A Thorn in My Side

Thorn sighed. He just got his second tail, and already things changed. He's a lot more aggressive but not around Corani, and it was sometimes hard to control his second tail.

Thorn walked through the sewers, like he usually does. The darkness from it soothed him. Many would question why his Affinity ain't Darkness, if he likes it, but he honestly doesn't know. Past event? Something inside the darkness that he liked? Thorn just shrugged it off.

Another black aeniama was spending his time in the part of the Sewers as well, though he wasn't wandering, but sleeping. The term "sleep" is being used loosely here, as he wasn't quite fully unconscious yet. Nestled in a corner of a turn in one of the tunnels, he blended in almost seamlessly with the shadows; if it weren't for the faint glow of the tips of his two tails, he'd be practically invisible.

In recent weeks, Fahne's tail glow had diminished significantly, due to the emotional trauma that followed his mission in the Slums. Slowly, it seemed to be returning. Perhaps he was slipping into a dream about one of his friends, the warm thoughts and feelings rekindling his inner light.

Thorn stopped when he saw the two lights. Aeniama, he thought. No rat, hunter, or human would have that glow. He yawned, not really wanting to talk to the other fox, but wanted to relax his legs after that walk.

Upon hearing Thorn's yawn, one of Fahne's ears perked up and he opened his eyes. Moving his tails slightly, he could get a better view of the other, who was almost entirely black, like him. Normally Fahne would have found that to be something interesting to talk about, but not now. He took little interest in anything lately. Though he hadn't seen this fox before... There sure were a lot of newborns lately, but by the looks of it, this one already had a second tail.

Eyeing the other one over, he stretched out a little before returning to his curled up position. "What are you looking at?" he growled with more than a hint of annoyance in his voice.

The question caught Thorn off-guard. He grunted. "Nothing," He said hostilely. He stretched his legs and looked at the other fox, which almost looked like Thorn with the black fur and the glowing markings. "I just haven't seen any other fox that can do that," he said, pointing at the Aeniama's tails.

Fahne's eyes narrowed. "So you weren't looking at nothing, you were looking at my tails." As he said this they swished a little in irritation. It annoyed Fahne that the newcomer was being so snippy with him; he was the one staring, after all! "Plenty of the other foxes glow when they use their affinities. It's not that special..."

Thorn's tails flicked up in irritation. "Well, are you using your Affinity?" He pressed, glaring at the Smoke Aeniama.

Fahne stood, his hackles beginning to raise as well. He wasn't the tallest fox, he was actually quite short compared to others his age. Flagging his tails, the light pulsed slightly, and he felt the heat rising in his chest and up his throat. The older fox scowled at Thorn, dark wisps beginning to leak from between his stark white teeth.

Taking a step forward he growled, "I am now you idiot." Black tendrils began to seemingly drift up from Fahne's fur as he took another step. "How someone as stupid as you lived long enough to gain a second tail, I'll never know." he spat, a foul odor tainting the smoke as his anger grew.

Thorn growled, his fur rising. "If you want to play dirty, we can play dirty."

Fahne's ear twitched. Was he being serious right now? Picking a fight with an older aeniama? Either he's being cocky or just as stupid as he seems, he thought. "Sorry, I don't play with rats." Fahne said, the smoke emanating from his body seeming to stop. He didn't want to make the first move; he'd never fought another fox for real, and wasn't sure if he'd seriously hurt the other. That time with Breeze was different: it was in the Arena, just for practice. But if this newcomer really wanted a fight, he'd get one.

"Rat?!" Thorn growled. "You're the rat!"

"Enough! I don't need to take this from you." Fahne barked, baring his teeth. "I'm the rat, am I? I guess that's fine. I don't need my affinity to take care of you. You stupid child!!" As he said this he lunged forward, shoving Thorn with his shoulder, trying to push him over.

"Oof!" Thorn easily rolled over. He quickly got up and growled at Fahne. "Fine then! Let's see how you'll like it!" He charged forward, his claws out.

"I've fought mutants bigger than you!" Fahne retorted as Thorn scratched him with his claws. He turned his head and tried to bite Thorn on the scruff of his neck. He didn't want to do any lethal damage, so he decided to grab that extra skin.

Thorn growled and sharply turned on Fahne, slapping him with one of his tails. "Yeah right! I won't believe that 'till I see it!"

Wasting no time, Fahne quickly clamped his teeth down onto Thorn's tail, yanking it hard.

"Gah!" Thorn barked. He turned his head and clamped his teeth around Fahne's neck, not really wanting to kill him but just to scare him.

At that, the smoke spirit released the other's tail, hissing and snarling. He dropped to the floor, rolling onto his back in an attempt to wedge himself free. If Thorn didn't let go, he'd have Fahne's feet kicking him soon.

Not really having a point to hold Fahne's neck anymore, the Poison Aeniama released his grip on him and jumped out of the way before getting squished.

Continuing to roll, Fahne got back up onto his feet and sprang at Thorn again. His mouth was wide open, aiming for the opponent's shoulder. He wasn't going to stop now; he had to teach the newcomer a lesson.

Thorn growled. Time to use that new move! He exhaled poisonous gas that surrounded him, hoping it would distract the black Aeniama.

Running open-mouthed into the cloud, Fahne then spun around, coughing and swiping at his eyes. What was that? Not smoke, he'd be able to resist his own affinity somewhat. His eyes and throat stung in a familiar way... That's it: it was Poison, like Xelena! Knowing what was causing his pain didn't make it any better. He didn't want to flee, but realized that his temporary blindness made him vulnerable. His markings flared with his anger as he backed off a little, trying to listen for Thorn's movements to dodge if necessary.

Thorn then stared in horror at what was happening. "Oh Ainu, how do I get rid of this?!" He tried blowing the gas away, but that only made it worse. Why didn't I train this up?!

"Just let me handle it!" Fahne barked, noticing the slight panic in the other's voice. He thought, does he even know what he's doing? Taking matters into his own hands, he continued to move about. The poison cloud couldn't follow him forever, right? In the meantime, he began to emit smoke from his fur and mouth again, hoping that the heat would evaporate the remnants of the poison that were in his throat. The dark smoke cloud encircled Fahne's face, shielding him from inhaling more of the tainted air that now surrounded the two.

Thorn watched as the smoke emitted from Fahne. He hold his breath, trying not to inhale the smoke.

Fahne held the smoke close to himself, and felt the effects of the poison soon fade away. This smoke was a bit different than what he had taunted Thorn with earlier: it didn't smell bad, and seemed to have a different... quality, somehow. Though his eyes were still watering somewhat, Fahne could at least now see again. He coughed and spat a little onto the concrete floor before breathing in some more smoke and then dissipating the rest. Though his eyes were still narrowed and locked on the other, he said nothing.

Thorn looked down on the floor, looking for words. "Err...." He looked up at him. "Er....Sorry?" It felt weird apologizing.

"What are you apologizing for? That's what your Affinity is for: defense." Fahne said. Though his voice seemed calm enough, his tails kept flicking back and forth with irritation.

"Well. To humans and Hunters, yes. But Aeniamas..." Thorn's voice trailed off.

"If you didn't want to hurt me, you shouldn't have spit Poison in my face." Fahne said sternly, tails lashing harder for a moment. He was quiet for a second longer before speaking up again. "Do you even know what they look like? I bet you've never even seen a hunter or a human before." His tone was harsh.

Thorn lashed his tails and puffed out his fur. "Of course I do! Hunters are those weird reptile things, and Humans stand on their hind legs!"

"And have you ever had wyrms chasing after you and your friends, with every intent to rip the life straight out of your tiny body? Been inches away from from a human's knife, with nothing to save you but a tiny red bead??" As he went on, Fahne took steps forward, chest puffed out, with an angry scowl on his face. "You act tough, but you're just an ignorant child! Don't act like-" His markings flared up, struggling to express himself without devolving into incoherent rambling. He gritted his teeth, before speaking in a quieter voice. "I've been around much longer than you. So don't act like you can push me around and get away with it. You're lucky I went easy on you."

Thorn growled and turned his head away.

Fahne's mouth relaxed, though he hid a smirk. Thorn hadn't made a comeback this time. He was a bit satisfied that he'd managed to 'win', at least as far as having the last word. His tails calmed as well, no longer waving back and forth, but still held in a dominant flagging position.

"Don't think you're so great and powerful. In reality, you're just like me." Thorn only looked at Fahne through the corner of his eye.

"I know I'm not 'great and powerful', but I do know I have more experience than you do." Fahne huffed, keeping eye contact. "So no, I'm not just like you. We're shaped by the lives we live and struggles we overcome. I can guarantee we're different." He paused for a moment, continuing to stare at Thorn. "I for one don't go waking up other foxes and picking fights with them."

Thorn shrugged his shoulders. "Not my fault you actually picked a fight."

"Throwing around provocative words like that counts as fighting as far as I'm concerned." Fahne growled back.

"And I only make a comment about your glowing tails. Not really picking a fight, now am I?"

"You're the one who assumed I wanted to 'play dirty'." Fahne said, still glaring.

Thorn snorted and turned his head.

Fahne frowned, furrowing his brow. "I'm done with this." As he said this he began to walk forward, down the tunnel, past Thorn. "Some advice: work on controlling your Affinity. You won't be of any help if you can't handle your own element." He swished his tails, flicking Thorn lightly as he passed.

Thorn's ears pressed down against his skull as he growled at the Smoke Aeniama. "Says the one who could have easily killed me with your smoke!" He then added to himself, "As if I needed to work on my Affinity!"

Fahne froze in place, hackles raised. "You're right, I could have easily choked you to death, but I am in control as such that it never even went near you. So please. Save your nonsense for someone else."

Thorn growled and turned away.

The older fox paused for a moment to see if Thorn would try to make another remark. When he didn't, Fahne began to continue down the corridor, set on making his way to the Altar Room. It would surely be a quiet place for him to rest, undisturbed.

".....Show-off," Thorn muttered under his breath when Fahne was gone.