Riddle Heights pure O-negative

As soon as the words had left his lips, he instantly regretted it. No sooner than after his last word had been uttered, here she came, the princess herself in all her majestic glory. She came close enough to a point where Tannis knew that he had to draw backwards into a sitting position. His fearful stare that had focused on her eyes shifted to her stark black nose as she addressed him just as her father would. "You will not order me around again Tannis," she ordered. The lanky man had succumbed to a shiver that had begun upon recognizing her reprimanding tone. "I trust you had your reasons for following me here, but you cannot speak to me that way."

She was right and, for that, Tannis was painfully wincing at and for himself. Him and his big, stupid mouth.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," he rather pitifully voiced, his tongue continually poking out from between his teeth as if that would appease her. But, then came the weight of it all, her words seeming as if they had been powerful enough as to physically attack him, "You shouldn't have followed me."

"But --" he wanted to clarify, stealing a glance up at her bright sun-gold eyes. He averted his gaze and his ears came back along his neck. By the sound of it, she might have found pleasure in stripping him of a bit of fur or an ear tip or a small chunk of his nose. He trembled in her wake, stilling his tongue and pressing it to the roof of his mouth lest he speak further and upset her even more. Tannis believed himself to be her father's ears and eyes, a silent guardian along the heights who feared everything - most especially, the safety of the future Leaders of Silent Moon Plateau. In his mind, he had done her a bit of good by trailing after her down the mountainside, but she was absolutely right in the fact that he shouldn't have followed her.

She sighed then and it was with anticipation that the tawny subordinate grimaced into the ground, wondering if she would continue on. What came instead was a pardoning sentiment followed by the order to return home and the bestowing of confidence that he would know if and when something might have gone wrong in the event of her prolonged absence. His lips sealed into a thin black line but his eye teeth poked out from beneath them as he gave a nasally whine.

A low hum came from him that was more like an agreement on his part than a worried whimper. He took one good look at her, his jaw tensing before he tucked his tail to the underside of his abdomen and backed away. Then, as she had requested him to do, he turned around and began to walk back. Once he had reached the place where he had fallen into a heap at the base of the foothills, he cast her a backward glance, still partially brave enough to stand his ground and watch her. His ears came up once before folding back once more, squinting as he tried to memorize any telltale marks that would help him remember the dark brute in the future.

That turkey that had obviously come tumbling down the side of the mountain was not her cub-sitter; and, before the dark prince could even try and convince her further to just ignore the agouti-furred man, Celandine was off. Her step was stiff, everything about her lithe, departing form wordlessly saying just how seemingly angry she was with him. A smirk formed on Sköll's face, much too smug to be of the becoming sort. Yet, as the princess had a strict word with what was clearly an unruly subordinate, the Archer found himself somewhat taken with her.

His head tilted briefly to one side as he watched the both of them. He needed someone like that in his life, he deduced. One that could easily and effortless put anyone, even those who were older and weaker than her, in their rightful place...beneath her.

When their conversation had come to the part where she had sighed and the auburn-tinted man had been reduced to a pile of fur in front of her, Sköll took a curious step forward, watching then as Tannis slowly crawled away with his tail between his legs. It was attractive, to say the least; having grown up with a dominant personality for a mother, the yearling had to admire her.

The winds had begun to pick up and, with it, the prospects of undertaking a wild and carefree adventure piqued. His tail began to wag, his silver irises falling upon the still observant onlooker who was no doubt trying to put the prince's figure to memory. Sköll found it ridiculous; even if Celandine was probably considered nothing more than a pup in her pack, he knew for certain that his brothers, who were more than likely the same age as her, were more than capable of taking care of themselves. Hell, Deacon had even managed on his own at a few months old when he had been "accidentally" swept away from home.

It was with an eagerness to be in her company that he continued to stare at her ivory figure in the distance, watching as the wind whipped her lush winter coat about. There was no doubt that Sköll would return the princess of the mountain in one piece, all he had wanted to do was see to her safety (also) but give her a sense of freedom with it all, away from the dangers of the mountain and sheltered within the trees. Hopefully she would turn around to join him; if not, then he was certain that he would come to prey on her again when the weather was much more bearable now that he had a grasp on where she and her family had reigned...

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away

She hadn't known what an effect her words could have until she witnessed the tawny man practically cowering before her. It was both tragic and thrilling to see her power at work, especially since she hadn't thought it possible. Celandine did not take pride in his pain, however. That was simply too dark for her yet. Still holding on to the smallest threads of sympathy — though short, and fleeting — the youth felt a tugging in her gut. Chalking it up to a lack of experience with dominance on her part, Celandine allowed him to speak his peace. It wasn't backtalk, so it deserved no reprimanding, a fact she was grateful for. Strangely enough, the anger she originally felt had seeped out, finding it's way into the cold air, likely fueling the storm further. 

As Tannis moved away, tail tucked between his legs, the princess remembered their audience. He had watched her pass the first of many sentences to come, a show that she hoped had been satisfactory. The pale fae wasn't sure how they handled their subordinates in the Ridge, but she hoped that Skoll understood that if they weren't dealt with, chaos ensued. She would have no such nonsense during her reign, even if she had to lose her morality to do it. 

Turning to face the man, his dark coat striking against the snow, she let her tail fall to realign with her spine. For a moment, she had been worried that he would be put off by her display, but he seemed content enough. The winds were picking up, allowing her to feel the heavy current pulling at the tendrils of her fur. It was calming, to say the least. Her adrenaline had skyrocketed, so the breeze felt cool against her warm skin. 

Bright eyes swept over him, sparkling with mischief. "Lead the way." She ceded, bowing lightly. For once, she was excited to step down, and let another take control. So often she was the one who made decisions, so this was new for her.

(This post was last modified: Apr 14, 2015, 08:04 PM by Celandine.)

Have you seen my OOC preferences?

A whine sounded out from his muzzle, his breath lifting from him in a cloud that was quickly swept away from the wind that was only starting to pick up. He stared and stared until he finally put down two things to his mental list of identifiable traits. Princess Celandine's dark-furred companion had white fur the lower half of his muzzle and his fur was a dark as the night. If he was required to pick out the yearling, perhaps, that would be enough. Hopefully...

His ears lowered further as he slowly started to climb back up the foothills and up towards the Plateau. He scrambled as he went, expending precious energy as he struggled to heave his skeletal frame up on the rock shelves and flailed about so his paws fought for purchase on the cold, frost-covered stones. Sure, the princess could fend for herself, but she was still a cub in his eyes. Someone who needed careful supervision lest someone - dare he suspect someone of the Corvinus clan from his past? - thought to spirit her away from the safety of her home.

The terrible thought had come in bad timing and the next time he tried to catch sight of the two youngsters, he found that they were gone. His lips pressed together in panic and as quickly as he could manage, he hurriedly ascended the gravel-covered trails in search of @Phineas. There was just no way that his little Cella was going to "play" in the woods with some stranger - in the midst of a storm! - without her father knowing...

(Tannis exit.)

Blegh, a little something quick to wrap up the thread... Hope it's alright...

The little "show" that princess of Silent Moon Plateau put on struck a chord and it was with immediate interest that he watched the both of them. Eventually, the coyote-looking man drew away and up he went along the mountainside. When Celandine returned, he gave her a more amiable smile, one that was characteristically pleasing to the eye. Not particularly a smoldering and possessive, triumphant smirk, but more of a "I'm so glad you've come to join me" sort of simper.

That little twinkle in her eye along with her little bow spoke to him on some innate and intimate level. It made his tail continually wag as he turned around, more than eager now to lead her into the forest, through the trees and into the places where the wind could barely weave its way through the willows and all the other miscellaneous trees which had made their home near the heights. The storm could howl and rage all it wanted, if it wished, but rather than worry for their safety, Sköll Archer was all for enjoying the thrill of the cold and getting more of Celandine's laughter from her chest.

Come evening, he would be sure to lead her back home, safe and sound, without so much as a smudge on her pristine white coat and crown. Very much the gentleman, he would give her a courteous bow of his own and leave it at that. He knew better now to let go of things and let the yearning and pining overwhelm them. If she had enjoyed his company, there would be no doubt that she would return to him...

(Sköll fade.)

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

i'm doing whatever i can to make the bad things go away