Viveka had been dozing slightly, feeling safe and at ease with her canine companion close by. However, after some time, she realized he was not so relaxed as she. With a worried expression, she sat up halfway, and in a sleepy tone, inquired,
"Remy?"Remiel was shaken out of his thoughts, ears flicking towards her voice as he lifted his head from his paws. He had been nestled in the fluff of her tail, yet somehow she had sensed something was amiss.
"Viv?""Are you hurting, Remy? Do you need me to get you something?" She was no expert in such things, but Viveka had treated her companion's injuries to the best of her abilities. It was the least she could do after he had saved her life from that awful bobcat. She had no idea the true danger she had been in that day, as even a regular bobcat was terrifying to the tiny pony.
Relaxing, if only a fraction, the canine huffed good-naturedly before answering. "
No, I'm fine. Just...thinking." What a sweet thing...yes, she had treated his injuries after he'd driven off the bobcat Shifter. Of course she worried he was in pain. Not that he was so weak. However, the fact that she was worried about his comfort (a primary concern of his own as well) earned her some points in his opinion. He continued to think to himself in silence before speaking again. "
I wonder...could I tell you a secret? Would you promise not to be upset?"That was a puzzling response. Viveka tilted her head curiously, folding her front paws over one another.
"You can tell me anything, Remy. That's what friends are for!"Friends. Huh. Could Shifters even
have friends? It was something that Remiel had never fully entertained as a possibility. Did he
want friends? Or just comforts? After a moment, he made his decision and answered the Usdia.
"If you say so. Alright, don't freak out. I want to tell you the truth. I'm...not just a dog."Viveka tilted her head the other way, then laughed which seemed to surprise the canine.
"Well, of course not! You're a familiar! You're not just a dog! Unless you mean...oh! You're part wolf aren't you? You were always kinda bigger and fluffier than the other dogs I've seen. I figured it was something like that." She nodded confidently, sure in her conclusion.
After his moment of surprise, Remiel realized that she had it all wrong. Oh sweet, naive Viv. You silly child.
"Pfft, actually, I'm a husky. It's like...kind of a wolfdog, but still a dog...but, that's not what I mean. Promise me you won't freak out?" he repeated the phrase again before climbing to his paws. When she nodded, clearly confused but accepting, he figured '
Well, here goes nothing,' and aloud said
"Don't be afraid. Just, let me show you, and then I'll explain." He began to shift back to his regular form, gaining height, bulk, and more Soquili-like features, though the fur and paws and tail remained. When he was done--
Viveka's voice was barely a whisper and the tiny Usdia was visibly shaking as the word left her lips.
"--Shifter!"Okay, she was freaking out. But she hadn't run. Perhaps she was too scared to. But she hadn't run. It was something. Remiel took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he sank back to the ground, putting himself back on her level and folding his paws beneath him calmly.
"Yes, a Shifter. A charmed Shifter. Do you know what that means?" He knew word had been getting out about his kind, but how far had it spread, he wasn't sure. He tilted his head, pointedly flicking the ear where the gem shone.
She was trying to put the thoughts together through her panic. Viveka's eyes flickered towards the gem, then back towards the sharp canine teeth, the paws half the size of her whole head, then back to the gem. Her mind was racing, but it was doing nonsensical circles for a time before she was able to stammer out,
"You're...you're not gonna' kill me? Or...or eat me?" It was a question as much as it was also colored with wary hopefulness.
"I'm not." Remiel kept his voice even, though there was also a part of him that wanted to laugh at the way she cowered before him. No, no, that wasn't his goal here...even if it was entertaining and inflated his ego. After a moment, he tilted his head with amusement.
"I'm a selfish jerk sometimes, but I'm not a monster."Viveka was doing her best to hide the quivering she could feel shaking her right down to the center of her being. It was not very effective. It took her a moment before she could get up the courage to ask,
"Then...what do you want with me?"Remiel stared back at her, thinking for a moment about what tale he could spin to convince her of her safety, of what fibs to tell painting himself in some honorable light...then settled for the truth. As it were.
"Your tail makes a great pillow. You're a good nap buddy."Silence hung between them for a time, as Viveka seemed to be weighing the truth behind the words (and still trying to get her shaking under control) and Remiel let her process this information. Eventually, he added,
"I don't really want anything more than what we had going. I just figured I'd tell you myself before someone else did and you got the wrong idea."Viveka eventually managed to curl her tail around her paws, hiding the shaking in a vain attempt to hide her fear. She was still scared, of course. Just the word 'Shifter' sent chills up many a large Soquili's spine, let alone a tiny pony like her. And yet, why would he tell her this unless he was telling the truth? He could have just eaten her at any point if that had been his intention. She'd let her guard down so many times, falling asleep and feeling safe with what she thought was a canine familiar. Now that she knew what he was, that thought was terrifying...and yet... She thought back to the incident days before. He'd fought for her, protected her.
"You...you saved me." ...wait, knowing what she knew now, the question only now crossed her mind and she gasped.
"Wait! That bobcat, was that? Was that another Shifter?!?"Remiel sat patiently, watching with the attention of a predator at the small changes in her expression, her posture, noting the tiniest details as she worked through what was honestly, quite a lot to work through at once. He could almost see her brain working, putting it all together, figuring it out.
"I did," he answered her first question calmly. Of course, he told himself that doing so was because it was in his own best interest. He refused to look any deeper into it than that. Nope, not questioning his own motives, nuh uh. He paused before answering the second question, but then nodded.
"It was."The realization was almost too much for the Usdia to bear and her shaking paws failed her. Fortunately, it wasn't far for her to fumble and now she curled her tail around herself for reassurance, as if she could hide her self within the fluff. When she could speak again, all she said was
"...you saved me. You saved my life. You didn't have to...but you did."Remiel looked puzzled for a moment, then tilted his head. Yeah...he hadn't needed to do that. Honestly, he could have just moved on, found somewhere else to hole up for a while, leave the bobcat to their hunt and save his skin from being marred. But, he hadn't. Even though that's exactly what he would have done time and time again. His own life and comfort was his only concern. Perhaps a bit discomforted by this realization, he spoke again to dispel any deeper thoughts on the matter.
"So, you believe me then? That I'm not going to hurt you?""I-- This is a lot to take in." A massive understatement.
B-but I--I really want to. I don't...see why you would tell me this otherwise. You didn't have to. Anytime, you could have just-" her voice faltered and she shook her head as if physically ridding herself of the horrifying thought.
"I...I appreciate the honesty, I just...I think I'm going to need a bit to process this...okay?""Fair enough." Remiel hid any sign of disappointment. It really would have been nice to have that nap today, but that wasn't going to happen now clearly. Really, he should be grateful. He had been the one to decide to broach this subject today, and honestly, Viveka had handled the revelation far better than she could have. Only time would tell if they could actually continue on as they had before, now that his secret was out, but perhaps...perhaps there was a glimmer of hope.
"I'll er...I should go. I'll leave you to think things over without me here. When you're ready though, if you're able to accept what I am...and understand that I mean you no harm...I'll be waiting." Remiel slowly shifted back to his fully canine form, bowed his head to the shivering Usdia mare, then turned to take a solitary run away from the warm meadow. He had some thoughts of his own to mull over.
WC: 1,574[FIN]
