Tiger's Eye

Airglow Base

Lore (by Proxy and Albae):


As Tiger's Eye was out hunting, she heard a familiar voice calling from a few yards behind her.

"Psst-- Sis! Hey, Sis!"

Tiger dropped her prey, and turned around in surprise. "Pyr-- I mean, Fool's Gold!"

She had to suppress a giggle, as she saw her brother's head poking comically out of the raspberry bushes nearby. The rest of his body was entirely obscured, so it almost looked like the floating head of a Faelcu.

She leaned in to touch his nose, as he returned the gesture. "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to visit you, of course." Said Fool's Gold - as he retrieved a delicious-smelling piece of prey from a small satchel. "I brought your favorite - ground squirrel. Come a bit closer to the border, I want to hear all about your adventures. If anyone catches us, I'll run away and we can just say you were chasing off a nasty old intruder stealing prey.

To Tiger's admonishing expression - Fool's Gold quickly added - "Don't worry, it's not from -here-. I'm not that dumb, you know."

Tiger stopped briefly to bury her previous prey, before wiggling through the bushes after Fool's Gold, wincing slightly as the thorns pricked her nose.

"You should be more careful sneaking around the border like this. You're gonna get caught."

Fool's Gold winked, as he tossed Tiger her share of his prey. "I never get caught."

Tiger shook her head. She knew her brother was in no real danger if they were discovered. But trouble was all Fool knew, and she'd probably never be able to convince him otherwise. And though she hated to admit it - part of her kind of enjoyed getting to sneak around together again, like back when they were young.

"So, Sis," said Fool, in between bites of prey. "What is it like, living the pack wolf life? Are they taking good care of you? You have enough to eat, don't you?"

He looked her up and down, as Tiger inwardly groaned. Her brother liked to act like he didn't care about anything - but he was honestly one of the biggest worry-worts she knew.

"*I'm* not the one you need to worry about. They're all treating me as if I was born here. But you look like you haven't had a full meal in weeks", she replied. And even though she loved ground squirrel, she only took a few small bites, covering up that she left most of it to him.

A stranger looking at them probably couldn't guess they were from the same litter. Tiger's fur was shiny and long, covering sleak muscle and proving that she was in her best health. Fool on the other hand had shorter, dull fur, always covered in dust and his ribs were peaking out.

"You could stay here, you know? Kirari wouldn't send you away, especially not knowing you're family."

He laughed, but she could see the insecurity through his carefree facade. "Nah, this life isn't for me. I can't stand someone telling me what to do, you know that. I do just fine on my own. And I have no desire to get back into that kill-or-be-killed attitude."

"They're not like that here! They don't peck on others. Maybe if you'd just stay for a few days and get to know them..." She tried to argue, but he interrupted her.

"*All* packs are like that, sis. I know. I've tried."

"Then maybe we could at least arrange something else for you. A more... stable living situation. Did you know that Jingle Jangle is Jasindra's dad? Maybe he could tutor you for a while and help you get back on your paws."

"*The* Jingle Jangle?", he asked, speechless for a moment. That guy was a legend, and he was supposed to have relatives here?

"Even if it's true, I don't need him. I don't need any help. I'm fine, really. Just walking too much to put on a lot of weight.", he snapped then. Fool knew that Tiger was just trying to help him, but she didn't get it. *She* was the little one, he was supposed to care for *her*, not the other way around.

Far away, someone called for Tiger. Fool got up in a hurry and turned to leave.

"I'll be back soon.", he promised. Then he vanished into the woods as quickly as he had come.