Deprived

Chapter 24 - Awkward introductions

Quiet.

The forest was so hauntingly quiet and yet, it didn't bother Jesse one bit. If he closed his eyes and leaned back against the tree, he could easily imagine he was all alone.

Wooden fingers brushed in a motherly gesture against his jaw, a wistful sigh coming from the tree before the Dryad gently combed her nails through his hair.

It didn't set him off like the other touches. The magic in the Dryad's touch prevented his instincts to trigger like they usually did.

After the torment he went through, his instincts were hyperactive, triggering on the slightest chance in atmosphere. Even as he was cut off from the world, drowning in the painful reminders of the past, his mind wasn't.

His ears picked up every miniscule breath the guards behind him took. Jesse could hear their every move, the ground moving underneath their feet when they shuffled their weight.

Hell, he could even smell them from where he was sitting, though he knew that wasn't possible, at least not for his kind.

A little yip sounded in the forest, drawing Jesse's attention enough to make him turn his head. By then, the vixen kit he had met several weeks earlier was already approaching him.

She didn't quite look like a little kit anymore, having matured fully over his days of absence. His arms lifted from where he had draped them over his knees, allowing just enough room for the fox to squeeze through.

Her tail wagged eagerly, nose pressing against his cheek as a series of yips and yelps escaped her in an excited chatter. She hopped onto his knees, wobbling precariously before bracing her black paws on his shoulder to thoroughly scent-mark his hood.

Amusement tried to spark in his chest, heart kicking in excitement before it sputtered to a calm. Nothing interested him anymore.

Except the forest. The forest and its animals at least kept him calm.

His lips twitched when the Dryad chuckled in amusement, withdrawing her fingers from Jesse's hair when the Vixen halfheartedly snapped at them in a playful manner, keeping her lips tucked over the sharp incisors.

Footsteps behind them startled the Vixen but when she whipped around with bristled fur, she quickly calmed while Jesse's heartrate skyrocketed.

The scent that tickled his nose was well known, as he had woken up in it a few hours ago in Xavier's embrace. But the underlying current unique to Improbas made his breath wheeze through his throat as his heart pulsed in his temples.

All that scent did was create reminders of what happened. Tearing fangs, malicious grins followed by the whisper of clothing and the metallic flavor in his mouth that could be either from blood or fear.

A soft touch caressed over his wrist, reaching gently into the palm of his hand before fingers brushed against his own, weaving, tugging, molding into one.

Jesse's gaze drew down to where their hands were intertwined, Xavier's thumb gently brushing back and forth over the back of his hand. The sharp contrast of Xavier's healthy tan and Jesse's own hand was sickening.

His eyes flitted to the bones that were straining against his skin, sinews and muscle bulging against the unhealthy pale excuse that wrapped his body, blue veins crisscrossing underneath it.

Jesse blinked as the vixen in his lap chittered, sniffing at their joined hands before hesitating, rump wiggling as she calculated the distance and hopped onto Xavier's knee.

"Gutsy little thing, aren't you?" Xavier's deep voice rumbled through Jesse from where he was being touched, noticing the way the Improba's lip tilted pleasantly, how his eyes sparked while leaning back when the Vixen attempted to stick her nose into his dark curls and inhale.