Drooping Willows ive been doing this wrong

@Skoll only | March 4, 2015 | After Nightfall | On the outskirts of Drooping Willows | Freezing fog; 12 ° F, -11 ° C

There are darknesses in life and there are lights,

saint & sinner

and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.

Crunch, crunch, crunch

Snowy paws fell upon a freshly frozen ground. The surface underneath gave a soft crunching sound underneath. It was silent enough to not fully give her away but also loud enough for anyone within five or six feet to hear her coming. Although the last of the Saint's concerns was someone creeping up on her. Unless that someone happened to be her someone. Now that she wouldn't mind...

Shaking the foolish thought at of her mind the near woman found herself lashing out at simply nothing. A bit on edge, feeling rather awkward, and of course feeling a want of male's more than ever. It was an almost disgusting feeling to say the least. Piety found herself somewhere between wanting male's attention and wanting to bite off their faces. Now of course she was feeling more likely to beg and hunt down Skoll, if even for small hello before disappearing again. Often times the two seemed to work on different schedules. Him being more prone to walking around at night and she moving towards the day. Polar opposites for the most part.

This night though she found herself up wide and awake. The woman would have thought she was getting sick or having some sort of rash with this sort of heat boiling inside of her. Maybe that's why she sought out not only the touch of Skoll's comfort but also the soothing freezing fog. The saint was almost sure he was around. She had been tracking him, not for that long though, but enough to understand some of his ways. How he danced through the willow trees like a shadow under the moon. How his paws would grace the land so lightly the only thing you could catch to know he was around was he so enticing sent. Oh how these thoughts caused her fur to raise with sudden excitement. Yes, Skoll had to be around. The snow woman was sure of it.

shutterstock / Grey / 2015

(This post was last modified: Mar 05, 2015, 06:06 AM by Piety.)

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Being a little vague... might change some details or expound them later upon the advancement of this thread. <3

SAINT & SINNER

Sköll had done it again. Who knew or who had found out had yet to be accounted for, but all the dark prince had come to realize was that the deed had to be done. His instincts and ego required it of him; his conscience had asked it of him for the sake of Willow Ridge's well-being. Blood dripped down the front of his chest, the black-and-white fur matted at his throat and chin. It had taken some time for the adrenaline to wear off but once it had, there was nothing left to do but crawl towards his secluded space and curl up to rest. The scent of plasma might not have been bothersome but something about this time of year - when the weather had begun to grow warmer and the sun had actually had the chance to come out - had taken his senses for quite a ride. Every so often he snorted in attempt to keep the various perfumes from bombarding his olfactory senses. It didn't work; and, when he managed to get comfortable on top of the mound of mud that had kept his treasures safe for the winter, he had fallen asleep with the tip of his tail draped over the tip of his nose.

_____________

It was amazing what a decent nap could do for the spirit. Having woken up from a short snooze beneath his willow tree, Sköll Archer was refreshed, reenergized, and a bit... antsy... now that he thought of it. His nostrils flared and for a moment he went dizzy, wobbling on his four lanky limbs. Fuck. He steadied himself by leaning against a nearby tree trunk; and, where he had expected smooth willow bark, rough pine scraped at his shoulder, ensnaring in it a tuft of his lavish winter coat. The scent, it seemed, was everywhere now. On every tree, coming up through the ground, on every newly sprouted bit of green, in the godforsaken air for crying out loud.

He held himself very still and it t felt as though his mind were spinning inside his skull. What was worse was the fact that a pressure had begun to worsen in his gut and the base of his spine and nothing, not the lashing of his tail nor the ache in his limbs from a quick sprint, could currently relieve him of it. It must have been something primal that he had yet to understand, something that his mother and step-father had forgotten to tell him. As far as he understood, though, he assumed it had to be stemmed from the fact that it was nearly time for him to prove his worth to the whole of Willow Ridge. Even in his dreams he had relished the visions and fanciful sensations of sparring, savored the domination of every other male beneath Angier one by one.

The thought sent a chill down between his shoulder blades and sent him into motion, ambling aimlessly forward. His breathing came in heavy puffs before he released a frustrated growl towards no one else but himself. A sliver of satisfaction lightened his chest before it contracted again with an overwhelming sense of need. He took a deep breath, coughing twice before rubbing his nose against his right wrist to no avail.

It smelled here, but the more he attempted to breath normally, the more he soon came to realize that he was no longer alone this far away from his favorite hiding place. The right side of his muzzle twitched, urged by the voice in his head to find her. Piety. Just thinking of her made his joints lock up and immediately survey his surroundings. This wouldn't be the first time he had ever seen glimpses of her through the whip-like curtains of willow branches, but he supposed that this would be the first instance in which he had met her in the dark.

Like a bloodhound honing in on a particular scent, he immediately sniffed her out. The pupils of his eyes faintly glowing an eerie green or teal hue as he also relied on the moonshine to give away her pristine white coat against the shadows. He stamped his feet into the ground, lifting his tail as he anticipated her appearance. He must have circled around and retraced her steps as her scent had begun to grow stronger with a trace of something else that riled him up from within.

What was he going to do? Assert dominance over her? He frowned at the thought. He already knew that she would probably take up a place beneath him and that she might do well serving him as a royal, but was the action enough to quell the discomfort that was churning in the whole of his chest? Perhaps he ought to give it a shot... All he had to do was locate her first and get her to stop moving around so much. It was already too much that his senses had gone haywire earlier and given him a few unpleasant dizzy spells.

After a few minutes of following her, he stopped completely, restless now and flustered by the fact that all this wandering around after her was doing nothing for the itch that had started to jab at the undersides of his paws. "Piety," he barked, just loud enough for those within a few meters to hear. It was clear that he had become impatient by the urgent whisper his tone had changed into; he didn't want anyone else besides her to hear him now. The sooner he saw his eyesome age-mate, the better. "Where do you think you're going? Come here."

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

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

OoC: So I had some fun with a bit of taking Skoll's speech and using that to fuel Piety even further, hope that doesn't bore ya<3

There are darknesses in life and there are lights,

saint & sinner

and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.

The freezing fog and cooling temperatures were certainly the thing she needed. Not feeling as hot, although still itchy, Piety decided to would be best to stop for a moment. Look around checking for @Skoll being around or making sure that no one was around. If it wasn't Skoll then the Saint wanted no one around. A loose snarl rippled out into the air causing a vibration in her throat. Some sort of tension was building. She was looking for any sort of way to let it out. Even if that meant letting it out upon nothing but the willow trees.

Before she could take a lunge at one of the stray trees she heard a voice that would cut through the fog like a teeth through flesh. It was him. The shadow she had been chasing after all this time. The darkness she craved, the thought in the back of her mind, everything she wanted. This was it.

"Piety,"

A low whine escaped from the light coated woman. Moonlight reflecting the want and need in her dry eyes. Her tail wagged behind her eager. He had shown. He was really her. "Skoll," Her voice soft and angelic only for his ears. The last thing Piety wanted was unwanted company coming in and crashing her moment with the handsome prince. Turning around fully she practically crawled towards him. Craving the satisfaction of his presence. At this time she was willing to please him the best she could. After not having full contact with him sense the little fiasco ("Forget James Bond") she had grown rather upset. Especially with all these crazy hormones raging inside her body.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"No where," A smirk teased at her lips as if to entice Skoll even closer. As much as the snow woman wanted his touch she also felt the need to play him out. Reel him in real close before dancing away. Her childish mind was mixing with her new hormones whether Piety was aware of it or not. This was what she wanted. A nice night alone with the dark coated prince. He was even more handsome when the moonlight reflected off of his eyes and pelt. His being simply shinning with everything glorious. Piety could tell he was meant for great things. He was bound to be a man in shining gold with his true colors flying high.

"Come here."

She couldn't hold herself back anymore. Her paws tiptoed across the ground till she was a solid two feet away from him. At this point she was on the verge of giving in and making him give in. Perhaps a bit of playfulness would bring out more exciting things for the two wolves. "Or," Soft tones paused to let brown eyes wander. "You could come here.." She backed up slowly with a rather new glimmer in her eyes. Not fully playful but nor was it harsh. She wanted him that much she knew, but she also was dying to know if he wanted her. There was certainly work having to be done from both parties. Of course the Saint needed to know if her Prince was willing to do some work to earn her. Nothing in life came free.

shutterstock / Grey / 2015

(This post was last modified: Mar 06, 2015, 02:08 AM by Piety.)

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SAINT & SINNER

Moonlight, coupled with the fact that the fog made it hard to see in certain places and nipped at the nose, made navigating a little more difficult. Yet when he heard her answer back in that sort of soft, endearing, and undemanding sort of way, it made the fur at the base of his skull all the way down to the middle of his shoulder blades stand up on end. It was only when he saw the haze swirl about and give way to a submissive-looking Piety that he saw her there before him. He had to hold his breath again, taken by surprise by how easily she countered him. To date, especially since the farce that had involved a majority of the Ridge's yearlings and Rook Lyall, no one was able manage such a feat without having him snarl, show his teeth, or snap back. Once upon a time, the only one to have such a privilege was his mother, Elettra; now, even she had grown to be something nearly trivial in comparison to his inflated ego.

Her smirk did not go unnoticed and the way she moved in front of him, walking about with a careful sway in her step, had the rest of him feel like he had both been chilled to the bone and set ablaze. It was uncomfortable; the whole situation made more dizzying and frustrating by the fact that with her appearance came a stronger concentration of that nose-irritating scent. The realization soon dawned on him as she drew near to him, just close enough so that one step could have brought them into contact with one another - she was a, if not the, culprit in the distribution of the strange, mood-altering perfume.

The bewilderment that had settled on his face when she had initially approached was gone and a frown had replaced it. The corners of his white-furred mouth turned downward and he looked away from her, turning his head to the side. He was in no mood for games.

When he came to look at her once more, he caught her gaze... actually got lost within those plain-as-mud irises. She backed away from him, but there was nothing about the gesture that told him she had been offended or intimidated. In fact, it felt like she was initiating some sort of dance or a ritual of sorts. She had made the first move and now it was his turn. Rolling his shoulders, he came slowly forward, maintaining the distance that she had first set between them. "Stop moving then," he ordered her, the tone in his voice as serious as they come. He could have chosen to tease and taunt her, just as she did him, but the faint static that had only begun to build up in the air around them forbid him to do so. She might have thought of this as fun or anything of the sort, but the silver-eyed royal was not going to take her bait... not without goading her in return.

"Miss Santoro," he began again, the tone in his voice lifting up in suspicion now. "You're hiding something." The accusation, while not voiced lightly, was only meant to put her on the spot and nothing more, yet he paused for a few seconds to judge her reaction to his assumption. Without much warning, he snaked towards her, bringing his blood-stained lips to her left ear; if either of them moved so much as a centimeter closer to one another, their guard hairs were going to touch. "Tell me," he purred, his voice placid and hushed like the rustle of leaves in the wind. "Tell me and I'll tell you a secret." Perhaps if he could tempt her to give up whatever information he thought she had, he would also be given the chance to have the upper hand, to circumvolve around her the way she presently did without much effort. This was definitely a first, but fear or apprehension was something the Archer was not first-handedly familiar with. When put up against Piety, he had nothing to lose - not yet.

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

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

A young deer has been separated from the rest of its herd. Hunt Opportunity

There are darknesses in life and there are lights,

saint & sinner

and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.

It seemed her knight wasn't in the mood for games. As his stern voice etched out she found a shiver being sent down her spine. His order had been made clear to the young woman and following so she stopped any movements. "Alright." Her soft voice carried a bit of a rough note in it. Clearly it seemed they weren't on the same page. Maybe @Skoll was just having a bad night was all.

Her tail danced underneath her slightly with a bit of anxiousness. What were they going to do? There seemed to be so much building tensions that she felt like she was really under force. A interesting force though. The Santoro didn't want it to go away. Instead she felt her body accepting the tension like it was some nutrition or energy source. Yet she felt some of the tension lift when the dark prince spoke in a suspicious almost accusing tone. "I am not," Her mind had flipped a switch. Going from a bit bubbly to more feisty and riled up.

Any reaction the snowy woman may have made was halted by Skoll's unexpected movement. His blood-stained lips, which she hadn't noticed, were brought right next to her left ear. His words of offering a secret if she told whatever information she had to him was tempting. Her naive mind was latching onto the bait. Piety would have to make something up and make it up quickly. She knew she was wasting precious time.

"Okay, you caught me."

A moment of a distraction to find out how she would word what she was gonna say. How hard could it be? "I've laced my scent around the willows in hopes of drawing you out here," She paused to smirk and steal a nip at the fur on Skoll's chest. His sent causing her hackles to prickle up. "And it seems it's worked." The Saint allowed her nose to draw in multiple scents. His scent, the willows, and her own perfume. Surely those three mixed together was dangerous as an angry bobcat fighting for food.

Piety flicked her tail around in a lashing motion. Her long legs slowly slid forward as if seeking shelter under Skoll's legs. "Now I get to know a secret." Whining softly she nipped at his shoulder a bit harshly before licking over the fur. "I've earned it."

shutterstock / Grey / 2015

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SAINT & SINNER

Ever so obedient, she obeyed. Not only did she cease all frivolous and ridiculously playful (they were yearlings, not cubs, weren't they?) movements, but she also divulged that she was hiding something. He exhaled, his breath exiting from his nostrils in a snort. Being this close to her, taking in the tantalizing fragrance of her fur was almost too much. The soreness in his limbs was easy to hide apart from his now slow movements and, when she admitted that her plan to draw him from his hiding place had been a success, he drew back with an accusing glare. Perhaps he had underestimated her in being a rather cunning and clever little thing. She had known that it took two to play such a game; and, the fact that Sköll had finally had someone to square up against on a mental and intellectual level, thrilled him. However, upon being lightly nipped at, he took a half-step away from her. Sure, it had been harmless, but it was something new, something he was unaccustomed to and unfamiliar with. Not even his mother and sister dared to touch the most vulnerable parts of him - the small patch of white on his chest, his throat, the underside of his trunk, the nook where his arms and shoulders met his torso...

"Now I get to know a secret," she told him, as she bowed forward with a small mewl. What she did next was not particularly out of line, but to feel her teeth briefly at his shoulder, made him want to flinch backward and away from her altogether. The action was bold, so assertive, as though she had already known that he might respond in kind. He remained in place, though, and his interest piqued when she so confidently informed him that she had earned the prize he had offered.

His tongue emerged from between his bloodied lips, sliding across the front of his nose and down the side of his maw. "But, first," he stared hard at her now, the need to remind her of her place flaring up inside him. "Don't touch me." He focused on her, searching for some semblance of understanding on her face. As much as he had wanted to wait for her to verify that she wouldn't do any more of that shoulder-nipping stuff or do so much as nuzzle up against him with the tip of her nose, he fully stepped away from her and off to the side. The full, plume-like tail behind him lowered to a more neutral position and he looked back down at her paws.

"Please, don't touch me," it was more of a plea the second time around, softer and anguished and rather desperate. After what had gone down just a few hours ago, Sköll would never forgive himself if he did so much as to actually taint her pelt with the blood on or from his own wounds. Piety, he felt, was someone pure and unsullied. The wolves of Willow Ridge could handle, avoid, and manage his adolescent outbursts and anger-driven motives, but this darling moonbeam... perhaps not. The last thing he wanted to do was to frighten her away and ruin any prospects of seeing her again after tonight. Anyone so beautiful, innocent, and maidenly as her ought to be worthy above all else of his presence; and, he wanted her to remain this way for as long as possible.

"I don't know who you think I am," he began slowly, not yet ready to present her with her prize. "But I want you to know that I- I am dangerous." A grimace marred his face; for a moment he debated whether or not he ought to put more space between them just to make certain that she felt safe, unthreatened and definitely not within the line of fire. "I did something that I could not help but do today and I don't- I don't..." His teeth clenched together, his molars grinding against one another as he closed his eyes to think.

The prince's ears drew back in admission after some time and when he opened his eyes again, he studied her. For what was possibly the first time in his life, Sköll Archer was nervous. His tail lowered further to hang at his fetlocks but the fur along his shoulders bristled. Then came his part of the deal, the secret: "I like you, Piety." He had to take a deep breath and breathe out slowly to soothe the anxiety that had reared its head again. "And I want you... For myself. I don't know how to explain it or if I can explain it just yet, but I just know that there's something about you I can't resist."

(This post was last modified: Mar 09, 2015, 07:10 AM by Skoll.)

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

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

"I'm not listening to you
I am wandering right through existance
With no purpose and no drive
'Cause in the end we're all alive, alive"

There are darknesses in life and there are lights,

saint & sinner

and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.

He made another little command that caused her tail to flick a bit impatient. What was his deal? She just wanted to give a bit of affection. It wasn't like the Santoro female would or could cause harm to Skoll's dark form. "Fine...I guess I won't anymore if it's what you want." She huffed a bit as fog drifted from her lips into the cold air.

Waiting for that secret Piety was taken a bit by surprise when he started off talking like some madman. Saying he was dangerous had her a bit shocked. Who had she made a friend of? Was she dreaming? Backing up a few steps it was then that the blood taint on @Skoll caught her eyes. She had been so blinded by his pure presence that she didn't even notice it. Surely whatever he had done was for a good reason, right?

Tucking her tail tightly Piety eyed Skoll a bit cautions. "Please, please, please, tell me it was for a good reason Skoll. This thing you hurt had to have been a threat or some sort of enemy." Her voice was a bit more harsh with sad tones laced through it. What had he done? What had the wolf done that deserved the punishment from Skoll's strong jaws? Piety couldn't even manage to think about how much praying it would take to help her dark companion wash away his sins. It would possibly take months if not years to fix this mess. But God was forgiving to all, even the biggest sinners.

The snowy woman listened to Skoll's next statement. Words of liking her. Her gut did flips before going into knots. Oh no, this was all a big mess. Piety liked him too but now she was so unsure about him. What he had done may be a breaking point for their relationship...hopefully he had a good reason.

"I like you too, Skoll.." Her soft tones trailed out as her dried muddy eyes looked into his pale silver ones. Piety's eyes would show all the softness, kindness, and compassion for Skoll in the world even if her body said differently. "I think..I think I'd like that. I would enjoy being just yours, but I need you to tell me what happened today. I need to know I can still place my trust in you." Her ears pinned back and her body shrunk to get closer to the cold ground. While she wanted to crawl forward and offer some sort of easing touch Piety knew she had made a promise not to touch Skoll. Even if she was dying to.

shutterstock / Grey / 2015

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SAINT & SINNER

"Fine...I guess I won't anymore if it's what you want." She was not going to stand for being spoken to so brusquely. Good. The prince liked a little bit of fire in her. But then, he smelt it, he saw it, he felt it as though it were something tangible and visible that rolled off of her and over to him. She was taking him in now, and he could see that her eyes were raking down the whole of his slender frame. No doubt she had  finally noticed the blood that had matted the fur all down the front of his very being.

In a rather exasperated fashion, his brows rose as he noticed the movement of her tail pressing up against her underside. She had thought he killed someone... The hankering to mock her was almost undeniable; but, even as she seemed to calm down from his sudden admission of fondness for her, he found that he wanted to reassure her further. To lure and reel her back to him....

He steeled himself as he continued to watch her, so fearful and eager at the same time on the forest floor as she stared up at him. If he had not asked her to do so much as lay a single hair on him, he reckoned she might have rubbed up all against him, forcing her intoxicating scent into his own coat. He didn't like the idea.

"Oh, angel," he cooed, almost in a ridiculing manner. "You think-" he almost laughed. "You think I killed someone? Nawwwww... No." His conscience frowned at him. Well that didn't sound impressive at all... Revise. Now. "I didn't," he somewhat admitted. Then, he realized, she did not know who Titan and Xetor were. Hell, why not lie? "I got rid of someone who told me earlier that they'd like to have you for themselves. It did it for you. For your safety."

"I took a chunk of his shoulder," he continued to lie, "and half of his ear. The things he said were so unsavory. I had to, you see." His stance relaxed and his tail came to hang limp behind him. "You're still not afraid of me, are you?" he asked, the expression on his face almost worried. "Come here," when said this time around, it was less demanding and more of a request than a demand. A small step forward was hopefully enough to draw her closer, leaving his right forepaw dangling in the air as if waiting to embrace her; if she so wanted to close the distance between them, now was an appropriate time as he had physically and verballyinvited her to touch him.

"I get jealous easily," he murmured, his ego clearly wounded as he released a sliver of truth at last. "You have to understand, I don't take anything lightly. Not when it comes to someone I hold dear." If Sköll wanted Piety to take anything from such an instance of divulgence, he wanted her to know this side of him, to see how she would react and take it all in. Most of the pack paid him no mind and when he acted out, it was typically Elettra who scolded him and put him back in his place. "He said he was going to take you away from me, make you his mate... that someone as beautiful as you ought to deserve better than someone of the likes of me."

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

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

There are darknesses in life and there are lights,

saint & sinner

and you are one of the lights, the light of all lights.

Her first thought was to run, flee, disappear. Get as far away from Skoll's form as possible. That was until he spoke. At first his words seemed almost unbelievable then he spoke again. This time giving the Santoro woman something to actually believe and work with. It made her feel at least somewhat sure of his words.

"I didn't,"

The saintly woman wanted to trust @Skoll but the blood on his fur made it hard too. Of course her heart was to gentle and fragile to not give him a chance to explain himself. Hopefully whatever happened wasn't for a wrong reason. Oh how guilty Piety would feel if she had associated herself with the wrong wolves. "Fo-for me?" She had never had such a violent act done for her. The pale woman would hear him out, listen to his reasons.

Words that fell out of his mouth were so easy to believe for the young foolish woman. She knew nothing better than to trust Skoll with almost every ounce of her heart and mind; and so easily the lamb fell into the lion's trap. "What did he say?" His words of asking if she was still afraid of him made her ears fold but her body raised back up. "No," She crawled forward to feed his request. The Santoro stopped close enough for him to make the final move into physical contact, but in case anyone's mind was changed she was also ready to move at any moment.

The confession caused her heart to flutter. While she did have her moments of jealousy she couldn't imagine what Skoll must have felt with jealousy. Especially sense he had seemingly harmed another for her own safety. Although it did seem like a knightly thing to do for such a fragile woman. "Oh Skoll," Her breath was caught at his words. She would forgive him a thousand times day after day just to make sure he felt no need to be jealous. Listening to Skoll's last little jumble of words caused her fur to prickle on her hackles. Who was this wolf thinking they could say such things? Surely they needed a lesson to be taught, but it seemed Skoll had already given them a lesson alright. "That stupid mutt is horrible for saying those things, he deserved what you gave him." While in the moment it seemed a reasonable comment Piety knew later she would likely regret it. "I hope you didn't listen to his words...because I think you are a perfect man and you'd be more than worthy to have me."

shutterstock / Grey / 2015

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