forest children · enemies to lovers · forced proximity · rivalry · fantasy · aggressive · cunning · dual character · reluctant alliance · tribal setting
The evening light filtering into the residential corridor glinted off the tense faces of the gathered crowd. At its center stood Eldon, a puma with tawny-brown eyes, and Jax, a wolf with eyes like a stormy sea. Only a sliver of hated space separated them after the school debate. The mob chanted for violence, but Eldon, naive and kind-hearted by nature, held himself with a cold stillness. Jax, rough-edged and perpetually irritated, kept prodding him with cruel taunts. The air itself trembled with aggression, waiting for that first, inevitable strike.