Animalia: The Green Forest, Book 2

Chapter 2

"GOOD MORNING, RISE AND SHINE, MY LITTLE BRAT!" A cheerful voice called. "TODAY IS YOUR SPECIAL DAY!"
Samson groaned and rolled in his bed. Alex, who was sleeping next to him, groggily lifted her head up. "Wha?" She blinked with bleary eyes. "Is it Samson's birthday yet?" She had spent the night so that she could be "early" for this occasion. She had always done this every year.
Samson's mother, Iris, who had been the one yelling, was nodding her head. "Yes, it's his birthday," she leaned over on the bed and shook Samson's shoulders. "Wake up, lazy ass!"
Samson groaned again. "Mom," he started, still feeling tired. "Please don't swear in front of Alex. And please, give me a few minutes to wake up before you start yelling."
"Fine, but only because you asked like a polite young gentleman." Iris leaned back with a purring sound. She crossed her arms and fondly stared down at her son. "Are you going to do anything special with your friends today?"
"I dunno," Samson grumbled. He slowly sat up on his bed and started to stretch.
"I hope we do!" Alex bounced on the bed excitedly. "Samson deserves something cool on his special day! Oh, I almost forgot his birthday nuzzles! Come here!"
Samson braced himself as Alex lunged toward him. She pinned him down on the bed and rubbed her face against his.
Samson pushed Alex away after a while. "Okay, that's enough," he chuckled. "Thank you, Alex."
"No problem!" Alex purred.
Samson noticed that his mother was watching them with amusement. "Do I need to leave you two alone?" She asked teasingly.
Samson felt his face heat up in embarrassment and looked away. "No, of course you don't," he replied through gritted teeth.
"Do you think Jaxon or Rose have anything planned for today?" Alex asked out loud, obviously unaware of Samson's embarrassment, and even more unaware of Iris' implication.
Samson's shoulders slumped in relief. "I don't think so," he said. "But it would be great if they did. A little gift would be nice."
"Maybe Jaxon will bring you some of his homemade bacon," A dreamy look appeared on Alex's face as she spoke. "They taste so good."
Samson felt cold at the mention of Jaxon. "I guess," he shrugged. "Or maybe Rose will give me something."
Alex got off the bed now. "Rose is cool," She said with a shrug of her own. "But her brother Jaxon is like, way better."
Samson gave Alex a sharp look. "Jaxon is a whiny coward." He replied coolly. "I don't know what you see in him."
Alex lifted her head and opened her mouth to reply, but Iris spoke up first. "Stop that, you two." She ordered. "I know you both love your mates dearly, but don't compete over which one is better." She gave Samson a sharp look.
"Jaxon is not my mate!" Alex protested, though she had a blush on her face. "I mean like, not yet anyways."
"And Rose isn't my mate either," Samson scoffed. "She's just a friend."
Iris clapped her hands together. "Whatever," she started loudly. "That's enough bickering, let's have some breakfast!"

Samson and Alex were now hanging around the edge of the forest. "I wonder when they're coming?" Alex asked as she paced around.
"Relax, Alex." Samson was leaning against a tree. "They'll show up in their own time."
Alex stopped pacing around and sadly looked down. Ever since she had escaped her relationship with Luca, she had grown very attached to Jaxon. Her tail twitched nervously now. "I hope Jaxon's okay. He's kinda late. . ."
Samson stared at Alex in concern. The molly was wildly lookin around the woods. "I hope Luca didn't get him or something," she looked and sounded afraid. "Luca would kill him."
Samson moved closer to Alex and wrapped his long tail around her trembling body. "Alex, we're very close to the end of the forest." He murmured soothingly. "If Jaxon was caught, then we definitely would've seen or heard something."
Alex pressed her face against Samson's chest with a whining noise. Samson sighed and stroked her hair. Luca hadn't been around Alex for nearly a year, yet she's still affected by the things he put her through. Samson felt a flash of anger toward his cousin. He'll pay for this some day. I'll make sure of it.
"Sorry we're late!" Jaxon's voice was heard. He was running toward Alex and Samson with Rose following behind. "Rose was picking out your birthday present!"
Samson narrowed his eyes at Jaxon. The human was empty handed. "And you didn't pick anything out for me, hm?" Samson asked icily.
Jaxon looked horrified. "You wanted me to?" He asked loudly. "I'm sorry Samson, I didn't know that! I'll remember next time!"
"Make sure you do," Samson grunted. He gently nudged Alex away from himself, pushing her toward Jaxon's direction. "Here, Jaxon. She's been waiting for you."
"Jaxon!" Alex flung herself toward the human. She clung to him and rubbed her cheek against his. "I missed you!"
Jaxon's face softened as he held her. "I missed you too, Alex."
Samson moved away from the pair and faced Rose. "Hey," he greeted casually. "What do you have there?"
The human had her hands behind her back. Rose shifted and held her hands out to Samson. "Happy birthday Samson. I got you this hoodie." It was black, sleeveless, and a pullover. "I thought it would match your edgy style"
Samson grabbed the hoodie. "Thanks. I appreciate that."
"So how was your birthday today?" Rose asked, staring up at him with a smile.
"My birthday has been fine so far." Samson shrugged. He pointed at Alex with his tail. "Alex spent the night at my place."
"Really?" Rose's voice sounded a little strained now. "Did you two. . . Do anything?"
The question startled Samson. "Of course not," he replied immediately. Why would she even think that?
"Oh, okay," Rose looked slightly relieved.
Samson stared at Rose, feeling uncomfortable now. "Yeah. Silly girl wanted to be extra early for my birthday. She does this every year. . ."
Alex and Jaxon approached the pair. Alex looked relaxed now with Jaxon by her side. She clung to his arm and stared at Samson and Rose. "Can we go for a walk?" She asked with wide eyes. "We're all just standing around doing nothing. A walk would at least give us something to do."
Samson stared at Alex for a while, then he looked at Rose. The human was distractedly staring at the trees around here. "You and Jaxon can go on ahead," Samson replied with a wave of his tail. "Rose and I will eventually catch up."
"Okay," Alex tugged Jaxon along with her as she started to walk.
The molly and human walked close together. Alex visibly tightened her grip on Jaxon's arm and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. Jaxon turned his head to stare at Alex with a fond look in his icy blue eyes.
Samson watched them leave. They're more like mates than just friends. He thought, feeling a familiar stab in his heart. I wonder when they'll officially get together. He shook those thoughts away and turned to Rose again.
"Hey," Samson started, feeling slightly awkward. He pointed with his tail in the direction that Alex and Jaxon had taken off in. "They've already started walking without us. We're alone now."
"Really?" Rose finally met his gaze.
"Yes, really." Samson felt himself starting to become irritated with the human. Pay attention, dammit! He bit back those words. "Do you wanna catch up to them?"
"Only if you want to."
Samson suppressed a sigh. Something's going on with her. She's never usually like this. So distracted and distant. Maybe I should talk to her. "We'll walk together then. Just the two of us."
The pair walked through the forest in complete silence. Samson cast awkward glances at the human, wondering how he should confront Rose about her strange behavior.
"Is something bothering you?" Rose was the first one to speak up.
"Wha?" Samson stopped in his tracks and stared at her. He let out a huff and lifted his chin. "Oh, I'm fine. I think you're the one that's being bothered by something."
"Are you sure?" There was a challenge in Rose's ice blue eyes. "Because your behavior the other day says otherwise."
"Tch!" Samson looked away, feeling his tail tip start to twitch in annoyance. "I could say the same thing about your odd behavior right now as well."
"I'll tell you what's going on with me if you tell me what was going on with yourself the other day," Rose retorted, crossing her arms.
Samson instantly felt his fire die down at her words. His shoulders slumped, and his tail drooped. There's no way I'd admit to her that I was thinking about my cousin. He thought uncomfortably. She might think I'm crazy for worrying about a person as terrible as him.
"That's what I thought," Rose continued to walk ahead without him. "Come on, let's catch up to the others."
Don't tell me what to do! Samson's tail lashed in annoyance, but he followed her anyway.