The golden fae woke slowly , with a smile upon her face. Today was a special day. None knew it but her. Not even her love knew yet, for she had not shared the date of her birthday with him yet. She had no calendar, but she knew that today she became an adult as surely as she knew that the sun rose in the morning sky. She would not spend it searching for herbs, she would spend it with the light of her life, her love. Today, she was an adult as he himself was and if he felt as deeply for her as she did for him perhaps, with a little encouragement, today would be the beginning of their lives together. The thought of calling him her mate sent a thrill through the girl... the woman.


Feeling full of joy and filled with an overwhelming desire to find her man, she headed for the borders, knowing that he would be there. If she had anything to do with it, they would both play hookie for the day. The pack was strong and sound and they would not be missed for a few hours. Her step picked up and her tail wagged happily when she came upon his fresh scent. She had not been wrong, he was already up early doing his duty. Giddiness filled her when she finally caught sight of his dark form and she ran up to him smiling almost coyly.


"Good morning, dearest Hollow!" Her delicate form brushed against his larger one, enjoying his strength and power. Suddenly overcome by flirtatiousness she circled him, letting her golden plume brush across his muzzle. Quirking an eyebrow at him, sea blue eyes practically glowing she said, "Come. Follow me!" With another twitch of her tail she took off at a slow lope, leading him away from the Thickets and towards Blackberry Fields. The breeze carried her soft giggle back to the man that held her heart in his valiant paws.

Liam would no doubt be somewhere patrolling the borders this morning, but Hollow had been unable to sleep, thoughts of Azariah keeping him awake. He had been laying in his den, the beginnings of a whimper making it's way into his throat when he had growled and walked out. No Hollow, you have to believe she will be back some day, even still it has only been a few weeks maybe she has been gathering herbs. He told himself time and time again, that he needed not worry. In the end, he would worry regardless, no matter how hard he tried, he would worry about her. So in silence he set out from the opposite end of Liam's patrol intending to meet the male in the middle and find some task to take his mind off Azariah's disappearance,

Once again it was quiet on the border, so quiet that even the faint sound of approaching paw steps caught his attention. No one in the pack is small enough to tread that lightly... except.. Hollow whipped around in time to see the golden form of his love appear, Azariah! It was her! She had come home! Hollow's heart felt as though every twist and every stab had been healed at the mere sight of the golden fur, and the perfume of her scent. A deep breath and a tail wagging as though it would surely detach from his body, and he returned her smile. Though it would seem something was different at the moment, something that sent spikes of electricity down his spine.

Her words made him shiver, when all he wanted to do was to run to her, he froze and could not even speak. It was an instant that felt kin to an eternity that her tail brushed across his face. Even when it was done and she had circled and prepared to spring into the fields he was still frozen in place. Until he heard it, Follow me! His breath caught, yet all the same he could not hold his excitement. A few startled, choked words escaped his maw, "Wh-where were.... y-you came back... wait, just stay." Of course it would make no sense now but when his thoughts collected it would be a proclamation of love unlike any ever heard before. Hollow intended to sing this time, to howl his love. But he waited, for now he blankly followed the golden fae into the fields, fully abandoning his post with a look of stupidity plastered upon his maw. Clarity and chaos crashed and synchronized in his heart until he was sure he would burst from the love it created. She came back

Azariah couldn't help a small grin as he stuttered some words behind her. She understood his confusion for she had been away for a while. She had indeed been gathering herbs for the infirmary as he no doubt thought, but there was another more mysterious reason that she had kept her distance. It was one of the reasons that she was in such high spirits.


A light of hope had shown down on the girl this past fortnight for while she'd been scouting her body had gone through some changes. Changes that she'd never thought to experience for she'd actually come into a mild, if sporadic heat. It was late in the season and the only reason that she could think of was that she hailed from even farther north and had been born later, therefor maturing a bit later. She could not risk being around Nina and her newborns or Hollow, so she had stayed away until the few days of her cycle passed by with no one to notice but the songbirds.


This was a secret that she would keep to herself for the moment though as she was unsure of how it might change her future. What it did change was any reservations that she'd had about becoming Hollow's mate. She had not wanted to deny him the chance of ever becoming a father. He had such an honorable and loving heart that it would have been a tragedy. Of course, there was no guarantee that she would ever be able to bear young, but at least now the hope and the possibility was there.


After a short delay he was running along behind her and she felt joy well up once more. She put on a burst of speed, her petite frame fairly flying over the long grass as she weaved in and out of scattered blackberry bushes. She knew that he'd have to push himself to keep up with her, hampered slightly by his greater size, so she soon slowed to run by his side, allowing her golden fur to mingle with his darker pelt and reveling in the tingling that seemed to travel between them.


Suddenly, Azariah stopped and lowered her front end, front legs splayed widely, wagging her tail happily and panting lightly from her exertion and excitement. She yipped at him and batted at him as playfully as any puppy when he turned towards her.

Hollow gave chase immediate, not willing to lose his beautiful she wolf once more. He ran at full speed just to pace behind her. Before long his muscles began to burn, the dark male had spent so much time waiting for this very moment that he had not been on a full run since before she had left. As hard as he tried to keep up he was lost the moment she bolted away. Sighing he gave the rest of what he had, lungs burning, he was determined not to let her out of his sight . Just as his endurance began to fade she slowed and came to his side. A very vocal sigh of relief escaped his jaws as he was ready fall over right then,

The feel of her fur sent shudders through his sturdy frame. Thankfulness ran through his mind that she had come back to him. In the moment, all he could do was stare at her as she trotted beside him. Not looking at the ground, nor to either side for any danger like he normally would, he could have tripped and fell right down a hole had one been there, though it was his good fortune that there was not. All prospects of awareness and danger melted away, for today was perfect, his love, the beautiful Azariah had returned to him and nothing could make him happier at the moment.

Her movements became sudden as she spun around and began to bat at him with her paws and make small yips. All at once her good mood and excitement seemed to infect the dark male and he could no longer hold back his own happiness. Hollow mirrored her crouch and began to bat right back at her, only when she would yip he would reply with a comical snort as if he had stuck his nose in a particularly pollen filled flower. For a while he played the game in this way before suddenly dropping his haunches low, rocking his weight back and springing upwards and over the gold furred she wolf. He landed behind her with ease and spun around with a paw raised and a look of triumph on his face as if he had one the game. When she turned around he intended to swing it wide over her head and land with his cheek against hers.