Riddle Heights Are you sick like me?

For @Aspen

There was a certain edge in her steps that crushed the fresh powder that riddled the ground everywhere as the woman in white found herself padding out of the thinning treeline of the forest and up a slope that gradually grew steeper, thankful to finally be free of whatever mundane place she had found herself the last month after a freak blizzard had her directions all turned around. Of course she never knew where she was since coming to the lore and today was no exception as she began to traverse the rocky terrain around her. It's not like she stayed in one place for long anyways, but the woman was on a mission today. Thanks to that stupid snow storm she had lost her precious wolf skull that she snagged of a poor blokes corpse and now was hell bent on searching the surrounding area to find her precious. "Where are you, my friend?!" She called out to the lonely heights as if the pile of bone could answer her with its whereabouts and reunite the two.

Silence was the only thing to answer her minus the rustle of nearby shrubs as a hare darted out for its burrow, clearly frightened by her presence. This displeased the woman and she emitted a low rumbling growl in the cavity of her chest while continuing onward, her two contrasting orbs scanning every inch of dirty and shrubbery for the slightest sign of her beloved skull. "Nobody better have laid a single toe on you or else i'll personally detach it from their paw." Hexamora grumbled in her predicament before giving a brush that happened to be too close to her a violent shake with a swipe of her paw, intent on removing the last bits of foliage that clung to the decaying branches as if it was the bush's fault her skull was lost. Where could it possibly be? Then a thought came to her mind. What if she found a poor soul and just took their skull as a replacement? Her old one was so filthy, dull and chipped from being dragged everywhere across the lands. She did love new toys and a brand new, freshly skinned skull would definitely be a nice replacement. The question that remained though was who would be the kind fool to donate their head?

@Hexamora

A low rumble emitted from deep within Aspen's chest as he stalked through the powdery flakes that covered the rocky and dangerous ground in a thick, white blanket. His head was lowered, muzzle practically brushing the crystalline flakes, ears constantly on the move. He had picked up the scent of a predator, a lynx to be exact, and on a whim had decided to follow the trail in the hopes to find it and relieve himself of the boredom that was constantly and currently plaguing him. All his life he had been searching for distractions, complications to distract his mind before it began to rot from lack of use. He needed something to do or he became worse than ever, a monster stuck in a corner that had no choice but to fight back against its attackers to break free. That was the curse of having a brilliant mind; it needed an audience to show off to, or it was nothing.

When the call for a friend rang out in the lonely heights, the corners of Aspen's lips twitched up in a grin, his eyes blazing with an eagerness that could only be described as psychopathic. His companion had come back to play the game. Lifting his head up, goldenrod eyes scanned the immediate area, he breathed in deeply through his nose, tail twitching when he received the rich aroma that only the off white female possessed. The players were back in the game, and it was time to start again where they had left off before. Ears pricked forward, the Psychopathic Flirt started towards where he knew she would be, and as if she was a siren calling to him, her words reached his ears once more, this time speaking of violence, vengeance, and all that which came in between. Smile still in place, he chuckled softly to himself, eyes narrowing slightly in amusement. Yes, she was the perfect player alright.

When his goldenrod eyes found her diminutive form violently swiping a paw at an already dead bush, Aspen paused, lips pulling back in a fully fledged grin, purring softly. He watched silently as she removed all of the foliage from the decaying branches, as if taking her anger out on it, brows raising meticulously. "What did the bush ever do to you to receive your mighty wrath?" His words were teasing, but his serious expression said otherwise. It would be up to her to decide which one to take cues from, as he certainly wouldn't tell her. That would be playing fair, and he never played fair.

429 Words

@Aspen

Attempting to beat the bush into a sappy pulp she had not noticed the slowly approaching man who now watched with an amused grin tugging at the black lining of his lips, finding such entertainment in her distress. It was his words that soon followed, a voice vaguely familiar that momentarily washed away the red that cloaked her vision and caused her body to spin on a dime to face this stranger, stained canines flashing in warning. She hated being snuck up on, but had the nonexistent gods or whatever they were answered her mental request to find a replacement skull? Before her stood the golden man from the deep forest in all his glory, instantly switching her lips from a snarl to a mischievous grin at the memory from their last encounter. So the player had come to donate his skull for her. How thoughtful and oh so perfect. His skull would make such a pretty decor for her den back at Phantom Hollow. Keeping this in mind she smoothed out her guard hairs and tapped into her inner charm, settling her bi-colored gaze upon that of his goldenrod one without so much as a flinch. "It appears that someone has stolen my precious skull. This bush was withholding information on its whereabouts and had to pay the price." She answered coolly mirroring the serious look that rested upon his maw while her words held the exact opposite.

"But the better question is why are you here. Did you miss me that much?" She teased while the corner of her lips formed a small smirk, her body slowly waltzing in a circle towards him as her gaze dropped to scan over his frame. All intentions of finding her skull were purposely abandoned at the door as her attention was now settled solely upon him, though there was an ulterior motive to this little game between them. If he was as fun as she imagined there was a chance she could persuade him to help find her precious. Surely there was something she could offer to make the idea more appealing to him and whatever it was she was surely to know a way to get out of it. Hexamora never kept her debts. She was the queen at finding loop holes out of things. Bringing her body in closer to his she allowed just the end of her tail to flick upwards and tickle the underside of his chin as she passed him by, letting a mysterious gleam reflect in the pools of her orbs. Oh what fun she would have with this one.

@Hexamora

The off white female spun swiftly on her heels to face him when he spoke, teeth bared silently in a warning that he should clearly heed. But like the wolf he was, he completely ignored it with a single raise of his eyebrow, a challenge of sorts. He had no doubt she would go through with her warning. He wanted her to. When her bi-coloured eyes scanned over his body, her snarl instantly switched to a mischievous grin. So she remembered their previous encounter. Good. She knew the rules: don't hold back, do what you want, be ruthless beyond imagine, never be fair. This was going to be so much fun.

Her hackles lowered, bi-coloured eyes settling on his without so much as a flinch, words pouring out of her mouth in a low purr, mirroring the serious expression he was currently harboring. Aspen chuckled darkly, shaking his head slightly from side to side at her words. Of course, it was so obvious. How had he not seen it for himself? "And so you set out to destroy it. I like your style." She was playing the game exactly by the rules, how it should be played when the real players emerged for some fun. The Psychopathic Flirt remained silent as she spoke again in a teasing tone, her lithe body slowly prowling around him in a circle, slowly but surely moving inwards, her gaze scanning over his large frame. He watched her with a wary gaze of his own, the barest hints of a smirk on his face. She would likely have an ulterior motive to her actions, just as he did, and he rumbled softly as she slipped closer to him, the tip of her tail gently flicking the underside of his chin, a mysterious gleam in her eyes. She wanted something from him, and he knew she would get it one way or another. He wanted it to be on his terms, however.

Turning his head to follow her movements, Aspen clicked his teeth together, a menacing sound that spoke of ill intentions. "I came here to play the game," he said lowly, ears flicking back away from her, remnants of a sneer on his face as if it was blatantly obvious. Lowering his head to be on her height level, the Psychopathic Flirt silently bared his teeth at her, eyes narrowing dangerously, filled with a Machiavellian gleam. "Missing you means that I would have had to care for you, even just a little bit. Caring is not an advantage in the world. It leaves you open to be manipulated." His words were full of a hidden meaning as he spoke, indirectly telling her that if she chose to continue with the game, whatever happened, would not be on him, and that he held absolutely no care for her welfare whatsoever. She was merely a distraction to him, and nothing more.

This was her last chance to back out of the game and leave for good, or join him forever in their battle of minds.

508 Words

Sorry for the blah reply

Hex gave a disinterested flick of her ear as he rambled on about the downfall of caring for another as if she didn't already know the consequences of doing so. As the words fell from his lips they went in one ear and out the other without a second thought. That angelic; or demonic tone to be more fitting in her case, tone resurfaced as she spoke her response. "Oh drat. I was hoping you missed me so I could play with your strings like the good puppet you are." A dramatic sigh passed her lips before a small eye roll followed as she came to a stop before him, letting her haunches roll back into a sitting position while the faintest of smirks began to form on the ebony lining of her lips. Of course she wouldn't mind manipulating him to do her bidding as she saw fit and perhaps she could do so now to get him to help find her lost precious. She needed to get her skull back if she planned to fill the walls of her den with the heads of fallen, pathetic souls. Being her first in the collection it meant the most to her.    

"But I do think a strong, handsome man like you could spare some time to help a poor, helpless damsel like myself? Maybe I could help you in return." Her wicked charm flicked on as she put on a show for him, her eyes taking on an oh so innocent stare as she met his goldenrod gaze to portray the perfect example of a damsel in distress. Nobody had been able to resist her act before and surely this man wouldn't either unless he was smarter than she assumed and she did think he was smart from the way he had acted back in the deep forest with that other male. So charming, so dangerous. This would be a game of the ages between these two.