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/      !!

i    -    i know   ,    elwyn    ,    just   .,.      focus on breathing   .   you don't need to talk      *     he was erratic   ,      he had brought elwyn back from the brink of death before    ,    but could he do it again    ?    so much more felt like it was on the line   .    his desperate eyes connected with the other's   ,      tears forming   .    he couldn't lose elwyn    .    not now    .     he reached for a blend of herbs   ,   one his master used to treat the pain after thorne's transformation    .    with a small flicker   ,   he used his magic to bind the ingredients together   ,   turning it into a salve that he applied around the wound     *     it's    .,   it's gonna be cold   ,    but it'll help   ,   i promise   .

@arcanepaws 
            
            elwyn whimpered quietly  ,  body twitching through shocks of pain.  he couldn't recall fully what happened.  he had been left in charge of the shop  —  to be more precise  ,  his job was to tell people thorne would be back soon.  someone had come in and now he was  ..  here.  like this.
            
            "it h  ..  hurts  ..  "  he whined as he openly cried.  " 'orne  —  it hurts  ,  it hurts."  he hadn't felt pain since his last home.  he had naively thought he would be free to it.  did he do something wrong again?  he thought he had been good.

*    his purrs increased as he stretched out a little more   ,   slowly dropping to rest his lead on elwyn's lap   .    his eyes were closed   ,    ears flicking contentedly      .      he felt truly relaxed  .     a rarity    .     slowly    ,    he rolled onto his back   ,    making sure to brush his cheek against the others lap   ,     his stom,ach now exposed  .    something a cat   /    never    /    does     *   'm not   .,.    'm not soft   , .

@arcanepaws 
            
            elwyn giggled as he reached out to gently thread his fingers through thorne's hair.  his own tail wagged happily behind him  ,  a mirror of thorne's.  thorne didn't usually mind when elwyn cuddled up to him  ,  but it was usually elwyn himself initiating the contact.  this was a good type of different.
            
            "I know how you act when you have a little  —  this isn't it."  his voice was amused as he spoke.  "you're all soft now  ..  it's cute."

*     thorne tensed    ,     the fur on his tail standing on end as he felt elwyn press into him   .    he still felt so   ,    so guilty   .    he was still   ,    his breath hitching as he watched the dog    .   slowly   ,    he put an arm around elwyn    ,     his tail curling around his leg      *    i'm glad     .

@arcanepaws 
            
            elwyn directed his stare back towards thorne  ,  tears freely flowing now.  he clutched the collar close with one hand  ,  using his other to grab on to thorne's sleeve.  he tugged the other close insistently.  as soon as he was close enough  ,  he practically molded himself to thorne.
            
            "thank you  ..  "  he whispered quietly.  " 'm not  ..  not upset.  these are good tears.  happy  ..  happy ones."  this was the last tether he had to his past life.  he didn't realize how much he missed it until he saw it again.

*    an instant wave of regret immediately washed over thorne  .    his heart sank   .    he never meant to upset elwyn   ,    never  .    he thought it was maybe a kind gesture   ,    something elwyn would appreciate    .      not freeze up and grow upset    .   thorne wasn't sure what to do   ,     opening his mouth to say something   ,    anything     ,    to comfort elwyn    .   but nothing came out    .    he took a small step forward    ,     hesitantly reaching his hand out to rest it on elwyn's shoulder    *   i  .,    i'm sorry    ,     elwyn   .    i didn't mean to upset you     .,.

/        !!

*     he let out a sigh    ,    tail flicking    .    he thought about it    ,   for a good minute    ,    then picked it up from the shelf     *      .,.       will you stop asking and bothering me if i buy it       ?

@arcanepaws   /     a cats worst enemy ..
            
            "I don't believe you."  elwyn smiled  ,  clearly amused.  "if you're sooo sure about that  ,  then why won't you let me test it out?"  he pointed towards the aforementioned item  —  the one he was trying to convince thorne to buy.  

@dearpreys 
            
            elwyn flinched back  ,  head jolting up to look at her.  his mouth opened and closed as he tried to think of what to say  ,  eventually ending in a nervous whine.  "  ..  I smelt something.  a good smell.  I was just  ..  curious."  a pause as he looked away.  "sorry  ..  "

/        !!

*     !! 

og character concept by @arcanepaws  ,  added on to by rez !

¹  elwyn is still very hyper  ,  but he'll close off the second he thinks someone's annoyed with him.  he has a fear of being left alone  —  of being abandoned.
            
            ²  he has ptsd.  loud voices  ,  raised hands  ,  weapons  —  everything of the sorts will make hin freak out.
            
            ³  he absolutely refuses to wear shoes.  you can maybe convince him to wear socks  ,  but he will genuinely growl if you try to make him wear shoes.
            
            ⁴  he hates tight clothing.  all of his clothes are oversized.  he likes stealing clothes  —  specifically from thorne  ,  the person he lives with now.
            
            ⁵  still very dog - like in his mannerisms.  he whines  ,  paws at things  ,  tilts his head  ,  rests his head in people's laps  ,  lays by their feet  ,  etc.
            
            ⁶  he's unknowledgeable in just about everything  ,  but he does have the ability to name practically any plant.  the farmer was big on teaching elwyn about it all.  it's like he knew the dog could understand  —  he'd listen and learn as long as he made it interesting enough.
            
            ⁷  he hates being alone.  when he's with someone  ,  it's likely he's holding on to them in some way.
            
            ⁸  once he learned where meat actually comes from  ,  he refused to eat it.  he was horrified that he had been eating his farm friends.  
            
            ⁹  he doesn't like talking about his past.  he's worried that if people know  ,  they'll start thinking badly of him.
            
            ¹⁰  very very expressive.  it's easy to tell how he's feeling.

he remembers the fury from the farmer's daughter.  he remembers her husband picking up that bat  —  doing the very thing he was fearful of.  the boy  ,  despite everything  ,  had begged for his father to stop.  the man didn't listen.  elwyn  ,  on the brink of death  ,  ran away  ..  leaving behind the cries of his boy.  
            
            he didn't get too far before he collapsed.  he had tried to live  —  had tried to fight on.  but with a lack of food and festering wounds  ,  he was quickly declining.  a coat of gold now stained crimson.  he had expected to die  —  but he woke up  ..  different.  human.  there was someone with him  ..  a cat.  his third chance at love.