Skoll had been spying on a murder of crows in the distance, listening to their quieter dialect of softer chirps and trills as they gossiped amongst themselves rather than the forest around them, when a lumbering figure had caught his attention much further away than his intended targets. It swayed and staggered along, or so it seemed; a pair of squinted eyes couldn't exactly be sure. He would need to have a closer look. Match her gait, sync up with the rhythm of her footfalls, breathe in shallower and quieter breaths to avoid the possibility of detection... The stink in the air readily gave her away. Morganna was tottering back home again after one of her day trips beyond the Ridge.

He remembered how he had found her last, sometime before the middle of winter had struck the Lore, when she had stunk of Craw and Renier and whoever else she had managed to ensnare into her social circle. It was suffocating to just think about it; one moment he could be fine in believing that he was the only one she trusted, but then the thought of her being surrounded by other men who were not Archers made him sick to his stomach. He had wanted to be the only one.

Two moon-like eyes watched as she shook her head and there came an opportune moment to catch her off her guard. Obviously something was up because usually it was her who came to him.

"GODS, MORGANNA!" he practically yowled through the silhouettes of the trees just two wolf lengths away from her somewhere to her left. He had really meant to startle her. "I can smell you from all the way across the territory." There was a sort of bitterness in his voice that curled in his throat and laced his words with venom that meant to sting. Hackles raised and teeth bared, he rounded on her, his movements a telltale sign that this was the hour in which he was wide awake and most observant. "Where were you?!"

It seemed to him that she had been expecting his appearance. At the very least, she seemed surprised and intrigued rather than shocked or startled. Anything apart from smugness was well appreciated, even if things felt topsy-turvy with the change of the seasons. Her reaction and her response fueled him further, her own brand of spite becoming emotional gasoline. Two sides of the same coin, indeed...

"Closer to home than you've been I'm certain," he practically spat back. The aggressiveness on his face softened into something more like an expression that meant to begrudge her. Not too long ago he had been able to try his luck with courting a number of women beneath his sister's reign, but since he had struck a 'deal' with Hecate, he had long since been bound to her. As much as their union was wanted and desired, he already felt smothered and was beginning to wistfully looked forward to his nightly walks on a daily basis.

His tone of voice had relinquished the bite it had previously wielded and the more he stared at her, the more he began to wonder just what his only litter mate had been up to in the dead of night, "You know I'd have fixed that problem if I could and you know that I can't..." The scowl on his face was now only made up of his furrowed brows and downturned mouth, "Where are you coming from?"

"Hmm," he sounded upon learning of her whereabouts. To her next question, his trademark smirk found its way onto his dark face, "If you must know... yes, I did." He steeled himself, for once, unable to read the expression or emotion in her eyes. He might have been aware of speaking to his sister, but he was also very conscious of the fact that he was also speaking to his Queen. The subtle lift of his head and crown allowed him to swallow down the lump that was ascending into his throat.

"I trust her," he admitted, his tone suddenly hushed on his tongue. Even in an instance like this, he would never use the "L" word; though, as much as he would have liked to use the sentiment of saying that he "loved" someone, he found that it was not 'deep' enough to express his feelings for @Hecate. There was a lengthy pause on his behalf and his devilish ears tipped back for a moment. Then, an act of true submission, he sat down at first before bowing his head and sprawling out on his stomach. His willowy forelimbs stretched out before him and he let loose a soft whine as is eyes fell to her paws. "Would... Would you still keep me?"

Morganna seemed to know what to say with her ever-thoughtful "Why wouldn't I?" Skoll's tail wagged against the ground and he leaned back as to fully roll onto his side. At this point, he was not above the idea of actively giving her a show; all he had to do was roll completely onto his back to bare his vulnerable underside to her. In all truth, she was probably the only one who had ever seen him do such a thing on his own accord and without coercion. His beloved's name was the next topic of interest to leave her lips and the prince cringed at his sister's feet. He looked up at her with such scrutiny and concern that the whites of his eyes framed his pale silver irises.

It was only fair, he decided, as she came to let him know that she could not overlook his rank for Hecate's sake. She made it quite clear: if he did not challenge their uncle, he was going to risk losing Hecate and their unborn child. At first, he assumed the worst: imagining Morganna openly attacking Hecate just as she had done with Piety. Gods, they had been lucky that the stress had not been enough to end their litter... that little Sven alone had survived. Then, with a more wilder imagination, he entertained the idea of Morganna removing the children from Hecate's side and caring for the tiny souls as though they had been her own - just as she practically had with her nephew when Piety had gone.

"I'll do it," he vowed to her, "I will challenge @Nicolò." Desperation tainted his voice as his jaw quivered. He had one lost love; he was sure by now that he could not lose another. Not his @Hecate. Mother Nature and the Old Gods had made it clear that he and Morganna were not meant to be, no matter how much Skoll had dared to contemplate its disastrous effects. At the end of it all, their familial bond was enough for the both of them. It was not fair for her to cast out his mate; if it was his love she had wanted, she should have known by now that she would always have it. No matter what.

"Just give me the word, my Queen, and I'll do it," he countered her trailing thought, tilting his head up to meet her eyes with the same exact fire as he propped himself back up on his elbows. "I will end him."