Love Bites

Obsidian slowly stirred awake as the morning’s sun gently shone onto his face through the window that was placed across from him. He yawned as he stretched, tail steadily swishing to and fro as he proceeded to untangle himself from the numerous sheets that had wrapped around his body during sleep. He had offered to spend the next few nights on the floor, due to the fact that North only had one bed in his hut, what with him typically being the only occupant of it. The creaky wooden floorboards certainly weren’t the most comfortable thing in the world to lay on, but the earth pony didn’t have much of a choice. His head turned to look upon Pixel’s still frame on the small bed, nestled neatly underneath a thin blanket. Her mane spread out onto the pillow beneath her head, long locks trickling over its side and pooling onto the mattress. She looked peaceful, if anything. It was probably the best sleep she had gotten in a while, due to the recent stresses piling up on her shoulders. Obsidian sighed. To think that none of this would have happened if the enthusiastic mare had kept her lips shut for a while longer… he quickly shook the thought out of his head. He shouldn’t blame the gal. She was excited, is all. He most likely would have been too, if he had a more spontaneous nature. Now they had to wait and see where things would take them… and he hoped for the best.

His ears suddenly perked at hearing a faint crashing sound come from below. Curious, he quietly slipped out of the small alcove and wandered down the stairs, pausing at the last step. Straining to hear, he managed to pick up a low voice, speaking in hushed tones. That was North’s, he determined. The stallion began to continue walking again when another voice stopped him in his tracks. This one was much more raspy and lower in pitch to the Healer’s, causing the earth pony to narrow his eyes in slight suspicion. Pixel had told him once that North lived on his own, and was not really one for having friends aside from herself. If that were the case, then who was this supposed recluse talking to? He continued to move forward, turning the corner into the larger room where the tan unicorn stood by his cauldron, a broom and dustpan floating in his aura as he swept up some broken glass. Obsidian cleared his throat. “Good Morning.”

North visibly flinched, whirling around to stare at him with a slightly panicked look before diverting his gaze to quickly regain his composure. “Oh, er… Good Morning, Obsidian. Didn’t realize you were awake, heh… So, can I get you anything? Tea, soup... oh, I think I have some leftover bread from yesterday…”

The other male huffed, shaking his head. “I’ll pass. Was planning to go on a hunt with Pixel, but she’s still asleep. Tell her where I’ve gone if she wakes up.” Then he turned, heading for the door and disappearing from view.

The unicorn waited a few moments to let the door close before releasing a held in sigh. His fur bristed as he frowned. “Nice work, Orion. You nearly got me caught!”

“Sure, sure. As if this was my doing. Your the one who dropped the bottle, remember? I was just reminding you where the broom was.”

“You didn’t have to come out for that! A simple, ‘Hey, the broom’s over in the corner’ would have sufficed.”

“Whatever. Let’s just try this again and not be such a klutz, okay? This potion is very important to our cause.”

“What’s so special about it anyways?”

“You do recall that one I made a while back, yes? Or must I jog your memory?”

“I remember. What about it?”

“Well, when combined with the one you’re making now… consuming it leads to some rather interesting side effects.”

North pouted. “Such as?”

“You’ll find out when the final stage of the plan is complete. Now, let’s go wake the little lass and implant the next seed, shall we?”

Obsidian tiredly strolled back into the tree house’s entrance towards the day’s end, long hours of fruitless hunting behind him. Even though leaves were starting to grow back on the bare tree branches, not many animals were running around due to still cold temperatures. The navy coated stallion quickly noticed the pair of unicorns sitting near the cauldron, the red glow from the bubbling liquid within it painted on their fur. Pixel had her eyes scrunched in concentration, horn sparking before shooting out a rainbow colored beam towards the ceiling, the swirling streak exploding into a colorful kaleidoscope of light before fading into thin air. Her eyes slowly opened, shimmering with excitement. “I-I did it!”

North smiled. “Very good, Pixel. You’re becoming a natural.”

The mare beamed brightly, soon taking notice of the earth pony across from them. “Oh, hi Sid! I was wondering when you would come back. Did you find anything?”

“Hi, Pix. And no, I didn’t.”

“Awe, sorry to hear that. Did you see the spell I just casted? It took me hours to get down. I’m glad I have such a great teacher to show me the ropes.”

“Yeah, it was...nice.”

Pixel raised an eyebrow. “You doing alright, Obsidian? You seem more grumpy than usual.”

The male flashed a clearly strained smile. “I’m fine, Pix. Really. Just...tired. I’ll be heading off to bed now. Good Night!”

“Oh...ok. Night…” She frowned as she watched him leave. Her gaze quickly turned to North, who was starting to look nervous. “Was he like that when you saw him this morning?”

The stallion blinked, shaking his head. “What? Oh, sorry. Um, sort of. He didn’t seem the most talkative. Maybe you should talk to him about it?”

Pixel huffed, standing up. “Maybe I will. Night, North. See you tomorrow.”

“Good Night.” When she was gone, he became even more uneased, wiping his brow. “Celestia aid me...I don’t like where this is going, Orion. That werewolf might tear me to shreds if I’m not careful.”

“All a part of the plan, my boy. All I’m concerned with is the fact that things are running smoothly. Jealousy is all we need to get this ball rolling down hill. So you just keep Pixel by your side and as soon as Obsidian becomes the slightest bit aggressive towards her, we’ll spring the trap. After all, what’s the point of being soulmates if you can’t even trust your significant other?”

North gulped, a ball of dread starting to churn in his stomach. “I just hope your right.”

“Always am, Northie. Always am.”