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The cold air on Talos was sharp and strong.
There was a faint hiss coming from Bloodhound's mask as they carried the prowler across their shoulders; the prowler had a rough hole in its neck from when Fuse shot it with Bloodhound's hunting rifle. Fuse had slipped up though, which resulted in the both of them having to put in more brutality in killing it. The trip went slightly more rough than Bloodhound would have appreciated. But nonetheless, they were more than happy to be able to supply their community with more food and supplies.
Fuse could hear a faint wheeze coming from the distorted filter in Bloodhound's mask and stopped Bloodhound to try to carefully take the prowler off of their shoulders, "C'mon mate, you've been walking with this big ol' thing on your shoulders for an hour. I'm carryin' it from now on."
Bloodhound held onto the prowler and took in a deep breath before talking, "Mitt Walter, we are so close though, I can handle this." Fuse looked as hard as he could through Bloodhound's goggles with his one eye, furrowing his brow in concern. He could tell Bloodhound was tired, and they were much too stubborn to ask for any help. "I know but I can hear ya wheezin'. Just cause you've been doing this for years doesn't mean you can't get help love, now c'mon." Fuse slipped the prowler onto his shoulders and kept most of the weight on his robotic golden arm to make sure he kept his balance from the sudden weight, "Besides Houndy, I got a metal arm, you don't gotta worry about me!"
Bloodhound felt the weight lift off their shoulders and relaxed with quiet gratitude thst showed in their posture. They straightened back up as much as they could with the extra gear and backpack they had on, "Well.. Thank you, mitt Walter, I am grateful for you." They smiled, breathing easier without any struggle now. "Aw, ya don't gotta thank me for anythin'. Just happy to help my Houndy." Fuse leaned over and kissed Bloodhound on their temple. Hound's cheeks flushed. The grenadier never failed to make their cheeks flush red with his charming tactics and manners.
Every moment with Fuse felt like Valhalla to them. Everyday they thanked Freyja for crafting such a handsome, rough, lovely man that they didn't know was even possible since Boone.
The two got to their village and were greeted by a group of small children, no older than 9 years old. "Blódhundr, pick me up, pick me up..!" One of the young girls hopped around Bloodhound excitedly, she had small bright feathers that were braided in small sections of her long hair and plenty of bird-like accessories on her coat. She raised their arms up at them, Bloodhound laughed sweetly. They were happy and almost touched to the heart seeing the girl so excited to see them and Fuse. "Of course..! Come here, young fugl." They picked up the young girl underneath her arms and raised her high into the air before setting her onto their shoulders. She squealed and giggled as the other kids cheered and begged for their turn. Bloodhound played with the group of kids and entertained their questions about their mask and gear until a loud, boasting voice echoed through the air, “Children, get back here and finish your chores!”
"Alright, all of you run along before you get in trouble with Frænka." Bloodhound sent them off and focused back on Fuse, "I am sorry. The younglings in my village get very excited when I am here, even when I come back from a short hunt." Fuse shifted the prowler onto his metal shoulder before looking back at them, "Aw it's alright..! Thought it was cute the way you talked with 'em. I can tell they look up to ya'. Now c'mon so we can get this grub prepared, huh?" Fuse smiled and shot a wink at them before they headed over to the center of the village, where there were small tents and tables with tools set up around.
It was near the end of the afternoon now, Bloodhound was almost finished prepping the meat from their hunt. They had Fuse's help preparing the damaged pelt, trying to salvage it as much as they could. Some village younglings from around watched, curiously watching them while trying to be discreet. Bloodhound and Fuse knew what the kids were doing and paid them both no mind, finding their antics silly. It had been a while since Hound and Fuse got together, and Hound felt comfortable now showing more affection towards the other in public. Fuse loved how affectionate Bloodhound could be with him. The way Bloodhound’s soft yet strained voice spoke of his name with their accent, how careful they were every time they hugged or held his hand, and the vulnerability they showed to him. He felt happy just to be helping Bloodhound with their village even if that meant people whispering about them. If anything, that made him want to show more affection in public, even if it was simple hand holding.
A strong looking, heavier set older woman quietly came over to the two and slammed her hands down onto the table, "Mitt Blódhundr! How dare you not get your Frænka before doing all of this? I would've done all of it!" Her voice was loud, courageous and her skin littered with scars. She had long, frizzy bright fire-y hair with strands of white that had a strong braid going to the back, it reached past her waist. Bloodhound almost dropped the sharp butcher knife they had in their hand from surprise. They set the knife down as they boasted into a loud, cheerful laughter, "Mitt Frænka! You must be careful while I yield this, I could've hit you!" They went around the table and gave the tall woman a tight hug. They gasped in realization that they haven’t introduced her to Fuse, "Frænka, I must have you meet someone, this is Walter Fitzroy..!" They let go of their aunt and turned her so she could see Fuse, who happily reached his hand out, his eye widened when she took his hand and roughly shook it, "It's nice to meet ya' ma'am, you can call me Fuse." He laughed and the woman smiled in approval looking at him, "It is amazing to meet you as well! I am Blódhundr's big Fŕænka, or 'auntie’. The name's Sigríður. Are you their mate or something?" She teased and Bloodhound's face went pink. They giggled seeing the confusion in Fuse’s brow from hearing the word ‘mate’ come from the tall woman in front of him. Fuse did not know the significance of the word in Bloodhound’s culture, only knowing in Slavo it meant good friend or a nice name to call someone. "Yes, Frænka, you could call him my.. 'Mate.'" Bloodhound smiled underneath their mask before letting out a sigh.
Sigríður gasped in surprise and patted Fuse's back hard before hugging him for a short moment, "My gods! You, mitt little Blódhundr's mate..! Why didn't you tell me this earlier, Blóth?! We would've had a feast in celebration of this..!" The wrinkles on her face creased along with her faded scars as a huge grim formed on her face, full of surprise and love for her relative, "I wanted it to be a surprise, Frænka..! And I know that if I had told you before my visit, you would have told the entire village, and then everyone would've been in our business much more than they already are." "Now hold on, I thought you didn't use 'mate' as a saying, Houndy- What does that mean?" Fuse was curious and albeit a little flustered. This whole time he had been calling Bloodhound his mate, even before they started dating, and they have not told them what he could've been saying this entire time. Bloodhound smiled and covered the front of their mask as Sigríður started to explain, "Well here in Talos it means you have a lover, or someone you have 'intimate' relations with. What, did Blódy here not tell you?" She looked down at Fuse's embarrassed facial expression, which made her let out a short.
Fuse smiled at Bloodhound and punched their shoulder In a playful way, "You cheeky lil' shit! I've been calling ya mate ever since we met and you didn't even tell me I was practically calling ya mine in your language?! C'mere you rippah-" he grabbed Bloodhound with his arms and moved their helmet, ruffling up the small, slightly grayed dark brown braids underneath. Bloodhound laughed loudly and squirmed their way out of Fuse's grasp, "I did not tell you because I knew it'd embarrass you, mitt Walter..! Now stop before you embarrass me infront of my people more than you have in front of my Frænka." They forced the helmet back on to their head and straightened it back out. "Ya didn't even tell me when we started datin', you ass!" He chuckled and fixed the crooked strap on their helmet.
Sigríður chuckled seeing the two and patted Bloodhound's shoulder, "You two run off and I'll finish the rest of this beast, it's my turn to make dinner for the village anyways. Don't think of protesting to that, Blódhundr." She teased and went around the table and picked up the unfinished chunk of meat from the prowler before beginning to finish cutting the rest. "I won't, I am grateful for your help miss." They bowed their head respectfully and held their hands together for a moment, waiting for the woman to return the bow before grabbing Fuse’s hand and running off to their house. Then wrinkles near the corners of Sigríður’s mouth creased as she smiled fondly at the two, whispering a secret prayer to herself for her younger relative before she continued cooking.
More stares and glances thrown at them from the members of the village but Bloodhound was comfortable enough to not mind them. Fuse held their hand in his and stayed close to their side, "Still can't believe you didn't tell me what that meant to ya, love. You know how embarrassing that is now?" He gave them a cheeky grin as Bloodhound unlocked the entrance to their home and walked in with him, "I will be honest, I didn't tell you also because I thought it was.. Endearing to hear.” Bloodhound’s face warmed up seeing the grin on Fuse’s face, “I knew what you meant then, but when we got together I found it so sweet, I could not contain myself." They undid the straps of their helmet and the cloth covering their head, and removed them both to reveal short, fluffy brown hair with some braids along the sides. They took off their goggles as well and gently rubbed along where the indents were on their skin before setting everything respectfully on the hooks that were screwed into the wall, still wearing the mask. Fuse hugged them from behind and helped remove the heavy coat and gear also. He rubbed the dark feathers along the neck part of the coat, he loved how the gear Bloodhound would wear made them so much more mysterious and more animalistic in a way. Fuse looked over at the hunter, and felt every bit of his attention focus on them now. "Well, I guess now I truly am your mate, eh? And you're my mate too, right?" Fuse gave a sweet kiss on the back of their shoulder and nuzzled his face in between their shoulder and neck. He took in a deep whiff of their scent, they were slightly musty from today's trip but still had the lingering smell from the pine trees and dirt tracks from today’s hunt. He didn't mind at all.
Bloodhound's cheeks grew to a soft pink as the corners of their mouth turned up softly. They rested their head against Fuse's, "Yes, yes I am.” They undid a side of their mask and let it fall to the side and turned in Fuse's arms and wrapped their arms around his chest, pulling him into a sweet and soft kiss that felt like it could last for a lifetime; his lips were slightly chapped from the dry, cold weather of Talos yet pressed perfectly against theirs. Fuse returned it and rubbed up their side sweetly as he returned the kiss. Although Bloodhound's lips were scarred, split from the coldness and harshness of past battles, they were still the loveliest thing Fuse had ever felt in his life. The kiss broke when they both began to chuckle before Bloodhound put their mask back on, "Let's clean up before the feast starts. I am sure mitt Frænka and others will want to talk to us and ask us things." They sounded content, letting out a sigh as they pressed their forehead against Fuse’s. "I'm right with ya on that one, just as long I can control the water's temp, it is bloody freezing out here." Fuse rubbed up and down along Bloodhound's spine carefully before loosening his hold on them. They smiled once again as they stared into the grenadier's soft brown eyes for a moment,
"Of course, mitt mate."