Secret Falls All I Ask of You

@Jessie

The northern lights are particularly brilliant tonight.

Hotei Tainn

Usually the man stayed within the borders of Oak Tree Bend, as he was striving for the role of Guardian. But tonight, tonight was different. He needed air, he needed to breathe. For some reason, the burnt man needed to just get away. As he walked, he couldn't help but wonder if he ever conquered the Tainn curse after all. For, wasn't he leaving? But no, he wasn't leaving for good. There was a wolf that depended on him, for he knew that if he broke her trust once again, he would never be able to truly have her as his. For what relationship worked without trust? And not only did he have to take Jessie's feelings into account, but Triell's as well. The man was not only his alpha, but his brother as well. The younger man had made it clear. One chance and once chance only. Hotei wasn't foolish enough to try the man's word.

The sound of rushing water made his ears prick in attention. Not realizing before that he was parched, Hotei followed the source of the sound. He came upon the view crashing water all around him, the roaring of the Falls pounding in his ears. He bent his head to take a drink. Lapping up the cool liquid, the man raised his head, his muzzle drenched. His muscular form tensed as he was met with the most beautiful sight in the world. Blue's blurred with greens, red with yellows, purple with pink. All combined to create a masterpiece for his eyes alone. Hotei was one that usually kept his emotions at bay, cut off from stranger's views, but this time he simply couldn't contain the awe that filled his yellow orbs. He had seen the Northern Lights before, but this one seemed to top all of them.

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She had been trying to get over the memory of her dearest Fenru. She had truly viewed him as her younger brother and his leaving deeply wounded her especially since he had not spoken to her about it. Most of those close to her were gone now, and Jessie found herself anxiously watching those around her, in fear that they too would perish or leave again. The woman had been keeping a special eye on her darling Hotei, fearing that he too would leave her behind in the pack alone. He had sworn that he would try to do nothing to hurt her, but considering their past the Swiftpaw had reason to doubt him.

As Head Scout, she had recently been looking around for new scent trails and reporting back to more of the subordinates, letting them know what she had found out, hoping that soon, someone would gather a hunting group to go out and fill the caches. However, as she was reporting back today, she caught the familiar scent of a certain Tainn, heading away from their home. Fear immediately gripped at her heart and she turned in the direction of where the burnt male's scent was leading, not hesitating to follow it. She didn't know why she was doing this, but she just...needed to make sure that he was definitely not leaving her...them.

She did well in avoiding the Red Fern Forest as she followed him, remembering quite vividly what she had found in that haunted place with Fenru and Ice. When he did end up coming to a stop, the small gray woman simply stared at the cascading water in front of her, not making a sound. He didn't seem to have any sort of reason for being there, but she still had to make sure, and so she stepped forward, her emerald eyes lowering in guilt as she approached Hotei. Softly, she cleared her throat, "Hello, darling...mmm...how has the pack been treating you?" So formal she was, and it was unknown to her as to why she was speaking in such away. It just felt...like her daily routine. It was comfortable.

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Hotei Tainn

He sensed her before he saw her, like always. His fur seemed electric as she neared him. How long had she been following him? Why had she been following him? She cleared her throat, and his ears pricked backwards in am attentive manner to show that he was listening. She questioned of how the pack was treating him, and he mentally rose a brow at her formal tone but chose to say nothing about it at the time being. "Good," he rumbled, still not looking at her. "Drestig seems like a good man," he continued. In his own way, he was telling her he had made a friend. The burnt man wasn't a very open wolf, perfectly content to just stay in the shadows, preferably Jessie by his side. He turned his large head to finally look at her, and his yellow orbs bored down into her jade green eyes. Beautiful, was all he could think.

No matter how hard he had tried to keep them up, Jessie had broken every one of his defenses. Time and time again. Even now, she needed to do nothing and he already felt vulnerable, stripped of every piece of armor he had previously owned. "Come 'ere," he spoke after a long moment of just staring at her. Not with the gaze of a lovesick fool, but of a man who finally realized what precious jem he really had. And never wanted to let it go again. His tone held unusual affection, for usually he wasn't so open with his feelings. Or let them become so visible. He wanted to hold her in his embrace, and for once, let his actions speak louder than his words. He didn't want to dissapoint her anymore.

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She appreciated the small flicker of his ear that told her that he was listening to her. His reply shocked her, but also pleased her greatly. She was glad that she met this man. Jessie had only seen him once, and it had been very briefly when Nayeli had first come into the pack. She chest rumbled softly in response to his words, which issued her own acceptance to him. She was glad that he was fitting in now, much better than he had in Swift River. When his command for her to come forward issued forth, she did not hesitate to move to his side, her ears flickering curiously at his tone. Never had she had the pleasure of ever hearing him sound like that when he was first greeting her, but the woman took this in positive stride and happily pressed her small head against his shoulder, inhaling his scent.

Her emerald eyes then lifted to the sky, widening in surprise, and she shrunk slightly into her mate. What she was to make of this, she didn't know but she was certainly going to cherish each moment of it. She turned her head towards him for a moment her jaws parting so that she could speak to him, "What are those...? They are beautiful." She then returned her curious gaze to the lights in the sky, her jaws parted in awe at the beautiful scene before her. Never had she encountered something like this before, and certainly not with someone she loved.

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Hotei Tainn

She didn't hesitate to come to him, and he smiled slightly as she pressed her small head against his shoulder. Before he could reciprocate in the way he wanted, her attention was caught by the masterpiece in the sky. Hotei chuckled at her awe, the sound rumbling deep in his chest. He looked up at the evening sky, a blur of colors, and then glanced back to the woman beside him. Yes, the lights were beautiful, but not as beautiful as Jessie. Was he being a complete sop? Probably. But in moments like this that he shared with his mate, were the only moments that his heart was light. It had been a long time since that feeling, and it made him glad that he had decided to come back to Relic Lore. Realizing that he still owed her an answer, he lowered his head to nudge her chin upwards with his muzzle.

Gazing into her green orbs he rumbled, "I believe they're called the Northern Lights. I've only seen them a pawful of times in my five years. But this one.." Hotei trailed off and looked back into the sky, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. "This one seems to surpass them all." He grinned and then looked back down at his mate, his yellow orbs shining brightly. For once, no walls. He held ultimate trust in her, even with their relationship's ups and downs. "Im glad you're here with me, love." He stepped away from her a little and lowered himself to the ground and into a sphinx like position. Encouraging her to lay beside him with a nod of his head to the spot beside him, his grin morphed into a smirk. "Now that were on the subject of you being here, what are you doing here? Just couldn't seem to keep your distance, huh Jes?" He couldn't help but tease her. Hotei loved when they bantered, it didn't matter if they were fighting or not, sparks just seemed to fly. It showed that even if the whole damn world and their circumstances didn't believe them to be compatible, they damn well were.

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She watched the skies in endless wonder, his grayish white ears twitching towards where Hotei's voice sounded, her voice getting stuck in her throat. The ethereal beauty of everything amazed her greatly and she, very reluctantly, moved her eyes to her mate's with his simple touch of her muzzle. How dearly she had missed him, and she felt odd on the inside when he spoke to her, his words and tone foreign to her. She found that she liked it though and so she made no comment and simply listened. It amazed her to now know that this was her Hotei saying such words to her, and it struck her deep into her heart. This was a different man than the one that had once left her so long ago in Swift River, heartbroken and crushed. And though sometimes she longed for Burn's possessive, dominant nature to take over him, she did not mind this new change.

She blushed profusely when he asked the next question the devil in her mind begging her to lie to him. Jess was not perfect and so she easily complied to her inner demons. Opening her mouth, the lie guiltily slipped through her lips with ease, "When I left the territory, I found the scent of deer. As I was tracking it, I ran into your scent and decided to see what you were up to. I haven't really spoken to you...or....anyone for quite some time." She convinced herself that the lie was true so that she would not feel bad about it later and looked up at him, a small, playful smile playing on her dark lips as she waited for his response.

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Hotei Tainn

The warm fuzzy feelings in his heart evaporated at her words. He should've known, for they never lasted long. His yellow orbs, that had before become liquid with his love, hardened as he let the beast within him rage and have its fun. He knew Jessie, knew her inside and out. He could read her every tell and could sense when she was feeding him bullshit. And at this moment in time, that was exactly what she was doing. A scowl made his way onto his handsome features as he stood and towered over his angel that made him live in both heaven and hell. "Are you sure you following me had nothing to do with thinking that I was leaving?" He didn't bother to hide the bitterness in his tone, nor his anger. He snorted, letting the fire within him grow hotter with each passing second. Would he ever be truly free of this anger, this fire that always seemed to be ready to ignite? And he had been doing so damn good too.

He growled slightly, stepping closer and looking down at her pretty face. "Dammit Jessie. You can't bullshit me, I know your every damn tell. Why don't you fucking tell me the truth? That you dont trust me. And that shit really pisses me off." He had one hell of a sailor mouth when he was on a roll. "I'm a changed man, Jess. And I hate that you can't fucking see it." Hotei's eyes softened, a little of his anger fading away. "Your a damn fool to think I'd leave you again, Jessie. A damn fool." Was he still angry? Hell yes. Hotei could only wonder if their relationship would ever be normal. Because damn, fighting this much could not be healthy.

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Just as he knew her, she knew him, and Jessie could easily feel his radiating happiness drip into an empty pool of nothing. He knew. There was no denying this, and Jessie remained perfectly still and normal hoping that this moment would pass and that he truly did believe what she was saying. They were having a pleasant evening and she truly hoped that she had not ruined it with her slight lie. But, of course, their relationship together was never easy and she should not have been surprised when he towered over her and began to yell. Taking a deep breath she did her best to calm him, "I don't know what your-" but she didn't have time to finish her statement, because soon he was just taking off again, screaming and ranting at her. The Swiftpaw was just glad that he hadn't gotten physical with her...yet.

It seemed that the Burn she had been waiting to see for so long had returned and he seemed more ready then ever to make sure she hurt and once again submitted to his will. Gritting her teeth together, her emerald eyes flashed dangerously at him, as she too got to her feet, her own voice raising to match his in their own symphony. "Don't you dare tell me who I can and cannot trust. You have promised me things plenty of times, and as soon as you promise me something, you break it. What the hell kind of relationship is that to you? Just by being here doesn't prove anything to me. We've hardly spoken at all. You may have proved to the pack that your staying. But for all I know you could just be PLAYING WITH ME!!!" She remained silent then, going to turn away from him and walking to the waterfall, her chest rising and falling quickly as she tried to catch her breath from her rant.

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(This post was last modified: Jul 19, 2014, 11:44 PM by Jessie.)

Hotei Tainn

Her words almost felt like a physical blow. Did she really just say that? Did she, in all seriousness, feel that way? Or was that just the anger talking? He didn't have time to ponder over it, because words spewed out of his mouth like venom. His anger seemed to raise a couple notches as he easily moved to intercept her with his large build. "You have every reason to not trust me Jessie, for I know the shit I've done in the past. But don't you ever give me that bullshit of me playing with you." A growl rumbled deep within his chest, and his yellow orbs seemed to spark with his ire. "One thing you should never doubt about me is my love for you. 'Cause through all my fuckups and our shit, I fucking kept on loving you. So don't you dare feed me that bullshit." He stopped, his breaths shallow as he tried to regain his control.

It seemed his emotions were like a roller coaster. The constant ups and downs in his moods were beginning to really annoy him. Usually he could keep his temper in control, but whenever him and Jessie were together, sooner or later they would get into an argument. It was inevitable, really. She seemed to always be the one to light his fuse. As he opened his maw to speak, the anger in his tone had diminished greatly and all that was really left was frustration. "What the hell do you want me to do, to prove to you, that I am here to stay. Im here for you, for us. You want me to talk to you more? Fine, whatever. Just tell me what the hell to do, cause I sure as fuck don't know how to prove to you that Im here for good." His yellow orbs bored into Jessie's green gaze, searching for the answers he so desperately needed. How the hell did she not realize that he would go to the ends of the earth for her?

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She remained silent as he ranted out his anger, doing her best to block out his words, even though that never worked anyway, and tried to look like she was not paying attention to his words. Her emerald gaze was caught on the water as she focused on the current and rhythm of the water. She had not been fishing in quite some time...and that was mainly due to the fact that he usual partners were no longer here with her. The thought made her ears flatten against her head. Ice and Fenru were gone now. The Swiftpaw had cared for both men very much, but she knew she could never mention Ice to Hotei, for she knew how much he didn't favor him, how much he despised the man that had made him leave Swift River. But at that time Hotei had been being an idiot and he had deserved what he had been dealt, even if it had hurt her to her very core; especially after he promised that he would behave himself.

She remained still, her jaw clenching tight when she heard the words that escaped from his mouth and once again she had something on him. Turning her head to look at him, she shook her head quickly, her jaws snapping harshly at him as she spoke, "See that's just it, Hotei. You don't know how to prove it to me and that is a huge problem. I wish you would understand, I really do. But we can't be together unless you figure something out." She turned her head then, not wanting to look into his eyes and see the possibility of betrayal in them, but Jessie knew that they couldn't be together unless he made his decision.

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