Poison Path All for You

<blockquote> She was finally coming to terms with her mood swings and had begun to separate herself from the others whenever her darker moods took her, now, however, she was feeling more herself than she had in weeks and happily watched as the orange butterfly gracefully danced above a small patch of the nightshade that named their home before gently settling itself on one of the ragged edged heart shaped leaves for a well deserved rest. Her mate had been traveling far and wide and it felt an age since they had simply enjoyed each others company without enduring some sort of argument.

So when a fresh snatch of breeze bought his scent to her, she readily stood up, her slowly increasing girth now evident... it wouldn’t be long now. She wondered how he would take being foisted from his own den with the birth of the pups? Exiled until they were old enough to leave the safe confines and teeter about on tiny dark paws. Her breath caught at the thought, and her pace increased to find her love.

Finally, he came into her sight, tall dark form framed against the trees of the small forest that surrounded their home. A smile was painted on her face for once. Her hackles smooth, her tail resting between her heels like some elegant train. She almost danced up to him before leaning into his flank. Despite all she had heard, from Volkan and Triell, he was hers. Nothing would change that.</blockquote>

<blockquote>His nose had been burried within a clump of goodness knows what. The leaves upon the branches tickled his nose, whilst the twigs and their spiked ends dug into his muzzle and closed eyes. He had been here once before. Chest lowered to the floor, rear in the air whilst he tried to reach something burried deep within the foilage; last time had been a flower, that Naira had treasured but left behind when they had fled. This time? The very same flower. Bright yellow in its hue, so bright in fact that it somehow illuminated the dark crevas where it had somehow managed to grow. Delicately, he snagged the pretty yet simple flower within his teeth and pulled backwards, tearing it from its roots.

He hoped this would make her smile. He missed her smile. She'd been so damn grumpy lately and had an attitude worse then his own. Yes, he was an arsehole; but he did it sublty rather then her less tactful approach of just shouting and snapping at anything that looked at her wrong. Oh yes, his happy go lucky Naira was feeling those hormones. So much so that he'd tried to keep his distance, returning to their den with a silent hope she had been asleep, so he could enter, lay aside her, allowing their fur to mingle and scents to sooth him....

Her scent his him as he pulled his head up from the floor, and casting a glance over his shoulder, his beautiful yet ghostly eyes met her own warm golden gaze. She moved to him without hesitation; no fear in her eyes, despite what he had told her before. They hadn't really spoken since then, other then the safe topics of the pack, their family of strangers, the weather for christ sake. Anything to keep away from the obvious topic that loomed beneath them. He didn't blame her of course, it was a lot to take and when she had vanished for a day or two he didn't chase her as he would have before- he let her have her space and just hoped deep inside that she was going to come home.... come back to him. She had promised to never leave him and so far, she had kept that promise.

<b>"Hey."</b> he almost whispered as she pressed into his side, and his nose sought out her hip as she brushed passed him. With a half, almost shy smile he offered the plant dangling between his teeth to the beautiful wolf before him. <b>"Got you a present..."</b>
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<blockquote> The flower dangling from his mouth bought on a long misplaced face splitting smile. The pretty yellow flower looked just as ridiculous dangling from his jaws as it had the first time. <b>”I guess I’m supposed to go find a beaver dam to throw you off now? I don’t think they live this high...”</b> she teased her love, the laughter clear in her eyes. Everything leading up to this had been a beautiful disaster. How did they ever get here?

Her stomach squirmed happily. It seemed the pups were enjoying their fathers presence and voice as much as she was and while she had recently become aware their midnight acrobatics were driving him from her side at all hours of the night, he had the option of moving away from them. She did not. A small grimace crossed her face as a particularly nasty kick was delivered to her kidney. She wished they would just get out already. Attempting to maintain her good mood, another teasing smile crossed her face. <b>”So have you had any thoughts on names yet?”</b></blockquote>

<blockquote>It was so nice to see her smiling again, even if it was over a stupid little flower. Her smile radiated every part of her, gave her a glow that made his heart beat a little faster when she looked at him. Her teasing, yes he got it now, drew a smirk to his lips as he cocked a brow in her direction. <b>"I think I'll pass on the dam... though I wouldn't mind watching you poke a beaver in the face again."</b> he said as he allowed his nose to roam to her ears where he nestled the wet sniffer against her fine fur.

Her question took his attention from her scent then, names? Of course he didn't have any names in mind, he still hadn't even acknowledge the pups presence and refused to believe that they were coming and that he was a father. It was better to just pretend she was getting fat rather then getting more and more pregnant. The dark male swallowed then, the lump in his throat refused to move as he simply looked at her in silence. He didn't want to upset her, it was clear she was excited about the pups coming, despite her bad mood swings, and by saying he didn't want to know would just upset her. So, he glanced around him, here and there for inspiration when his eyes landed on a trumpet shaped flower in a lavender hue. He knew it's name, somewhere in his mind that plant had a name and a property which was useful to them...

<b>"Datura."</b> he said, the name coming to him out of the blue. He wasn't sure he cared for the name, but it was a flower... she liked flower. Oh geez, had he just named his child after a flower?! His mind scolded him, but his expression remained almost hopeful that he had suggested something useful.
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<blockquote> There was no shaking the smile that plastered her face. <i>She</i> wasn’t too keen on reliving the beaver dam experience herself. Her heart had almost stopped when she saw him fall into the water. Her paw twinged at the thought of the little monsters teeth and she playfully nipped at his cheek while waving her paw teasingly. <b>”How about I poke you in the face?”</b> she suggested with a giggle. It really was nice to feel herself for a change and even the little monsters were were behaving themselves.

It was her own little way of forcing him to acknowledge them. It was surreal enough for her and she felt their every movement. It wouldn’t be long now and they couldn’t just race about calling them <i>‘Hey you!’</i> Or could they...?

His response surprised her, pleasantly so. She had already been thinking on names for girls. <b>”I like Belladonna... and Lily.”</b> It would seem they were on the same track of thinking with the names. They were the poisoned wolves after all. Their brood should have names to match.</blockquote>

<blockquote>Oh lord, they were naming their kids after flowers. Something about the way she just came out with them, no inspiration needed, made him think she'd been planning such names all along. He wasn't really surprised, just didn't want to acknowledge the fact his children were going to be named after friggin' flora. For that moment they were his children, and he almost felt sorry for them with their name choice. He'd never really thought he'd have children, it wasn't exactly on his list of things to do in life, but that didn't mean he wanted them to have sissy names.

Still, he had the chance to salvage one of them, put his faith in one of the children to uphold his name and his ways; that child would be given a name more fitting then just any old flower. Of course, he couldn't stray far from their theme, their entire life was made up around the god damn flowers, but there were those with stronger, more masculine names then others... he just couldn't quite think of what it was. Still; they didn't even know how many there were going to be, er, blessed with. It could be one, two... heck, it could be ten for all he knew. He had no idea how many were going to come into the world later in the year. One would be enough, he was certain he could keep one alive...two? That might be pushing it but 3? Jinkies.

<b>"I didn't realise you were giving birth to a bouquet."</b> he teased finally, his face hiding the daunting thoughts that crossed his mind at their very existence. No, as ever, he had to be strong and macho. She was the only wolf who had ever put faith in him... he wasn't about to make her lose that faith any time soon.
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<blockquote> It would seem he was in a good mood too. From the stillness in her stomach she had to wonder if the pups were being still because they too loved the sound of his voice or if they were horrified at the names their parents were playfully throwing about. Sometimes, she worried. Her pups wouldn’t have the easiest upbringing. The terrain was hardly an easy place to survive but they would be loved, and they would grow up strong (or so she hoped). That would be all that mattered.

She needed to broach the subject of her patient though. They had hardly seen each other since she and Ava had taken their lesson on the mountain. But she wouldn’t keep secrets from him. <b>”I took Ava up the mountain for a lesson the other day... We made quite the discovery...”</b> Her voice trailed off unsure of how to continue. Taking on a near death wolf was risky, it would put a strain on their pack but Naira was a strong believer in Karma.

<b>”A young wolf, near death. I think he was attacked my a lion or bear, though why a bear would wander this high... We... I... bought him home. He’s slowly improving...</b> She took a moment to let the news sink in. All he had smelled of was death when they had taken him to the lake and since all he had smelled of was pine needles she used to line the small den she was keeping him in and the herbs she was using to heal him. <b>”I don’t even know his name. He’s been so delirious...”</b> but he was spending less time having fever dreams and more time sleeping. The food he was being force fed was slowly adding weight to his tattered skeletal frame.

She had a stubborn set to her shoulders. It was clear she was not going to throw him out until he was able to stand on his own feet. <b>”I can take you to see him if you want...?”</b> although she was sure he knew where the wolf was being kept she hadn’t detected his scent in the area. </blockquote>

It was all going so well. ;_;

<blockquote>Still. He was still, calm. He listened, he digested but he made no move nor sound. She had been hiding a stranger amongst them? The sneaky woman. How on earth had he not even noticed the scent of a stranger loitering around their terrain. No doubt Naira and Ava had done their best to disguise it, though he didn't blame Ava. Naira was always pushing her luck with him, testing his limits but this came pretty close to bringing him to the edge. Not that he was showing that at this point. No, he was calm and collected, thoughtful perhaps as he simply listened.
Why she felt the need to go behind his back all the time he'd never understand. Was he that terrible that she felt as if she couldn't simply talk to him? Well, alright perhaps he was and he had a wicked bad temper, but he still felt a little out of joint that she had kept this a secret from him.

<b>"How long as he been here?"</b> he said, keeping his breath steady and casual. In his mind he was going through all of the scenarios; he was a spy, it was a trick, he'd be missed from another pack who would think they damaged him and took him hostage, he was sponging off Naira's good nature, he was here for evil deeds. The list of possibilities was endless and without seeing the wolf, smelling his scent (if there was any left of course, he didn't know but he assumed Naira wouldn't be stupid enough to take in a wolf who was from a pack that wanted them dead) and speaking to him, he could make no logical judgement just yet- and that really pissed him off.

<b>"Honestly woman. What is wrong with you?"</b> he finally said, his tone still eerily calm as his hackles bristled. <b>"We are under threat from two packs. Two. Out of three in the area. You decide to play nurse to a stranger who could be from anyone of those packs."</b> he continued, but his softer tones started to waver with a tint of anger. <b>"He could be a spy, he could be here to hurt you, he could be here to reveal our den or something. Why must you insist to put your faith in every wolf you meet?!"</b> he was louder by this point, not quite a shout but it wasn't far off. His gaze bored into her own as he spoke, his expression changed from neutral to serious and from serious to down right annoyed. <b>"You will be the death of us. Of me, of your children, of our pack if you continue acting like some princess locked in a tower. You leave the territory to mingle with Triell... alone. You vanish all the time to god knows where doing god knows what. You then think its a fantastic idea to bring a stranger here and care for him when he can't even tell you his name or where he is from?!"</b> oh yes, there was the shouting and he has risen to stand and meet her head on at this point, his rage near to blinding him as his lips pulled back to reveal his canines. <b>"I have put my neck, literally my neck on the line to ensure your safety, everything I do is to keep you safe but will you do me the same courtesy? No. You carry on bringing the enemy, those who want to kill me, right to our door darling."</b> he spat with a scowl. <b>"It's the least you could do for the way I've treated you, protected you, given you a home and found you friends. No, you carry on. If you like, would you rather I just skipped merrily down to the River now and hand myself over? Skip all these silly little games you're playing and be done with it?"</b> though he wasn't expecting an answer, and he wasn't going to do that either- he was a smart wolf, or so he liked to think.

Talking her didn't work, tracking her didn't work, begging her didn't work- did he have to physically restrain her in order to protect her? It was looking more and more like it.
An ugly snarl escaped his lips and surprising himself, he took a snap towards her muzzle. <b>"Get home. Now."</b>
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(This post was last modified: May 11, 2012, 08:59 PM by Rhysis.)

<a href='http://becuffin.tumblr.com/post/20402365598/fyeahroleplayingrabbit-i-know-somewhere-deep' target='_blank'>All I can say...</a>

<blockquote> His casual tone cut her more than outright rage would. She knew deep down he probably wanted to rip her throat out. <b>”We bought him in from the lake last night, down from the mountain the day before. He can’t stand, let alone comprehend where he is. It’ll be a miracle if he survives the week.”</b> she admitted quietly, expecting this was the calm before the storm. She was right.

<i>”You decide to play nurse to a stranger who could be from anyone of those packs.”</i> <b>”He doesn’t smell of any pack, nor does he look as if he has been anywhere near one for at least a month.”</b> she retorted just as calmly. Did he think her completely stupid? Besides, even if he was from one of those packs with the deluded concept they were out to destroy the world, their care for him could only be reflected in a good light right?

<i>"He could be a spy, he could be here to hurt you, he could be here to reveal our den or something. Why must you insist to put your faith in every wolf you meet?!"</i> <b>He can’t even lift his head and I suspect <i>if</i> he manages to survive, it’ll be a miracle if he ever speaks again.”</b> she was still trying to keep her tone level but she knew he was beyond pissed at her this time. She hadn’t left pack lands beyond her trip with Ava, a necessary lesson, for weeks.

His words continued, growing angrier and angrier with each word. It felt like there was a stampede in her stomach and as he snapped at her muzzle, she bared her teeth in response and her own ears pinned to her skull. She summoned as much dignity as she could and began to waddle back towards the den with a troupe of breakdancers doing their darndest to knock her off her feet. It was time to check on the stranger anyway.</blockquote>

(This post was last modified: May 12, 2012, 11:53 AM by Naira.)

He's such a butt. <3 PPing their walking home, hope that's OK!

<blockquote>He allowed her to take the lead, but she never fell from his sights as he followed her home. He wasn't going to belive she would simply go home as ordered, she had proven over and over that she cared little for what he said. It was obvious that he would be sleeping outside of the den again tonight, but in a way he was glad because those little forms in her belly had been keeping him up most nights, deciding to breakdace along his side or spine as he tried to sleep. He could use this little tiff, though it was probably their most serious, as an excuse to stretch outside and sleep peacefully... well, as peacefully as he could for him, which would normally be a few hours, tossing and turning, waking often to check she was still there.

The path to their home was well hidden and unmarked, purposely so as not to draw attention to it. The dark plants that lined the entrance beckoned them home, a beacon with no light and as the two trail into their home he could help but let his curiosity surface. <b>"Take me to him."</b> was all he said as he pulled up to the side of his female, allowing his shoulder to nudge against hers. Not an apology, he rarely said sorry, but reassurance that he was here, no matter how often they fought and no matter how angry he got with her.

In truth he wasn't sure how he was going to react. He needed to see and smell the wolf before he could make any assumptions. If he was as ill as Naira had said, then he would make the call whether to keep up his survival or to end his life there and then. She would of course be pissed if he killed the wolf she was trying to save but well, safety first and all that.

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