HOWL

12

There are wolves that lead sheep then there are wolves that lead wolves

- Adornia woman

Leondre closed the door behind him then glanced at his shirt and sighed.  The stains were very noticeable on it and he was glad that no one else had stopped him during the walk to his room.

He took off the shirt and discarded it on the floor where the servants would pick it up later for disposal, thanks to Cyane. He scanned through his wardrobe then picked out another shirt and wore it before making his way out of the door and weaving through the hallways.

A slow and sad tone echoed through the halls. With each step forward the music got louder and sadder. Out of the four lords only one of them knew how to play a musical instrument or specifically had time to play such.

Leondre came out to the palace garden where he was greeted with a scrumptious view of the trees with fruits that were ripe, he walked to an apple tree and plucked a fruit while still enjoying the music and trying to be as silent as possible so as not to disturb the one playing it.

From where he stood he could see how engrossed the one playing was into the music with his eyelids closed and his hand moving on the flute he was holding, closing and opening the holes at intervals for the melody to be enjoyed.
For some reason Leondre seemed to be enjoying the music too even if it wasn't a joyful one.
Then it slowly began coming to an end and he stood still not wanting to make his presence known to his brother who had his back turned to him with his white hair that wasn't packed as usual but instead fell down his shoulder and moved lightly when the wind blew on it.

Did he know he was there?

Leondre couldn't stop himself from asking that question since his scent was masked. He had never really tried to sneak up on any of his brothers before while having a hidden scent.

Once the music came to a stop, Leondre stood still and watched his brother lower the flute in his hand with his back still turned to him without acknowledging his presence.

"Care to throw me an apple?" Levi broke the silence that had ensued after he was done playing the flute.

Leondre chuckled and raised his hand up towards the tree and plucked one. He threw the apple and his brother who still had his back turned to him caught it due to his reflex action.

It turned out that Levi had known he was there right from the moment he entered the garden even though he was deeply engrossed in the music. He could tell if a squirrel passed through him.

Leondre bit into the apple he had been holding, the juicy taste popped out during the mastication process and he savored the sweetness of the fruit before swallowing it which had his Adam apple move. He took two steps then jumped down to where Levi was in the center of the garden not bothering to take the stairs that were drafted on one side which wasn't situated far from him.

"You know you could try playing in the town one day, you would get a lot of audience"

Levi chuckled, he was flattered by his brother's compliment, "I would agree with you but I prefer little to no audience at all"

"As usual" he smiled then took another bite of his apple then glanced at his brother who had only begun eating his.

"So tell me, why are you back so early?" The look that crossed Levi's face was one of amusement.