The Eyes Don't Lie

Chapter 3: It's Not Mutual

The next morning, Pax ate the rest of his berries, Rubin caught a few mice, and they set off for Rubin's den. This time, it was uphill. The painstakingly slow pace was boring and tiring. Breaks were frequent. Thirsty, they stopped at a small pond for water. Pax drunk from the clean water deeply. Rubin didn't, she pretended to drink and stepped behind Pax. He did not notice as she lowered her body to the ground. Her plan was to knock him into the pond. 3-2-1--- Her eyes turned a bright pink and she jumped. She tackled Pax head first into the water. Splash!
"You ass!" He spat when he emerged. Rubin winked and jumped in too. They splashed each other. They had fun for a while to loosen up nerves. Though play was fun, other things had to be done. Rubin got out first. She ran ahead. Pax got out too, and shook. Rubin pretended not to notice as she presented her rear to him. But Pax took no heed and walked ahead. Rubin smirked, and continued to walk to her den. Pax did not mention what happened, though he did walk a little closer. The rest of the trail wasn't very long, so they made it there quickly. The coyote from before was still there, but there were also 2 more. Pax and Rubin formed a plan, and readied themselves. They waited for the slightest distraction. The nearest coyote looked away. Their eyes burst yellow and Pax zoomed across the clearing. They instantly followed in pursuit. When they were out of sight, Rubin raced to her den. Her ball was in the back left corner. She quickly grabbed it and ran back out. She went to help Pax.

The coyotes were hot on Pax's tail. He couldn't shake them. The water and energy spent from the pond had slowed him down. They were so close he could see the saliva coming from their hungry mouths. Faster. He sped up. The coyotes were still snapping at his heels. He turned left and right, He jumped over logs and faked turns, but he just couldn't shake them. His only hope was the trees. So he took a sharp left. The coyotes momentarily ran past. Pax used this time to climb up the nearest tree. The coyotes snapped and snarled at him from below, and began to climb the tree. Pax went higher, but there was no need, The coyotes were to heavy and the branches fell back to earth. Pax could not get down, and the other trees were too far away to jump on. Rubin appeared shortly and yelled something. The coyotes turned to her. Pax's eyes flared red.

Rubin ran in the direction Pax had gone, following his scent through the trees. She could tell Pax was slower than usual, but it didn't look like they caught him. She heard yapping in the distance. Uh-oh. She ran towards it. The coyotes were circling the a tree. Pax was stuck up it. The coyotes were under him, but he could not be reached. She needed to divert their attention.
"HEY!" She called to them. They look at her. The nearest smirked, but it was short lived, because Pax's eyes flashed red. As soon as he smirked, a heavy branch fell from above onto his and another beside him's head. Crunch! Their heads exploded on the ground. And blood splashed the tree. Rubin stared. The remaining coyote took one look at the dead ones and fled into the forest, tail between his legs. Pax jumped down from the tree, walked past the dead predators, and laid behind a tree. He sighed. Rubin walked to him. Pax looked up.
"Do you have it?" He asked. Rubin nodded.
"Then it was worth it." He finished. Rubin licked Pax's neck clean. Pax sat up so she could clean his face. Their eyes were now glowing pink. Pax cleaned her. She closed her eyes and smiled.

They agreed to stick together from now on. The walk home was short, but they stopped to swim a little anyway. They played some and watched the sun set. Rubin sat next to Pax and leaned on his body. He didn't object. As they watched, Pax thought of Rubin's presentation. He ignored it on purpose because they had things to do. But now its over so what was stopping him for accepting her request for a relationship? Maybe it was that he did not want to ruin what they had. Rubin looked at Pax and tilted her head.
"Watchya thinking about?" She asked. Pax looked back. She was particularly beautiful when clean.
"Nothing, just enjoying the scene." He answered. She turned back to the sun. It was almost fully down.
"Well, we should head back anyway, its getting dark." She stated. Pax agreed, and they headed home.