I originally posted these two ages ago on the old thread, but I still love this couple <3 The story is also one of my favorite short stories that I've completed.
Arson and Leafari
Leafari padded along the halls of the Palace, claws clicking a confident tune to her steps. She knew exactly where she was going and what she would have to avoid, for she had been in this place for a long time and knew the routine. Her odd, leaf-shaped tail swayed as she walked, and she drifted off into daydream. Tauren would be angry, she knew, but surely the god of Dreams and Visions would be able to understand walking slower to enjoy a daydream. Her front paws hit solidly, the claws muffled by the thick green and white of the socks she wore.
Her memory drifted back to when she had gained these socks. She had been new to the palace then, and overconfident in her abilities as a Messenger. Tauren , her new master, had sent Leafari off on a routine mission to make sure the residents of his region were not growing discontent. She had been set upon by bandits, and her front legs had been mangled by a leap off a cliff to escape. She remembered the pain well, remembered wishing that she could die. It was impossible, of course, the gods didn't let their Messengers escape duty
that easily. She had lain in a haze of pain, waiting until another Messenger came or Burague, god of death, had caught her scent. None of these had come, but a traveling wolf had noticed her.
She warmed a bit at the memory, remembering how the wolf had gaped at her injuries before approaching. Leafari remembered how the stranger had nosed at her legs, muttering opinions about their conditions to himself. The stranger had grasped her black scruff firmly before dragging her through the snow to his den. She still remembered the warm brown of his back fur, and how he had set and tended to her legs until they were well. He was the one who had given her the socks, to cover the scars left from her injury. She had bid him farewell before returning to her travels, remembering too late that she had never learned his name.
She snapped out of memory quickly, keen ears catching the uneven rythm of a strangeness in the routine. She skidded to a halt, but not quickly enough to avoid the strangeness running smack into her front end. She tumbled to the ground and back to her feet with a growl, glaring at the newcomer who would
dare interupt her routine. The male did not look abashed, merely curious as he surged back to his paws.
"Sorry," he panted, "Master Tauren sent me to find his other Messenger. Do you know where I might find her?" Leafari sized up this newcomer...new Messenger. His eyes tugged a memory, but she ignored it in order to see the whole. His body was covered in strange patterns of black, and she looked sharply at the feathers on his shoulder.
"Master Tauren doesn't have messengers with feathers! His symbol is a necklace," she said suspiciously, looking at the Messenger. "I am Leafari, Messenger of Tauren. Are you supposed to be Arouch's replacement?" Her heart pained a little at the memory of her former counterpart, who had been released into death as a reward for untold years of service. The male looked a little surprised, perhaps not expecting the hostility.
"I...I am sorry if I have offered offense," He said, suddenly drawing himself up and looking formal. Leafari approved, this was what a Messenger was supposed to behave like. "I am Arouch's replacement, new Male Messenger to Tauren. My name is Arson. I was a general Messenger until I was selected to be in service to Master Tauren, that is why I have my feathers." Leafari softened a little, her anger at her routine being disturbed dissapating as she came to know her new companion. They walked together in silence for a time, heading for the Chamber, where the gods held council. She noticed Arson sneaking glances at her socks every now and then, but ignored him. Finally, as they were approaching the Chamber, he huffed and cut her off, effectivly stopping her in her tracks.
"Where did you get those socks?" he demanded irritably, staring her down. "I gave them to a injured stranger, not some Messenger!" Leafari was totally baffled by this statement for a moment, before looking closer at the Messenger. It was hard to see past his designs...but there was the fur she remembered so well. She merely blinked for a moment, confused as to why Arson didn't recognize her. Surely he would remember the green and her strange tail!
"Answer me!" he growled, stepping closer. She took a step back, alarmed.
"I...I was given them by a stranger after I fell off a cliff and injured myself. Don't you recognize me?!" Arson stared at her for a moment, his back fur bristling as he tried to comprehend this. Belatedly, Leafari cursed herself. Why couldn't she remember that non-God-fearing wolves saw Messengers as normal! "Did you not believe in the Gods when you were alive?" At this, Arson looked uncomfortable and stepped away. This was enough answer as she needed, and she growled quietly at his before whisking past. "I need to attend to Tauren," she growled, gritting the words from behind a sudden surge of anger.
"Wait!" At this, she paused and turned to look at Arson, who was standing with a drooping tail in the hall. "I am sorry for giving offense, I could not see how the wolf I met was a Messenger. Please forgive me," he said, hurrying closer. Leafari snorted and walked on, but delayed long enough to rest her tail on his shoulder in a quiet apolegy. It was good to know that her rescuer had renounced his unbelief, good to know that the wolf she had secretly loved was now her companion.
♥
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