Private Side Adventure Post Urk Expedition: A Sorrowful Night Clouded by Troubled Skies.

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Closed thread with @SwifttailTheFox

Nighttime. Darkness. Silence. The Hide was churning along on the seemingly dead seas. Not a wave to be seen for miles around. The calm before the storm. The sky was filled with dark clouds, like a big grey blanket. The stars and moon were hidden away, and a cold breeze whistled through the air. Nary a beast could be seen on the deck. Common sense dictated it wasn't exactly a good place to be with the weather potentially turning.

And yet, there was a lone beast in the Crow's Nest. Silvertongue. He leaned on the rails, a forlorn expression on his face. Enough time had passed that his injured arm was no longer entirely useless, but he had still climbed up here with only one good paw.

Silvertongue held a medium sized piece of parchment in his paw. It was a beautifully drawn sketch of himself and his parents. They were all smiling, and happy. Tears spilled from Silvertongue's eyes. "Mother... Father... I wish we were all still together." He sighed heavily, his lip trembling as he looked at the portrait.

 

[SwifttailTheFox]

Swifttail crept across the deck, tail dragging low behind him, tunic billowing out behind him in the stiff breeze of the approaching storm. The air intake for the engine room sat just abaft the funnel. Rugg had growled an order earlier about "rain fouling the firebox" and told him to seal it if storms rolled in. Well, they’d rolled, and with no one else fit enough currently to do so, the responsibility had fallen on him.

He knelt beside the low housing and twisted the latch shut with both paws, wincing as the heavy metal groaned in protest. Another hiss of wind curled around the deck, thick with moisture droplets. Just as he turned to go, a low rumble rolled across the sky, a fair bit off yet but heavy with promise. Swift’s ears flicked, and he squinted up toward the sky.

That’s when he saw him. A flicker of pale blue against the dark grey skies above.

Silvertongue?

The crow’s nest swayed high above, nestled in cloud-shadow and wind. The structure rocked with each movement of the ship, its outline slightly obscured by the slate-gray mist. It was reckless to be up there in this weather.

His footpaws shifted before his thoughts did. One paw, then the other. He took hold of the rigging and began to climb.

He didn’t call out to him. Something about the stillness above felt fragile, like any small misstep might might shatter the moment. So he climbed quietly, muscles trembling by the time he reached the top rail.

Carefully, he eased onto the platform, the wind catching in his fur. The fox stooped near the edge hadn’t turned.

“Silvie,” he whispered, barely audible over the creak of the ropes.

No response.

“Silvie,” he said again, slightly louder. Still no response.

Swifttail saw the paw clutching parchment. The shuddering breath and tears. With that, he stepped forward and gently wrapped his arms around him. No words, just the soft weight of his body pressing close, a quiet warmth in the chill, as if to say:

You don’t have to be alone up here.

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue’s sobs stopped short. He didn’t say or do anything to stop Swifttail from hugging him. He simply folded the parchment up and slipped it back into the inner pocket of his doublet. He took a deep, shuddering breath.

“I tried so hard to be the perfect son. I tried to be good and kind... What do I have to show for it? Father is dead, and Mother is missing.” He wiped his eyes. “Captain told me that I’m doing my family name proud… but it doesn’t really mean anything if none of my family is around, you know?”

Silvertongue sniffled. “I feel so alone… I-I have Greenie, of course… and I owe him my life, but lately he’s been much more colder to me, distant too…” He sighed heavily.

He had no right to be dumping all this trouble onto Swifttail like this. He was sure that Swifttail had problems of his own. The whole reason Silvertongue had climbed up to the Crow’s nest in the first place was to avoid bothering anyone.

 

[SwifttailTheFox]

Swifttail held him gently, the way one would hold a crying kit, like he might shatter if he squeezed too hard. The wind pulled at their fur, the crow’s nest creaking above the shadowed deck, but he didn’t move to speak. Only when Silvie stopped talking and the silence felt safe did he speak.

“…You talk about tryin’ to be good. To be kind. Like it weren’t enough.” His voice was quiet. Careful. "But that ain’t what I see when I look at you."

He pulled back just slightly to meet Silvertongue’s eyes.

"I see a beast who never gave up carryin’ the light his parents gave him. Even when it hurts. Even when no one is lookin’. That means somethin’, Silvie. It really does. Especially in the Imperium."

He paused a moment, eyeing the horizon.

"Maybe yer Mum or Pa can’t say it, but I can. You’re makin’ them proud, Silvie. Every stubborn, messy, compassionate inch of you."

He let the silence return for a moment, wind rustling the sails below. Then, softer:

"You’re not alone. Not while I’m here."

A few heartbeats passed before Swifttail’s voice returned, quieter still.

"…As for Greeneye... I didn’t know him before Urk. But I’ve seen enough."

His tail gave a faint flick.

"He talks like a beast who wants everything and gives nothin’ back. Like he’s owed yer loyalty, even when he’s hurtin’ you."

Another pause.

"It’s hard, when a friend turns bad around you. When you keep hopin’ it’s just a rough spell. That if you just give ‘em one more chance, they’ll remember how to be good."

He breathed slow, steady.

"But when a beast looks you in the eye, sees yer heart breakin’... and walks away cold? That ain’t you failin’ him. That’s him choosin’ to fail you."

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue let each word come out of Swifttails mouth without interruption. He let them get blown away by the cold storm winds, all the while meeting Swifttail's gaze with his own.

"I... let's not speak of him anymore... he's been through a lot." Silvertongue whispered.

His smile faltered, and he put a paw on his chest. "Swifttail... you have been so kind to me, so generous with your heart... I feel I am an awful beast for advancing on you like I have... allow me to make it up to you."

Slipping his paw underneath the neck of his doublet, Silvertongue produced an amulet. It was an onyx paw, with a silver iris in the middle. Swifttail, as far as he could recall, had never seen Silvertongue wearing this before.

"This.. necklace... is supposedly a protective charm. My godmother gifted it to me when I was a baby. She's a very spiritual sort of vixen, a seer. She claims that it sees evil approaching." Silvertongue pointed to the eye. "And stops it from hurting you." He pointed to the paw.

He smiled softly, almost ruefully. "I have worn it every single day of my life, for twenty years... but now, I want you to have it." Without warning, he suddenly leaned forward, and he put the amulet around Swifttails neck, the cool mettalic gem resting on Swifttails chest. "I want you to be safe, you know... from evil spirits."