She had slipped off from the meeting. Her usually bright aurora had changed to something dark, festering and quite similar to his own. As she had left, he’d heard the tearing of branches, of flora being dessicrated as she took out her foul mood upon the landscape instead of him for a change. He gave her that space. He gave her time to arrange her thoughts before he went looking for her. He knew she would be alright, that she would sort herself out in the end and eventually find her cheerful place once more; but that didn’t mean he wasn’t concerned for her. Stress wasn’t good for the pups, that much he knew if little else and it fell upon him it seemed to sooth her sooner rather than later.

A little time had passed. He had remained at the meeting point whilst the others had vanished one by one, his message having rung loudly. He had no doubts they would talk about it all, but he had stated from the start that they would never be normal, never be a “goodie goodie” place to live. Life was going to be tough for them, not only in the area they had chosen to live being riddled with danger and harsh landscapes, but in the way that they functioned and that they worked. Anyone who didn’t like it knew where the exit was...

With a snort to himself, he skipped down from the podium he had placed himself upon at the meeting and wound his way through the forest to their own little den site. There, he saw the silvery female pacing, back and forth outside of the entrance. It appeared she had lost little of the steam she was chugging despite the time he had given her. Silently, he slipped from the shadows and walked up to her, blocking her path as she had once done to him by placing his rear upon the ground. As she turned and grew closer, he said nothing but met her eyes. If she wanted to talk, he would listen, if she wanted to scream, he would listen, if she simply wanted to walk away, he would follow. For now, she needed to vent in any form she felt necessary and it was his job to be the wolf she could vent at. He could take it. He took everything life threw at him and whilst it would one day explode within him, he could handle it for now.

He said nothing. He didn’t need to say anything as she told him her burdens. He put them away, put them with his own and let them fester for now. Of course she was concerned, their greatest weapon had been secrecy but already they were being gossiped about. He didn’t know who had disclosed their location, or how the word had spread so quickly, but he was going to find the source and plug it. They were so far away from the world that wolves like Fallen couldn’t just accidently find them, though he didn’t realise he may have just followed Athena’s scent. He knew nothing about him, or the affection he and Athena might share.
He breathed in her scent deeply as she spoke, his eyes remained opened and alert as they cast out into the shadows around them. Beneath the moon his grey eyes flickered a beautiful ice blue, his handsome face looked more radiant than usual. He might have been vain, but nothing compared to the beauty of the female who sat at his chest.

Her let her shout, spit and talk as darkly as she wished. She might not have realised it, but Rhysis knew there was something more to her cheery exterior. Everyone had a dark side just waiting to break out. He wasn’t sure whether to feel proud or ashamed of himself for discovering hers. However he didn’t think anything less of her, in fact he felt more for her, that she could drop herself and be so open, to bare to him to speak in such a way even she might surprise herself with.

As she asked him to run, he simply nodded and rose to his four paws. He would do as she commanded, like the love sick fool that he was he would follow her orders blindly tonight, just to allow her to breathe with him. ”Only if you can keep up with me...” he said in a teasing tone as he gave a nip to her silkly ear. He chose not to comment on her weight at that point, though she looked no different; Kanosak’s warning of calling a female fat rang loudly in his ears and he’d be a fool to say such a thing to her.

With nothing more to say he sprang into a run, though his strides were not as full as if he ran on his own, he wanted to stay at her side. Not just for this run, but forever. He would always match himself to her... no matter how fast, slow or still she wanted to be.

His legs roared with the pace, blood pumped through his veins with force and he felt so alive. He enjoyed running, more than anything else. He could run for hours, across any terrain and it was only then that he felt truly alive. The ground beneath his pads was alive, thrumming with energy as they glided across it, graceful, silent and beautiful. Their run was soothing, for him at least. As the wind caressed his skin, ruffled his fur, stung his eyes, a small smile fell across his lips. Running with her, it just felt so right; as if it had been something he had been missing his entire life.

The pair broke free from the confines of their little forest and out into a small clearing. As the terrain changed from earth to grass, the sounds of their thundering paws altered to a less hollow sound. The grassy floor soaked up their weight, and he had been about to kick it up a notch when he caught his female grinning. An extra burst threw her in his path and he slammed on the breaks to avoid a collision.

She darted forward, nipping at him with the grin still upon her beautiful face before she stepped backwards and bowed to the floor. It was a sign to play, to enjoy life and their time together, but Rhysis being the mess that he was just didn’t understand the gesture. He had never “played”. He knew what it was, but not how to do it. Catching his breath, he tilted his head and took a few steps backwards. Feeling utterly ridiculous, he lowered himself to copy her stance, chest just above the floor, rear in the air though no wagging tail. He didn’t move for a moment, simply stood there, unsure of what he was expected to do here. It was an unsettling feeling, something he didn’t enjoy as he waited for something more to happen, for something to come alive within him and take over as it had before... but it appeared that instinct wasn’t going to help him here- play was a natural part of wolf life, but having never experienced it he simply didn’t know what to do. ”I... I don’t get it.” he said with a sigh, before he stood up again and stepped out of the play position. ”Sorry.”

He stood vigilant as she once more came forward and nipped at him before she ran back to her original position. Honestly, what a waste of energy. She wanted him to let go, that was obvious but there was some things he just couldn’t do. Running, yes. Laughing once in a blue moon, yes. Play? No. Play made no sense to him. It wasn’t logical. Nothing about it made sense. It was a waste of energy, served no other purpose then to irritate someone else, there was no space in his life for it.
With that, she ran. He was almost grateful that she had given up her attempts at getting him to run and jump, nip and giggle. Running was something he could do and whilst it was still a waste of energy, it was something he was willing to waste it on.

He let her take the lead, following her steps effortlessly as his own stride as shortened to keep at the rear. Their speed increased with the decrease of the land, until they were almost atop a cluster of stone. Gracefully, his female glided up onto the top of the boulders and thrust herself from them into a freefall into the icy water. Momentary panic consumed his as she dipped beneath the surface. He clambered up the rocks hastily after her and released a breath he had been holding when he saw her surface once more. With a laugh and a smile, she paddled back to the shore and he climbed back down the small height to greet her upon the shore. With a bump of his nose to her cheek he then shook his head. ”You’re so carefree. So happy. I cannot understand what you see in a grump like me.” he said, half teasing to his tone but utter seriousness in his speech.

Droplets of water flew from her soaked body to his, grumbling he said nothing but waited until she had moved on to shake himself off. Honestly, he was so grumpy and practical jokes were an irritant rather than amusing. Still, she was enjoying herself and as long as she was here, happy and in good health that was all he could hope for.

The light she saw in him was blind; she knew nothing of him deep down, only that he cared for her and that he was here for her. He was too afraid to bare himself open like that to her. He knew that she would tell him anything. She would open herself up to him and lay there naked for him to judge... but he could never do that. If she truly knew the thoughts he had, the things he had seen and done, he was certain she wouldn’t be here now, splashing him with water and laughing at his sour personality. She certainly wouldn’t sit there singing his praises. If only she knew.

Her own question intrigued him. In all honesty, he had never considered the reasons why he felt like he did towards her, he had gone with instinct all along and decided to keep his mind out of the decision to be with her, else the two would bicker. He didn’t want to dwell too deep into it, all she needed to know was that he was here for her, no matter who or what she was. Obviously that wasn’t going to go down well with her and as much as he cared for her, he couldn’t lie to her. Sure, he could keep things secret, but lying was another issue altogether. ”You are everything I am not, but that I should be. ” came his somewhat cryptic answer. Perhaps it was not the most romantic of responses but what else could he say.
I don’t know. I wanted to own you and now I do. No, he was certain that would go down like a lead balloon. Obviously there was more to it than that. Perhaps the feelings of dominance, pride when she looked at him, of lust when her scent was near was just instinct, but he was certain his mind would have more to say on the matter should he ever want to hear its opinion. He’d never win the internal war between body and mind; were he of average intelligence then maybe the two would get along, but in a world where instinct overruled logic, he was outnumbered.

Something niggled him then, to change the subject and not dwell on the emotions that she seemed to want to express. ”I met Ani the other day.” he said simply, as if it were just the most casual news he had ever heard.