25 Chapter 25 - prey

"Ready or not, here I come."

Faun's panic only worsened at Declan's cheery voice, while the human was clearly having the time of his life, Faun could feel cold sweat run down his back.

What should he do? Should he try to jump to another tree? This wasn't hide and seek after all, Declan still had to catch him.

But that was what made Faun all the more nervous, he had a feeling that he couldn't outrun Declan and he was too panicky to try and jump from tree to tree.

"Are you going to make me come up there and get you?" Declan said lightly, staring up straight at Faun who was hidden by green leaves. "I can see your tail."

Faun froze up, his eyes wide. Cursing, he grabbed his tail and held it in his hands, of course that was what gave him away, his own wretched tail.

He knew it was over though so reluctantly, he made his way down, a loud pout on his face.

"Caught you." Declan reached out to snatch him again, his legs dangling in the air

"Fine, you win." He grumbled, side eyeing Declan. "Now, let me go." He found himself saying.

Declan was quicker to release him this time but it only made Faun's suspicions grow. "So what do you want?"

Declan chuckled. "Eager are we? Let me get to braiding your tail first then I'll tell you."

Faun narrowed his eyes at this, unconsciously clutching his bushy tail to himself. He decided not to push, hopefully, Declan would forget all about it.

"Fine, it's starting to get late, we should go back." He suggested, already heading for the clearing.

Playing the game with Declan made Faun feel like prey, he should be more bothered about that than he was.

He didn't think too much about it, it felt like exactly the kind of thing that Declan would do. He could even be teasing about wanting to braid his tail.

With his fears and worries soothed, Faun skipped in front of Declan as they made their way back to the cottage.

He was lost in thought about what he would make for lunch, should he try his hand at making something new? They had bought a lot of ingredients from the store after all.

Declan walked calmly behind Faun, watching the hybrid gradually brighten up.

At first, he told himself that it was because Faun was a hybrid so it was natural for him to catch his interest and hold it but the more time he spent around him, was showing him that it was all Faun, nothing to do with what he was.

Wasn't this just peachy?

Declan didn't want to hurt him but he couldn't avoid this anymore than he could avoid fate, not to mention that he didn't want to avoid it.

It was easy to become very jaded with the life he lived but Faun was that bright splash of colour in his life. He wasn't letting go.

He doubted Faun would want to hear that though, which was why he never would.

Faun was getting awfully comfortable too, he had never asked about going to the North after recovering.

Declan didn't mind, this was the exact case scenario he had been hoping for.

"Alright, time to pay up." Declan spoke up immediately they settled in. He lounged on a couch and patted his legs. "I believe you owe me something."

Faun going red was a sight Declan was sure he would never get tired off, lucky him that Faun got very unsettled quite easily.

Faun crossed his arms, glaring at Declan which was a direct contrast from the red of his face. "Don't pull on my tail." He warned imperiously, huffing over.

Declan just watched him grumble over with amusement, did it really not occur to Faun that he could just refuse?

He wasn't a saint though so he was ready to take advantage of Faun's naivety, multiple times.

He was a smart little fox, he would figure it out soon.

Faun got on the couch beside Declan, looking away steadfastly from his intense grey-eyed stare.

This entire situation was just ridiculous and Faun could just walk away b-but Declan gave his all to the game, it was only right that he do the same as well, right?

It… It wasn't that he wanted skin contact with Declan, o-of course … [A: it actually is] … it was because he was trying to be honourable and keep up his own end of the bargain. [A: sounds like a lie, even to you]

"How do you want me?" He asked stiffly, feigning upset.

Declan's eyes darkened at this question. "Just give me your tail." He managed to calmly say.

Faun dropped it on his leg, his glare still on his face, cheeks red. "You can't even braid hair." He grumbled.

"I know, that's why I got this." Declan said, casually bringing out hair clips and colourful ribbons.

Faun was stunned speechless for a long while. "Wait, what? When did you get that?" He narrowed his eyes, itching to snatch his tail to safety.

Like Declan could predict his thought processes, he latched onto Faun's tail. "No backing out now." He teased, his voice still retaining its airy and teasing quality but with an underlying dark tone.

Faun whipped his tail impatiently. "No can do, you said braid, I didn't agree to this." He huffed.

"Same girl different dress." He shrugged, patting Faun's tail and putting on airs like he was a professional hairdresser… taildresser??

"Fine but you didn't answer my question." Faun pointed out.

Declan had actually gotten them on a whim for Faun's hair, it was ridiculous at the time because Faun was never going to let him go through with it but now it was coming in very handy so he couldn't complain.

"Not important." He dismissed, finger combing through Faun's fur.

The fur on his tail was quite soft and it made him wonder if the fur on his ear would be the same. Without thinking too hard about it, he reached out to touch Faun's ear.