Willow Ridge Repeat after me now, R-O-M-A-N-C-E-E-E...

For @Piety.

At the same time, I wanna hug you,
I wanna wrap my hands around your neck.
I'm an asshole, but you love me....
And you make me so mad I ask myself,
"Why I'm still here, or where could I go?
You're the only love I've ever known."
- P!nk, "True Love"

There's no one quite like you

Sköll Archer

you push all my buttons down

April 4th; Morning, after sunrise; Partly Cloudy; 29 ° F, -2 ° C

Having woken up in the middle of the night, Sköll, by daybreak, was not tired enough to go to sleep. He had half-expected for Piety to sniff him out and curl up beside him but, in waking up, alone, he had come to carry on with his usual routine of border-marking and keeping an eye on territory lines. Sticking as close as he could to any shadows he could find, he held his head and tail low, slinking about like some prowling jaguar in search of prey. The longer he stayed awake, the more likely it was for him to be discovered by the rest of the pack, whose own personal schedules were typically "average," diurnal and "conventional" at best. When he had become so in love with the night, he wasn't quite so sure anymore but, if anything was for certain, it was that this affair had gone on for so long that he had begun to miss what sunrise had looked like.

Above him the skies had only just begun to lighten - deep cobalt to cerulean to something like a blue-gray that was not quite pastel or true sky blue - and after some time of walking along where Elettra had walked the evening before, he had come to a stop somewhere at the edges of Willow Ridge territory lines. His head was tilted upward and his tail was fully relaxed at his heels; even his shoulders and ears seemed at ease.

When the sun had finally come to crest at the top of the Mountain of Dire, he stared for a long while yet at the color-shifts. The heavens warmed with a vibrant orange, painting the clouds around it light pinks and lavenders. It remained this way for some time, forcing the Archer to ease himself onto his haunches to sit. His tail behind him laid in the emerging grass, splayed out in a wide arch on the ground.

He took a deep breath, only blinking a few times as not to miss out on anymore of this brightness, this vibrance, this whole other definition of life, where everything was bathed in sunlight and everything that was vivid and radiant. A rare smile of pure tranquility and bliss formed along his maw, which was devoid of dirt and blood for once, and for the first time in months, the prince of Willow Ridge was still and at peace... Whether or not this was just a fleeting moment, time and certain circumstance could only tell, but Sköll was not yet ready to find out.

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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.

It was no secret that her...moment with @Skoll had been perhaps a derring-do that left them both affected. While Piety had not expected it to change either one of them it had certainly made a lasting imprint on her. In fact she was willing to bet a claw and tooth that that night had brought them closer. When it came down to the point, the Santoro woman was carrying the Archer's child.

Shuffling around with these thoughts lingering around her she found herself a bit distraught. Piety had truly wished to sleep with Skoll but she had found herself being busy with preparation for the arrival. Entirely unsure of when the beautiful child was bound to show she knew with her growing form that each day was a day closer. Maybe that's why she had awoken early in hopes of finding Skoll. Certainly he would be pleased to see her form appear next to his again. It was so hard to stay away from her dark knight...he was certainly a keeper.

It was when her river mud eyes fell against his dark form in the morning light that her own long legs raced forward. She remembered he wasn't too much of a touchy-feely male so instead Piety took a seat next to him. "Good morning Mr. Archer." Smiling wide she looked into his silver ghostly eyes. "I thought you would've be-" Her voice paused as she noticed the marks on his face. Whining softly her tail curled up next to her leg. "Skoll, I didn't noticed those before. Are those from him?" Him being the male that Skoll had spoke about their special night. If Piety had a single bad bone in her body she might have lashed out on whoever did this.

shutterstock / Grey / 2015

# C W T

There's no one quite like you

Sköll Archer

you push all my buttons down

The sound of someone approaching was missed in Sköll's fascination of the ever-changing skies. His peaceful oblivion was not even upset when she came into his midst - something that had to have been a first since the early days of his childhood. Typically, he would have inched back and drawn fully away from his companion, but in appreciating Piety's composure to simply sit beside him had him turning to her with a smile when she addressed him. Her delight was overshadowed and, all too soon, he had remembered that he had sustained a rather disquieting injury along his face. He quickly turned away and his ears folded back with a scowl.

She whined; well, that was expected. He chuffed wordlessly in response but she asked anyway. Without looking at her again, his ears slowly came back up in acknowledging that she had remembered what he had done.

"Yes," he answered, his voice quiet on his tongue. "He got me pretty good, but... it doesn't hurt anymore." The night when he and Piety had stolen away for an evening alone, the thin gashes had been tucked away in his fur, bleeding until they had been properly cleaned. In the days that had come to pass, they healed but, without the aid of medicinal herbs and due to the itchiness of the healing process, they had left dark pink marks that snaked across the bridge of his muzzle over his left eye. If he had not quickly closed his eyes when the brute had attacked, he might have lost his vision in that eye.

The fur along his shoulders had bristled but within moments his hackles had flattened. No doubt, she was working her magic on him, calming him without him even knowing it just by being beside him. He had to fight to cast away his ego and pride, managing to turn to look at her with a pained gaze. The worry and unease so plainly laid out on his once-handsome features for her to see. It was clear to see just how wounded he felt, how vulnerable he believed himself to be.

"Is it bad?" he asked then, the grimace deepening on his brow. "I... haven't been to the creek lately; I don't know what I look like." His pale eyes met her gaze, holding it for as long as he dared, wondering and waiting for what she would say, while secretly wanting her approval more than anything else. If she was fine with how he looked, perhaps, he could cast away the belief that he had been transformed into some disfigured beast.

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i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

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

A lynx has left behind the remains of a deer. +5 Health

@Skoll Sorry this took so long :c

There are darknesses in life and there are lights,

saint & sinner

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

Why did he look away? Was her dark Archer ashamed of the marks upon his face? They didn’t change the way she felt about him. The pale angel's love for him was still as strong as before. In fact she didn’t fall in love with him for his looks, even if she did love his ghostly eyes, she fell in love with his personality. A soft sigh slipped through her lips as she wished her knight would look at her.

”As long as it doesn’t hurt anymore...If it starts to hurt again let me know, please Skoll.” Her voice was a soft, pleading, child-like whisper for him to hear. Piety was here for him no matter what his current condition was. She needed him to understand that fully. That she wasn’t a wolf to leave because someone was going through a rough time. Or some injury on their face for this matter.

Looking out to the late sunrise she admired the colors painted across the sky. The sky had was slipping through the fiery faze into something much more neutral. Something like a pink lacing lavender clouds that laid in a bed of grey. She had seen this sight so many times but it still caught her adoration time after time. Of course with Skoll next to her she still had the situation of the scars on his face. A pink color she wasn’t found of.

Muddy eyes fell back to the man she had found her heart stolen by. His look of worry caused her gut to go into knots. What did she do? She wanted to comfort him but knew the promise she made. Not to touch him unless invited to do so. Lowering her ears against her crown she looked at Skoll. ”No, it’s not bad at all. If anything it adds more character to you...gives you a story to tell in your future.” Moving her nose closer to him, but not daring to touch his shoulder, she breathed in his scent. ”May I?”

shutterstock / Grey / 2015

# C W T

There's no one quite like you

Sköll Archer

you push all my buttons down

Accusing Sköll Archer of being ashamed might have been a bit understated. He was sorry for himself and mortified by how terribly he had reacted; he was angry for not realizing just how brash and disfiguring his choice had been. At the end of the day, however, Xetor Archer was gone... and that was that. Her sigh made him turn his head so that he could only see her from the corner of his eye. She pleaded with him further but he kept his lips sealed. In all honesty, his face still hurt like hell, especially when he thought back to that day when he had stumbled upon Titan and his cousin in the middle of a row, and the healing process for such thin tissue had been tougher than he had initially expected.

His teeth clenched as he braced himself, hoping beyond all hope that Piety still would not touch him. When this 'thing' with being particular about being physically close had started, he wasn't at all sure, but he definitely did not enjoy affection on that sort of level. She told him that the injuries he had received weren't at all bad, that he looked even more characteristically appealing with them. As much as he wanted to believe her, he kept telling himself that he was no longer perfect or without flaw. For as long as he could remember, he had always taken such pride win his looks and his appearance. Perhaps, if he wandered down to the stream, he would finally see for himself the monster he had become, regardless of how he knew Piety looked at him.

"May I?" she ventured. Skoll immediately drew away from her, his banner of a tail held out straight behind him in warning. "NO," his voice practically boomed, a sharp whine cutting off the end of his word in utter fear of contact. The instinctive growl that had gathered in his throat made him tremble ad in embarrassment he fully looked away. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, he attempted to inwardly soothe himself. Sorry.

"Don't," he warned her, his voice much softer than before. "Please don't." When it seemed that he could no longer keep his lips sealed, his jaws cracked open to make way for a pained grimace, complete with a set of clenched teeth. He stared at her then as if she had said something wildly incredulous then shook his head. "Why, Miss Santoro?" he openly questioned, his tone conveying that he was absolutely aggravated by her every request to feel him. "Why must you touch me? Be so close to me?"

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i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

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