Somehow, someway, she had managed to find herself atop a mountain. It wasn't the craziest thing she'd done in her life, but it ranked rather high and for a moment she contemplated just going back where she came but cursing winds and sharp turns frightened her too much to turn back now, and thus she continued on. She hoped that eventually she would cross over to more leveled ground where she could make her way back to where she'd come but each step brought her higher until the elevation made breathing more difficult and the weather seemed to have cooled a whole 20 degrees from where it started. She immediately, and immensely, regretted her decision to even wander on this mountain, and hoped that once she was safe again, that she could live to tell about it.


It was once she turned another sharp corner that she caught whiff of something peculiar, it was as scent she didn't expect to find this far out but her paws moved faster in hot pursuit of the scent of male in the wind. She just knew that eventually, if his musk wasn't stale, that she would run into him. It didn't take long for the white battered form to grace her yellow gaze, but there he stood as scruff and violent looking as ever and yet Rory was excited to finally see someone. "You're a sight for sore eyes" she mentioned with a stiff wag of her bushy tail, a lopsided and forced smile formed along her maw. This wolf looked dangerous and yet Rory was welcoming the potential pain he could offer her.

It hadn't occurred to Rory, not once since her gradual aging into adulthood, that the constant feeling of cramps and pungent scent that  flowed from her as she walked would drive males insane this time of year. It could be the fact that she had never felt any kind of love since puphood, which had been many moons ago, and her desire to be loved as an adult had been drowned by the constant desire to simply live...the way Laike looked her over simply went over her head. She allowed the smile to fade finally, ears fell slow to her crown as she approached the male, cautiously, with stiff wags of her thick tail and unbeknownst to her, wafted the scent of heat quicker to him. "You are welcome then," she acknowledged his previous comment and approached closer, careful not to place her paws down inappropriately.


He asked her what had brought her to the mountain and for the briefest of moments Rory's shoulder shrugged, legitimately unsure about whether she had come in search of more food or a pleasant face, but in either case she found both--one in the form of a rabbit nest, the other carried battle scars of a warrior. "I'm not sure actually. You?" she asked, wanting to deflect the attention from her as quickly as possible. Small talk was not her strongest area.

As she expected, her approach invoked little movement from her company and she stopped only when she could just make out the exact color of his eyes and the faint outlines of his scars which had healed rather horribly across his maw--despite these flaws, Laike seemed as stoic and calm as herself. His company was welcomed, most likely from the fleeting euphoria of heating season, and she lowered to her haunches in a comfortable sit as if she were in the company of a good friend and his presence alone had allowed her guard to lift. Inwardly her heart was pounding a million miles per minute and her tongue had grown dry, but he would not notice this before the master pretender in Rory would not allow these flaws to show face, instead he saw the frail face of a youth who had come upon hard times. "Survival sounds about right." her voice flowed easily with the weakest of smiles as her eyes searched those of his own. What were they really doing on this mountain?


He gave his name and she felt the smile tug harder at the curves of her jaw but she looked to her pale paws in hopes that he would not notice it, he seemed so nice and inviting at such a dangerous height and the Thanne woman could do nothing but bend to his subliminal advances--not that she would have been able to fight them anyway. "I'm Rory, it's a pleasure Laike." at least she hoped, the phase had been repeated so often between her and other strangers that it had become second nature to produce it in such a convenient time with this strange male. She fell silent, unsure of where to carry the conversation to next but the gaze she gave to Laike seemed to plea that he knew where to carry them next.

His chuckle, deep even despite its softness, brought a shiver down her spine and she averted his gaze from this shooting feeling alone--never before had a laugh made her feel so vulnerable and open. She cleared her throat in an attempt to ignore the feelings that had suddenly overcome her, this male loner was beginning to make her feel weaker than she had felt from lack of food alone, it was a toss up of whether she was enjoying this sensation. "Am I funny to you?" she asked, the question was much more bolder than the sane Rory would have asked and it was too late to take it back now, so she simply waited for his response, all the while a tingle formed in her stomach. what is happening to me? her mind began racing all the while concentrating on the conversation before her.


"I am all alone Laike." her vulnerability was showing, in the very way she said his name to the fact that she made it a point to ensure to him that no one else would interfere with this meeting, was proof enough that Rory was longing for something beyond her control. Another sudden shiver down her spine made her lift to shake out her winter coat but she quickly settled back to her haunches, not wanting to make the meeting more awkward than it needed to be by standing the entire time. "are you comfortable?" she questioned, noticing that he had yet to take a seat. She wasn't going to harm him, at least it wasn't her intention and she could only hope his' were the same.