Young Writers Society

"I had a conversation," Puck said. He met his gaze. "You should try it instead of threatening strangers with swords."

The Arthur in the back of his head - also known as his new conscious, because the last one was a total flop - was telling him that it wasn't a good idea to antagonize the man with the sharp blades, but Arthur wasn't actually right here right now. He shushed that part of him and gave the man another smirk.

"I ain't good at those," Kendrik said. He set an elbow against the stranger's neck. "So why don't ya wipe that smile off yer face and tell me my brother's okay?"

"The smile's staying," he said, stubbornly continuing to smirk. He paid no attention to the elbow up against his neck. "But your brother - if that's what Kynan is to you - is okay."

He paused.

"You can ask him yourself," he added, "instead of, you know, attacking me."

Kendrik glanced back at Kynan, who was standing at the top of the stairs, gaping and flailing his arms for Kendrik to stop. And Kendrik might've, if it wasn't for that smile.

Turning back to the stranger, Kendrik pressed his elbow down a little harder. "It ain't," he said. "And I ain't attackin' ya - I'm threatenin' ya. There's a difference. So, tell me why it is yer smilin', and tell me what ya mean by okay, and then I might feel like lettin' ya go."

"Well," Puck began, "you're trying to seem scary, and you're failing miserably. Also, I have a little bit of a problem with authority - I don't like doing what people tell me to do, especially when they're not listening to a thing I'm saying. If you really want to know how your brother is, don't listen to the guy you already think is a liar. Go and talk to him yourself."

Kendrik was so tempted to shove the stranger off the railing and into the water, but he got the sense that Kynan wouldn't appreciate that.

Kendrik glared down at Puck. "I ain't about bein' scary," he said. "I got problems with people who won't do what I'm askin' them ta do. And I'm sick of seein' yer smug little smile."

"Too bad," he said. "I'm sick of people telling me what I can and can't do, and I'm all for the whole freedom thing America's infatuated with these days."

Kendrik snarled, but didn't move. A few seconds of Puck's face later, Kendrik shoved a paw over it and walked towards Kynan.

"Did he annoy ya half ta death?" Kendrik said, walking up the steps towards his brother.

Kynan, who somehow looked pretty pale, flashed an awkward smile. "I'm fine, but he might just be a little dangerous," Kynan whispered.

Turning back, Kendrik snorted. "The only thing he's dangerous at is bein' an a******," he said.

Ethan watched the entire exchange in shock and awe. He couldn't quite follow it properly, even though he could hear everything everyone was saying. It was all giving him a headache. And then the new hound-man was threatening Puck and Kynan was panicking and Ethan just...wasn't sure what to do.

"Um," he said, trying to get the attention of both hounds. "Hi? I'm Ethan. And you're... brothers, right?"

He gestured at his ears as he came up the stairs, a little bit of wind magic boosting his step. "I can hear you, you know," he said as he came to the very top. The comment was mainly addressed to Kynan's brother, but he had heard the comment Kynan made, too. It left an uncomfortable knot in his stomach, and he hoped he could dispel that belief sooner rather than later.

"Twins," Kendrik said, walking up to the top of the stairs and setting a paw on Kynan's shoulder. Turning around, Kynan caught the glare that Kendrik was giving Puck, but thought better than to bring it up. At least they weren't fighting.

Kendrik set his sword back in its scabbard. "I'm Kendrik, and this is Kynan," he said. His voice got a little deeper and more choppy. "If he didn't tell ya his name fer some reason."

"Welcome to the party," Puck said.

"So happy ta be here," Kendrik grumbled.

Kynan let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding in. "Do we, uh, have any plans?" he said quietly. "Any idea where we're going, or not?"

Puck shrugged. "Not that I know of," he said. "I think the plan was to figure out who was downstairs, but we've gotten that taken care of."

He leaned up against the nearest piece of furniture he could find - in this case, an overturned chair. "Presumably, we're looking for an explanation on how we got here, and where here even is, but how we're going to do that is a mystery to me."