Barking Up the Wrong Tree
Kiran wandered through the woods with no real destination in mind.
The territory had grown a lot in the last few weeks. New resistance outposts had been set up deeper in the trees, and the usual walking paths were starting to feel more like proper trails. He liked it out here. It was quiet in a way the pack house rarely was anymore. With everyone psychically linked, even when they tried to give each other space, there was always something bleeding through the bond. Thoughts, feelings, the occasional stray horniness. Out here, at least for a little while, he could just think.
He kicked at a pinecone as he walked, tail swaying lazily behind him.
We’re all changing, he thought. Cass has that weird void cock and can feel what we’re doing half the time. Zariel came back from the Temple all silver and intense. Khepri’s still adjusting. Even Roan’s been different since he took the gift. He sighed through his nose. And me? I’m just… here. Still the same horny little fox everyone expects me to be.
He wasn’t complaining, not really. He loved his pack. But sometimes he wondered if there was more to him than being the chaotic one who made everyone laugh and got fucked in the woods during training games. Then he felt like an idiot, Cass told him he loves him, Roan would die for him, Kiran decides he's just having little fox syndrome. Not feeling impressive or useful enough.
A faint crunch of leaves behind him made his ears twitch.
Kiran stopped walking.
Before he could turn around, something cold and sharp pressed lightly against the side of his throat.
“Don’t move.”
The voice was quiet, calm, and unfamiliar. Kiran slowly raised his hands, a small smirk already tugging at his muzzle.
“Wow. You’re quiet. I didn’t even hear you until just now.”
The blade eased back slightly. A moment later, a figure stepped around in front of him, lowering the knife but keeping it ready. It was a fennec fox, lean and sharp-featured, dressed in dark tactical gear. His large ears twitched as he studied Kiran with cool, assessing eyes.
Kiran’s smirk grew. “Remi, right? I remember you from the files. You’re one of the perimeter guys. Zariel met you.”
Remi’s expression didn’t change much, but something in his eyes shifted. “And you’re Kiran. One of Roan’s. The… excitable one.”
Kiran laughed. “That’s one way to put it.”
They ended up sitting on a fallen log a little ways off the main path. Remi had some military rations in his pack and offered to share. Kiran took one bite of the brown, brick-like substance and immediately made a face.
“This tastes like sadness and regret,” he said, chewing with obvious distaste. “How do you eat this shit every day?”
Remi shrugged, taking a bite of his own without complaint. “You get used to it.”
Kiran side-eyed him. “You don’t have to, though. You could come back to the pack house with me. We’ve got actual food. Real meals. Zariel makes this stew that’ll ruin you for anything else.”
For a second, something flickered across Remi’s face. Interest. Maybe even a little longing. But it was gone just as fast, replaced by that same guarded, broody expression.
“I’m fine out here,” Remi said, voice flat. “I work better alone.”
Kiran didn’t push it. Not yet.
Instead, he tilted his head, studying the fennec. “So… what’s the deal with your magic? I heard fennecs are supposed to be really good with it.”
Remi’s ears flicked back immediately. His shoulders tensed.
Kiran noticed. “Sorry. Touchy subject?”
Remi was quiet for a long moment, staring down at the half-eaten ration in his hands. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and rough.
“I was never given the chance to learn.”
Kiran stayed quiet, letting him talk.
“When I was a kid, my village was attacked by rogue eagles. They came in fast, burned everything. My mom shoved me into a chimney pipe and told me to run. I was small enough to fit.” His ears lowered slightly. “I ran. Hid. Survived. But by the time I found the resistance… I was already too old. Fennecs usually start learning magic together when we’re young. It’s a group thing. Community. Trying to learn it as an adult, alone?” He gave a short, bitter laugh. “It’s nearly impossible.”
Kiran’s usual playful expression had softened. “That sucks.”
Remi shrugged like it didn’t matter, but the tension in his body said otherwise.
After a moment, Kiran spoke again, gentler this time.
“…Have you ever had sex?”
Remi went very still.
The silence stretched.
Kiran watched his face carefully. The way Remi’s ears had gone stiff, the slight flush under his fur, the way he suddenly couldn’t meet Kiran’s eyes. It was all the answer he needed.
Remi cleared his throat. “That’s none of your business.”
“So that’s a no,” Kiran said, not unkindly. He leaned back on his hands, tail curling around one of his legs. “You’re hot, you know. Those big ears, that lean body… I bet you’d be fun once you loosened up a little.”
Remi’s head snapped toward him, eyes narrowing. “I don’t need sympathy fucks. And who said I’m even into guys?”
Kiran held up his hands in surrender, but he was still smiling. “Alright, alright. Message received.”
Remi stood up abruptly, brushing dirt off his tactical pants. “If you want to get handsy with me so bad, we can do it this way.” He rolled his shoulders and dropped into a loose fighting stance. “Let’s see what you’ve got, little fox. Test your prowess.”
Kiran’s ears perked up, delighted. “Oh? You wanna wrestle?”
Remi didn’t answer. He just lunged.
The fight was fast and technical. Remi fought like someone who had been trained properly, efficient, controlled, using leverage and positioning rather than brute strength. Kiran was quicker and more chaotic, slipping out of holds and using his small size to his advantage. They grappled hard, rolling across the forest floor, trading control back and forth.
At one point, Remi managed to get Kiran pinned on his back, one forearm across his throat. Kiran grinned up at him, breathing hard.
“You’re pretty when you’re on top,” he panted.
Remi’s ears burned, but he didn’t rise to the bait. Instead, he reached down and pulled a knife from his belt, pressing the flat of the blade against Kiran’s inner thigh before slowly dragging it up until the tip rested right against the fox’s balls through his shorts.
“Got you,” Remi said, voice low. “Submit.”
Kiran’s eyes sparkled with pure mischief. He leaned up slightly, voice dropping into something much more suggestive.
“I’d love to.”
Remi stared at him for a second… then actually laughed. It was short, surprised, and quickly smothered as he snapped back into his usual stoic expression. He pulled the knife away and stood up, offering Kiran a hand.
“Not today, little fox.” He shook his head, almost smiling despite himself. “I had heard you were the horny one in the pack, but damn. You meet a lone fennec in the woods and immediately want to jump his bone?”
Kiran took the offered hand and let Remi pull him to his feet. “Can you blame me? You’re hot. And mysterious. It’s a dangerous combination.”
Remi’s expression sobered again. He stepped back, putting some distance between them.
“I’m not interested in hanging around a pack,” he said. “I work better alone. And I’m not touching whatever sausage you’ve got in your sheath, so keep it there.”
Kiran didn’t look offended. If anything, he looked amused.
Kiran hesitated, then asked, “What’s the deal with Lir? That void mark on his cheek.”
Remi’s ears perked. “You know about that?”
Remi thought for a moment, then shrugged. “From what I’ve heard, Lir’s got an innate ability… and then something extra. Something the Temple gave him that most people can’t access. He’s got the power of the void in his blood. Like Nox. Like maybe Cass your Midnight Wolf they call him, but… different. Lesser, I guess? Lir says it takes some kind of anomaly to get ‘infected’ by the void.”
Kiran’s brow furrowed. “Cass used a Void Tear to transform. A lot of people have. But he came out looking like that.” He gestured vaguely at his own body, as if remembering Cass’s midnight fur and glowing eyes. “Lir wasn’t transformed though, right?”
Remi shook his head. “No. The Void Tear was used on him for something else.” He looked at Kiran seriously. “If you ever get the chance, don’t push him on it. He’ll tell you when he’s ready. Or he won’t.”
Kiran nodded slowly.
They stood there for a moment in the quiet woods. Then Kiran stepped forward, quick and light on his feet, and pressed a soft kiss to Remi’s cheek before the fennec could react.
Remi froze.
“You’re hot,” Kiran said quietly, pulling back with a small smile. “And you don’t have to be alone out here. Just… remember that.”
Before Remi could say anything, Kiran turned and started walking back toward the pack house, tail swaying behind him in that way he knows looks inviting.
"If you ever meet Lir, he'll show you how that tail sway is really done," Remi said.
Remi stood there for a long time after Kiran disappeared between the trees, one hand slowly rising to touch the spot on his cheek where the fox had kissed him, shaking his head.
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