[PRP] Shhh, I got you. [Laykos x Nola]

[NymiiNym]

Relieved she didn't flee when he raised his wing, the male nodded to her question. He noticed her timid response, extending a wing fully. "I'm pretty useless at the moment, and you're doing all the hard work. I'd love to." Twitching his extended wing to the spot between his wigs, he indicated she place them there, where the hollow of his back could hold them.

"I promise I won't spill them everywhere. Unless I smack right into a tree."

jinxgirl5

 

[jinxgirl5]

Word count: 200

Nola giggled at the extended wing, so like the fruit basket she had pictured in her worried musings earlier. The reality was even funnier than her mental image, and with the coming of her amusement her shyness evaporated. "Alright then." She poked around at the strawberry patch, plucking up the immediately obvious ripe berries and carefully depositing them into those giant wings, trying hard not to hurt Laykos. The webbing looked so incredibly delicate that she couldn't imagine how this wasn't uncomfortable for him.

As she finished harvesting the clearly ripe berries and went back for a closer look to see if anything else was ready to be picked, she couldn't help but comment, "You know you keep saying you're clumsy, but if that were true there's no way you could have kept up with me. My brother says it's not good to keep putting yourself down, or you'll start to believe in a simple worry and make it truth." She transferred a couple half-ripe berries that were almost ready to be picked and would taste lovely after sitting for a couple days and added them gently to the rest of the small harvest, going back for one final check.

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

Shifting his wings so they were low enough for her to reach, the male couldn't help but chuckle at her comment, forcing himself not to shrug due to the placement of the berries. Well, he had grown up being a bit too big for most things, and bigger than most 'daeva's in general. To him, he felt clumsy. He was always smacking into branches that weren't high enough, and always feeling a little awkward in his body.

"Well, I'm big. I feel clumsy next to normal sized foxes, and I'm always smashing into things because of my size." An ear flicked briefly as he caught the scent of something sweet in the distance, storing it in the back of his head for now.

jinxgirl5

 

[jinxgirl5]

Word count: 149

"Maybe you just try too hard to see the world from our height, like a kit who grows too fast without enough time to adjust." She had to admit though, some people were naturally clumsy. Olivia could be at times, but Nola felt that wasn't so much because she was clumsy as she just moved way too fast. Sometimes people were so eager to put one foot in front of the other they didn't even see the ground in front of them. That certainly wasn't something you could say to a stranger though! She hardly knew a thing about Laykos, so it would be rude to lecture like she knew better. There a time and place for advice, and she needed to be careful not to overstep her boundaries!

Finally she straightened up. Well, straightened up for her, at least. "That's everything here. Time to look for another patch."

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

Perhaps she was right. He never took the time to adjust to his own size, barreling forward in life instead of exploring who and what he was. Wagging his tail once more in response, he nodded pleasantly and stepped to the side so she could, again, take the lead. The male seemed happiest letting the sweet vixen walk ahead, however he felt a dilemma between walking ahead to make sure everything was safe or making sure she didn't fall or trip.

"Ladies first." He hummed, wing carefully stretching out to gesture towards the path.

jinxgirl5

 

[jinxgirl5]

Word count: 192

Nola blushed, but obligingly took the lead again, scampering back into the undergrowth that Laykos couldn't easily traverse. She wasn't completely silent, not moving around at her current speed, but she made remarkably little noise for something her size. The search continued. It seemed there were no strawberry patches to be easily found, and Nola wondered if she was maybe a little late into the season. The days were still warm though, summer still well upon them. Perhaps other animals had just beaten her to the prize.

As she was thinking this she nearly ran head-first into what would have been a very painful situation. She froze, staring at the thorny bramble that had woven its way through a sizable amount of the undergrowth. A sweet scent and many round, plump berries, some red and some black, decorated the painful branches. She gave another pleased squeak. "Blackberries! And lots of ripe ones. They're smaller than strawberries, but they're still plenty sweet!" With that she set it, carefully plucking at the ripe blackberries and starting a pile next to her. These were easier to squish than strawberries, so she had to be careful.

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

Inwardly sighing at both the fact she was adorable and that she had chosen the area that was difficult for him to move in, he chuckled quietly to himself as he crouched close to the ground and followed her. He made a quick movement towards her when she almost moved into thorns, freezing when she caught herself just in time. Her pleased squeak caused a grin. She seemed busy, and was far better at this picking thing, anyway.

"I'll be back." Laykos announced, padding off to investigate that sweet scent he had smelled earlier. Wanting to please her with his own find, he picked up the pace, getting pretty far from her. Finding the source of the scent (lovely strawberries!), he grinned and laid on his stomach, delicately trying to pluck them free.

jinxgirl5

 

[jinxgirl5]

Word count: 323

Nola acknowledged Laykos' words with a quick affirmative smile thrown his direction, when went back to the task of harvesting the blackberries. It was something that required a lot of focus, lest she end up with paw pads covered in thorns. The smaller ones were the worst. She could easily pick out a big thorn with her teeth, but the little ones required a lot more care if she didn't want to drive them in deeper. Slowly but surely the pile of blackberries next to her got bigger, and since the thicket seemed so large and so full of berries she decided to move further down rather than trying to reach into the bramble itself. She remained focused on her task, breaking her gaze long enough to start a new pile or to add new berries to it.

Perhaps she could have stood to be a bit more aware of her surroundings.

Nola didn't realize anything was wrong at first. Later she would look back and wonder why her nose hadn't alerted her. Surely she couldn't have been so focused to miss something as big as Laykos. But regardless of should haves, the fact was she didn't know she had company until a loud grunt locked her muscles in place and caused her head to jerk up.

'Oh....my,' was all she could really think before her mind became as paralyzed as her body. She knew she should run, but she couldn't make her muscles move. Right in front of her, regarding her with a belligerent expression, was a massive grizzly bear. She knew it was possible to encounter them, but with Lunarie being so well-established most predators knew to stay clear. This one must have been young or forced from a nearby territory. The bear roared at her before running over. Nola had time for one terrified squeak as she watched the massive paw, tipped with equally massive claws, descend towards her.

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

Laykos wanted to pat himself on the back, however the berries made it difficult to make any movement without spilling them. He had managed to get perhaps three free without crushing them, however there was a nice pile of smashed berries near. And then he smelled it, freezing. He knew that scent. He always knew that scent. Long ago, he had bumped into a bear, and while he had won he would always remember to give a healthy fear towards that scent. However, another mingled with it, the scent of sweet berries, earth and terror: Nola. A savage growl escaped the usually sweet 'Daeva, wings expanding and scattering the berries he had once taken such good care of not to spill, barreling towards the scent. He arrived just in time, growl roaring from his throat as he expanded his wings and leapt over Nola, wings expanding to their full side and his flames kicking up, reaching above his shoulders as he made sure Nola was hidden under him, teeth snapping at the bear as his nails dug deep into the ground.

Another savage growl escaped him, body tensing, preparing for the strike meant for Nola. His eyes had become slits, feral as the huge 'Daeva bared his teeth like a predatory wolf. He would not allow this beast to touch the sweet vixen who had helped him, whether or not that meant those massive claws would end up in his flesh.

jinxgirl5

 

[jinxgirl5]

Word count: 251

Time seemed frozen for Nola. She could hear the growling growing louder and louder until it seemed to surround her, feel the earth shake from the impact of such massive paws smacking down that she felt like her stiff limbs would be shaken apart. Her vision blurred. But....had she passed out? She thought so, but after a second things stabilized. The color brown was still all she could see, but now it was lighter. A bright light registered to her senses as well. It was as though someone had spun flames out of a thundercloud. She was still trying to process all of this...

...But her second was up.

Something smacked hard into her right shoulder, knocking her to the ground, but it wasn't the force she had expected. A heavy thud, one much louder than she should be able to make on her own, reverberated in her ears and through the soil into her body. Her thoughts struggled to form into a coherent whole. She didn't understand under her world fell dark. Slanting towards the ground a panel of dark grey, enveloping her in a strange twilight. The panel pressed gently against her. It was warm and soft, far more so than it looked, and it was so close to her eyes that she could see strange lines running through it as the sunlight filtered past.

"L-Laykos?" She whimpered, more terrified than ever. Above her she could hear a ground-shaking roar, but she couldn't see what was going on.

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

Laykos grunted as the bear slashed into his shoulder, falling and hitting Nola's leg briefly. Trying to not put too much weight on her, his wing stretched over her, risking the sensitive membrane to hid the tiny fox underneath.

"Nola. Hide." He snarled, voice unable to soften at this particular moment.

Lifting up, his flames licked out, striking the bear as his own paw lashed, digging deep into the bears cheek and slicing it open as his mouth opened, aiming for the neck. As he lunged for the neck, his paws grabbed at the bears face, attempting to gouge the bears eyes. The snarls and roars that escaped him rivaled the bears, vibrating through his entire body. He saw red, flashing over everything in his sight. He wanted the bears blood, no shred of mercy left in the gentle 'Daeva's body. He wanted to rip the bears eyes out and tear open anything he could reach. Scaring the bear off was too dangerous, Nola could get hurt.

jinxgirl5

 

[jinxgirl5]

Word count: 159

Nola couldn't have moved if she wanted to, but the shouted command was all the incentive her body needed. She scrambled to get purchase on the earth beneath her paws and quickly backpedaled. She didn't really focus on where to go, just hide! She had enough sense not to jump right into the brambles at least, instead moving to put a large tree between her and the fight.

From the angle she was at it was difficult to tell how things were going. Both Laykos and the bear seemed locked in a struggle. There was blood everywhere and she didn't know whose was whose. Giant pink eyes riveted to the fight, there finally seemed to be a shift. The bear, which had reared to its hind feet, began wildly shaking its head. It dropped back down to all fours began to retreat, swatting at Laykos and roaring at him as it to warn him off as it moved away.

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

Laykos roared each time the bear slashed back, having managed to gouge one eye and slash deep into a shoulder. His teeth had bit into the throat briefly before the bear shook him off, however the bear hadn't been the only one harmed. As large and savage as Laykos was, he could not protect his right wing from being slashed and his neck receiving a slash to the side. He stood his ground, however, making an almost bark of a growl when the bear stood back and shook its head. Laykos made a move to lunge at the bear when it began to retreat, however the scent of sweet berries caused him to skid to a stop, head jerking to the side and wild eyes spotting frightened pink ones. Grunting, the 'daeva turned back to view the bear, winds expanded despite the tear and legs spread apart, teeth still bared. His flames lashed viciously around his body, legs briefly trembling. The second the bear was out of sight and he smelled it hastily fleeing he fell to his stomach, groaning loudly.

Shifting slightly to view Nola, the 'daeva offered a brief wag of his tail, an exhausted smile spreading across his bloody muzzle. "Hey. Are you okay?" Far more concerned for the tiny vixen than himself, the male flipped his uninjured wing at her, hoping she'd come over so he could check for wounds. "'m sorry I hit you." His voice was slurred, tiredly shifting as his wing, neck, and shoulder screamed in protest.

jinxgirl5

 

[jinxgirl5]

Word count: 200

It took Nola a moment to will any power of movement into her limbs. It didn't help that she was so terrified she could hardly think, but even when she made a few tentative commands for her legs to move they stayed firmly locked in place aside from the trembling. When Laykos spoke it sent a little jolt through her. Watching him slump to the side and seeing all the blood on him was the push she needed. Without thinking she rushed over, feeling a different kind of alarm shoot through her body.

She fluttered in place for a bit, wanting to touch to see how badly he was hurt but also not wanting to touch in case she hurt him more. She'd never gotten any sort of healer training, not for anything like this. The scent of coppery blood mingled with another, sweeter odor and she looked down. "Oh! I got my blackberries all over you! I'm so sorry!" The ridiculous words left her mouth. Laykos was seriously injured, and here she was lamenting that she'd gotten her harvest on him like she'd placed the piles specifically for that purpose. Seriously, how much more socially impaired could she be?

Yushika

 

[NymiiNym]

His tail weakly wagged when she rushed over, a soft smile on his muzzle. Good, he hadn't terrified her to the point she fled. Licking blood on his muzzle, his massive paws folded and head collapsed onto it, ears flicking when she spoke. She seemed to looked completely shocked, one ear flicking up as he opened his mouth to begin apologizing, instead caught off-guard but the pink-eyed vixens little comment. His other ear flicking up, he blinked at her, chuckling. Oh deities, what a silly vixen!

"It's okay. I rather smell like berries then bear, anyway. Mangy beast." Shifting closer to her, his nose risked a tap against her side, hoping this didn't send her into a panic. "Do a quick spin for me? I want to make sure you're okay.... did I hurt you?" His voice was stern, however eyes warm as he attempted to persuade her to let him check her over.

jinxgirl5