Travel Buddy, Ch. 1 - Escape
I know it's been a while since my first story, and I apologize deeply for not having got another one out here in so long. *bows repeatedly* Anyways, this story was originally just going to be a short one, but a friend of mine convinced me to segment it into chapters. In other words, I'm working on more additions to this story, and I'm hoping I'll have the time and ability to make the chapters out a little more quickly this time. Also, please feel free to point out my mistakes in here. Now, this chapter contains no yiff scenes, but if you're still squeamish about male to male relationships, I'd recommend going elsewhere. Now, here is chapter one of Travel Buddy.
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Travel Buddy, Ch.1 - Escape
Teiros had been living with a poor past for quite a while now. His family had died a couple of years ago, leaving him alone. The town itself lived on modest means, being a town for the common penniless peasant. It was also highly cultural as well, practices that didn't seem to belong being highly shunned by the townsfolk.
Of course, it was another reason that Teiros needed to flee this town, before they could confirm the rumor about him.
'Alright,... this should be everything.' He lifted a bag and set the strap on his left shoulder and letting it cross in front of and behind him so that the bag itself hung on his opposite side. He took a red crystal like flute his mother had fashioned for him and put it in the side of his robe. Looking around, the ocean blue furred fox went to a standing armoire and opened the doors on it, a beautiful red staff with a blue crystal bloom as the staff head awaiting him. He grabbed it with both hands and looked at it, memories of his late father in the process of making this and the smile on his face when he had finished flooding the young fox's mind.
He shook his head and reminded himself that he was short on time. He closed the armoire doors and turned, looking to see if there was anything else he might have missed. There wasn't anything coming to mind as the fox went for the front door, stopping briefly to pick up a small pouch from a small table near the door.
He looked around after setting the hood of his cloak over his head. Being this late at night with fog having set in already made it a good time for the fox to leave before they could come for him the next day. Thankfully, even though many of them would have come for him, some of the townsfolk who knew him apparently had pity on him. When they had found out that the council was going to have Teiros beaten, tortured, or even killed, some of them had brought a message to him, others bringing things such as food to help him leave the town. Some of the folks who had helped him had already left of their own will, afraid of the fate that would be in store for them should the council find out that they had helped the fox from being unjustly punished when he had done nothing wrong, nothing except exist and help others.
All he had done was use a verdant light to help an elderly female bear with her garden so that she could survive.
He made his way through the back paths and alleys, moving to the west. The walls were just set up a couple of weeks ago, and the guards at the walls and gates weren't especially trained. However, it was still a good idea to avoid them. 'I don't even know whether they had gotten any orders concerning me, but risking it would not be a good idea,' the fox thought.
He managed to get to the west gate discretely, but when he got there, surprise overtook him.
Instead of finding town guards or any other such enforcement figures, he saw a brown furred wolf leaning against one side of the gate's frame. The wolf was wearing what appeared to be brown leather-like armor over a dark blue cotton shirt with a pair of leather greaves and boots. A black cloak was set loosely about him, wavering behind him a little with the light breeze. His arms were folded with his eyes at the ground, as though he was waiting on someone.
Teiros's instinct was to move on to the south gate instead, but the west gate offered the protection of the forest while going south would set him in the plains. He was going over the plans in his mind until he heard the wolf by the gate speak.
"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you. Actually, I was hoping I could go with you."
Teiros watched as the wolf looked up at his direction. After a moment of just standing there, the fox decided to walk over to the gate. The wolf just smiled and watched him approach. Teiros spoke quietly when he got close enough to the wolf. "What happened to the guards that usua-?" His eyes were drifting around as he spoke, the abrupt pause in his question accompanied by a look of shock as he saw three cheetah guards out cold on the ground behind the guardsmen's shack.
The wolf noticed Teiros's expression and spoke up quickly. "H-hey, don't worry. They're still alive. I just put them to sleep is all." He pulled out a small vial of what looked like ground herbs, though Teiros, when he looked at it, had to judge by moonlight.
The fox just shook his head. "Who are you anyways, and why did you do this?"
The wolf shrugged. "Well, I was planning on heading out yesterday, but some of the local villagers here decided to stop me, asking me to wait 'til tonight to leave. I found out only an hour ago that they wanted you to come with me." He narrowed his eyes. "Wait,... you 'are' Teiros Cerdai, right?"
"Y-yeah, I am. Why did they want you to wait on me? I don't recognize you from the village."
The wolf was just about to answer when he heard one of the guards start to groan. "I'll explain later. Run on ahead, I'll catch up to you at the forest edge." He pulled out a pouch of water and a cup from a bag at his hip, filling up the cup and putting in a pinch of the sleeping herbs. The fox took the hint and ran out of the village, glancing over his shoulder as he silently said goodbye to his former home.
Teiros had run a mile before finally reaching the forest edge, ducking into the trees and collapsing behind a tree to catch his breath. About five minutes later, the brown wolf had caught up to him and was panting lightly as he leaned against the same tree that Teiros was behind. The wolf was back up in a few seconds though. "Come on, we need to get a little distance." Teiros looked up at him, his expression showing that he still wanted some questions answered. The wolf didn't give him time to speak though as he started walking off while talking. "If you want to ask me something, it can wait. They won't take too kindly to the fact that their cat guards are all sound asleep. If you want to see what will happen, be my guest." He put his hands behind his head. "I'd rather look forward to a camp fire myself."
The fox didn't quite like his tone about everything, but he couldn't argue. In fact, he had to thank the stranger. He slowly picked himself up from the ground and started following the wolf.
After having to make a number of breaks, they finally arrived to a small clearing, just big enough to set up a good camp. The wolf walked over to what seemed to be a fire pit that had been used not too long ago. He set his stuff down and walked over to a small stack of wood, bringing them over to the fire pit.
Teiros came trudging from the outskirts of the clearing, just to collapse wearily on the ground. The wolf dropped the logs by the fire pit and ran over to him. "Hey! Oh man, don't tell me THAT was too much of a walk for you." The fox was out cold, so the wolf sighed and picked him up. He kicked a sleeping bag out of his bundle of gear, letting it roll out. He dragged it over near the fire pit and opened it up, laying fox down on it as is. It was still late afternoon, not yet near dusk, so the wolf decided to leave him uncovered. He moved on to set the logs up and lit them with a couple of pieces of flint.
It was early night before Teiros started to stir again, the smell of food and the crackling of fire arousing his senses.
"-ey, fin-...-ly wa-... up, huh?"
He slowly opened his eyes for a moment with a small groan. He suddenly shot up awake, a half shocked, half scared as he gasped for help, stuttering on phrases such as "Where am I?", "What happened?", and other such questions.
The wolf ran over to him and quickly clapped his hands around Teiros's muzzle. "You idiot, try to keep it down a little, huh?" he growled through his teeth. "Just because we made it out of the town," he let go of his muzzle, "doesn't mean we're exactly safe just yet. You passing out didn't exactly help us." He turned and went back to the fire.
Teiros sat there quietly a moment longer, sorting out his thoughts before finally remembering the events that had taken place as he looked at his surroundings. He looked back to the stranger wolf, watching him mess with the food, mumbling to himself. "Um,... I'm sorry about..." he spoke half nervously.
The wolf sighed and glanced over at Teiros. "Don't worry about it. All you did was cause me to overcook our dinner a little." He turned back to the fire as he quickly shuffled some food from a flat pan onto some platters and brought one to the fox. "Here, get some energy back in ya. We don't need you to pass out like that again."
The fox looked at the food; his dinner consisted of simple bread and fish. He didn't argue, but instead nodded weakly and began eating. The food didn't have much taste to it though. 'Well, as long as it'll give me energy back,' he thought to himself. He looked over in the wolf's direction, watching him eat as well before finally asking, "... Who are you anyways, and why did you help me?"
The wolf looked back over at Teiros for a moment before looking away and taking another bite of his bread. "The name is Pheran. I'm a drifter wolf. I was passing through that town when they asked me to help you. You know Tayrna?"
The fox nodded. "Y-yes, I do. She was the one I..." He stopped short, wondering if he should tell him or not.
Pheran took another bite and looked over at Teiros. "The one you what?"
Teiros was put on the spot now. He sighed and put his bread down on his plate, sitting there quietly for a moment before finally speaking up. "The one I helped. ... The villagers said that the Council was after me because of the way I helped her."
"Yeah, something about a green light or some such," he said nonchalantly. The fox was obviously spooked when he said that though. "Don't worry. I've run into Druids before and have never had a problem with them. I ain't gonna hurt you for it. She nursed me a few years back. Since then, whenever I came through this area, I'd stop by there and help her out, sometimes with gems or some assistance around her house or garden."
Teiros relaxed slightly but was still on edge. "So... she was the one who asked you to help me? ... And she told you everything?"
"Well, not everything. She didn't want you going too crazy if all of a sudden I started blurting out a lot of things I knew about you." He pulled out a deerskin bag and tilted it up, letting water fall into his open muzzle before tying it back and wiping his lips with his forearm. He offered it to Teiros who hesitantly took it, taking a drink himself while Pheran began talking again. "She told me about you using some type of magic to help her garden because of the dry season. I couldn't see why you'd be hunted for it, but she insisted so heavily, nearly begging me, so I obliged."
Teiros handed him back the bag of water. The wolf set it down beside himself and bit into his fish before jerking it out of his mouth and flinging it into the fire. The fox gave him a confused look as he saw a terrible look on Pheran's face. The wolf pulled out a small flask and took a quick but small swig. He sighed as he closed the flask and put it away again. "Bleuch,... I don't think that was trout. If you don't want to eat yours after seeing what just happened to me, I won't be offended if you just toss yours in as kindling instead of eating it."
The fox shook his head and looked at his meal before pulling his fish up his muzzle and taking a small bite out of it. He chewed softly for a moment, waiting for the same 'bad taste' that was apparently in Pheran's fish. He swallowed the bite and looked over at the wolf. "Um, I think it was just your fish that was bad."
Pheran gave him a sour look before gazing back into the fire, mumbling to himself. The blue-furred vulpine wanted to chuckle at him a little, but he held it back and instead passed his plate over to him. Pheran noticed the plate and looked at the fox questioningly for a moment. "Hey, you need the energy more than I do. Go ahead and eat it if it's fine."
The vulpine replied with a sigh. "I'll be alright. Besides, you've obviously been busy since I passed out. I think you deserve a meal more than I do right now." He continued to offer the plate to the wolf.
Pheran sighed back as he took the plate, his eyes not leaving Teiros as he tried to study him. He had mentioned running into other Druids, but none of them were like Teiros. They weren't born holding a mysterious power that could alter nature; they studied to the bone, and even then, only a very select few ever made it to be actually called a Druid. It always took years, and yet this young fox is able to use it like it's nothing?
Teiros stretched his stiff limbs, a quiet yawn escaping his muzzle before he looked over at Pheran. He spoke nervously to him, "U-um,... did I... do something wrong?"
Pheran snapped back into reality and shook his head quickly, picking up the piece of fish. "N-no, you didn't. I was just thinking about something is all." He took a quick bite and tried to refocus his attention to the flame.
The fox sat there quietly for a moment before walking over to the fire and sitting a couple of feet from the wolf. His thoughts travelled back to his old home, about his late mother and father. They were considered strange in their own right because of how kind they were, and they never had problems growing crops. He recalled watching a faint glow himself one day when their garden was almost killed off by a dry spell perhaps a decade ago. He never talked to them about it, and his youthful mind just accepted it and left it alone. Now though, because he used that same glow on someone else's garden,...
"Um,..."
Pheran looked over at the vulpine. "You ok?"
Teiros nodded weakly and continued gazing into the fire as he spoke. "You... said you had run into 'other' Druids before." He could feel Pheran's gaze on him as he spoke, so he knew he was listening. "Um,... does that mean that... I'm a Druid as well then?"
He sat there quietly, gazing at the fox for a moment until Teiros looked up, meeting his gaze. After a short moment, Pheran sighed and looked back into the fire. "... Yes. ... At least, that's what I am guessing."
"Guessing?"
"Yeah. You see,..." He was reaching for a way to describe it when a small rumble of thunder interrupted his thoughts, accompanied with a drop of rain on his nose. "Ugh, damn." The lupine stood up quickly and motioned for Teiros. "Come on, let's get a tent set up so we can stay dry."
Teiros nodded and stood up quickly, nearly losing his balance from a rush of blood to his head but regaining himself quickly. He quickly stepped over to his own gear and tossed it on the bag that Pheran had let him rest on before helping him with the tent. The wolf laid out the tent on the ground and motioned for Teiros to set it up while he staked the corners into the ground. The fox obeyed and quickly set up the wooden shafts for the frame of the tent. Pheran hammered in the last stake and assisted with the frame on the other side, pointing briefly at Teiros's gear as he finished up the last shaft. Teiros quickly grabbed the bag and his things and tossed them into the tent as the rain began to pick up. It seemed to be big enough for three or four people; even after throwing his things in there and climbing in himself, there was still easy room for Pheran to get in with any other things he might've had.
Pheran climbed into the tent shortly after, placing one last bag at one of the far walls of the tent after pulling a lantern out of it. He opened the top of it, pulled out two pieces of flint, and struck them near the wick of the lantern until the sparks finally caught. He slowly adjusted it so that they would have a little heat and light in the tent and set it down near the back of the tent. "I'd say we're off to a good start. Wouldn't you?" He looked back over at Teiros whose reply was a shivering nod. The lupine sighed and looked over at his bag. "Word of advice: you might not like this idea, but if you don't take those clothes off and wrap yourself up in a blanket, you'll be sick by the morrow."
Teiros wanted to glare at him for the idea, but he was telling the truth about it. A cold or a case of pneumonia wouldn't be a good start at all. He decided to obey willingly for a moment but stopped himself short as he was struck in the head with a question. "Um,... what about you?"
The lupine was obviously caught off guard. He didn't expect that kind of retaliation for it, and the fact that he was more soaked than Teiros didn't help any. He just shook his head and dug a blanket out of his bag. "I'll be fine. I've been traveling enough for a while now that I've gotten used to weather changes like this."
The vulpine shook his head. "I don't think you need to risk it either."
"Well, what do you want me to do? Nuzzle up to you nude?"
Teiros nearly jumped out of his hide. "W-what!? N-n-no, that's n-not what I had in mind!"
Pheran sighed softly. "Look, I'll be alright. I only have one blanket, and that bag that I let you lay on is supposed to be the floor of this tent, so to speak. In other words, one of us is sleeping with the blanket, and since you're the one who is new to traveling,..." He tossed the folded blanket to the fox and turned his back to him.
Teiros looked at the blanket in his hands and then back up to the lupine. He spoke softly, feeling that he already offended the wolf. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get you worked up like that." He watched Pheran shrug quietly and sighed, continuing. "Please, you already helped me escape though. I have a spare robe I can use as a blanket instead. It's not as big as this blanket, but I think it will work well enough for me." He put the blanket forward, offering it back to him.
Pheran glanced behind him after a moment's thought and took the blanket, placing it next to the bag it came out of. "Hm,... go ahead and roll that bag out, alright?" He didn't watch for Teiros to reply, and the only sound that he listened was the unrolling and laying out of the bag. It was big enough for two people to lay on with a small amount of distance between them, as long as they didn't move in their sleep that is.
Teiros became nervous as he continued shivering after finally getting the bag laid out. If he was going to get himself warmed back up, he'd need to remove the wet clothes soon, but the fact that he'd be doing so with Pheran in the tent with him, even with his back to him, made him extremely hesitant. "Um,... I think I'll... go ahead and... if that's..."
The wolf shrugged as he talked, slowly glancing over his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm not going to turn around and watch you, alri-?" He hadn't even noticed that Teiros was already taking off his wet clothes until he saw Teiros's bare back. Teiros obviously didn't much in the way of build on him muscle wise, but instead had a somewhat smoother back than the wolf had. He turned his head for a moment, but he glanced again back at the vulpine out of the corner of his eye as Teiros began tugging at his pants, trying to remove them before glancing back to make sure he wasn't being watched. Pheran quickly turned his attention back to the lamp before Teiros could notice the wolf's gaze. As Pheran began hearing the fox's pants slide from his legs, his golden eyes glanced back at the vulpine again.
Teiros, now fully nude, leaned forward slightly as he set his damp clothes beside his bag and pulled out a black wool robe and threw it on himself. After securing a light green wool belt around the robe, he glanced back at Pheran, a very faint and nervous gasp escaping his muzzle when he finally noticed the wolf's gaze.
Pheran just looked at him like nothing had happened before speaking. "I was wondering how long it was going to take you to just take off wet clothes and throw on a dry robe. Don't worry, I only caught a view of your upper back as you put the robe on." He turned away, a faint grimace on his muzzle from nearly being caught watching Teiros.
The fox just sat there quietly for a moment before sighing and moving closer to the lamp, sitting only a couple of inches from the brown wolf. After a couple of minutes, he glanced over at Pheran again as he spoke softly. "I... didn't thank you for helping me out of the city,... did I?"
Pheran just waved a low paw. "No, you were too busy stopping for air every few minutes. Don't bother about it though. I didn't necessarily do it for you. I did it as a request from Tayrna." He sighed softly as his eyes lowered. "I just hope she made it out ok. She was practically a mother to me whenever I came through here."
Teiros looked at the slightly larger wolf for a moment, a look of concern in his dark green eyes, before looking back at the lamp. He closed his eyes and scooted closer to Pheran, laying his head on the wolf's shoulder. Pheran looked at him in confusion until Teiros spoke up again. "She's an elderly, but she has survived this long." Pheran pondered his words for a moment before smirking, nearly chuckling as he watched the blue vulpine yawn and eventually drift off quietly to sleep. He looked at the flame of the lamp again, watching it burn as brightly as the kindness that Teiros had in him. He chuckled softly again before laying the fox down and laying down beside him, a paw draped over him to make sure they both stayed a little warm overnight. "Heh. No one to care for on this road, huh?" he whispered softly himself before falling asleep as well.