Aspen walked out of his room, hurried as he silently closed the door behind him.
He still fought with himself internally, of why he would help such a weak healer like that fox, how ridiculous something such as that felt to him now. But he couldn't help himself when the fox ran into him, covered in blood. It had made him feel something, as the fox looked so frail and vulnerable in that moment that he couldn't help but try to save the poor thing.
He shook his head, softly growling to himself as he walked through the empty halls of the castle, the torches that hung on the walls not even lit by the magical flames.
The castle worked on a timely basis, it had been late anyway and everything had been shut off, even the magic, leaving the place in the dark.
Aspen would have just stalked through the castle until he hoped the fox would either leave on his own, or simply fall asleep, but this late in the day, the castle was quite uneventful, not much to do in the building usually teeming with activity.
And it wasn't as if he could just tell Bane to leave either, he knew how awkward it would make him feel as well.
He eventually gave up, turning around and heading back to his room. But as he turned around, he promptly saw movement outside the window, so quick that he almost wasn't able to catch it at all.
His eyes darted quickly to where the window was placed, overlooking the small courtyard the castle had to offer, the wolf seeing the end of a long and scaled tale before it vanished around the corner.
A reptilian?! The wolf quickly thought. He knew that the reptilians were only really in their small amount of land on the edge of the continent, confined to their small territory in the swamplands, so it was quite a shock for Aspen to have seen this, for the reptilians were not really allowed to leave their land, guards usually on watch into the long hours of the night at the border.
Aspen quickly ran in pursuit of the strange figure he had seen through the window, throwing the door to the courtyard open and scanning the area.
For a moment he thought he might have imagined it, for the courtyard was completely empty, the moonlight giving ample vision of the space, despite the foliage blocking a significant portion of the view.
But his eyes immediately darted to what he had thought he had seen, the foolish reptilian making the choice to move, the Anthro freezing as he saw that he was in the presence of Aspen.
The Alligator Anthro was a small thing, even smaller than that healer fox that he had harbored in his room, the Anthros eyes wide as he noticed that Aspen could see him, the Alligator looking like a frightened child who had been caught reading a book under the covers.
And worst of all, Aspen could see something in the Anthros hand, a sword. It was long and gleaming from the moonlight, a deadly weapon that let Aspen know that this reptilian Anthro was here to kill
Aspen knew that the reptilian Anthros were always said to be cruel, to be violent and unpredictable, but he never would have imagined one to go so far as to kill which was what he thought to be the only thing the damn Alligator could be here to do, to be that heartless.
"What the hell do you..." he began to shout, but before he could finish his sentence, the Alligator Anthro had began to sprint off, dropping the sword onto the ground in surprise, the metal clanging off the concrete path as he took off, opening the other door to the spacious courtyard, into the castle itself.
Aspen would not allow this to happen, to have a potential murderer just able to go through the castle as he wished, this Alligator must be punished.
The Arctic Wolf began to sprint after the Alligator, his feet pounding through the courtyard as he chased after the Alligator.
But he quickly realized that he was not quick enough to succeed, because thought he was taller than the small Alligator, his body was too bulky to give him enough agility to catch the thing, the Alligator turning the corner of a hall quickly, vanishing from Aspens sight.
The Artic Wolf stumbled to a stop, his breathing hard as he caught his breath, furious at himself that he had let that little intruder escape him. He was trained to fight, and yet he could not even catch a common criminal like that pathetic Alligator, and that infuriated him most of all.
~
Aspen stalked back to his room, the Wolf still angry with himself. His father had trained him better than this.
He went back to his room, fists clenched so hard that his claws went through his fur and cut into the tough and callused skin of his palm.
Aspen pushed the door open softly, his ears perking, hoping that the fox would be asleep, he felt much to tired to be subject to any interaction.
As he pushed open the door, a soft sigh escaped him as he saw Bane, the fox asleep, the fox clutching the blankets close to himself, ears limp.
Aspen felt a soft smile creep on his face unexpectedly, he had to admit that the fox looked quite cute, curled up in the blankets like that.
The wolf froze. Cute?! What the fuck was he thinking. He had never let pathetic emotions like those impact him, Aspen always shoving them back down and ignoring them, being in denial for what he thought he would be better for everyone.
But the wolf yawned, feeling suddenly very tired. The first events of today, of everything that had been going on in his life completely draining him of any energy he may have felt, the wolf's eyes feeling heavy.
He looked across his room, seeing no other option but to somehow fit into the bed with Bane, the idea that he would be sharing a bed with the fox making him blush, despite his efforts to surpress his emotions like he had always done in the past.
He awkwardly slid in beside Bane, the fox barely even stirring as he laid beside him, the amount of space between them so minimal that Aspen could feel the foxes shoulder against his own.
The fox suddenly rolled over, Aspen suddenly worried that Bane had awoken, but quickly calmed as he realized the fox had not awoken, only stirring in his sleep.
The fox had moved himself even closer to Aspen, the fox hurrying his muzzle into the fur of Aspens neck, his right arm draping over the Wolf's chest.
Aspen felt himself freeze, the sensation of this fox now being so close to him making him feel mildly uncomfortable, though that feeling wasn't the most prevalent, the Wolf finding himself putting an arm over the soft Orange fur of Banes back.
Surely giving into this a bit wouldn't hurt, right?
Aspen felt his eyelids droop as his arms softly went around Banes, the small fox feeling so small, so fragile in his arms, the soft breathing of Bane something that Aspen felt that he could feel on his neck.
He thought this would just make him stay awake for longer, but he felt that the presence of this fox, of another warm body against his own made him drift off more quickly, Aspen descending into sleep, the worries of the day slipping into the background as he held Bane tentatively in his arms.