bsumone | ❝ spring for flirting but fall for the untamed delicious wild things ❞

For as much as Elyas talks of disliking humans, he doesn't hate spending time in their cities and towns. It's where their children are and he actually likes the children! Now if the parents would just let their children wander into the woods, Elyas would never have to see the adults outside of ripping their insides out! Plus the towns, especially, are so cozy at this time of the year. And some of them start to put up decorations that he likes to look at (and will probably now spend the rest of the day describing to Silvio).

Elyas is glad, too, that he allowed Silvio to talk him into going into the village. As much as he wanted to go, he'd been apprehensive. What if some of the hunters lived there too? Could Silvio be entirely certain that there were no hunters waiting for him in the village too? What if they just wait for fifty or so years until they can be sure those hunters are dead?

But Silvio had assured him that those hunters live in the city. Besides, it's not like Elyas is some fragile little thing! They just surprised him last time, that's all. He won't let them get the best of him if he sees them again. And, of course, he also has Silvio.

When Silvio comes to sit down, Elyas is sitting in the center of what was once a neat pile of leaves. Now, it is nothing of the sort. Some leaves, he's crunching in his hands (only if they're nice and dry) while others, he's carefully pulling apart and throwing up into the air like confetti. Or throwing over toward Silvio, though the pieces just sort of flutter to the ground not even a foot in front of the fox whenever he tries that.

"There's already leaves under your mattress and in the couch cushions." He thought, maybe, that between the open doors and Elyas, himself, always smelling of outside, Silvio wouldn't notice the scent of the leaves inside. But then he stops what he's doing and frowns over at the wolf. "Did you move my leaves like you keep moving my food?"

While he couldn't see the frown, he could very much hear it in the tone of his voice. Grinning, he cocked his head to the side and stretched his legs out in front of him then went to recline back on his elbows. The food thing was something they were still working on but that was fine.

"You mean did I clean the house and furniture? I did do that." Basically every time his mate runs out to go play on his own for a few hours. Every single time.

"It's our mattress, by the way."

Just to remind him that it was fully his territory too. They'd get it smelling like him equally with enough time but that fact didn't make the bed less of his. Not by a long shot.

"Leaves don't do well indoors like they do outdoors."

The food thing is something that has to be worked on. Elyas needs to start finding better places to hide it. He's getting really tired of going back to his hiding spaces later and finding out that the wolf has taken his food. Mate or not, that's Elyas' special food! How dare Silvio take it without at least asking first. That's not to say that Elyas would necessarily let him take it, but at least he could ask!

Narrowed eyes accompany the frown and he tries, once again, to throw leafs over at Silvio only for them to gentle fall back to the ground before ever reaching the wolf.

"Yeah that's what I said." He's starting to get better as calling it 'our' instead of 'your' but he still slips up on a pretty regular basis. Often without even taking notice of it.

"They're dead so they didn't do that well outdoors either." Then he shuffles forward a little and points an accusatory finger at the wolf. "You better not have touched the leaf I put in the cupboard. I was saving that one." That's why it wasn't just shoved under the mattress or the couch cushions.

Silvio could hear the attempts to throw leaves at him and just laughed every time they failed. Eventually he was sure Elyas was just going to get up to dump them on him but that was fine. He was ready for that fun moment too.

"They do well outdoors. They help to ready the plants for new life."

He hummed thoughtfully and considered the cupboard leaf. "Why are you saving a leaf in the cupboard?"

Elyas huffs at the laughing wolf. Oh, Elyas will get back at him before too long. He'll gather up a whole armful of leaves or something. He won't allow his precious leaves to keep embarrassing him like this in front of the dumb wolf. Right now, he's just biding his time until the moment is right. Just wait, Silvio.

"Humans rake them all up and throw them away and everything still grows fine so they're clearly not that important for new growth." Though it's not surprising that humans throw away something that's important to nature. They probably throw it away and then just buy something that's pretty much the same to replace it when the time comes. ...yeah that sounds pretty human.

"So it wouldn't get mixed in with the other leaves." Obviously.

"Nature would thrive more if the leaves were there honestly. That way they don't have to supplement with those chemicals that smell awful."

But what really mattered here? That leaf. He was very curious about it now. "What's so special about it that it needs to be kept apart from the others? Are you going to use it for something?"

Because it definitely wasn't going to last in the cupboard.

Elyas tips his head to one side curiously, not quite understanding the question. He blinks a few times at the wolf and then lays back in the leaves with his arms spread out to the sides. His eyes dart around the various leaves still hanging on tightly to their branches. All such beautiful colours. Reds and yellows and oranges. Some of them are even managing to retain a bit of their green. Why wouldn't he want to keep one of them for himself?

"That's stupid. What would I use a leaf for?"

So not to use. That meant it was just a very simple reason then. Silvio pondered it a moment then...

"Do you really love the color and shape of it?" After all, how would he know since he was blind? He had no way to be able to tell if it was really that special at all.

Even if Silvio wasn't blind, there doesn't look to be anything particularly special about the leaf he has hidden away. It has a tear in one side of it, and there's little brown spots marring the pretty, bright orange. There are plenty of far better leaves around, some near close to perfect, but Elyas got attached to that one. That one little leaf that's far from the prettiest leaf he's seen.

Elyas sits back up then starts to gather up a small pile of leaves in front of himself. "It's a nice leaf."

And that was it. Elyas just really loved it. Silvio smiled and bowed his head. "It'll be safe. I promise."

Once they got home he was going to go find it then set about preserving it to ensure that it would last and not dry up and turn to nothing. If Elyas loved that little leaf then there were ways to keep it as it was and he was going to set about using them to keep it safe for sure.

"Don't touch it." Then it'll stay safe. It's beneath some dishes that he hasn't seen Silvio use yet so he's sure that it'll be okay there. It'll stay nice and flat and protected with the heavy dish on top of it. As preserved as he can get it. And he can go and look at it any time he wants! It's the perfect solution for the little fox. Sure, it'll probably be a dusty, crumbly mess in a few weeks, but that's okay. It's not like this is the first time he'd picked and then lost a leaf that he liked. It's a familiar process for the fox.

Elyas climbs to his feet and then bends over to scoop up the pile of leaves he'd been gather, then he unceremoniously dumps them over the wolf. "You can touch these ones though."

There it was. The dumping he'd been waiting for. He closed his eyes to make sure none would get in his eyes then shook his head off before grabbing his mate to pull him onto his lap and nuzzle him. "Hmmmm...between leaves and you... I always pick you!"

He grinned then kissed his cheek, wrapping his arms around him so he could cuddle him.

"I'll see about getting some leaf piles for you at home though. It's really cute when you play in them."

Elyas squeaks in surprise when Silvio pulls him down and almost instantly tries to wiggle himself free of the wolf's grasp. As nice as this is, he's not ready to be held and restrained by Silvio just yet. Not when there are leaves right there, just waiting for him. They're just waiting to be crunched and rolled around in. Just waiting to make all of their fun sounds.

"I'm not crunchy like leaves though."

He turns just enough to pluck a stray leaf out of Silvio's hair, one that managed to last through the wolf's shaking. While it appears to be a kind gesture, the fox just crumples it in his hands and tosses it up into the air with the express purpose of trying to get it back onto Silvio. He couldn't get his thrown leaf confetti on him before, but he certainly can now!

"I was already starting leaf piles at home. But you threw them out."

"I just put them outside."

He didn't mind the leaves continuing to fall on him. It made Elyas happy, after all. And there were plenty around to keep his little fox occupied for a good while. So he smiled as he let his mate do whatever made him happy, content to hold him while he did.

"The leaves are still where you can get to them. I never throw away anything that's you care about."

"That's what I said. You threw them out."

Elyas turns his back to Silvio once more and grabs a leaf from the ground, this one having far more life left in it than the last. It's still moist and pliable. It's a vibrant yellow and not yet showing any signs of decay. There isn't a single dry, brown spot to be seen. Though it obviously won't for too much longer, it even still smells fresh. A perfect autumn leaf. He grabs one of Silvio's hands and presses the leaf into his palm.

"I bet you would've thrown out the leaf in the cupboard if you found it before I told you about it." Even though he went out of his way to separate it from the rest because it's clearly quite special to him.

"Maybe I did find it and left it because I was curious." And because there was only one leaf. Mostly though it was because he hadn't found it yet and that meant he knew exactly which cabinet it was in. So he'd find it when they got home and then make sure that precious leaf was preserved. Maybe even help his mate to hang it on the wall in the bedroom to help make that space more for him too.

Noting the leave in his hand, he gently felt it with his fingers before lifting it up to sniff it. Fresh still. Likely just fallen. No dryness.

"Describe it for me? What color is it?"

"Mm no. I don't think you found it." Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. Maybe he found it and decided that maybe there was something special about it since it wasn't just stuffed under the mattress or the couch cushions. Or maybe he did find it already and thought it was just a stray leaf that was accidentally separated from the rest. Or the start of a new pile the fox was making in the cupboard. Which would probably be all the more reason to throw it out. Signs of a future pile of leaves covered in dirt and bugs in the cupboard with the dishes.

Though it's sounding like whether the wolf really found it or not, it may still actually be there.

Eylas takes Silvio's hand to better guide it around the leaf. All along the edge and over each one of the veins, carefully so as not to even wrinkle the little leaf.

"I'm not familiar with what kind of tree it's from but you can probably feel that it's sort of teardrop shaped. Like a fat teardrop with jagged edges. It's yellow. Like the sun. Do you remember what the sun looks like?"

Relaxing his arm, he let Elyas be the one to guide him, feeling every detail that he showed him of the leaf. He had to admit that he wasn't familiar with what kind of tree this was from either yet he really liked it. A fat teardrop with jagged edges. The description made him smile because he could picture the shape in his head as his fingertip moved along the edge.

Yellow like the sun. "Right now I remember. Sometimes it's hard for me to because it's been so long. Is it a really bright yellow then?"

Once he's satisfied with how much of the detail Silvio has felt, Eylas takes his hand and lays it on top of the leaf. Silvio has already smelled how little decay there is on the leaf so now Elyas wants him to feel it. Not a single dry spot. There's actually not a single rip or tear in the leaf either. A perfectly healthy leaf that would have lasted a long time had the season not decided it was time for the little leaf to fall.

"Bright yellow. Like the sun. Especially the kind that a child might draw. Oh! Or like a sunflower. A sunflower is a much better comparison!"

Still filled with moisture. It wasn't dry yet. That was nice. He smiled as he felt it. Such a perfect laugh. "Beautiful."

He tilted his head a little, just to listen to how Elyas described the leaf, how he talked about it, the shift in his tone. He loved it. That joy in it. "A sunflower. I love it. This is a beautiful leaf. We should find a way to preserve it for you."

Elyas allows Silvio to enjoy the recently deceased, but still pristine leaf for just a little while longer before he decides that's enough. The wolf's time with his leaf has come to an end. Elyas gets his hand in under Silvio's, between it and his new leaf, letting the wolf feel as he traces it himself. Allow Silvio's hand to cover his as his fingers follow the edge of the leaf then run over all of it's many veins.

"Humans preserve things all the time, don't they? They seem to like keeping things around for an unnatural amount of time. So how do they do it?"

His hand was larger than Elyas' but he didn't use that size to block his mate. Instead he just tilted his head and felt him move over the leaf, enjoying the way those fingers moved under his hand. It was almost like they were guiding him somehow and he really enjoyed that feeling.

"There's a few ways. You want to preserve the leaf as it is right now as best as possible right?"

Once he's sure he's given every part of the leaf the attention it well deserves, Elyas lifts his hand and, in the process, Silvio's as well. Exposing his precious leaf once again to the elements. Allowing him to once again see his precious leaf in it's full glory. If only Silvio were able to see it as well. Elyas likes to think he's gotten pretty decent at filling in for Silvio's eyes, working in tandem with the rest of his mate's senses, but it's not the same. It'll never be the same.

A powerful nine-tailed fox with all that entails, and he can't do anything about his wolf's eyes. He hates that!

"That's a silly question. Of course I do. So tell me how."

"Pressing it will probably be the best method. We place it between two flat objects and have something heavy on it. After a time you have it preserved and you can put it in a frame."

It meant he'd have to stop in town to get the supplies like the glass and the frame but that was fine. He'd gladly do that so that Elyas could keep seeing the leaf in their home. Let it be one of his prized things that would never turn to dust. Silvio wanted to do that for him.

"I can go into the city to grab what we need to do that if you want."

"All of the things that humans have come up with over the years and one of the best methods they have for preservation is to just press something between two heavy objects?" And yet he likes the idea of it. It's uncomplicated. It sounds like a good way to keep it from being damaged. There likely won't be another to replace it with after this. Not until next year. Not one that looks so lovely.

Carefully, Elyas picks up the leaf and sniffs it, then holds it up to look at it from a different angle. It really does look so alive and smell so fresh. He wishes he could preserve its scent as well, especially through the winter months when the smell of nature is no longer quite so prevalent, but at least he'll get to see it in their home.

"I want to go into the city with you. The chances that we run into the hunters are pretty small, right? And I can hide myself in case we do run into them."

❝ spring for flirting but fall for the untamed delicious wild things ❞

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