Gux sat stationary in the hut, watching animals move and play around it. The vines provided a solid roof, and there was a gentle breeze that wafted through it, bringing the delicious smell of those berries around him. He growled a little, his stomach wanting him to eat… To rush out there, not just for the berries, but the meat hopping around so readily available… He resisted, trying to calm himself and just listening to the sound of the forest.
What he found, instead, was a second voice inside his head. There was the one, slavering, angry, demanding he go out for blood, he hunt, he slay… And the second, which sounded quite like Lily’s, saying “Be patient. You can do this. You’ll make it.” The bubbly giggle sealed the deal, and while he was amazed anyone would want to be friendly to one like him after what his kind did… he didn’t deny the happiness he felt at being accepted.
All day he sat there in the hut, watching the animals frolic and play. As the sun started to set, he felt his hunger growing… He didn’t know if the berries were to last, or all at once, and he started to reach out for a second, but he stopped. As delicious as the first had been, and how tiny it had seemed, he wasn’t hungry… his stomach was empty, which wasn’t nice, but he wasn’t actually hungry… and so he stopped himself. From that. He still couldn’t help but pace around the small vine abode, his eyes glued to the nine berries all around him.
As night fell, small fireflies came out in the clearing, fluttering through the vines on the gentle, soothing breeze. He wanted to snap at them, but stopped himself again… as much as violence was fun as a child, he’d grown out of it as he’d aged… It was his fault the tribe had gone mad, as he’d shown mercy to the prisoners, breaking their cage. He’d blamed it on Rhok, who had left for a moment to eat, and pretended to be injured… What they did to Rhok, he knew was a punishment, but seeing it… and the blood frenzy that happened after… he had to run. He couldn’t join in any more.
The glow of the fireflies reminded him of that… of the frenzy, or the magic that had taken over those gnawed, gnarled bones that were once his friend. He closed his eyes, yelping quietly and morosely as he threw himself on the ground, covering his head and ears. He couldn’t stand the memories… he wanted them to stop. “Patience…” the voice rang in his head once more, and he calmed. Perhaps it was his native habit, but her soothing voice brought him comfort he only remembered once before… before the tribe matriarch had taken him for training… He continued to make those pitiful noises alone, longing for something, not knowing what, but he managed to remove the dark thoughts… for now.
At some point in the night, the soothing smell of flowers had drifted him off to sleep, for in the morning he awoke with a start. His motions caused a butterfly to flutter off his fur, which he looked at curiously. Gux had seen them before, but not so close… and not with so long before they were snapped up or snatched away… He held out one of his paws, the tiny, gentle insect landing on it. His face was always curled into a smile, but his eyes softened, the features more genuine as he watched it move.
It fluttered off into the bright light outside the vines, and Gux debated following… but she’d said to wait there. He pondered, pacing, and found himself hungry again. That hungry again. Growling and yipping to himself, he looked at the berries… one more wouldn’t hurt. He grabbed it off the vine, popping it in his mouth, and immediately the same rush of energy, of sweetness, and fullness without filling his belly hit. He didn’t know what had made these grew, he only barely knew about magic, but he wished he could do it, now, to keep these on paw.
The return of light brought out forest creatures once more, tempting him outside the hut. He wanted to leave, to find Lily, but she had said to wait, so he sat awkwardly. It was then that he heard the soft sound and, looking up, saw the owl perched in the vines. The creatures… were comfortable around him. They had run before, and he had worked hard not to chase them, but now they were curious… he smelled no better, his fur was no less matted and clumped, but… it seemed to be enough.
After what seemed like forever, there was a strange rumbling around him. The vines began to wither, pulling away into the ground, those bright red berries turning to dust before him. He yiped in confusion, then howled out in anger and frustration. Had he done wrong? He should’ve eaten all the berries… where would he stay? He stayed motionless, watching the hut disappear and the bright light suddenly blind him.
When he blinked it away, Gux was looking at Lily, skipping happily towards him in the forest. He let out an excited laugh, the hyena sound not at all native to the forest and giving the animals, and Lily, a start. However, none of them ran, and Lily actually came closer, smiling and patting him on the head. “Good job, Gux! You did it! Did you eat all the berries? Or just what you needed?”
“I… eat…” he held up two fingers. “This many.” He then looked confused. They could’ve all been his? “I wait, like said. Be patient… Lily…” he didn’t know the words. “Not enemy. Not tribe, but no fight… I want to see Lily.” He nodded, smiling again.
Lily wasn’t ready for how talkative Gux was, considering how bad he was at the language, but she smiled. He was much more fun like this, even if he was still quite frightening to see. “Aww, you waited here the whole time? I had meant you could wander around a little, but… Thank you.” She hugged him, and he hugged back eagerly, nodding against her shoulder.
“I do good?” He pulled away, looking into her face with kind eyes, his smile even looking less crazed.
“Very good! In fact... “ She waved her hand, and a big beautiful flower grew from the ground, which she picked and set behind one of his ears. He scratched at it once before she stopped him, and after that he sat looking… uncomfortable. She grinned. “You look lovely, now. And, with that to keep your focus, we can begin.”
“What we begin?” he said, tilting his head.
She beckoned him to follow. “Many things, but first… cleaning you up.” She started to skip, and he plodded along behind, wondering what she had in store.
