Vulpinsula & Surroundings The Trenches Completed The Challenge

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Before Madame Lorelei could reply, the door to the shop was thrown open. Silvertongue stumbled in, eyes wide as he saw Swifttail. "O-oh, Madame Lorelei! I thought it was, uh... closing hours. I didn't realize you still had a... customer."

Madame Lorelei glowered at Silvertongue. "He told me everything."

"He did...? YOW!!!!" Silvertongue asked, before he recieved a solid THWAP on the snout as Madame Lorelei dispensed justice with her cane.

"Yes, everything, yew little shite! Why would ye keep secrets like that, I raised you from a babe, you know!"

"Madame- OUCH! Madame, I didn't want to worry you!" He covered his head as she berated him both verbally and physically. "Madame, we have a GUEST!!"

Madame Lorelei stopped smacking Silvertongue silly with her cane. "You're right... we do have a guest. Won't you show him to the back?" She calmed down and wiped some nonexistent dust from her dress. Silvertongue tilted his head at her, and she scoffed. "Don't act like you weren't going to invite him to stay the night. Why else meet here of all places?"

Silvertongue blushed heavily. but he did not deny the accusation, instead just looking towards Swifftail sheepishly. "Well...?"

 

[SwifttailTheFox]

Swifttail blinked as the door burst open, ears flicking tall when Silvertongue stumbled in... only to get smacked across the muzzle with Lorelei’s cane. For the first time in hours, a weak chuckle slipped out of Swift, though it quickly faded as the vixen’s sharp words turned back on him.

Stay the night!?

His throat tightened, tail curling close. He stared down at his paws for a long moment, working through the knot of shame and fear still lodged in his chest. Refusing meant pushing Silvie away. But saying yes meant stepping further into a world that already felt like it was pressing too heavy on him.

At last he lifted his gaze, voice low, rough from fatigue.

“If… if ye don’t mind, Silvie… aye. I’ll stay.” He shifted uneasily in his chair. “But I'm t’be back at the forge by dawn. Clinker’ll not suffer a late worker. My bed upstairs depends on it.”

The words came out flat with weariness, but beneath them was something steadier.Aa quiet determination to meet what tomorrow brought, even if his paws still shook tonight.

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue smiled softly. He walked over and took Swifttail's paw in his own. "Well, I suppose I'll have to see you off to work in the morning then, won't I?" He said, pulling Swifttail to his feet. "Come on... you look like you need some rest."

Silvertongue lead Swifttail into the backroom, which was impressively sized. There was a bed off in the corner, a table and some chairs, a small stove and a rack with spices, and a bookshelf and a dresser.

Madame Lorelei hobbled in after them. "Silvertongue, move my rocking chair out to the front, won't you? I'll sleep out there, give you two some privacy~" She cackled a bit.

"Madame Lorelei- I uhh... I don't know what you think is going to happen between us." Silvertongue raised an eyebrow. "But it most certainly is not going to go down the way you're imagining it."

"Just bring my chair out!" Madame Lorelei turned and walked back out of the room.

Silvertongue looked at Swifttail and shrugged, before grabbing the big rocking chair in the corner and carrying it out, walking back in. "I know it's not much... but it's home for me. For now."

 

[SwifttailTheFox]

Swifttail let himself be tugged up from his chair, ears drooping but a small, weary smile still curled at his muzzle.

“Aye… I’d like that. Thank ye.” His voice was quiet, but genuine.

When his eyes fell on the bed, a huff of tired laughter slipped out. “I feel like I kin sleep fer a season…”

However, Madame Lorelei’s teasing cut in before he could say more. Swift’s ears burned crimson, and he all but buried his face behind the satchel he was shrugging off. Only when she hobbled away did he dare lower it again, the heat still prickling at his fur.

He glanced about the room, curiosity dimmed by exhaustion but still alive in his gaze. The stove, the shelves, the modest comforts, it all felt worlds better than his cramped loft and straw pad bed above the forge.

“It’s better’n what I been rentin’, mate,” he murmured, eyes softening as they returned to Silvertongue. “Always count yer blessings… even if ye’ got such an… interestin’ housemate.”

With that, the weight of the day finally pressed him down. Swift sagged onto the edge of the bed, shoulders slumping, tail limp with exhaustion.

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue slumped down on the bed beside him. "She may be a strange roommate, but she is all the family I have left."

He started to untie his ruff, then unbutton his jacket, and finally he removed his gloves. He carefully folded everything up and sat it on the ground.

Sitting on the bed, Silvertongue trembled. This was really happening. Everything he had gone through with Greeneye. He loved Greeneye so much, but... he didn't love what his former partner was turning into. It scared him more than anything.

Silvertongue stifled a sob, biting his paw, tears streaming down his face.

 

[SwifttailTheFox]

Swifttail blinked away the haze of exhaustion pulling at his mind as Silvertongue crumpled beside him. The tremor in the bard’s body, the muffled sob, it cut straight through Swift’s own weariness. His ears pinned low, chest aching at the sight.

Carefully, he reached out, laying a paw over Silvertongue’s trembling one.

“Silvie… hey…” His voice was hushed, rough, but gentle. “Ye’ don’t have t’hold it in. Not with me.”

He shifted closer, tail brushing lightly against Silvie’s side, offering what warmth he could.

“Ye’ve carried so much… I can see it wearin’ on ye. But ye’ ain’t alone, mate. Not anymore.”

He leaned against him then, letting his own tired weight rest there. Not forcing words, but being just a presence, quiet and steady beside the storm. His ears were perked and ready to listen if Silvertongue decided to vent his feelings now that they were alone and safe.

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue wrapped his arms around Swifttail, burying his muzzle into the grey-furred foxes' neck. "Oh, gods, Swifttail!" He sobbed. "I don't know- I don't know who that beast is anymore. It's not the Greeneye I knew anymore!" He looked up at Swifftail, his eyes wide and a bit wild. "He was always a bit rough around the edges, but he was never like this!" Silvertongue gripped Swifttail tightly. "It's the drink that's done this to him, I swear to you!"

Sitting in front of Swifttail was a beast who clearly still had feelings for his former lover, despite everything. Of course, it wouldn't be easy for such a soul like Silvertongue's to just discard his emotions.

"I'm not trying to defend him- he's clearly wrong, it's just- I-I can't wrap my head around how I let myself ignore all the red flags for so long? Have I always viewed the world through rose-tinted glasses?!"

 

[SwifttailTheFox]

Swifttail let Silvie cling tight, his own arms winding around the bard without hesitation. He felt the tremor in every sob, the ache in every word, and his chest ached with him.

“Silvie… I believe ye.” His voice was soft but steady, carrying no doubt. “Ale an’ spirits… they’re like poison. I’ve seen it take good beasts, twist ‘em till ye don’t recognize ‘em no more. Greeneye may’ve been different once. I don’t doubt it.”

He drew a slow breath, brushing his tail lightly against Silvie’s side. “It’s hard, admitin’ t’yourself that things’ve changed. Deep down, we all want t’cling to what was, like it’ll come back if we just hold on long enough. But it don’t. It only hurts more.”

His paw shifted to pet Silvertongue’s back neck fur, gentle, grounding. “Ye see it now, though. Ye know it ain’t right. An’ that...” he leaned his forehead against Silvie’s, eyes half-lidded with weariness but glinting with quiet conviction, “that’s the first step t’things changin’.”

 

[Silvertongue Songfox]

Silvertongue sniffled heavily. "You're... you're right." Silvertongue leaned forward as well, and he pulled Swifttail down, the two of them flopping onto the bed. "Gods, you must be exhausted... I know I am. We should rest... there's not much we can do... staying up and worrying."

Suddenly, Silvertongue found it difficult to keep his eyes open. He blinked a few times, his vision becoming blurry. "Everything'll be... be okay... Swift."

Those were the last words Silvertongue muttered before sleep claimed him for the night.

 

[SwifttailTheFox]

Swifttail let himself be tugged down, the bard’s warmth folding around him as they sank onto the mattress. His body sagged instantly, as if every muscle had been waiting for this one moment of release. A soft sound escaped him, half a sigh, half a laugh.

“Gates… this bed’s softer’n any bedroll I ever had,” he murmured, settling deeper into the blankets. His eyes fluttered shut, exhaustion pressing in heavy.

Silvie’s final words stirred a faint smile across his weary muzzle.

“Together, mate… we’ll make it okay.”

And with that promise lingering in the quiet, Swifttail let sleep claim him at last.