#technically Mutton existed long ago but I scrapped it

[randaccidents]

Aggressive Friendship

I live! Again! Its the start of the holidays, and while I might have an exam literally the second holidays end I can write! Cause vibesss

Aight so fic! I decided we needed shadow animals and I went off.

Key note: said shadow animal is a boss shadow and can basically share its emotions with others, so watch its influence cause shenanigans! (thanks to @bellysurfer for helping me iron out the idea!)

... I explained that bad haha but whatever the animal feels other shadows around them have a similar emotion!

Shadow People AU by @mine-sara-sp

NO TW ONLY CUTE

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Stretching his arms above his head, Solo sighed. The last few weeks had been a little rough, especially after he had shut down the shadow meetups. Talking to Ren had helped some, but he still felt that he could have done a little more for some shadows. Glancing towards the distant hill that Coda had disappeared over, the feeling doubled.

He shook his head doggedly. No, no more blaming himself for other people’s actions, Ren had made it clear that that was bad. His eyes lingered on the horizon as he walked away from the flower field.

He could still feel bad about the isolation of some shadows, however.

Twirling on his heel, he moved towards Biedronka’s farmstead. Bio had told him about the wild wolves that had moved in nearby recently, and right now that sounded like just what he needed. Some nice quiet time with some wolves. Yeah, that sounded great.

“Aggro! Bad! Down boy, stop that! What did I say about fighting?”

Never mind. Solo could hear someone shouting from where he stood. It sounded like they were having trouble. He picked up his pace, skidding around the corner to see what the problem was.

To his surprise, he saw two wolves snapping their jaws at each other, clearly unhappy, yet with heads held in deference to the shadow standing before them. No, the shadow who was clearly in charge of the pack was not what surprised him. After the vexdows and Biedronka and Bio and the Naptime Squad, nothing like that could shock him anymore. What did surprise him was that one of the wolves was grey, little yellow triangles floating about it.

One of the wolves was a shadow. He didn’t even know that was possible. Although, considering everything that had happened to them, he supposed this wasn’t the weirdest thing to happen. He brought his fingers to his lips, letting out a piercing whistle. All three mobs snapped their heads up to face him, the wolves growling at his presence. The shadow, meanwhile, began waving his arms above his head, grinning widely.

“Solo! Hello!” Cavalier called out to him, a wide grin on his face. Solo raised a hand in return, jogging up to stop beside him. He opened his mouth to speak when the loud growls of the wolves below began again. Looking down, he found the two circling each other, teeth bared. His fingers itched, wanting to reach for the guitar on his back, but he stamped it down. No need to get so antsy over wolves. Suddenly, they pounced in sync, mouths open, too fast for Solo to react to.

Teeth snapped shut on empty air, the wolf mob turning about in confusion of where its enemy had gone. Cavalier reached down to slap its head lightly, other arm holding the shadow wolf snug against his side. "What. Did. I. Say." He scolded, the wolf wilting under his gaze.

The wolf whined, burying its face in the red cloth around its neck. Idly, Solo realised that the shadow wolf had a similar looking bandana around its neck, coloured bright yellow. This must be the shadow of the same wolf being scolded.

Cavalier straightened, the wolf twined around his legs whining pitifully at him. He hefted the shadow wolf up, poking its nose. "And you! Don't think you're exempt!" The wolf similarly wilted, looking to the side in guilt. Solo found himself feeling sorry for the wolf, as guilty as it looked and felt.

He marvelled at how the knight had those wolves trained. He was certain that Cavalier still didn't have a power, so to command this much obedience? He must have spent a long time with them.

Solo put an arm on his hip, watching the once-shy knight scold the two wolves, smiling to himself. Those wolves really were a blessing. After that first meeting, he never thought he would see the day that soft-spoken Cavalier would assert his dominance over anyone, even if they were only wolves.

At length, Cavalier tucked the other shadow back under his arm, turning back to Solo. "Sorry about that, these two can't get along if I'm not looking." he muttered, free arm scratching the back of his helmet shyly. Solo gave him a gentle smile, waving a hand in the air. "It's no problem. Watching you being more confident in yourself is a treat."

Cavalier grinned bashfully, seeming to enjoy the praise. “Thanks, I’ve been working on asserting myself. Be my own person, you know? Having to look after these idiots helps. How about you? What are you doing here Solo?”

“I heard about the wild wolf pack that moved in near Bied’s and wanted to hang out with them. Didn’t know they were yours though.”

Cavalier’s grin turned sheepish. “I didn’t expect them to be here either. Did you know that there’s a shadow temple near here?”

That was new information. Solo shook his head. “How did you learn about this Cav?”

Without missing a beat, Cavalier poked a finger at the shadow wolf he was holding with one arm. “You see this wolf? Aggro went sniffing near the temple. Turns out mobs can summon shadows too, and the both of them have been at each other’s throats the whole time!”

The two wolves whined at Cavalier, seemingly apologetic. Solo raised a hand to rub the back of his head. “Geez man, I’m sorry I wasn’t around to help. Have you tried leaving one of them with Bied?”

Cavalier only raised an eyebrow at him, gesturing to the area around them. Solo flushed in embarrassment at the reminder of how bad his observation skills were. He opened his mouth to speak, but the pack leader was quick to cut him off.

"No, it's alright, I forget not everyone observes and remembers every tiny detail around them." He smiled sheepishly up at Solo. "It's my training."

Mentally skipping over the implications of the 'training' that Cavalier referenced, Solo brought the subject back to more slobbery matters. "So what are you going to do with them?" He kneeled down to look into the curious eyes of the shadow wolf, directing Cavalier's attention back to the literal problem on hand. "You can't keep an eye on them forever."

The shadow wolf (he should ask if it has a name, he can't call it 'shadow wolf' forever) tilted its head, releasing a curious "Boof!" at him. He barely held back the sudden urge to reach out and pet the shadow wolf, aware of Cavalier's mild touch aversion. The wolf lolled its tongue out at him, and the urge to touch only grew stronger at the cute sight.

"Hey! Solo! You still here?" Finger snapping brought his attention back up to Cavalier, flushing in embarrassment for the second time that day. The pack leader smiled down at him, no judgement in his gaze. Something suddenly lit up behind his eyes. “I just had the best idea.” He whispered to himself. Solo stood up in confusion, unsure of where the new conversation was going. “Cav? What idea are you thinking of?” Solo asked cautiously.

Cavalier bounced on the balls of his feet, his eyes practically sparkling in excitement over his idea. “What if you looked after him? You seem to like him, and he definitely seems to like you back! What do you say? Will you do it?”

Looking into the sparkling eyes of the two shadows before him, Solo couldn’t find it in his heart to say no. With a sigh, he fixed a small smile on his face. “Sure thing! It can’t be too hard right?”

Cavalier giggled, gently dropping the shadow wolf onto the ground. It immediately moved to sniff at Solo’s trousers, seeming to recognise that it was to follow him around. “Oh, you have no clue.”

Ignoring the ominous meaning behind the words (really, he’s starting to sound like Keloid and Avarice and Paladin, innocent but ominous), Solo knelt down and finally gave into his urge to pet the shadow wolf. The fur felt coarse but soft, and thick enough that his hand sunk in slightly. The shadow wolf wiggled happily, raising its chin in invitation. The little triangles surrounding it formed a small crown as Solo obliged the wolf’s request, scratching it beneath the chin. “What’s his name?” Solo asked, other hand rubbing the wolf on the back.

Cavalier’s mischievous smile went unnoticed by Solo. “I named him Mutton, because he likes eating Mutton.”

Solo smiled down at the dog. “Mutton,” he repeated, committing the name to memory. “I’m going to look after him so well, you wouldn’t even hear of any trouble from me!”

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He is so stupid.

He is a stupid idiot derp of a shadow and he really should have remembered. He rushed through the trees, mentally bashing himself for his stupidity.

It hadn't been anything too special, he'd wanted to go meet up with his band, so he'd left Mutton in a small fenced off area next to one of his hovels. It was supposed to be safe. It was supposed to still be there when he came back. He knew how mobs worked.

Well, clearly he had forgotten how shadow mobs worked, because Mutton had clearly slipped out two-dimensional between the fence poles and run off after something.

Solo didn't know if he should scold the wolf or kiss it once he found it. At least Mutton had the decency to leave a clear path that he could follow, even if it was only because it had destroyed every bush in its path. He really hoped that Mutton hadn't gone into a river or, Abyss forbid, the ocean.

Shaking his head clear of such scary thoughts, Solo ran on between the trees. He could see the tree line thinning up ahead, a clear patch in the forest. He didn't stop to think about what that meant in a forest this dense.

Clearing the trees, he took only a few steps into the clearing before he had to stop in surprise, curiosity colouring the confusion in his gut.

There was a small hut in the clearing, sitting amidst a small smattering of flowers. In front of the house was Coda, crouched facing slightly away from him, scythe leaned against the doorframe. That in itself was weird enough, Coda never let his guard down to put down his weapon. But the shadow was staring deep into the eyes of Mutton, who was staring back, tail wagging. The particles around them swirled lazily, giving off no indication of caution or aggressiveness, interacting and mixing and separating. A few triangle bits floated lazily above their heads, forming the shape of crowns and dog ears.

Cautiously, Solo walked up behind Coda. His confusion and concern and curiosity only grew when Coda didn't register his approach, continuing to stare intently into Mutton's eyes.

Mutton's eyes flicked over to look at him, and it gave a loud "Boof!" of excitement. Coda turned his head slightly, jolting when he noticed Solo standing right behind him. His hand flashed out to grab ahold of his scythe, his posture visibly relaxing into a familiar annoyed posture. "What are you doing here dog?"

Solo rolled his eyes, secretly glad that Coda hadn't suddenly changed. "Again, can't call me dog when you're one too. What are you doing?" He asked inquisitively, genuinely curious as to what Coda was doing.

"Nothing that matters to you." Came the way too quick reply, Coda attempting to look casual and unbothered. "Just another animal come to mess with my territory, like you."

Mutton snuffled loudly, almost in response. The two shadows ignored it. “Having a staring competition with a wolf is not just ‘nothing’ you know,” Solo stated, raising an eyebrow at Coda. He didn't know what gave him so much confidence and sass in that moment, but he wasn't complaining. Coda pushed himself to his feet, turning to properly face Solo, free hand on his hip. “I was not having a staring competition with a mutt.”

“Then what were you doing.”

“Establishing dominance.”

The answer was so unexpected, said so seriously, that Solo couldn’t stop the howls of laughter that escaped him. Mutton bounded around their legs, tail wagging in excitement and amusement that mirrored Solo’s. Coda simply raised an eyebrow, unamused. "Are you quite done with this frivolous act?"

This set off another set of giggles. If only Coda knew that his whole ‘I have no emotions’ gig fell apart under the tiniest of conversations with him. At least he wasn't lying too much about the emotions thing, muted as his reactions tended to be. Catching Coda's vaguely annoyed look, he quickly smothered his laughter. Coda sighed, leaning back on the handle of his scythe. "I will repeat myself; what are you doing here."

Solo pointed to the shadow wolf currently attempting to climb Coda's scythe, which was set firmly into the ground. "Mutton ran away, and I chased him here."

Coda’s eyebrows flew up. “Mutton. You named a wolf after a food.”

“I didn’t name it!” Solo protested, backing up slightly. “Cavalier did!”

“The Scout? Interesting.” Coda looked down at Mutton, who had gotten bored and distracted by a nearby flower. “Didn’t think he had it in him to lead wild beasts.”

Solo sighed. Now he was feeling bored and distracted. He kneeled down to face Mutton, the wolf tilting its head curiously at his actions. "Well I need to get him back to the pen. Come here boy!"

The shadow wolf didn't budge, sitting its tiny butt down on the grass and panting lightly at him (panting? none of them had figured out breathing until at least a month after sentience!). Frowning slightly, he clicked his tongue. All Mutton did was to loll its tongue out of its mouth, happy to simply sit still. Behind him, Coda scoffed.  "Just pick up the dumb mutt, it can't be that hard."

Solo shivered, remembering what had happened earlier when he tried to pick up Mutton without its permission. "Uh, yeah, no? Mutton will bite, and with it being a shadow? Ouch. I didn't know wolf bites hurt so much!"

He could practically hear the eyeroll that Coda gave him, before his brother Coda was smoothly stepping past him, arms reaching down to pick up Mutton. "Wait, don't!"

Coda turned back to him, an eyebrow raised, Mutton happily lounging in his arms. "And what, exactly, is the matter?"

Solo let out a sigh he didn't know he was holding. "Oh thank goodness. Can I have Mutton now?"

"No."

"What?!?" Solo screeched. Coda gave him a blank look, but his eyes held a small sparkle of mischief that he could not hide. "I said no. You lost it, I found it, so it's mine now."

Solo felt his jaw drop at the statement. "I- But you don’t even- And- It's Cav's!"

"And he can come get it himself after you've reported your failure to him. Now leave."

Mutton boofed, adding insult to injury, especially when it stuck its tongue out at him. Light mischievousness that he didn't know what to do with rolled in his gut. "Fine! I'll go, but I'll be back."

Coda didn't make any sound as Solo turned and stomped back into the treeline. But once he was safely hidden by the trees (which meant at least 10 trees) he turned around, slipping into the shadow of the nearest tree. No way he was going to leave poor Mutton with Coda. Besides, he promised Cav!

Pulling his head out of shadow at the edge of the clearing, Solo peaked around the leaves of the tree to yet another strange sight. Coda was talking to Mutton, who appeared to be listening intently, its sharp barks punctuating the air. Coda raised a hand up to hover dangerously before Mutton’s nose. Solo held his breath.

As expected, Mutton sniffed his hand, snarled, and bit down on Coda’s fingers, shaking its head slightly. To Solo’s surprise and delight, Coda laughed. Really, genuinely, laughed.

Coda was quick to slap a hand over his mouth, jerking out of Mutton's grip and silencing himself. Mutton whined up at him, snuffling under his jaw. Solo watched Coda shakily place a hand atop Mutton’s head, whispering something to the shadow wolf. A happy bark, a small smile from Coda, and then he turned and entered his small shack.

Sliding down to reform sitting against the tree, Solo parsed through what he had learned. Had Coda… shown emotion? For a second there, it looked like he was scared of that realisation. But then Mutton… and Coda had brought it into his shack. The shack that no one was allowed into. That shack. And he seemed to really like Mutton.

A wide grin grew on his face. Oh, Cav had to know about this.

… and Chamo.

… and Distress.

Wow, that’s a lot of people he had to tell.