Twilight ||| Oneus

~~7~~

Youngjo appeared after that, making the final kill by snapping her neck with his relentlessly sharp teeth.

What was that? Youngjo asked the younger alpha.

I... I don't know. My head just wasn't there. I'm sorry. Leedo felt bad. It wasn't a clean kill because of his negligence.

It's alright. Youngjo brushes alongside the other's body for reassurance. We can all have off days. But if you need to talk about anything, you know I'm here.

Something was definitely off with the younger.

It wasn't until later in the morning, after completely skinning and cleaning the deer meat that Leedo asked to talk.

"Unfortunately, we won't be able to sell the pelt of this one..." Youngjo confessed, pointing toward Leedo's definite claw marks left on the skin.

Leedo scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, wearing an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, like I said, my head was in a different place. Actually, can I talk to you for a bit about that?"

"Sure! What's on your mind?" He hopes that he can help.

"Uh... well..." the alpha sounds nervous. "It's about Keonhee actually." He smiles shyly, avoiding any more contact with the older, the tips of his ears turning red.

Youngjo nods his head for him to continue.

"I've been not-so-subtly hinting to Keonhee that I'm interested in courting him, but-" Leedo cuts himself off, aggressively ruffling his own hair in embarrassment. "I even presented him with a courting gift, but he's not shown any sort of interest toward me. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm not sure what I should do. What do I do?"

The leader slightly smiled in understanding. He understood how uncomfortable this conversation probably was for Leedo, for an alpha to ask another alpha this. Youngjo remained silent for a moment. He didn't know what to say to the younger exactly.

He reassuringly patted Leedo's shoulder. "Just keep your chin up, whatever happens. A relationship is developed between more than just one. We don't know much about Keonhee's life before, and we have never wanted to push him to open up. He may have some reservations because of his past, but until he's comfortable, we can't be sure of anything. Hell, he may just not be interested, and that's okay too. A bond shouldn't be forced."

"I know that." Leedo sighs. "And that's why I've been so patient... but my advances have been pretty obvious. He basically ignores them. Yesterday, I told Hwanwoong you were needing to speak to him privately just to get an opportunity to talk to Keonhee alone in the garden. I tried to start some random small talk, but he barely contributed. He just focused on his work."

"Ah, that's why Hwanwoong came to me all concerned and confused yesterday. You freaked him out by the way." The leader raised a stern eyebrow at him, jokingly.

"Sorry," Leedo chuckled mischievously.

Finally, Youngjo said, "Why don't you just try speaking outwardly to him? Why don't you just tell him how you feel and ask for a response? The worst that could happen is that he'll decline, and if he does, just move on."

Leedo looked down to the ground and nodded his head, kicking a loose stone on the ground. It sucked, but that's really all he could do.

"I'm sorry that my advice isn't the best," Youngjo sighed, honestly. "I don't have much experience in courting myself. With Hwanwoong, everything was so easy. We were both drawn to one another, since we were pups even, but my parents chose my mate for me. I was so lucky that they had chosen him. We mated so fast that we never truly courted. I had no idea what I was doing."