Turtleback Lake i started it, i lit the match

Mid-afternoon, West shore of the lake, Sunny, 52 ° F, 11 ° C

LAIKE ARTEMIEVA

He didn't go as far west as his normal trips took him. The thought crossed his mind to go out the whole two days to Wild Rye Fields to see @Adelayde but that would double his trip time. He couldn't do that without informing Kisla who had a litter to watch over. Along with one other female's bunch and the youngest ebony female who was still expecting. So he kept his trips to day trips. Always bringing something back with him so it wasn't a complete waste of time. This time he lingered around a lake as the sun hung low. Not yet sunset (which would be a sign for him to go) but nor was it the freshness of the afternoon. The water was still a bit cold but not frozen solid.

His beefy frame lingered about trying to see if any stray deer or rabbits were stopping for a drink. Deer would likely be too difficult but it would still be a sight to see. Maybe he could try to fish. He had never done it before but he assumed it couldn't be that hard. He waded into the cool water, fiery eyes searching the surface for any sign of life besides himself. Yet once the water settled all that was looking at him was himself. A soft frown dug into his features. He didn't like what he could see, at all. Without a second thought, he opened his jaws and snapped at the water. The large male emitted a low growl as the water rippled and his face dripped with the cold water.

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she says beauty is pain

She didn't like it. Not one bit. The Rye was too quiet and she wasn't sure where she stood with the burly duo. Reyes had ran off after she confronted him and Askan ran off after him. The Rye second was left confused and worried she had reacted too irritablely. Where was her compassion and understanding? Did she really have to snap at him for having just a simple attitude towards her? Perhaps, he was mistaken or just misunderstood something. But, he didn't give her a reason why he was so angry. So how was she supposed to fix it?

With her mind swirling with confusion and worried thoughts, she thought back to her night with Laike. That night was so simple. There were no worries. She had been happy and she was sure Laike enjoyed their time together. Or she was really bad at reading others. So instead of wallowing inside the Rye about fixing things between her packmates, she escaped the borders that bound her and retreated to wherever her paws took her. The woman thought about traveling the few days to see Laike, but she didn't tell anyone and didn't think it was a good idea to travel the few days to him without a word to her alphas. Instead, she escaped to the lake where she discovered she was in the Lore.

As she came upon the lake, her mismatched eyes gazed out across the waters surface, admiring the beauty of the sun reflecting off the lake. The tawny woman thought she was alone until she heard noise to the side of her. To her pure luck, there stood Laike in the shallows, growling and snapping at the water. Mismatched eyes lighting up, she crept up towards him though she was sure if he was paying attention he would of heard her. Nonetheless, she prowled closer to him until she was just a few lengths behind him. "Fancy seeing you here, handsome."

and there's beauty in everything

(This post was last modified: May 10, 2017, 09:10 PM by Adelayde.)

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LAIKE ARTEMIEVA

The water's rippling would soon cease and that ugly face would be staring back at him. He was not paying attention so when that familiar voice broke out his fur prickled for a slight moment. Dripping head turned to see Adelayde there behind him. She had called him handsome but he certainly didn't feel handsome.

He realized he was practically standing there staring in awe and his mouth parted slightly. She wasn't supposed to be here but he didn't mind one bit. In fact, he had wanted her company ever since their last date. Adelayde wasn't one of those hormonal pregnant women or someone who had just given birth. She was just Adelayde like he was just Laike. That would forever be enough for him. "I wasn't expecting company. Certainly wasn't expecting your company." He admitted with a small smile. His deep tones calm and gentle. "What's got you all the way out here today? We didn't have anything scheduled." He teased as removed his form from the shallow waters.

His brows furrowed softly for a moment. If he remembered correctly the Rye was a good jaunt from here and they really didn't have another little date planned. So what would drag her away from home where supposedly all her loved ones were? "You doing alright?" His voice didn't change much but it was obvious from the look in his eyes and the gentle furrow that he was perhaps worried for the tawny woman.

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There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

She kind of went a little overboard, no need to match length <3

she says beauty is pain

Taking a step backward at the sight of the raised hair on his back, she feared she shouldn't of snuck up on him like she recklessly did. Did she interrupt something? With no words from his parted jaw, just a subtle fiery stare looking back at her, she took a hesitant step forward which seemed to knock him out the trance. Instead of a biting tone that she almost expected, his smooth, deep baritone was calm and inviting. Mimicking his smile, she approached him then as he asked what brought her out here as he too approached her, exiting the shallow waters of the lake. Her smile faltered for only a second before masking her true feelings that wallowed inside her mind. "I was sitting here waiting for another stranger to not give my name to again until the second date." 

Teasing came easy between the two of them and so far that was the basis of their relationship. Sure, they were serious to the point of telling each other where they lived and names of course (though she made him wait until their second meeting before she reciprocated). The basics really - the essentials. So when his brows creased and his hot gaze lingered on her with a concerned look, she began to fidget and glanced away from his stare that seemed to be make the skin beneath her tawny fur hot. Her ginger ears twitched back for a moment before returning forward as her tail fidgeted behind her. If she was trying to hide the fact that something was indeed bothering her, she was failing horribly if Laike had keen enough eyes he would be able to see that. However, she didn't care if she was failing horribly, she truly didn't notice her fidgeting. Instead, she put on a smile like she always did when something was wrong. 

"Of course, I'm fine." As if she was reassuring herself that there was nothing to worry about - that there wasn't a problem back home. Whenever anything was bothering her, she would deal with it on her own. She'd smile and laugh through it until she resolved her problems or they disappeared on their own. That was the way she was. It was the way she dealt with everything. There was nothing a smile couldn't solve or mask. "I'm lucky to spend my almost birthday with you," she muttered with a grin. Tomorrow was going to be her third birthday, the first one she wasn't going to be able to spend with her dear mother. In a week, it would mark a year since her mother's death. It was a day, she intended to spend with only herself. She wasn't ready to open up about that to anyone, not Laike or even anyone in the Rye. 

"What is a busy man like you doing out in these parts? Little far from home too, huh?" She teased lightly, trying to direct the subject elsewhere. Though, she wasn't sure if her pale companion would take the bait.

and there's beauty in everything

(This post was last modified: May 11, 2017, 02:45 AM by Adelayde.)

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LAIKE ARTEMIEVA

He knew that she was teasing but still something within him sunk slightly. The male still held up a soft smile for her. She deserved it. "Giving up on me that easily, Adelayde?" The large Artemieva spoke with that jokester undertone he commonly used with her. "Sounds like the Rye needs a new sacred tactic." His tail took a slow easy pace behind his damp legs. Laike didn't care much that he might have looked like a bit of a mess. If anything he had a bit of a reason for it. He hadn't been expecting company let alone company from Adelayde. It wasn't like she seemed to mind either. Well, if she did, he couldn't tell.

Maybe he would have brushed it off with ease had she not seemed to take up a fidgety way. He took a few more steps closer putting himself in a more reachable and vulnerable position to the tawny woman. Laike wasn't exactly one to initiate touch but he was making himself open to it. The concern in his fiery gaze growing slightly. No matter her reassurance he wouldn't believe it. He may have been blind to more complicated emotions but to see her so nervously move like that when he asked and stared was something he couldn't have ignored. He wondered for a moment if it was his place to step in and say anything. Part of him figured if he wanted to get this whole thing past just teasings and fleeting dates that perhaps he should step up a bit.

"Hey," The beefy male whispered softly and ducked his head slightly. "I'm no mind reader but that didn't look like fine. I'm willing to listen." A frown threatened to tug on his lips but he opted for a neutral look. One that didn't show his concern but it in no way gleamed with eagerness. Her next words caught him a bit off-guard. Ears slicked back for a moment before he found the rights words. "You're telling me you feel lucky to spend time so close to such an important day with a stick in the mud like myself instead of at the Rye?" It was obvious he was teasing but he was in no bubbling with laughter like usual.

Laike looked around them. He was a bit from home but still not as far as her from her instructions to the Rye. "That doesn't matter much." He shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant fashion as orange eyes focused on her mismatched eyes.

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she says beauty is pain

Chuckling lightly, the thought had never even crossed her mind to give up on Laike. The thought of not seeing him again saddened her and she didn't even want to imagine that ever happening. Not now. Not when she needed someone to distract and comfort her from the problems worrying her mind and heart. The worrywart hoped those thoughts never crossed his mind either. Perhaps if he intended to give up on her, he would have done so after their first meeting when she played the hard to get card. She wouldn't wonder too much why if he did give up and ignore her. But she was thankful though, he wasn't running away at her surprising appearance. Yet at least.

As she fidgeted and tried to ignore the feelings threatening to burst from her, her bicolored gaze rose to meet his burning eyes as he took tentative steps closer to her. Her breath silently caught in her chest as he stopped and stood inches from her, his hot breath brushing through the ends of her tawny guard hairs that rested on her pale cheeks. Her muzzle just had to reach out a few inches to touch his and the urge to was so prevalent and strong it threatened to rock all her walls down. She yearned for his touch, to feel the warm skin beneath his silver cheek. She yearned to be comforted and told everything was going to be alright, that she shouldn't worry about anything that was plaguing her soul. But, she fought herself again and kept herself from reaching out for his help. 

Her gaze never wavered from his though as she fought her internal civil war, it was steady unlike her previous fidgeting. He whispered then, his words brushing across her cheeks again as her auburn ears sunk back against her delicate skull for a moment. Was all this worth bottling up? Was it worth shutting him out and everyone else out? Was it that big of a deal? It should just be petty pack disagreement stuff. It wasn't life or death, but to Adelayde, it was still much more. She was confused and worried that she had hurt her relationship with everyone in the Rye for acting so irrationally. She feared she crossed a line that she didn't know existed. The Rye beta had simply reacted without a second thought as to who's feelings were being hurt. Granted, Reyes hasn't been the most model status packmate with his fight with Icicle and seeming grumpy attitude, though perhaps now the albino male had it coming as he took off soon after anyway. But still, she felt like she was in the complete wrong and needed to fix everything or else it was all going to be ruined. The close knit pack she thought she found who accepted her for who she was, she thought she was on board to destroy it all. 

Yes, perhaps she was being too dramatic, but her past explains quite well why she fears such things happening again. She had lost everyone she loved in her birth pack over a petty disagreement. And she was scared it was happening now in the Rye. The Snow woman needed comfort, but she never knew how to accept it. She always dealt with her problems on her own. In her mind just then, her cream muzzle reached out then for his touch, for his comfort, for his understanding that perhaps she wasn't the most simple being in the world, but her body did not move an inch. She was complicated. She had twists and turns, caves and mountains, oceans and puddles. She wasn't as simple as she tried to be. No matter how much she tried to tell herself. 

"You are no stick in the mud." She retorted after a few moments as a smile slipped easily onto her lips, though it was a meager one at best. "And even if you were, this is better than spending it alone." Ade didn't want to be alone anymore. Being alone was hard most of the time. Though, she knew she had her alphas and she didn't particularly knew where she stood with Askan and Reyes, she at least had someone. But they could never be just her someone. And for now, unless Laike objected, he was going to be her someone for today.

 

Pausing then, she looked at him as he shrugged off her question. "Would you be truthful and tell me if I was in the wrong for something I did?" If he was willing to listen, tonight she was willing to open the bottle.

and there's beauty in everything

(This post was last modified: May 11, 2017, 04:28 AM by Adelayde.)

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LAIKE ARTEMIEVA

Perhaps some part of him wished she would use him for comfort. Yet he knew that if she wasn't going to fill the gap between them that he certainly couldn't fill it. He couldn't find it in himself to be the safe cushion she needed. Laike had never appealed to the softness that others needed. He had always been too rough around the edges. His hard exterior never faltered and no matter how hard he was trying right now it seemed he could not lower any more walls. If he was a castle his gate was lowered, waiting for her. But he could not force her to cross over into his comfort and protection. He couldn't even find the words to tell her what he was feeling as well. Maybe his only saving grace was that he was not as fidgety as the tawny woman. He didn't mind it, though. Creatures who exposed their emotions were so much easier for him to comprehend.

So he stood there and waited. Each moment of silence like another brick on his chest. Part of him regretted trying to pry open her issues. He should have just taken her clue of moving on the topics instead of being the least bit thoughtful. For once he could blame no one but himself. This wasn't Lorcan or Tikhon's fault. This wasn't some mystical beings fault. It was all his fault for deciding to be the least bit empathetic.

There was a light at the end of his misery-drenched thoughts. Her voice causing his fiery gaze to soften some. That smile of hers wasn't as bright as he had seen it before but it was a start. "You shouldn't have to spend it alone." He whispered gently. Did no one wish to spend it with her? Was that what had brought her out here to the lake? A piece of him felt confused. Didn't coming all the way out here make her alone by choice?

He caught her gaze and didn't let it go. The large tawny female's words struck him as odd, just like this whole encounter. "Of course I would, Adelayde." For the briefest moment, he debated reaching out to her. Even if it was just a soft bump of his nose. He couldn't bring himself too. Unless she asked him too or did so herself, Laike could not return such a bold offering.

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she says beauty is pain

What was wrong with her? Laike was offering comfort, understanding, and his protection and she decided to be hesitant. What was she so afraid of? The Snow girl longed for someone to be there just for her. Now here he was, waiting with open arms to accept her and be the one person she needed. But instead, she choked. Was she honestly scared of the commitment, if thats what this was? It certainly was a step towards it, but wasn't that what she wanted? To be accepted and loved for who she was. She was conflicted as ever. The yearning for freedom clashed with the need for commitment and comfort.

Her internal civil war raged on as the silence fell over the pair. As her mask never faltered, neither did his. Neither of them were budging. They were both solid walls though the gate was opened only on his side. Hers, still closed though her hands were resting hesitant on the door handle. All she needed was a push. She needed a tipping point to where she just needed to dive straight in without looking back. But was there one in sight? Was she going to make him shut the door to her forever? 

His baritone words brushed against her skin again, leaving behind a trail of hot, tingling skin that swept down her back. Perhaps if she had told someone in Wild Rye, they may of spent the day with her, but instead as typical Adelayde, she kept it to herself. Anyway, she thought she needed to get away from the tension she thought she felt there - whether it was felt by the others was a different story. 

Fiery eyes clashed with blue-green and again, Laike never wavered. He never seemed to faltered, no matter what she threw at him. He was strong and sturdy, a castle along the shore of an angry sea. He never shook. No matter how strong the white caps were that threw themselves against him. It was then that she finally unfroze. With his words comforting her confused mind, she finally reached out to close the distance between them. She was finally accepting him. The guarded woman seemed to melt into his touch, her cheek running against his, her nose burrowing into the fur of his nape. Her bicolored eyes closed as she leaned further into his embrace. She didn't realize how much she needed this. She didn't realize how alone she truly felt, but this - this was not simple anymore. They weren't as simple as she thought they were together. There was more to them now. What exactly that was, she wasn't sure.

As she continued to embrace him, the words began to spill out. "I think I screwed up. Like big time, maybe, I don't really know-- see thats the thing, I have no idea what I did." She whined, confused and worried, she then took a step back, but her gaze didn't reach back up to his. "I was simply comforting Askan, who needed something to get him though his own worries of the Rye loosing members. I hugged him and then his friend Reyes, who ever since he joined has been sealed to the hip of Askan, came from behind us all angry and told me to 'Back off' like I wasn't supposed to touch him. I was upset too about having so many desert us, so I snapped at him not wanting to deal with it." Her gaze lifted off the lake behind him back to his fiery gaze that she felt on her face the whole time. "You should of seen the look on his face, he was so hurt. I don't understand, and I don't know what to do to fix it. Why was he so upset?" It as the question of the month that she seemed to be too oblivious to see the answer to.

and there's beauty in everything

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LAIKE ARTEMIEVA

The male felt like he was a child in a staring competition. That oceanic gaze wouldn't pull from his fiery eyes. His more stubborn side told him he could stay like this for hours, it wasn't all that bad he supposed. If the Rye's tactic truly was to send Adelayde out to snatch men like himself it was working. He had made a promise at Hearthwood River that he intended to keep. That was truly the only thing holding him back. Well, and maybe a bit of fear. What if Adelayde grew bored of him in a scenario where she could see him every day? It was an awful thought but Laike usually thought that way. Damn pessimist.

Then came what he had been waiting for. She broke the space between them. His skin grew hot as her touch went from his check to his nape. Yet he stood there in a silent embrace. Laike wasn't sure if anyone had ever truly made contact with him like Adelayde had. All he could do was soak it up. He leaned into her the slightest bit. His nose carefully ruffled through the fur of her scruff.

He almost forgot that she had wanted his opinion. His ears perked carefully to catch her words. Laike was unfamiliar with the names but the situation was laid out. A soft frown was dug into his features, both from the situation and the way she pulled back from him. No matter how he processed her words he couldn't make sense of it either. "I...I don't know." He admitted and looked to the ground. Upset that he couldn't give the help she needed. "Have you talked to this Askan and Reyes since?" Fiery eyes flickered to look at her for a moment before looking down again. "Maybe there was just some kind of misunderstanding." He was very bad at this. His tail hanging limply between his legs. Laike was the last wolf who should have been giving advice about anything on the emotional spectrum but goodness he was willing to try. Even if this was all only for Adelayde.

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