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Ren had been dumb the other day.
Letting instinct go before logic.
Leading him outside, to howl at the moon, to fight monsters…
To more or less get himself killed.
Doc had been mad— well, frustrated. Not fully yelling at Ren, but definitely annoyed that Ren got himself killed. That being said, Doc was focused on other projects, and having to worry about Ren on top of all that…
Ren understood why he might be frustrated. And nine year old Ren could definitely comprehend that, as he sat inside, very much so longing to go outside again.
But he’d promised Doc, that at least for now, he’d be safe and stay in no matter how much he just wanted to be himself.
It was hard to not lean into his wolf side.
But he could do it.
- - -
Ren curled up into a small ball, looking outside the window. Black bricks surrounded him, along with a few amethyst crystals. The place held a magical aura around it, resulting in a feeling almost of trapped. How much he wanted to run across the grass even as it was getting late! How much he wanted to yell at the moon, that consistently stayed full and bright.
“But Doc needs me to stay safe. Inside.” And Ren could be good, good for his best friend and at the moment, his caretaker. But being good was nearly making him go stir-crazy.
He put his hands up at the door, almost as if he was pawing at it, and he let out a whine very similar to a puppy’s whimper. It almost helped, just acting like a dog. It relieved that small part of him that needed to let out the hybrid. Right now he wasn’t hurting anything, and it made him feel the smallest bit better.
Progressively, those whimpers got louder. There were near barks and pants. And while he wasn’t hurting anything or anyone, he knew he was being a disturbance, and he knew his sounds could project far off. Only acting more as a distraction to his friend.
And it made him feel bad, sad, almost a little frustrated. He wasn’t helping. He and his wolf-self was only make problems.
It was only making problems as he saw a couple hermits fly into the area.
Two people he didn’t expect, Etho and Scar, came into the room dedicated to the moon rock. “Hello Ren,” Scar said, stooping down in front of him. “What’s going on?” He gave Ren a small scratch around his wolf ears, Ren leaning into the touch quickly, before it went away as quick as it came.
“I’m just… I’m waiting inside until I get big again,” Ren mumbled out. “Why’re you here?”
“I could sense something was off,” Scar said. “Magic I guess.” He shrugged.
“Doc messaged me, saying something about you being more wolfish lately. You feeling that more lately?” Etho asked, before sitting right next to Ren.
Ren nodded. “The moon’s bigger and fuller every night. It makes me wanna yell.” It took all his will to not scream the word.
“Yeah. It’s no good to repress that for long, is it?” Etho asked, before munching on some sweet berries. Ren perked up at the food, taking interest in the snack rather quickly. “You want some?”
Ren crawled up to the fox hybrid, looking up into his eyes. “Please?” He opened his mouth, as if expected to be fed the berries. Etho gave a small laugh as he threw the snack into Ren’s mouth. A few berries fell to the floor, and Ren not thinking anything of it, stooped his head down to eat the treat.
Scar scratched at Ren’s head as it was down, and Ren moved quickly up to his face, giving a small bark. It resulted in Scar giving a small jump, his tail stiffening up a bit as he held back a hiss.
“Sorry,” Ren said as he curled up into Scar’s lap. “I got a little too happy.”
“It’s okay, buddy. Loud noises just make me a little skittish.”
Ren nodded in understanding before leaning against Scar, finally feeling the slightest bit tired after taking out some of his energy. A tiny purr escaped Scar before he could stop it, the sound getting a giggle out of the wolf-child.
“You want to go outside for a few minutes? Then we try to get some sleep?” Etho asked when Ren managed to subside his laughter. “And we can make as much noise as we want at the moon.”
Though Ren knew Etho would probably stay quiet, possibly even curled up, and more hidden away from mobs, he took up the offer knowing that he’d make all the noise at the moon for the three of them. Ren gave Scar a tight hug before following Etho out, the third staying in due to his skittishness.
Outside the air was cool, and a light breeze floated every few minutes. It was cloudless, perfect to star-gaze and to call out to their moon friend. Ren gave a toothy smile at the thought. It was weird after all day telling himself to stay quiet, to actively rebel against it.
He called out to the moon, not really expecting a response. It’s light shining down was enough answer.
Etho gave a much smaller call, still sounding wild, but not as excitable. But that could be chalked up to wolf and fox differences.
Ren sat right against Etho, Etho pulling his fluffy white and grey tail around the small hermit as he kept guard for mobs (bow and arrows on the ground, ready for a battle if needed). It felt safe. He felt safe, loved, after feeling distanced from the other hermits for the past few days.
Ren gave a few howls again, and a few happy barks before finally feeling like all excess energy was exerted.
“Thank you,” Ren said in a small voice. “I’m good now.”
The pair went back inside, to where they curled up in a corner. Scar joined, hardly any moments later, once again letting out a purr, blushing very evidently.
“You know Scar, Etho said it wasn’t good to stop all your animal instincts,” Ren said at the realization of Scar’s embarrassment. “It’s okay to be a cat. Or a kitty cat. Even if puppies are better.”
He heard Scar sputter, as if he were trying to come up with something to say.
“Ren’s right,” Etho said, smile in his words, “Dog’s are cooler.” He let out a small chirp of sorts, before adding on, “But we’ll accept cats too.”
Scar let out a small laugh before properly nestling in the pillows and blankets that made up their nest of sorts. “You better!” This time, making cat-like noises unashamedly, persistent enough to nearly lull Ren to sleep after awhile.
It was nice, living amongst a fine family of animal hybrids.
Especially the ones that liked cuddles.