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"Atticus! You can't just leave during your studies!" Footsteps followed after Shou as he walked out the mansion's front door. "Your parents will be furious if they find out you've been leaving in the middle of your tutoring! Atticus!"
Shou snorted, raising his head as he continued to walk away. "Let them be furious, I don't care what those wyngrew think!"
"Atticus!" The headmaid stopped following after he reached the gates, knowing that by this point he wouldn't turn back.
"I'm not Atticus anymore."

Shou has been losing interest in his tutors as of late. It was disappointing, but he just didn't think he had anything else to learn from them. Naveah helped him with the basics, and the constant daily teaching eventually burned through everything else he needed to relearn. He even paid attention to those 'womanly lessons' they had forced upon him! Truly, Shou was bored with his lessons.
Any suggestions to move on were met with dismissal, the tutors saying he couldn't possibly understand the subject entirely. They'd reteach the same thing for weeks on end before finally moving on to the next, and Shou was tired of it. He wanted something new, something more difficult, something he could experience on his own without being under someone's eye.
Without comparisons.
He knew the headmaid meant well, he could see it plain as day when she would come and check on him, banter with him when he'd need a distraction from the same boring rooms. But he could easily see how much him being there hurt her.
She obviously cared for Atticus, perhaps because she was the one watching him day and night, and it was part of the reason he didn't enforce being called Shou around the mansion. But sometimes it felt.. suffocating. Her guilt, sadness, along with the sadness of the other caretakers, he felt pressured by all of it. He wasn't Atticus, but they wanted him to be, hoped he was, and he couldn't help but try to appease them.. but it wasn't him.

So, with all these issues, Shou decided to take up a routine of his own, new and entirely his.
He would leave the house, when he began feeling closed in, and would simply walk the paths nearby. It was freeing, really, being out in the open with only the trees and open sky surrounding him, nothing to tell him how to act or be.
It was fun, and he enjoyed memorizing the different routes wyngrew have made in the surrounding area. Even under the possible threat of running into a spite, Shou felt the most comfortable in his trails.

It was particularly sunny today, the rays shining through the trees and giving the ground a spotted pattern. He loved how nature looked, the intricate shapes, the astounding beauty. Shou took in a deep breath, smiling to himself as he relished the feeling of the dirt path under his paws. Nothing would compare to the gentle wind ruffling through his fur.
Maybe one day he would be able to live in these woods, hopefully near the Nova Tree's protection, but deep in the trees. To have a small, humble cabin, surrounded by the quiet sounds of the forest around him, away from all the conflict and danger of others, from all the judging eyes-

A crashing in the bushes to the right of him had him freezing in place.

Shou cursed himself for his optimistic thinking. Of course it'd be when he's thinking about how nice the woods are he'd get in danger, he could only hope that if it was a spite it would be of a smaller less dangerous kind.
He turned to the crashing and watched as something fell out of the bushes, hitting the ground with a dull thud before pulling itself up shakily on spindly legs. It was a dark purple with grey splotches, and honestly looked like a fluffy bag of bones, until he saw piercing blue eyes staring directly at him.
It was.. a wyngling?
He let his apprehension fall, letting out a relieved sigh, the sound causing the wyngling to flinch harshly and almost topple backwards. Shou only watched in confusion as the strange ling began to.. growl? It probably would've been terrifying to hear, but it was interrupted by coughing and scratchy breaths. Even through the coughing fit, they stood their ground, staring at Shou defiantly.
It was.. interesting.
"Um.. Are you alright?" Shou took a step forwards and the wyngling growled louder, though it sounded more like nails on a chalkboard. He winced at the sound but continued walking forwards, albeit more slowly. "H-Hey, hey! I-I'm not gonna hurt you, I'm friendly."
The wyngling glared viciously at him, fur spiking as they tried to stumble backwards.
Now that Shou was closer he could see them more clearly, which only spiked his worry. This wyngling looked absolutely starved and battered, blood staining and matting certain parts of their fur. What happened to them? His gaze locked onto a bite wound on their shoulder, still bleeding profusely.
"Let me help you." Shou barely managed to dodge a swipe from the wyngling, who was snarling despite shaking like a leaf in a storm. "Come on, you can't go around like that! Let me help."
The strange wyngling seemed to snort at his words, their glare becoming more pointed. Is he.. being sassed right now?

"You know what? I'm not asking anymore, come here." Shou huffed and stomped the rest of the way towards the wyngling, who looked at him in shock for a moment before letting out a multitude of barks and snarls at him. Shou tried to pull the wyngling's arm towards him so he could see the wound more clearly, instead getting his face smacked away and the wyngling attempting to wobble towards the trees.
Not wanting to let the rude stranger escape untreated, Shou did the only rational thing and... jumped on them to stop them. Wrestling and pinning the stranger down may have been too harsh a way to stop them, but they didn't give him a choice! Not to mention that each time he thought he had them give up they'd bite or nip at him, restarting the whole process.
"Stop fighting me!" He finally managed to pin them down on their stomach, the wyngling scrabbling at the ground and attempting to reach Shou's legs to get the upperhand again but failed. Soon they let out a low whine and laid still, panting heavily as they tried to catch their breath.
Shou was certain that on any other day this wyngling would've beat him easily, but they were exhausted and injured. He just wanted to help them.

Shou let out a sigh, leaning forwards to look the stranger in the eye. "You going to let me help you now? Because if it didn't hurt before it must now."
The purple wyngling glanced up at him, staring for too long a moment before closing their eyes and letting out a small huff. Their body relaxed under his paws. He'll take that as a yes.
Shou eased off the wyngling's back slowly, making sure they weren't bluffing, before stepping in front of them.
"I don't have stuff to help on me," A squinted eye peered up at him in annoyance, "but I can go get some and come back. Will you stay here till I come back?"
The wyngling only stared.
"Will you stay here, yes or no."
They closed their eyes and huffed again, shakily pulling their legs to a more comfortable resting position.
"Okay.. I'll come back as fast as I can."
The wyngling's ear twitched slightly at that and Shou turned and ran back on the path, trying to think of how to sneak in and out of the mansion without being stopped or questioned.
A small smile started to grow on his face.
This was.. kind of exciting.

eyYYYY small world, who knew?
if youre not wrestling people you want to help to the ground, are you even doing it right?

bg colors, shading and lighting are all thanks to Angeltheleo !! wHO WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO COLOR THE BACKGROUND, the Nerve
MAX WYNS

Description

next: www.deviantart.com/cryptidmick…

"Atticus! You can't just leave during your studies!" Footsteps followed after Shou as he walked out the mansion's front door. "Your parents will be furious if they find out you've been leaving in the middle of your tutoring! Atticus!"
Shou snorted, raising his head as he continued to walk away. "Let them be furious, I don't care what those wyngrew think!"
"Atticus!" The headmaid stopped following after he reached the gates, knowing that by this point he wouldn't turn back.
"I'm not Atticus anymore."

Shou has been losing interest in his tutors as of late. It was disappointing, but he just didn't think he had anything else to learn from them. Naveah helped him with the basics, and the constant daily teaching eventually burned through everything else he needed to relearn. He even paid attention to those 'womanly lessons' they had forced upon him! Truly, Shou was bored with his lessons.
Any suggestions to move on were met with dismissal, the tutors saying he couldn't possibly understand the subject entirely. They'd reteach the same thing for weeks on end before finally moving on to the next, and Shou was tired of it. He wanted something new, something more difficult, something he could experience on his own without being under someone's eye.
Without comparisons.
He knew the headmaid meant well, he could see it plain as day when she would come and check on him, banter with him when he'd need a distraction from the same boring rooms. But he could easily see how much him being there hurt her.
She obviously cared for Atticus, perhaps because she was the one watching him day and night, and it was part of the reason he didn't enforce being called Shou around the mansion. But sometimes it felt.. suffocating. Her guilt, sadness, along with the sadness of the other caretakers, he felt pressured by all of it. He wasn't Atticus, but they wanted him to be, hoped he was, and he couldn't help but try to appease them.. but it wasn't him.

So, with all these issues, Shou decided to take up a routine of his own, new and entirely his.
He would leave the house, when he began feeling closed in, and would simply walk the paths nearby. It was freeing, really, being out in the open with only the trees and open sky surrounding him, nothing to tell him how to act or be.
It was fun, and he enjoyed memorizing the different routes wyngrew have made in the surrounding area. Even under the possible threat of running into a spite, Shou felt the most comfortable in his trails.

It was particularly sunny today, the rays shining through the trees and giving the ground a spotted pattern. He loved how nature looked, the intricate shapes, the astounding beauty. Shou took in a deep breath, smiling to himself as he relished the feeling of the dirt path under his paws. Nothing would compare to the gentle wind ruffling through his fur.
Maybe one day he would be able to live in these woods, hopefully near the Nova Tree's protection, but deep in the trees. To have a small, humble cabin, surrounded by the quiet sounds of the forest around him, away from all the conflict and danger of others, from all the judging eyes-

A crashing in the bushes to the right of him had him freezing in place.

Shou cursed himself for his optimistic thinking. Of course it'd be when he's thinking about how nice the woods are he'd get in danger, he could only hope that if it was a spite it would be of a smaller less dangerous kind.
He turned to the crashing and watched as something fell out of the bushes, hitting the ground with a dull thud before pulling itself up shakily on spindly legs. It was a dark purple with grey splotches, and honestly looked like a fluffy bag of bones, until he saw piercing blue eyes staring directly at him.
It was.. a wyngling?
He let his apprehension fall, letting out a relieved sigh, the sound causing the wyngling to flinch harshly and almost topple backwards. Shou only watched in confusion as the strange ling began to.. growl? It probably would've been terrifying to hear, but it was interrupted by coughing and scratchy breaths. Even through the coughing fit, they stood their ground, staring at Shou defiantly.
It was.. interesting.
"Um.. Are you alright?" Shou took a step forwards and the wyngling growled louder, though it sounded more like nails on a chalkboard. He winced at the sound but continued walking forwards, albeit more slowly. "H-Hey, hey! I-I'm not gonna hurt you, I'm friendly."
The wyngling glared viciously at him, fur spiking as they tried to stumble backwards.
Now that Shou was closer he could see them more clearly, which only spiked his worry. This wyngling looked absolutely starved and battered, blood staining and matting certain parts of their fur. What happened to them? His gaze locked onto a bite wound on their shoulder, still bleeding profusely.
"Let me help you." Shou barely managed to dodge a swipe from the wyngling, who was snarling despite shaking like a leaf in a storm. "Come on, you can't go around like that! Let me help."
The strange wyngling seemed to snort at his words, their glare becoming more pointed. Is he.. being sassed right now?

"You know what? I'm not asking anymore, come here." Shou huffed and stomped the rest of the way towards the wyngling, who looked at him in shock for a moment before letting out a multitude of barks and snarls at him. Shou tried to pull the wyngling's arm towards him so he could see the wound more clearly, instead getting his face smacked away and the wyngling attempting to wobble towards the trees.
Not wanting to let the rude stranger escape untreated, Shou did the only rational thing and... jumped on them to stop them. Wrestling and pinning the stranger down may have been too harsh a way to stop them, but they didn't give him a choice! Not to mention that each time he thought he had them give up they'd bite or nip at him, restarting the whole process.
"Stop fighting me!" He finally managed to pin them down on their stomach, the wyngling scrabbling at the ground and attempting to reach Shou's legs to get the upperhand again but failed. Soon they let out a low whine and laid still, panting heavily as they tried to catch their breath.
Shou was certain that on any other day this wyngling would've beat him easily, but they were exhausted and injured. He just wanted to help them.

Shou let out a sigh, leaning forwards to look the stranger in the eye. "You going to let me help you now? Because if it didn't hurt before it must now."
The purple wyngling glanced up at him, staring for too long a moment before closing their eyes and letting out a small huff. Their body relaxed under his paws. He'll take that as a yes.
Shou eased off the wyngling's back slowly, making sure they weren't bluffing, before stepping in front of them.
"I don't have stuff to help on me," A squinted eye peered up at him in annoyance, "but I can go get some and come back. Will you stay here till I come back?"
The wyngling only stared.
"Will you stay here, yes or no."
They closed their eyes and huffed again, shakily pulling their legs to a more comfortable resting position.
"Okay.. I'll come back as fast as I can."
The wyngling's ear twitched slightly at that and Shou turned and ran back on the path, trying to think of how to sneak in and out of the mansion without being stopped or questioned.
A small smile started to grow on his face.
This was.. kind of exciting.

eyYYYY small world, who knew?
if youre not wrestling people you want to help to the ground, are you even doing it right?

bg colors, shading and lighting are all thanks to Angeltheleo !! wHO WAS ONLY SUPPOSED TO COLOR THE BACKGROUND, the Nerve
MAX WYNS