix stepped away from him now that he’d settled in.

"Ah know you youngins wanna test yer mettle by bravin the harshzones, but fer yer sake, ye no need to go n run off from yer mummies teets the sehcond yer barely weened." The kadin spoke, her accent thick. His head spun trying to track it, and he bristled at her tone. So what if she was old, he wasn’t just some cub, and it wasn’t like he’d been aiming for a harsh zone on purpose! The phoenix laid down near him, watching him the way dad did when he was disappointed with his behavior.

“I’m two.” he countered weakly, lifting his frill in indignation. Another wave of exhaustion hit him a moment later and he dropped it again, groaning and resting his chin on the pelt. He didn’t want to make her mad. She could easily kill him and put him in her stew pot. A lot of ferals ate their own kind, didn’t they? Another shudder tore through him and he curled himself ever tighter.

"Ah yer two, barely grown into yer adult feathers, yer don't even fit ye frill yet and ye balls maybe only recently dropped, assumin ye didn't freeze ehm off.” The phoenix countered, her tone sharp and scolding, despite the good natured notes in it. “Yer barely a fledgling and ye came on up these pahrts? Well how'd that work out fer ye? Ye ain't even in the harsh territories yet and ye almost done well wound up dead. Bloody chicks, ah find more of you frozen ta death in these hills than not." She stood and shook out her fur before moving back to the pot, stirring it. Kouki flattened his ears, fur standing on end despite his exhaustion, and he glared at the old kadin.

She thunked the ladle against the side of the pot, and his fear rose into a lump in his throat, and he forced it out with a growl. “So are you saving me or can I expect t’ wind up in that pot?” Every line of his body tight and coiled. His ears flat against his skull. Sure, the lady seemed nice enough, but that just left the question of why.

Her blue eyes widened as if she were shocked or amused. “Wind up in me pot? What a daft little brat ye're. If ah wanted yer fool hide dead ah'd've waited about one mer hour. You'd've done just fine doing that t'yerself. Nah, ye drinking some this broth, we see how well ye hold et down b'fore I try ye on a solid, I ain't cleaning mah stew up off me floor. Damn chicks all growl and bite and they barely outta their milk teeth." Another thunk of the ladle against the side of the pot and she picked up some of the soup to dump into a bowl. It smelled thick and meaty and his stomach cramped just watching her pour the ladle-full into the old glazed wood. He pressed himself further into the pelts she’d dropped him on and watched her set bowl in front of him.

It smelled good. So so good, and he darted his tongue out to wet his tusks while he sniffed at it. “No poison, right?” His stomach offered a low gurgle, ignoring his fear. Okay sure she kept insisting she would’ve just left him out in the cold if she was going to kill him. But this was how all of those cabin-in-the-woods horror stories on the television started. And naturally, she scoffed. A harsh, amused, offended sound that made him flinch and duck his head to avoid looking her in the eye. He hoped that his shivering from the cold hid his trembling. Great, now he’d pissed her off.

"D'ye got workin' ears boy? Ye were deaths door when I dragged yer ass back over 'ere now yer fool ass all 'whuu ye gun poison me?'" He flinched under her sharp tone and closed his eyes. What was he supposed to think? That the strange, random ass phoenix in the middle of the gods only knew where, was a friend? Ha. That was rich. The gods wouldn’t favor him like that. "Use what of yer brains ye got in that thick 'ead of yers 'n think." The phoenix continued to scold, and he flattened his ears, shoulder fur bristling.

"We don't tend to feed strangers where I come from." his defense was weak, but he forced himself to open his eyes and take a deep breath of the steam rising up from the soup. Cautiously, he reached out to touch his tongue to the broth. The tree this strange phoenix had made her home in melted away from focus, and he found himself inhaling the broth like it was the food of the gods themselves. Maybe it secretly was. He didn’t know.

"Here ye help where n when ye can unless ye loike seeing yer kind's corpses laying about with the scavengers picking tha meat off their bones." the phoenix mused, and he was curious if he’d imagined the sad note in her voice.

When every last drop of soup had been cleared from the bowl, Kouki allowed himself to breathe again. His stomach was cramping horribly. But he could bear it. And it was food. The phoenix took the bowl, those blue eyes watching him. "If ye still hungry after that got time te settle in yer stomach ah'll give ye some more, you'll be needin the energy."

“... Thanks.” he grunted and shifted to tuck his feet up under him, and was trying to think of what more could be said when he realized something important; “...Hey, can you... actually tell me where I am? Because I honestly don't have a damn clue." He pricked his ears and looked up at her. His tail swished over the pelts, and he he almost dared to be hopeful as she closed her eyes.

"Tsh, now ah kno yer not maed fer this place if ye care bout the region.” her short start drew a huff from Kouki, and he glared at her, though she continued on uninterrupted. “Ah, lemmesee're... Ye ain't up in Kanibar quite yet, if ye was ye'd be dead, chick like you couldn't handle tha zone, no. This be the northern part of Lachlan's territory 'ere. "
His blood ran cold and the floor fell out from under him. Lachlan. Lachlan. He was in the Moors!? How in the ever-loving hell did he get to the blasted Blasting Moors? The old phoenix was still talking, but he couldn’t hear her. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t even whine or scream. Not in Kanibar yet, but he might as well be.
Mom? Dad? How long have I been gone? How did I get here? Melan… Kallie… gods what happened to me?

Every muscle trembled as he pulled his legs tighter under him, and coiled his tail around himself. He stared blindly through the ‘wall’ of the tree house, his thoughts racing static and heart thundering in his chest. The Moors. The fucking Moors.
How the hell was he going to get back home?

Description

Kouki lay pressed against the pelt blanket, exhaustion and fear driving him to near silence under the stern gaze of the old phoenix. She… didn’t seem awful so far. She’d dragged him out of the cold and into a warm tree-home. The savory scent of some sort of meat broth made his aching stomach churn in equal parts longing and revulsion, and his mouth seemed determined to leave him dehydrated, watering at the prospect of food. He shuddered as the phoenix stepped away from him now that he’d settled in.

"Ah know you youngins wanna test yer mettle by bravin the harshzones, but fer yer sake, ye no need to go n run off from yer mummies teets the sehcond yer barely weened." The kadin spoke, her accent thick. His head spun trying to track it, and he bristled at her tone. So what if she was old, he wasn’t just some cub, and it wasn’t like he’d been aiming for a harsh zone on purpose! The phoenix laid down near him, watching him the way dad did when he was disappointed with his behavior.

“I’m two.” he countered weakly, lifting his frill in indignation. Another wave of exhaustion hit him a moment later and he dropped it again, groaning and resting his chin on the pelt. He didn’t want to make her mad. She could easily kill him and put him in her stew pot. A lot of ferals ate their own kind, didn’t they? Another shudder tore through him and he curled himself ever tighter.

"Ah yer two, barely grown into yer adult feathers, yer don't even fit ye frill yet and ye balls maybe only recently dropped, assumin ye didn't freeze ehm off.” The phoenix countered, her tone sharp and scolding, despite the good natured notes in it. “Yer barely a fledgling and ye came on up these pahrts? Well how'd that work out fer ye? Ye ain't even in the harsh territories yet and ye almost done well wound up dead. Bloody chicks, ah find more of you frozen ta death in these hills than not." She stood and shook out her fur before moving back to the pot, stirring it. Kouki flattened his ears, fur standing on end despite his exhaustion, and he glared at the old kadin.

She thunked the ladle against the side of the pot, and his fear rose into a lump in his throat, and he forced it out with a growl. “So are you saving me or can I expect t’ wind up in that pot?” Every line of his body tight and coiled. His ears flat against his skull. Sure, the lady seemed nice enough, but that just left the question of why.

Her blue eyes widened as if she were shocked or amused. “Wind up in me pot? What a daft little brat ye're. If ah wanted yer fool hide dead ah'd've waited about one mer hour. You'd've done just fine doing that t'yerself. Nah, ye drinking some this broth, we see how well ye hold et down b'fore I try ye on a solid, I ain't cleaning mah stew up off me floor. Damn chicks all growl and bite and they barely outta their milk teeth." Another thunk of the ladle against the side of the pot and she picked up some of the soup to dump into a bowl. It smelled thick and meaty and his stomach cramped just watching her pour the ladle-full into the old glazed wood. He pressed himself further into the pelts she’d dropped him on and watched her set bowl in front of him.

It smelled good. So so good, and he darted his tongue out to wet his tusks while he sniffed at it. “No poison, right?” His stomach offered a low gurgle, ignoring his fear. Okay sure she kept insisting she would’ve just left him out in the cold if she was going to kill him. But this was how all of those cabin-in-the-woods horror stories on the television started. And naturally, she scoffed. A harsh, amused, offended sound that made him flinch and duck his head to avoid looking her in the eye. He hoped that his shivering from the cold hid his trembling. Great, now he’d pissed her off.

"D'ye got workin' ears boy? Ye were deaths door when I dragged yer ass back over 'ere now yer fool ass all 'whuu ye gun poison me?'" He flinched under her sharp tone and closed his eyes. What was he supposed to think? That the strange, random ass phoenix in the middle of the gods only knew where, was a friend? Ha. That was rich. The gods wouldn’t favor him like that. "Use what of yer brains ye got in that thick 'ead of yers 'n think." The phoenix continued to scold, and he flattened his ears, shoulder fur bristling.

"We don't tend to feed strangers where I come from." his defense was weak, but he forced himself to open his eyes and take a deep breath of the steam rising up from the soup. Cautiously, he reached out to touch his tongue to the broth. The tree this strange phoenix had made her home in melted away from focus, and he found himself inhaling the broth like it was the food of the gods themselves. Maybe it secretly was. He didn’t know.

"Here ye help where n when ye can unless ye loike seeing yer kind's corpses laying about with the scavengers picking tha meat off their bones." the phoenix mused, and he was curious if he’d imagined the sad note in her voice.

When every last drop of soup had been cleared from the bowl, Kouki allowed himself to breathe again. His stomach was cramping horribly. But he could bear it. And it was food. The phoenix took the bowl, those blue eyes watching him. "If ye still hungry after that got time te settle in yer stomach ah'll give ye some more, you'll be needin the energy."

“... Thanks.” he grunted and shifted to tuck his feet up under him, and was trying to think of what more could be said when he realized something important; “...Hey, can you... actually tell me where I am? Because I honestly don't have a damn clue." He pricked his ears and looked up at her. His tail swished over the pelts, and he he almost dared to be hopeful as she closed her eyes.

"Tsh, now ah kno yer not maed fer this place if ye care bout the region.” her short start drew a huff from Kouki, and he glared at her, though she continued on uninterrupted. “Ah, lemmesee're... Ye ain't up in Kanibar quite yet, if ye was ye'd be dead, chick like you couldn't handle tha zone, no. This be the northern part of Lachlan's territory 'ere. "
His blood ran cold and the floor fell out from under him. Lachlan. Lachlan. He was in the Moors!? How in the ever-loving hell did he get to the blasted Blasting Moors? The old phoenix was still talking, but he couldn’t hear her. Couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t even whine or scream. Not in Kanibar yet, but he might as well be.
Mom? Dad? How long have I been gone? How did I get here? Melan… Kallie… gods what happened to me?

Every muscle trembled as he pulled his legs tighter under him, and coiled his tail around himself. He stared blindly through the ‘wall’ of the tree house, his thoughts racing static and heart thundering in his chest. The Moors. The fucking Moors.
How the hell was he going to get back home?