faderift | (no subject)

[ Kostos—who is lying in the dirt, who has been sleeping on the ground, who has a bug bite on his eyelid that's making him look (he imagines, with no access to a mirror) like an old hedge witch from a storybook, who does not enjoy indecision or Orlesians or being outdoors, but who has been trying to be efficient and useful so they can handle this and go home—has his mouth open, before the dog starts talking. So he leaves it open. Leaves his face in exactly the same what is wrong with you expression he'd intended to give Edgard.

He exhales through his open mouth.

What the fuck, he could say emphatically, sitting up in the bushes, surprised and demanding an explanation. He could do an inventory of every head scratch and embarrassing good boy he's given the dog since they left. But he feels like he's been made the butt of a joke, and he would rather not give anyone the satisfaction.

Besides, they're working.

So instead, much more quietly, less of an exclamation that a simple statement, he says, ] Fuck both of you.

[Edgard ungrasps his head and relaxes a bit at someone else making a decision. Before he responds, he turns to look at Kostos, who has complained and hassled him at every turn. As far as Edgard is concerned, every wrong turn they made and every hiccup is directly due to Kostos.]

No thanks. [He says sharply to Kostos' simple statement.]

Have you seen what you look like right now?

[He nods at Mado.]

Yes. Circling the meadow makes sense. See if he looks--normal, I guess.

Oh, [comes Mado's breathless exclamation, as he realizes his error: it's more or less common knowledge in Riftwatch these days, but few people avoid him quite so efficiently as Kostos.
He reaches a hand out to tenderly still Edgard-- no, amico, this is his mistake.]

Forgive me, cousin, I thought you knew. [His smile is wide and apologetic, all too similar to a dog's.]

I'll... yes. See if he looks normal.

[He hops to his feet and stretches, eyes on the meadow ahead and preparing to transform again.]

[ Under other circumstances, that no thanks from Edgard would have warranted a different sort of irritated look. As if Kostos would ever.

(He would though. Actually.)

Under these circumstances, when taking that fuck literally tangentially involves Kostos' cousin, who has secretly been a dog for quite some time now, it's too much. He can't put any thought into making his face do something new. It is going to continue doing the furious, bug-bitten thing it was already doing when Mado appeared and it got stuck that way.

Mado is not forgiven. Kostos watches him for a moment but doesn't wait to see the transformation before putting his head down on his arms in the bushes and hissing why the fuck am I even here into the ground. ]

[Edgard hears him and inhales sharply. What is his problem? The entire presence of Kostos is a complete mistake and the sight of him whining and cowering disgusts him.

(He would too. Obviously.)

He turns away from him watching Mado approach the stranger and keeps his eyes trained ready to help if something goes wrong.]

You are here [He whispers to Kostos.] because you were supposed to be good at tracking. Thank the maker I brought Mado along too.

[He shakes his head, still turned away, still confused by the previous interaction.]

Don't get angry at him just because he's better than you at it.

[This is something a leader would say, probably. Edgard will not fuck this up.]

[This seems like the perfect opportunity to get as far away from these two as possible. With a final, furtive glance over his shoulder, Mado Becomes Dog and races down the hill to scout out the shepherd.

WHOOF]

[ Kostos' head is still in his arms, so it's invisible when that woof makes him close his eyes in restrained outrage. ]

If he's so much better at it, why have we gotten lost?

[ He drags his head up to scowl at Edgard. ]

But next time, please, by all fucking means—leave me behind if you're bringing him.

We are not lost!

[Edgard hisses and scowls right back at Kostos.]

We are at the location we are supposed to be!

[Edgard is going to ignore the other comment. He points through the bush out into the meadow.]

Why don't you try to be useful at all and tell me what you think of that shepherd? And we'll see how your skills compare. Go on!

[If the trackers won't work together, make them compete, I guess? It's also what a leader would do.]

[The sheep are concerned by the new arrival, and they scatter gently, but by the time the shepherd has looked up to see what's bothering them, the dog has already situated himself behind the man's back. He crouches there in the long grass, ears forward and nose tipped up to sniff the air, collecting information.]

[ Kostos looks at the shepherd, who looks like a shepherd. If Mado weren't here he would do something more than look. He would send wisps out, hidden low among the sheep, to eavesdrop on the man while they trailed him at a distance. He would know how to follow low and quiet and stay out of sight until either something or nothing happened, so they would know.

But Mado is here. So he's been suffering the outdoors and Edgard's presence for no reason at all, except to lie here in the dirt while Bouncy the Wonder-Boy handles things, supposedly, with his magical nose. ]

Why the fuck would I compete with a dog?

[Edgard has killed men before and regretted it nearly every time, but right now in this moment he doesn't think he would regret it at all. He clenches his fist to stop the impulse. His face flushes and he turns to Kostos and inhales tremendously. Edgard's eyes are wild like they'll burst out of his head and he opens his mouth to yell. Instead what comes out is a deadly whisper.]

Just. Do. Something! Anyth-

[Before Edgard can finish, there is a rustling behind Kostos and a strange growling. Back in the field, the Shepherd is suddenly armed and charges toward them.]

[In case they haven't turned to see the shepherd yet, frantic barking precipitates his arrival and, while Mado's at it, scatters the flock. He races back toward his companions to bite at the shepherd's trouser leg, only realizing once he's got a mouthful of fabric that the actual threat is behind Kostos and Edgard.

Dropping his quarry, he's taking a breath to bark the alarm when it becomes a plaintive yelp instead, the shepherd's foot swinging into him. Who would do such a thing]

[ The growl sends Kostos rolling onto his back. This is not a good position to be in, when something is growling behind you, but it frees his arms to cast—which is what he's doing. The glow of a magical barrier springs out from his chest, settling over him and Edgard like a film.

From there he rolls again, this time onto his feet. Just in time to hear Mado yelp—and dammit, he gives a shit so he looks away from the rustling brush and toward the dog. ]

[Edgard's arm becomes a bow and he instinctively cowers back from the magical glow. He realizes what it is just in time to see a fade touched wolf collide against the barrier.

He hears Mado yelp, but doesn't take his eyes off the wolf. He huffs in frustration again and shouts at Kostos.]

Let me shoot!

[Kostos, naturally, is facing the other way.]

[From behind them comes the shepherd, and then the dog a few paces behind, having regained his feet and continuing to bark the alarm. No matter the form, he's rather useless in a fight, but animals tend to find him upsetting enough for his strangeness that he can at least bank on getting the wolf's attention.

Racing around the barrier, he pounces against the much larger canine in an odd, semi-acrobatic maneuver, pushing at it with all four of his paws against the shoulder to knock it off its feet as he bounces away and sticks the landing.]

Edited (just normal dog stuff) 2021-09-18 01:06 (UTC)