ORIGIN

Tuck actually kind of stared at Kin-Kin when she blatantly admitted loneliness. “Who are you and what have you done with Kin-Kin?” he asked, and then a grin broke out across his face. “I’m never letting you live this down, wolf. Kin-Kin the Lonely.” He laughed, and then flinched, halfway expecting her to want to eat him then. “I’m joking, please don’t hate me. I just… haven’t talked to anyone in a long time. Like you. My social skills are a little rusty. Not that they were ever very good…”

Okay! Rambling over! Then she said something that sounded odd to his ears. ’But maybe this is the start of something. I sure hope so.’

He stared at her again, and then laughed maniacally. “Listen, wolf, I’m not into canines, okay? So if you were lookin’ for a kiss, you better look elsewhere. Yuck!” Then he fell over laughing, clutching his stomach.

OOC: Tuck’s gone insane. IDK what’s happening anymore. XD
Words: Idk… 150+
@Kin-Kin

Kin-Kin's ears lowered back towards her skull and she couldn't help her fur prickling as it rose slightly on end. "Hmph!" She muttered, a spark of her old pride igniting. "The old me would be ashamed of this. But I'm still the magickal champion, and demigod of these caves. Nothing can take that away." She puffed out her chest and showed something of her old self, although it was clear that her pride was wounded as she fixed on the tiny monkey as he laughed. Then she relaxed and bowed her head, an admirable feat in her opinion, and one borne of the desire not to be alone.

Then suddenly... the moment snapped, and Kin-Kin watched the little monkey keel over in fits of laughter.

Kin-Kin had to rectify this, somehow.

Fluttering her lashes and gazing piercingly, she loomed in close, close enough that he'd feel her hot breaths on his fur and see the saliva glistening on her pristine white fangs... unless he hopped away, of course. "You're telling me," she purred wolfishly, "You wouldn't want to kiss this?" After a long moment of holding her head almost at ground's height, she slowly raised herself up and laughed raucously. "You're lucky, I ain't into bugs." She chuckled, now eyeing Tukluk smugly.

"'Sides, I meant the start of others waking up, dumbass."

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Tuck immediately stopped laughing when Kin-Kin got close to him with a grinning mouth full of sharp fangs. “Aaaahh!” he screeched in fear, and leapt some feet away from the wolf. His orange eyes were wide in fear and he breathed heavily as he stared at Kin-Kin from across the room. Then she seemed to let up and made a joke out of it. Tuck did not think it was funny.

“Listen, wolf! I thought we were bonding for a second and then you made it seem like you were gonna eat me! Not cool!” He glared at her with his bottom lip stuck out, refusing to give in and laugh. “If we’re gonna work, you gotta be nicer to me! And if you’re nicer to me, I promise not to make fun of you. Okay?” He hoped she would agree, or he’d probably just run away from her. She could easily eat him if he ended up cornered so he needed to know he could really trust her.

Kin-Kin chuckled, rising back up to her full height and eyeing the terrified little monkey with smugness written across her muzzle. "See, I thought the same," she replied coolly, a smirk in her voice as well as her face. "...And then you shoved it right back in my face! Boo hoo! My fragile pride is broken."

It seemed that a trace of Kin-Kin's usual snark was resurfacing as she settled back onto her haunches. Though, she seemed satisfied with the bargain that they'd struck, even though she thought it might be a little less fun. Kin-Kin was a little too desperate for social interaction to try haggling for friends at this moment in time. So, she flicked her ears, grinned at them, and gave a nod. "Sounds good, kid. So long as I'm allowed to have a little fun every now and then." Her grin soon faded into a more mellow smile. "...I promise it won't involve eating you."

Whilst the last part was meant as a joke, she found herself regretting it almost immediately, and her smile turned into a hopeless grin as she peered at them.

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Tuck pretended to think this over for a time, even though he’d already made up his mind to befriend the wolf. After leaving his bottom lip stuck out for a few more seconds, he gave in a smiled, hopping closer to Kin-Kin. “Alright, agreed,” he said. Some part of him felt the need to reach out and touch her, as if to prove to both of them that she wouldn’t eat him if he did, so he slowly reached out a tiny paw in her direction, but left it outstretched without touching her. He didn’t know what to expect then, and felt foolish, but determinedly kept his paw out for her, as if hoping she’d bend down and… he didn’t know… lick it, or something.

Kin-Kin grinned, partially with relief, as she heard the monkey's agreement, however hesitant. Though small for a wolf, Kin-Kin felt her ego swell pleasantly in front of someone so small. She watched as the tiny thing hopped closer, her ears flicking, and lowered her head towards them as they came to a halt. As they held out their tiny paw- probably tinier than one of her toes alone, she couldn't help but stare at them for a while in confusion, head slightly tilting. Eventually, she leaned just a little bit closer and sniffed with a nose almost as big as their head. She felt a little awkward doing so; Kin-Kin placed herself far above basic etiquette, but she couldn't be having herself looking stupid. Now could she?

"Uhh... That good enough for ya, kiddo?" she asked slowly, drawing back up to her full height, and looking down at them with a touch of awkwardness lingering in her eyes. Kin-Kin then stood, stretching her spine and yawning. "Ugh, being a good sport sure does give me back-ache," Kin-Kin said with a chuckle, finally shrugging off the awkward tension. "Say, Kid, now that we're... friends an' all... do you need a lift? I don't see your weird... bird... thing, anywhere," She gave another quick look around just to make sure. The wolf hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking again. "An', it's better'n parting ways and just... going back to the nothing, ain't it?"

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Well… She’d sniffed him after a very long and awkward pause. He supposed that was good enough, and quickly put his hand down after she lifted her head up. He would never do anything so embarrassing again. He’d felt her stare like it had pierced his soul, and his body was hot with embarrassment. He cleared his throat loudly, pretending that this strange interaction had never happened.

’Uhh… That good enough for ya, kiddo?’ she asked.

“Y-yeah,” he said quickly, glancing away from her. He continued looking away as she complained of a back-ache.

’Say, Kid, now that we're... friends an' all... do you need a lift?’

His head snapped around, then, to stare at her in amazement. This proud, arrogant wolf was asking if he wanted to ride her? He opened his mouth to say something, but she continued.

’I don't see your weird... bird... thing, anywhere.’

His mouth closed with an almost-audible snap. “Garmer,” he murmured, glancing at the archway as if hoping the Kyte was just around the corner. Being without him hurt Tuck in a way he hadn’t imagined. His mind, which had once been filled with the thoughts of the reptilian flyer, was now achingly empty. He missed that big, grumpy guy. “I don’t… I don’t know where he went. The connection must have been severed when I went back into my chrysalis.” He gave a great, heaving, sad sigh and stared at the floor, barely hearing the last part of Kin-Kin’s words.

Finally, he looked up at her again, his eyes large and sad, like a hound-dog’s. “Yeah, I guess I could… use a lift… If you don’t mind.” He began edging towards her, as if he thought she would suddenly change her mind and gobble him up.

Kin-Kin felt that she could have tasted the awkward in the air, it was so thick. The awkward grin left her face however, as the mood abruptly changed into a far more somber one. Kin-Kin tilted her head, not sure how to respond to this other than to say you can find a new one, right? and yet, somehow, that didn't seem quite appropriate here. She flicked her ears and sighed. "ya know, perhaps ya could put a positive spin on it. Having someone with ya all the time sounds like hell of a chore, to me... perhaps think of it like... a long break." Kin-Kin's tail swished, even though she knew she hadn't made enough firm, constant friends to really make a comment.

Commitment really wasn't her style.

"Not that I'm one to talk. Friends ain't really my thing... Can you tell?" she continued, and then chuckled, a little sadly. "Closest I've got turns up every few cycles to try beat me up. They've never managed it yet." Kin-Kin smirked in amusement, although she felt a pang of loss. She missed the thrill that came with fighting Imperia, the feel of her sword against her muzzle, and the rush of adrenaline. Even their anger, the heat of their fire, the sting of fresh wounds... everything. At least, she thought she did; she probably wouldn't miss it afterwards.

The wolf heaved a small sigh.

Kin-Kin gave a nod as the monkey accepted her offer for a lift, and after a moment's hesitation, lowered herself down onto her belly, forelegs extended before her. "Sure. Hop on. Hold onto the cape, if you like. Just so long as ya don't mess it up."

Kin-Kin was silent for a while as she waited for them to take their place, watching Tukluk with one violet eye. "Where do ya wanna go, anyway?"

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Tuck listened silently to Kin-Kin’s attempt to cheer him up. He was only halfway paying attention, really, so that her words washed over him without really affecting him much. He came back to himself as she was saying that friends weren’t really her thing. “Yeah, I can tell,” he said, plastering a grin onto his face even though he was still a bit depressed.

’Closest I've got turns up every few cycles to try beat me up. They've never managed it yet.’

“Wait, what?” Tuck asked, looking up at her with drawn brows. “What are you talking about? Who keeps trying to beat you up?”

He crawled distractedly onto her back, too preoccupied thinking about Kin-Kin fighting the same Gembound every cycle or so to focus on how strange it was that he was about to go riding on the back of wolf. When she asked where he wanted to go, he let out a long, “Uhhhh…” Eventually, he said, “Well… my Tree is in Eridanus. I wonder what the state of it is. Wonder if anyone’s been messing with my stash of seeds and roots and things. Maybe we can go there?”

It was a strange feeling, having someone climb onto you. Kin-Kin shuddered briefly, thinking that it was like having a particularly large and gross spider climbing up you, but she resisted the urge to shake. Instead, she got to her feet, remaining as stable as she could manage. "Heh," the she-wolf grunted, grinning vaguely. "Well, it's good to know I'm good at somethin'."

Kin-Kin began to move, padding towards the tower's spiraling staircase. she took a moment to calculate her steps, and then pressed on down. "Their name's Imperia. Picked a fight with me when I was a pup. I sent them sprawling in the dirt that time, and every time since. It was in this very tower, actually, the first time. The room we were just in." Kin-Kin's tone became one of reminiscing as she continued down the spiral staircase with the monkey clinging to her back. "They've always wanted revenge. The second time, I had my sword. they're the reason I made it, actually. Third time was... more of who had the bigger balls. Fourth time was... actually a little more civilized. And I haven't seen 'em since." Kin-Kin grinned at the memory, her sides shaking slightly in a chuckle.

She was around halfway down the stairs, but was rapidly nearing the bottom. "Eridanus, eh? Haven't been there in a while. Sure, kid!" Kin-Kin seemed just as curious about the nuts and roots as Tukluk was, but for different reasons. "Why'd anyone wanna steal something like that?" Kin-Kin asked with a chuckle.


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