Fox McCloud
Immigrant
"Landmaster is wave of future! Everyone having one!"[A1i:6]
Posts: 82
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Post by Fox McCloud on Sept 10, 2010 22:33:46 GMT -5
Fox heaved a half-content, half-sad sigh, gently placing her down on her feet. Very, very briefly, his tail wrapped around her, before swishing back to it's normal place behind its owner, and Fox pressed his chin to Tori's hair.
He moved away, then, just enough to give her her personal space back. He didn't want to encroach on anything, and... well, he didn't want to alienate Tori from him. Closeness was just something he did for people he considered his family, but he knew how she felt about the prospect.
Chudesnyĭ.
"Coming, now," he murmured, giving her a small smile. "Falco will be being... impatient. We are wanting to let him go free again, and... are needing to get inside soon, yes?"
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Tori Ashwood
Criminal
Black Thorns Leader
"Crave my heart, and it's bleeding in your hand. I can't say no to you."
Posts: 107
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Post by Tori Ashwood on Sept 10, 2010 22:56:20 GMT -5
Tori relaxed just a little more when she felt his tail wrap around her. That was something he had never done before, but it was welcomed. Of course, she realized how hesitant the action it was when he backed off, and felt the guilt return to her gut, along with a new sense of pain.
Of course.
She reached up, tugging her jacket around her body as she looked up at him. "I trust you," she said simply. It had taken her a while to realize when someone was hesitant about touching her because of the way she acted. Normally, she was okay with the occasional touch, but after the darkness and the Cannibal and... and everything else...
She nodded at his question, "We need to get out of the street." She agreed, "And-... Oh God, I forgot to feed the kids. Oh, God, Marissa's probably staring at the oven and ordering it to work by now." The image made her smile, and Tori took that moment to scrub at her cheeks, clearing all evidence of tears from her face.
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Fox McCloud
Immigrant
"Landmaster is wave of future! Everyone having one!"[A1i:6]
Posts: 82
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Post by Fox McCloud on Sept 11, 2010 0:13:20 GMT -5
"I trust you."
Those few words were enough to make Fox's ear swivel towards her, and some of the light from his smile reached the edges his eyes. He had never really doubted it, but... hearing her say it out loud was enough to make his tail wag ever-so-slightly. The canine licked his lips.
He snorted, then, at her comment about Marissa starting at the over. "Knowing Marissa..." he said, having to hold back a quiet laugh, "it would not be surprising Fox. Would not be surprising Fox if she found way for making it work with just staring."
He led the way home, tail still swishing from side to side with every step he took. Even though that night had taken a chunk of his heart out, it felt... it felt as if it had replaced that chunk, too. Now it was obvious Krystal was dead. There was no hope for an overly-optimistic part of him to cling to any more. And that hurt, yes, more then he could have imagined before; but he somehow felt that maybe... maybe that was the first step for him to recover.
He had to let go.
As soon as Fox reached the door, he opened it for Tori, nodding her through with a polite half-bow of his head. Not only was she a woman, but if foxes actually kept packs, he would have considered her over him, at this point. He owed her so much...
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Tori Ashwood
Criminal
Black Thorns Leader
"Crave my heart, and it's bleeding in your hand. I can't say no to you."
Posts: 107
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Post by Tori Ashwood on Sept 11, 2010 0:25:35 GMT -5
Fox opened the door for her, and Tori nodded her head in thanks, vocalizing the words quietly. She slid inside, flashing him a hesitant smile, then entered her living room. To her surprise, Falco was sitting on the floor, his back propped against her couch, with two very knocked out kits curled up on either side of him.
"Did they eat?" Tori asked, whispering so she wouldn't wake the children up. Falco nodded his head once, though his feathers bristled when he turned his gaze onto Fox. His eyes narrowed.
"What is Falco missing?"[/color] He asked, turning his gaze from one to the other.
"Apparently telling me how you learned to work an oven." Tori answered, avoiding the question as she placed her coat on the hanger beside the door. She reached up, straightening her shirt, and then turned to face the falcon, "Thanks for watching them."
Falco didn't budge. Well, he did shift, moving to stand, but he didn't stand completely. He clicked his beak together, "Will be figuring out."[/color] It was obvious he was concerned, though it was the suspicion that came out.
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Fox McCloud
Immigrant
"Landmaster is wave of future! Everyone having one!"[A1i:6]
Posts: 82
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Post by Fox McCloud on Sept 11, 2010 1:15:58 GMT -5
Fox remained silent as the two spoke, not wanting to wake the children. Slowly, carefully, he shut the door behind himself, looking at Falco out of the corner of his eye as his old friend questioned what was going on. The anthro's ears twitched, and he moved to stand beside the couch, whispering in Russian, as soon as he knew Tori couldn't hear,
"I'll explain later. Promise."
He just hoped Falco would be satisfied with that.
Fox picked Marissa up in one arm and Jeremy in the other, carrying them back to the guest room the three shared. The kits stirred, but otherwise were too tired to protest, and he couldn't help but smile at that. Once he lay them down on the bed, he leaned against the wall. He didn't even really bother with shutting the door.
Now that he was relatively alone in the back of the house, now that he had nothing to distract him. his mind was beginning to race again. It felt like he was going to vomit from the torrent of emotions he was feeling, especially... especially the ones he was currently repressing, had repressed for a long while.
This was not the time for this. This was not the time for this.
Fox held back a whine. It just hadn't been a good night, he decided. It would be best if he left it at that and... didn't think about it too much. His kind weren't known for their memories, any way. Best case scenario, he wouldn't really remember anything in a few weeks.
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Tori Ashwood
Criminal
Black Thorns Leader
"Crave my heart, and it's bleeding in your hand. I can't say no to you."
Posts: 107
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Post by Tori Ashwood on Sept 11, 2010 13:28:56 GMT -5
Falco took Fox's answer with a nod and a pinch of salt. He was sure his brother would tell him what had happened later, but he didn't like the fact that he was being made to wait. However, if whatever had gone down was bad enough to make Fox wish to wait... then he would respect that. There wasn't too much that could get under his dear friend's skin.
He stood, watching as Fox picked Marissa and Jeremy up, and headed into the back of the house. Once he was sure Fox could handle it from there, he turned to the door and started that way. Only for Tori to grab his arm and press a few coins into his palm. Her eyes met his.
"Thank you, for taking care of them," she murmured, squeezing his arm gently before releasing him, "I'm sorry we took so long."
Falco's eyes fell down to the coins, and then up to Tori. He, like the rest of the animals, had been able to pick up on how she was about being touched, and knew that was, honestly, the best sort of comfort she could give him. Fox and the kids were the only ones that she let near enough to touch her.
He put the coins in his pockets. "Thanking you,"[/color] he murmured.
She nodded, shoving her hands into her pockets, and watched as the blue falcon made his way out of her house. She closed the door quietly behind him, locking the four different locks she had installed. Tori turned, pressing her back against the wall, and let out a shuddering breath.
The Cannibal. By God, they had ran into the Cannibal and survived... Well, physically survived, anyways. Tori was sure that her fear of the dark and shadows had returned in all its horrifying glory, and Fox... Fox now knew what had happened to his beautiful, loving wife. Poor Krystal had fallen victim to the Cannibal, a fact she knew couldn't be weighing too easily on Fox's conscious.
Before Tori knew what she was doing, she was off the door and walking back towards the room her guests all shared. She hesitated at the doorway, resting her hand on the doorframe as she peered inside. The kits were still asleep, she realized, but Fox wasn't near his children. He was leaning against the wall, looking...almost broken. Her eyes softened.
She moved over towards him quietly, extending her hand so she could brush her fingers over his, "Hey," she whispered, trying to not wake the children, "You should get some rest, Fox. It's been... it's been a long day."
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Fox McCloud
Immigrant
"Landmaster is wave of future! Everyone having one!"[A1i:6]
Posts: 82
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Post by Fox McCloud on Sept 11, 2010 21:27:17 GMT -5
Fox's ears pricked up as he heard Tori walk down the hall, though he didn't expect her to walk into the room and actually speak with him. That earned her his full attention, his head tilting upwards from it's formerly downwards position. His left ear flicked.
"Am knowing, Tori," the anthro murmured, the ghost of a smile curving at the edges of his lips. "Fox is just... thinking, eh? Am sorry if I am worrying you."
His tail moved, then, the tip of it brushing against her before returning to him. It was meant as a reassurance more then anything else, though the suppressed feelings were beginning to fester again, as best as he tried to hold them back.
"Fox will lay down soon. Promising."
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Tori Ashwood
Criminal
Black Thorns Leader
"Crave my heart, and it's bleeding in your hand. I can't say no to you."
Posts: 107
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Post by Tori Ashwood on Sept 11, 2010 22:39:02 GMT -5
Tori shook her head, her eyes still soft and understanding. "I know you need to... to think about what happened, but you really need some sleep. A lot's happened, bro," she swallowed back her own memories, a delicate shiver skirting down her back. "You really need to sleep."
Actually, she needed to get some sleep, too. Her body was exhausted; every movement she made only caused her eyelids to grow heavier and heavier. But everytime she closed her eyes, even to blink, she saw the Cannibal's shark-like grin, the insane look in his eyes... And it scared her awake.
"C'mon, Fox," the young woman grabbed his sleeve, not yet willing to actually touch his flesh, "Don't make me worry about you anymore than I already do."
There was a ginger smile on the very edges of her lips at that last statement, and a light that just barely reached her eyes. Yes, Tori was play with him, but she was also serious. She constantly worried about him, especially when he and Falco and Wolf were out... doing whatever-they-needed-to to get by.
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Fox McCloud
Immigrant
"Landmaster is wave of future! Everyone having one!"[A1i:6]
Posts: 82
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Post by Fox McCloud on Sept 12, 2010 18:21:20 GMT -5
Fox sighed in an almost defeated manner, but after a minute nodded to her, that ghost of a smile appearing again.
"Alright," the immigrant murmured, pushing himself out of his lean on the wall, "Fox will be laying down, then. Cannot be promising anything about sleeping, but can be promising I will try. Good, bro?
"But..." Here, he placed a tentative, hesitant hand on her shoulder, head tilting to the side ever-so-slightly. His emerald green eyes shone with what could only be called reassurance... and maybe a hint of concern. "No worrying about Fox, Tori. I will be being fine."
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Tori Ashwood
Criminal
Black Thorns Leader
"Crave my heart, and it's bleeding in your hand. I can't say no to you."
Posts: 107
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Post by Tori Ashwood on Sept 12, 2010 19:11:17 GMT -5
His hand touched her shoulder, but gained no negative reaction from her. It had taken her a long time, but Tori had managed to get to the point where certain touches did not cause her to cringe back. Even though Kirby had pretty much destroyed all she had built, Tori had seen the hand coming, knew its owner had no ill will, and had managed to keep from cringing.
She even reached up and placed a hand over his.
"Cannot be helping," she said, letting the dialect and accent she had picked up creep into her words, "I worry about you and the others a lot. And I don't think I'm going to be stopping anytime soon. I care about you guys too much."
A small, hesitant smile appeared on Tori's face, and she let her hand slip from his; it returned to her side. "You and Falco and the kits and - God help me - even Wolf are all I have in this world; I don't want anything to happen to you. Which is why you need to rest and recover."
She purposely didn't mention Snake. She knew that wasn't a good topic for the time.
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Fox McCloud
Immigrant
"Landmaster is wave of future! Everyone having one!"[A1i:6]
Posts: 82
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Post by Fox McCloud on Sept 13, 2010 20:39:11 GMT -5
Fox chuckled, but it wasn't really in an amused manner; it just showed that he still had a tiny spark of happiness left in him, at the very least. The anthro nodded to her, one of his closest friends.
Hell, one of his only real friends any more.
"Understanding," he murmured, reaching one hand up to scratch at an itch behind his left ear and leaning into it. "Fox will be laying down, then. But you are laying down, too, bro. You are having night just as bad as I am having." He gave her a look to show her he was serious, then yawned and stretched, both hands cupping behind his head as his back cracked. "Having good night, Tori."
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Tori Ashwood
Criminal
Black Thorns Leader
"Crave my heart, and it's bleeding in your hand. I can't say no to you."
Posts: 107
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Post by Tori Ashwood on Sept 13, 2010 21:10:47 GMT -5
Tori was just about to respond to Fox, when the anthro decided to stretch right in front of her. His hands moved behind his hand, straightening his back, and then started to lean - displaying his torso. The young woman quickly caught a case of "elevator eyes," looking him up and down.
Damn. I mean... damn.
Biting her tongue to keep from actually vocalizing these thoughts, Tori let her eyes roam one more time before actually realizing what she was doing. She quickly snapped back into reality, her face turning a lovely pink color as heat rushed to her cheeks. She averted her eyes from his face.
"Good-good night, Fox." Tori murmured, casting one last glance at the kits, then at him, before scurrying out of the room like a mouse who hadn't quite managed to snatch the cheese.
God help her.
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