Warly had first been introduced to the more tropical isles of the Constant, and had gotten his initial bearings there. To him the mainland felt safer in terms of its flora and fauna, but the cycle of its seasons was crueler by far.
Even so, autumn in the birchnut forests was always a beautiful sight. They were truly trees that Warly could appreciate, with bright plumage and bearing useful fruit. Birchnuts weren’t something he would ever eat on their own, but they made a wonderful snack in the form of makeshift trail mix, and a good garnish besides.
And he was happy. For once, he felt lighthearted as he puttered around the small camp he had constructed. He had eaten the dragonpie Wolfgang left the next morning; he knew how quickly they could spoil. It was delightful, like most of the pastries Wolfgang made. The filling was excellent, and the thought of Wolfgang carrying on baking in their separation brought a smile to his face.
When Wolfgang crashed in, he interrupted Warly’s silly singing and gave him a huge fright. Sudden noises and movements always did that to him, and a large man created a large noise. He whirled around, one hand on his chest and the other groping for something he could use as a weapon. All he came up with was a carved wooden spoon. Thankfully, he realized who it was and there was no need to be on the offensive.
“Wolfgang!” He rushed over to help him up, even if it wasn’t necessary. “Are you alright? Did you- I,” He broke off, not able to articulate all the things he wanted to say at once.
Wolfgang’s only response, at first, was to push himself up and spit out a rock–ptooey!–as well as a couple of tooth fragments. He’d never get those back now! He wasn’t even making a halfway decent impression; what kind of dingus barges into someone’s camp unannounced, falls on their face, and then nearly swallows a rock?
Then again, Wolfgang had never been that great at making subtle entrances. If anything, this was to be expected.
It took him a moment to sit fully upright and brush dirt and loose grass off his face, finally looking up at Warly with his cheeks burning red. “…Wolfgang can explain?”
Kneeling there next to him, Warly laughed. At first it sounded choked, but then he put his hand to his head and swept his hair back. He used his palm to wipe away tears that he didn’t realize were falling already.
“I go away for just a few months and you go right back to eating rocks.” Warly said, trying his best to be playfully admonishing. It was impossible, however, with his huge smile and teary eyes. It was incredibly obvious just how glad he was to see Wolfgang again.
If that hadn’t made it clear enough, Warly did something he rarely ever did: acted on impulse. He threw his arms around Wolfgang and laughed again, nearly lightheaded with just how good of a surprise this was. The only thing that snapped him out of it was the familiar feeling of claws sinking into the back of his vest as Pepper climbed up his vest and over his shoulder to get at Wolfgang.
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