1x1 rpw roleplay ;; castor and mani

[wolf ;;]

Mani's good ear flicked as she heard Castor, and for a few moments she didn't move or say a word. Finally, she turned her head and looked at Castor. "Yeah?" Had Rebekah and Esther told him about her snapping at them? Was he here to ask what was wrong? She couldn't tell him.

[hypnowave]

Castor's left ear swiveled. He stood tongue-tied for a moment, then finally said, "Are you okay?" His voice was honeyed slightly with concern and compassion; it was better than straightforwardly asking her why she had snapped at her sisters, and by saying what he did, he also didn't acknowledge the fact that he knew she had snapped.

[wolf ;;]

"I'm fine." Mani said, maybe a little too quickly. She then turned back to the fox, and she kept petting him. She didn't want him to worry, she didn't want him to know. He wouldn't.

[hypnowave]

Castor's tail tip twitched and his expression turned to a skeptist one. "You're sure?" If she was lying, he wouldn't be surprised. It was almost obvious even to him that she was covering something up.

[wolf ;;]

"I'm sure." She was lying of course. Mani didn't look at him, as it'd show on her face that she was lying. Would he stop asking her questions now?

[hypnowave]

Castor would have shrugged, but Mani wasn't looking at him so a shrug would mean nothing to her. Instead he just said, a little forcibly, "Then lookat me and prove it, Mani." His eyes were stone cold but he was serious. Under that façade however, lurched a thousand doubtful feelings. He didn't know how long he could keep his mask on.

[wolf ;;]

Mani blinked her eyes as Castor spoke, but she didn't turn her head to look at him, even when sensed how serious he was. "I'm fine, I just have a lot of things on my mind right now." And she couldn't tell him.

[hypnowave]

Castor would have protested, but he didn't want to risk weighing her down or making her snap at him too. So he sat on the grass with his back to her, sighing. "I understand," he murmured. His fox came and nuzzled him, but Castor pushed him away. Harry looked hurt, but padded away to his own space. That was when Castor murmured, mostly to himself, "You're not the only one, you know."

[wolf ;;]

Mani blinked her eyes as she heard the winged wolf said something, but she didn't say anything. She guessed he wasn't going to leave, as the fox left her and most likely went over to him. She stared at the ground, and she closed her eyes briefly. She kept silent.

[hypnowave]

[ beware of instant muse burst -- somewhat inspired by this. ]

Again and again the scenario that worried him went on and on in his head. That was the only question he had: what if he had never fallen from the sky, landed on that street, sprained his arm and met Mani? He knew he should have left it behind long ago, since it had in fact happened and had changed him over the years, from getting closer to Seven once more to having his own animal companion, but it was stuck in his head. So many what ifs were playing about in his head. A million questions and so few answers. A thousand words and none could ever explain what went in his heart and his mind. He couldn't seem to snap back into reality when he mused about that. It kept coming and going, the desire to know and the will to find out, sometimes he woke up feeling the need to fly to the answers while at other times he woke feeling flat as a flower petal. He just didn't know what to say, what to do. And the feelings he had deep down didn't help either when they turned into something he felt like he couldn't define. Stupid as he was, he kept thinking of whether the change he had endured was good. He knew nature never stopped changing, it came from the harsh winter to the rains of May, the fall of September and the sun of July... so many times the world changed, and although Castor knew he would have to change along with it, was it really good for him that he had changed so drastically? He'd turned from a mute to a wolf of few yet meaningful words on the outside, and from a defeated soul to a hopeful wanderer on the inside. Was this all for the better?