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Description

It wasn't difficult to see that Naveah was having a tough time.

Well, it kinda was. She was more serious than Shou, who practically cried at every little thing, and Leo was just... a lifetime of horrible experiences that left the feral a little rough around the edges. It was easy to see their problems compared to the stoic, if a bit judgmental, look of Naveah.

That wasn't the point, the point was that Shou could tell something's been weighing on her mind and it's starting to affect her.
She's been eating less, which she shrugged off as merely not being that hungry, but that couldn't be right because he was sure she hadn't eaten outside of camp. Then he'd spot her looking at her tent and possessions with a certain sad look in her eyes, like she couldn't believe it was all she had.
Then she'd zone out sometimes, like right now.

"Psst, hey Nav," Shou snapped his fingers in front of her, "Nav, wakey wakey."
The dark colored gro blinked rapidly at the snaps, that hazy look in her eyes finally fading. Shou smiled easily, letting out a small laugh.
"Hey there, you've been staring at the campfire instead of lighting it for a while now."

Nav looked down at the bundle of sticks in front of her, settled in the ashes of their fire from last night.
"Oh.. sorry, I guess I got lost in my thoughts."
She made no move to continue her task. Shou's smile dropped, glancing back at Leo who was giving Naveah a confused stare. Even someone who didn't care for her noticed her drop of morale.

He let out a huff as he looked back, leaning forward from where he was crouched and tapping his friend on the head.
"Hey, don't go getting lost again." She looked up at him, eyes squinting at him. "What's wrong? You haven't lectured me all week. I'm starting to miss it."

"Oh I'm sure." Nav let out an amused huff, staring at him for a moment before looking away. "... Do you miss them?"

Shou felt his fur bristle, but tried to not let his apprehension of what she could be talking about show. "Miss who?"

"Them. You know.." She looks like she's struggling to get the words out. "Your family. Your parents, do you.. miss them?"
Ah... Their family..
Shou let his shoulders relax, raising a hand to tug at the hair of his neck. He didn't think about them much, he couldn't consider them anything important to him really. Why miss someone who meant nothing to him?
Although... it was disappointing, realizing the two people who were supposed to care for him didn't. Instead of loving him they tossed him out, tried to keep him trapped in their miserable lives.
But that was him and his family, Naveah on the other hand... Well it certainly must've been different circumstances before they tossed her for disobeying them. Maybe they loved her before she decided to live outside of the box they put her in. That certainly would make it hurt more when they didn't forgive her.

"Uhm.... I can't say I do, really..." He looked at her apologetically, "No second of living with them felt like something I should miss. Well, maybe having a roof."
Naveah laughed, soft and a bit sad as she looked up at the darkening magenta sky above them.

"Yeah.. That makes sense. Your parents were horrible to you.." Her expression grew somber, purple eyes shining with unshed tears. "I just... it wasn't all terrible in my home, there was moments where I really felt.. they cared about me."
Shou frowned, placing his hand gently on her arm. She sniffled, looking back to him and smiling. "It's just.. sad, knowing I'll never get to have those moments with them again. Never have my mom make meals for us when we're having a tough day.. It's all the small things that just have me.."

Nav sighed, rubbing at her eyes and trying to stop her sniffling.
Shou frowned, watching his friend with worry. So Nav really was having a tough time, in a way he couldn't exactly relate to. What could he say to possibly help? He couldn't just leave his friend to deal with her sadness on her own.

He considered for a moment, what he could offer her, before finally settling on grabbing her wrists. "Up we go!" He stood suddenly, Naveah looking at him in surprise as she was yanked along with him.
"Bwuh- Shou? What are you-"
"Listen to me Nav!" He walked to a more clearer spot of camp, pulling Nav over the unlit campfire and closer to him. "It sucks that we'll never get to have small moments with family like that again, it really does."
She blinked, confused but seeming to understand what he meant. Shou looked over and saw even Leo looking to the ground in a sad acceptance. They'd never get the warmth of their families again, it was something to realize and live with.
But even so..
"But they treated us terribly! While we can remember the fun times we had with them, we can't forget the bad either. They threw us out because they couldn't accept us, wouldn't even try to! That isn't something we should forget. No matter the sweet times, the bad outweigh the good." Nav hummed, as she considered his words, looking at him curiously. There was still tears in her eyes. "So instead of missing those sweet moments, why not celebrate? Huh?"
He smiled widely, giggling at the confusion on his friends' faces. If his friends were goin to be downers it only made sense that he had to be positive for them, and give them a little push.

"Celebrate? What are we celebrating, being homeless?" Nav teased, though she looked curious of Shou's intentions.

"Ah, well, no that's nothing to celebrate about." He eyed Nav's tent and his travesty of blankets. "No, we're celebrating getting away from those controlling bastards!"

Nav let out a surprised snort, while Leo rumbled in a sort of way that Shou just assumed was chuckling. Shou felt his smile grow, a warmth settling in his chest.
"I don't mean to be crass but it's true! All of my words are whole truth and you can't deny any of it!" He moved his hands from Nav's wrists, instead holding one of her hands and settling the other on the upper part of her shoulder. His friend seemed to recognize the position he was forming and looked at him in an amused sort of way. "And with my truth, that they are bastards, we should celebrate our freedom the only way we can, with a dance!"
He began to get into the rhythm of a basic sway, feet moving clumsily along the grass while Nav laughed but followed along. It was quite an offense that she picked it up better than he did, but this was all for her benefit. The turned in circles along the clearing, Shou doing his best to not trip over anything while he grinned at Naveah.
"S-Shou, do you even know how to dance?!" Nav managed to cackle out when he tripped over his own foot. He gasped dramatically, immediately yanking her into a spin so she would also stumble with him.
"I learned! A little! From reading books.." He pouted playfully when she only laughed again, before smiling and speeding up the pace of their so-called dance. "Not like you know either, book-worm!"
"Well I learned quite a bit from fighting, its almost the same as the stances-" Shou shouted suddenly to stop her, stomping now as he pulled her along into another spin.
"All I heard is that you don't know either!" He watched his friend carefully as they continued their clunky dancing, Naveah even attempting to show him how to properly sway and spin.

She seemed happier now, as she smiled and laughed at his antics of cheering her up. That was good, he didn't want his friend to be sad anymore.
While he couldn't remember their previous time of knowing each other, if he even really liked her or not, it didn't matter to him. She was one of his best friends now, and he cared about her as much as he did Leo.
They were his family now, he decided. The thought filled his chest with a burning but soft warmth that left him smiling stupidly while Naveah tried to teach him the right steps. He felt so much better around them than he did with his 'parents', and the moments of pain were never directly caused by them. He felt happier here, with them, even if it was in the middle of the woods with the poorest excuse of a camp. He couldn't imagine himself happier than here with them.

So he danced in celebration.

WOO family, how sweet we love it, get that fam shou

Naveah Angeltheleo
MAX WYNS

Description

It wasn't difficult to see that Naveah was having a tough time.

Well, it kinda was. She was more serious than Shou, who practically cried at every little thing, and Leo was just... a lifetime of horrible experiences that left the feral a little rough around the edges. It was easy to see their problems compared to the stoic, if a bit judgmental, look of Naveah.

That wasn't the point, the point was that Shou could tell something's been weighing on her mind and it's starting to affect her.
She's been eating less, which she shrugged off as merely not being that hungry, but that couldn't be right because he was sure she hadn't eaten outside of camp. Then he'd spot her looking at her tent and possessions with a certain sad look in her eyes, like she couldn't believe it was all she had.
Then she'd zone out sometimes, like right now.

"Psst, hey Nav," Shou snapped his fingers in front of her, "Nav, wakey wakey."
The dark colored gro blinked rapidly at the snaps, that hazy look in her eyes finally fading. Shou smiled easily, letting out a small laugh.
"Hey there, you've been staring at the campfire instead of lighting it for a while now."

Nav looked down at the bundle of sticks in front of her, settled in the ashes of their fire from last night.
"Oh.. sorry, I guess I got lost in my thoughts."
She made no move to continue her task. Shou's smile dropped, glancing back at Leo who was giving Naveah a confused stare. Even someone who didn't care for her noticed her drop of morale.

He let out a huff as he looked back, leaning forward from where he was crouched and tapping his friend on the head.
"Hey, don't go getting lost again." She looked up at him, eyes squinting at him. "What's wrong? You haven't lectured me all week. I'm starting to miss it."

"Oh I'm sure." Nav let out an amused huff, staring at him for a moment before looking away. "... Do you miss them?"

Shou felt his fur bristle, but tried to not let his apprehension of what she could be talking about show. "Miss who?"

"Them. You know.." She looks like she's struggling to get the words out. "Your family. Your parents, do you.. miss them?"
Ah... Their family..
Shou let his shoulders relax, raising a hand to tug at the hair of his neck. He didn't think about them much, he couldn't consider them anything important to him really. Why miss someone who meant nothing to him?
Although... it was disappointing, realizing the two people who were supposed to care for him didn't. Instead of loving him they tossed him out, tried to keep him trapped in their miserable lives.
But that was him and his family, Naveah on the other hand... Well it certainly must've been different circumstances before they tossed her for disobeying them. Maybe they loved her before she decided to live outside of the box they put her in. That certainly would make it hurt more when they didn't forgive her.

"Uhm.... I can't say I do, really..." He looked at her apologetically, "No second of living with them felt like something I should miss. Well, maybe having a roof."
Naveah laughed, soft and a bit sad as she looked up at the darkening magenta sky above them.

"Yeah.. That makes sense. Your parents were horrible to you.." Her expression grew somber, purple eyes shining with unshed tears. "I just... it wasn't all terrible in my home, there was moments where I really felt.. they cared about me."
Shou frowned, placing his hand gently on her arm. She sniffled, looking back to him and smiling. "It's just.. sad, knowing I'll never get to have those moments with them again. Never have my mom make meals for us when we're having a tough day.. It's all the small things that just have me.."

Nav sighed, rubbing at her eyes and trying to stop her sniffling.
Shou frowned, watching his friend with worry. So Nav really was having a tough time, in a way he couldn't exactly relate to. What could he say to possibly help? He couldn't just leave his friend to deal with her sadness on her own.

He considered for a moment, what he could offer her, before finally settling on grabbing her wrists. "Up we go!" He stood suddenly, Naveah looking at him in surprise as she was yanked along with him.
"Bwuh- Shou? What are you-"
"Listen to me Nav!" He walked to a more clearer spot of camp, pulling Nav over the unlit campfire and closer to him. "It sucks that we'll never get to have small moments with family like that again, it really does."
She blinked, confused but seeming to understand what he meant. Shou looked over and saw even Leo looking to the ground in a sad acceptance. They'd never get the warmth of their families again, it was something to realize and live with.
But even so..
"But they treated us terribly! While we can remember the fun times we had with them, we can't forget the bad either. They threw us out because they couldn't accept us, wouldn't even try to! That isn't something we should forget. No matter the sweet times, the bad outweigh the good." Nav hummed, as she considered his words, looking at him curiously. There was still tears in her eyes. "So instead of missing those sweet moments, why not celebrate? Huh?"
He smiled widely, giggling at the confusion on his friends' faces. If his friends were goin to be downers it only made sense that he had to be positive for them, and give them a little push.

"Celebrate? What are we celebrating, being homeless?" Nav teased, though she looked curious of Shou's intentions.

"Ah, well, no that's nothing to celebrate about." He eyed Nav's tent and his travesty of blankets. "No, we're celebrating getting away from those controlling bastards!"

Nav let out a surprised snort, while Leo rumbled in a sort of way that Shou just assumed was chuckling. Shou felt his smile grow, a warmth settling in his chest.
"I don't mean to be crass but it's true! All of my words are whole truth and you can't deny any of it!" He moved his hands from Nav's wrists, instead holding one of her hands and settling the other on the upper part of her shoulder. His friend seemed to recognize the position he was forming and looked at him in an amused sort of way. "And with my truth, that they are bastards, we should celebrate our freedom the only way we can, with a dance!"
He began to get into the rhythm of a basic sway, feet moving clumsily along the grass while Nav laughed but followed along. It was quite an offense that she picked it up better than he did, but this was all for her benefit. The turned in circles along the clearing, Shou doing his best to not trip over anything while he grinned at Naveah.
"S-Shou, do you even know how to dance?!" Nav managed to cackle out when he tripped over his own foot. He gasped dramatically, immediately yanking her into a spin so she would also stumble with him.
"I learned! A little! From reading books.." He pouted playfully when she only laughed again, before smiling and speeding up the pace of their so-called dance. "Not like you know either, book-worm!"
"Well I learned quite a bit from fighting, its almost the same as the stances-" Shou shouted suddenly to stop her, stomping now as he pulled her along into another spin.
"All I heard is that you don't know either!" He watched his friend carefully as they continued their clunky dancing, Naveah even attempting to show him how to properly sway and spin.

She seemed happier now, as she smiled and laughed at his antics of cheering her up. That was good, he didn't want his friend to be sad anymore.
While he couldn't remember their previous time of knowing each other, if he even really liked her or not, it didn't matter to him. She was one of his best friends now, and he cared about her as much as he did Leo.
They were his family now, he decided. The thought filled his chest with a burning but soft warmth that left him smiling stupidly while Naveah tried to teach him the right steps. He felt so much better around them than he did with his 'parents', and the moments of pain were never directly caused by them. He felt happier here, with them, even if it was in the middle of the woods with the poorest excuse of a camp. He couldn't imagine himself happier than here with them.

So he danced in celebration.

WOO family, how sweet we love it, get that fam shou

Naveah Angeltheleo
MAX WYNS