Untamable [BXB]

12: mindscape

      Hang in there.

      Two people had told Silas that now. Dr. Edurne, and Dr. Lumen. As they returned home, Silas could only think of those words.

      The thought of his prize had escaped him. The second he'd reunited with Rune in the waiting room, all jitters and nerves, he was there with a smile and the magical little music vessel. How was it? Rune asked, but with the courtship guidebook in one hand, his gift in the other, and his fated mate before him, everything truly confirmed in Silas's mind.

      That's right, he suddenly mused. He's really courting me.

      Robbed of all doubt now, and the proof in both of his hands, he thought: hang in there, and with a fuzzy feeling in his chest he was pretty sure he knew the meaning of those words now.

      "This button turns up the volume." Rune said back in the confines of the packhouse. The two of them sat opposite of each other, crisscrossed on the bed in Silas's room with one earbud of the MP3 player in his ear. Silas clicked the side button up twice and gentle humming melody met his ears. He ears perked in surprise. Rune chuckled. "I added some songs I liked already. But you can search up and add whatever else you want." He explained.

      Piano chimed in Silas's ears. "I like this one." He said. Rune smiled, his cheeks taking on a blushed tinge. "This button lets you skip songs... Pause, play, add song..." He explained the process, pointing to each symbol on the screen. Their hands graze.

"These words are the title of the song. This one's the artist or band that plays it... This is the genre, the album," He murmurs, and Silas squints as he reads the white font text of the song playing gently in his ears. "Par... fum.. d— de," He tries to sound it out, head tilting at the alien words, but he's not sure this is even English. "Parfum D'etoiles. Perfume of stars." Rune provides, accent blooming on his tongue, and the omega's eyes light with wonder. "D'etoiles." Silas echoes, trying to replicate the lilt Rune spoke it on, looking to him for approval. "Yes," He affirmed with a chuckle. A little unpracticed, maybe, but who was he to judge. "It's French." He said. "But the artist is Japanese. This one doesn't have lyrics, but her other songs do. You won't understand the words, but, it's still pretty nonetheless, no?"

      The omega nods in agreement. "I like it." He repeats under his breath, unsure of how to put his feelings into words. Rune chirps a small laughter. He was not sure how to describe the feeling the soft melody granted him. Tranquility washes over him like a wave, stimulated by the subtlety of wind and birdsong in the background, by angelic piano notes, by murmured tuned voice. Peaceful, yet— uplifting, and longing.

      He wonders then, if these could be his wolf's feelings, too. A pang of guilt spears his chest. What are you thinking, about all of this?

      Rune blinks, sensing the sudden shift in Silas's mood. "What's on your mind?" He asks. Silas fidgeted on the bedsheets. "Dr. Lumen told me to try and get in contact with my wolf." He explained, thumbing at the silky edge of his pajama shirt. "I don't know where to start. What's it like? For you? To communicate with your panther?" There's aching in his eyes, loneliness. To imagine he'd had a companion at his side the whole time, someone who could understand him more than anyone— yet, was unaware of their existence for so long, made Silas feel guilty.

      "I'm not quite sure," Rune admitted. "It's like second nature, a sixth sense. I want to speak to him, and suddenly, he's there." Rune felt despaired that he couldn't offer the omega any more than that. But, as if on cue, his panther chipped in through their link. Certainly wasn't like that for me, Cipher chuffed.