#interations ── 「 🐻 」 ── w/ rory

[frayedattheendings]

closed starter for @thrcughthewccds || (for Rory, from Harris) location: the woods near the cabin.

It was a beautiful day out, the sun shined through the canopy of orange and yellow leaves overhead. The warm light joined a red headed young man trekking through the worn path he's walked before with his brothers. Carrying over his shoulder was the young man's earning from his baited traps, a brown canvas sac stained and smelling of the wet fur that it often carried. Harris would admit to hating this part of his day, lugging around the smelly bag of meats across the forest.

It was bad enough that he had to endure the smell, but the beasts the smell might attract was an added struggle to surviving in exile. As Harris saw the cabin he and his brothers now resided in get closer in his sights, the young prince couldn't help but catch another scent nearby. The scent didn't resemble and of the game in his sac, nor did it match any belonging to the neighboring predators that roamed these woods. Harris's steps grew slower as his curiosity of the scent urged him to investigate further.

With the cabin in his sights, Harris decided to follow the new scent off the footpath of the forest. The sound of crushed leaves under the prince's foot followed Harris as he continued into the thicket of forest near the cabin. The scent grew stronger the deeper he went, a small smile joined the prince's expression as he manages to find the scent's owner.

"Rory!" Harris set down the sac of game and proceeded to walk closer to the fellow werecreature. He approached cautiously as he was unsure of Rory's current state or presentation.

[frayedattheendings]

"Not if I drag you to my bed first." Harris chuckles behind Rory before bringing him into another tight embrace, lifting the werewolf off his feet once more. The bear shifter playfully carries the wolf across the cabin's halls. "Besides, my bed's the best one. Always just right."

"Stop traveling? And give up getting carried around by a bear like me?" Harris laughs, nearly lifting Rory up above his head before almost falling against his nearby bed.

Rory laughs as Harris hugs and picks him up. As handsy as Rory can be, Harris is even worse. But Rory always finds himself relaxed from it.

"You're one to talk," he says, sniffing Harris back. It's odd. The first time he'd met the triplets, he'd expected not to like their scents since they're bears. But he hadn't minded it. Liked it even. Not as much as wolf scents, but still likes it.

"We'll see. Your brothers might try and drag me to their beds."

He follows Harris into the cottage.

"I've missed you too," he says, taking off his cloak and hanging it by the door. "Traveling is so tiring. I really shouldn't do it too often."

[frayedattheendings]

"Haven't seen you in ages!" Harris beams as he returns the hug, arms wrap themselves tightly around Rory before spinning the wolf shifter around, gleefully carrying the other man and watching the red hood spiral behind him.

"I can't decide what I missed more, that face or that scent." Harris chuckles as he sets Rory down besides him. He playfully ruffles the wolf's hair, hand resting under Rory's chin as Harris continued his light teasing. "You know there's a creek nearby for you to wash up?"

"Only joking." He chuckles, bringing another hand to cup the other's face. Squeezing it much like how a mother would to their own chlid, and perhaps just as embarrassing. "I'm so happy you came by! The other two will love having you over too. We might be short a bed for you, but I'm sure you won't mind sharing one with me." He winks, releasing Rory's face before returning the grab his sac full of game.

It's a couple of days after the full moon. Those are always rough on Rory; trying to remember if he did anything to draw attention to himself or hurt anyone.

He always finds that being around other shifters (even Zeke) helps him calm down. So now that he'd made new shifter friends, visiting them is almost a necessity.

He rounds a huge tree and grins when he sees Harris. He's learned the difference between the triplets now, especially by their scents.

Rory walks up to him, red cloak flapping in the breeze and pulls him in for a hug.

"Harris," he says, sighing with relief. "It's good to see you."