The Story of Lily & Rowen: Amarusa

Chapter V: An Unwanted Visitor

Rowen slowly awoke to the sound and feel of crisp gusts of wind. Or at least, it had been a contributing factor to his awakening. A voice had aided the cold wind in waking the black-furred male from his slumber. Rowen opened his eyes and was met with a view of gray from the exit, where sunlight and a blue sky would otherwise have been seen. Needless to say, it was darker than usual. His eyelids slowly but intently closed again before he was once again coaxed back into the world of reality by the combined forces of wind and voice.

"Rowen!" came a shout. "If that Angelo gave me the wrong directions, I'm going to be pretty mad!"

Rowen exhaled in an annoyed manner. In what would have otherwise been a fine awakening, he was instead faced with that troublesome she-wolf, Vera. Rowen afforded himself a quick stretch before rising to all fours in earnest before he approached the opening of his little den.

"Angelo wasn't wrong. Angelo is never wrong." Rowen stated, not immediately looking at Vera as he emerged from his home.

"Oh, quiet. Don't remind me of that tool." Vera grumbled. "I'd much rather talk about you and..." she tilted her head as she trailed off. "Your face..."

Rowen brought his paw up and brushed his face. He felt the scar, though he admittedly had completely forgotten about it what with everything on his mind. Her words about Angelo angered the black male, but he decided against responding to it. She knew that he was sided with Angelo. Probably, at any rate. Without a doubt, Rowen figured it wise not to drive the fact home.

"Thank Bryce." Rowen creased his eyes in irritation as he was reminded of that stupid male.

Vera closed some distance with Rowen, until she was quite close. She leaned in and examined his face. The proximity to her made Rowen feel uncomfortable. He could see anger materializing in her amber eyes as her lips peeled back in apparent anger.

"If that was any worse, I'd personally rip his face off." a low growl could be heard in her throat. "I'm still going to exchange some words with him over this, I think." she backed away from Rowen and grabbed at the deer leg by her side with great power. No doubt she was entertaining a fantasy of it being Bryce's face.

Rowen considered responding. Should he have said something about how Bryce fancies her and what he had told Rowen? He decided against it. Instead, his still-sleepy eyes beheld the deer leg that Vera had, as the grass indentations seemed to suggest, dragged all the way up the hill with measurable effort. Rowen licked his lips a bit in anticipation of a meal, for it'd been some time since he had enjoyed a meal befit for a wolf. Of course, that was not to discount the efforts of the white she-wolf the night before. It was a good thought, and one that brought him comfort.

"Dear, this meat did not drag itself up here." Vera said, returning to her usual attitude as she motioned her body in such a way that tried to get his attention. "You'd have me to thank for that."

Rowen finally looked at Vera as she spoke. "You're right. I do have you to thank for this." he admitted, and found it difficult to take his eyes off of the deer leg.

"So thank me!" she shot him a smirk, her amber eyes clearly pining for recognition.

Rowen sat down as an annoyed expression prevailed over his features. "Thank you Vera, for providing me with this wonderful meal. I shall always remember this as the day that you brought me something to eat. I'll surely reflect on this years from now with a heartfelt reverence of your selfless acts towards me." Rowen rolled his eyes as he exaggerated his gratitude in an obnoxious way.

"Worth it!" she exclaimed. "If sarcasm was energy, I could drag this leg up and down this hill five times and still have some of it to spare." she mused. "Care to guess what I might use the rest of that energy on?" she approached him. Her expression was a suggestive one and her amber eyes flared with energy again, but not out of anger that time.