Spectral Woods who are you to judge

@Skoll
March 27th

She had had enough already. Her mother's know-it-all attitude, telling her what to do and what to eat and what would make her better. It had been nearly a week and already she was feeling much better though she was still sore when she pushed herself too far. None the less she had headed out of the territory as quickly as possible this morning heading west. Ignoring her muscles which begged for her to end her ceaseless trot that still carried her even as she began to reach the base of the mountain Aponi pushed on.

It loomed over her now and she began to pace where the forest began to climb upwards towards the sky. She knew she was much too sore to attempt the ascent but the woman was not ready to return to the Bend yet.  Her heat was dwindling as the season neared the close but the fire that had taken hold of her spine was not quite ready to free her yet. As her muscles began to ease the pain the tingling sensation gripped her once more, quickening her pace until her legs screamed at her once more.

The pain of her muscles was better than the insistent begging of her body which only reminded her of the rejection that Drestig had laid upon her. Who was he to deny her for that other woman? Sooner or later he would regret it, she would make sure of that. The fire within her fueled higher, her scent filling the air as her tail thrashed in annoyance. Longing filled her eyes as she turned and began her pace once more, longing for revenge, longing to quiet this annoying fire her body cursed her with.

Skoll Archer had had enough of everything that had been going on within the Willows. With his sister and her escapades, his son and his own adventures, and his younger siblings free to roam as they pleased (now that they were nearly yearlings), he felt it unfair that he stay at home with nothing and no one but the darkness to keep him company. In the mist, he blindly ambled about with only his nose as a guide. He left Willow Ridge, Morganna, Hecate and Sven behind, if only for a little while. Morganna commonly went this way, scaled the Heights, and made time to just... breathe. It only made sense to the prince that he could do the same. Just for tonight.

He figuratively shrugged off his crown and cape, climbing the foothills and clambering up the stony slopes until he was high enough so that he trees below were like freshly budding sprigs in the ground. The cold bit at the tips of his pointed ears and his damp nose, but beneath his half-groomed coat his skin felt hot in radiating waves. He had to keep going if he wanted to sleep well during the day.

Much to his curiosity and determination to feel the ache in his legs, the dark-pelted royal actually descended from Riddle Heights, stepping foot within a forest he was not familiar with. Pale eyes regarded the trees as his whiskers twitched. He could just vaguely smell her... She was here and she was possibly close by. His lips pursed as he began to stalk the forest floor, tail level with his spine as he scanned his surroundings as he went, always keeping the tree line to his left. If his sister could get away with having a number of mates to keep and if she didn't care for Hecate at all, then he had no choice but to find a way to quell the agitation in him once and for all...

"Hello?" he tentatively called out into the night. "Anyone here?"

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

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

The pacing continued. Back and forth, back and forth as if this could stop the fire that burned within her. Each step cleared the ground that had with the recent rains been cleared of snow but left it mushy in spots and hard in other. Paw step after paw step until her muscles screamed at her to stop.  Finally she did but not because she was sore, a scent filtered into her snout that she could not ignore, one that stoked the fire. Lifting her muzzle into the sky she inhaled deeply, tail lifting subconsciously as she breathed in the musky scent of male.

Turning towards the voice a coy smile played across her lips, oh this would do well for her. This stranger, whoever he was could quench the fire. It was late enough in her heat that she couldn't possibly get pregnant could she? Last year she had got pregnant with Kyna so early and Spieden was already pregnant enough her scent had changed. She could easily quench this need now and the fire would go without her having to face any consequences.

Practically purring in response she looked into the shadows for her saviour, for the ice to her flames, "I'm here, and I can be anyone you want me to be."

[dohtml]

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

I'll be waiting all my life
Put it down, keep me up all night
Gimme a taste of that good life.
Bring it in, burn it up all night...
- "Burn It Up All Night", Sweet+Talker

Once, he turned to his right, to regard the depths of the woodlands he did not dare to venture into. If he wanted to make it back home at a reasonable time, he would have to keep his bearings. Shaky, eager steps brought him back onto his path when he heard her at last. "I'm here," her voice easily brought him to where she stood. His jaw dropped, "and I can be anyone you want me to be." His teeth chattered with longing as he stared at her. She was like the rest of the ladies he tried to court (apart from the magpie @Enoki, whose friendship of sorts had turned into something like a failed conquest): mostly silvers and whites with just a bit distinguishing markings... on her, it was a dark strip of fur that ran along the bridge of her muzzle and over her crown and temples down her back and sides. The moonlight that fought to cut through the fog made her seem almost like his current main squeeze, all moon glow and shine. The fact that the alluring scent of her heat was the first to filter through his senses made her all the more desirable. Back at home, he still had yet to find out if he and his mate had successfully conceived.

"Really?" he pitched back, a smile finding his white-furred lips at last with a wag of a tail. "Would you be my princess then?" With slow, even footsteps, he approached her. His head being level with his shoulders might have been a bit forward or imposing but within three wolf-lengths of her, he came to a stop and stood as any other casual companion might when they met a fellow pack mate or a friend they regularly met up with through the seasons. His head tilted in an attempt to seem coy, his smirk a telltale sign that he was possibly a professional at chasing hearts. "I could be your prince charming, if you'll have me... My name's Samuel Lyall. Prince and Heir in the West." He playfully scoffed and added in a whisper only meant for her to hear, "I'm running away."

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

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

He came forward, her suitor. Aponi found herself pleased with what the icy blue eyes were met with, the dark fur among the night was barely distinguishable except for trailings of white across his muzzle and hauntingly silver eyes. Lifting her muzzle playfully she returned his smirk, no rooky in seduction herself though her last attempt had not gone as well. Flicking her tail in response to his words she stepped closer so their noses were mere inches apart, face to face and seperated only by their height.

Reaching up but hesitating just mere hair widths away so his breath brushed against her fur she murmured, "And I can be your princess from the east, Catori." Dancing back a few steps she waved her tail once more to send her scent wafting teasingly towards him. The name was one she hadn't used since she was a pup and truly had been lost from home, but tonight she merely wanted to be lost for a few hours not a few months.  Her sore muscles were practically forgotten as she danced through their small clearing, light on her toes staying just out of reach of her prince.

Sinking down onto her forelimbs she waved her bottom in the air like a pup enticing her partner to play, "Let's run away together then, I can be your Catori Lyall, at least for tonight." It was a game they played now but in the end they both would win. Their fires together could cancel each other out and finally they could return to normal.

[dohtml]

At the very least, she was not shy. His fur bristled along his spine but, having been so accustomed to the ways and mannerisms his Hecate displayed before him, he was not at all intimidated. Rather, he was intrigued. Why, oh, why had he not come this way sooner? It seemed that she was going to pull him into one of those kisses he very much enjoyed with only those he kept close and he froze, but as soon as his eyes had (foolishly) fluttered shut, she had pranced away. He blinked as he looked her over, rendered motionless by her perfume and the way she presented herself in such a nymph-ish dance. Where Piety had been shy and Hecate had been heavy- and sure-footed, this woman was quick on her feet, paws dancing to and fro in an instinctive, intuitive fashion... as Mother Nature and the Old Gods had intended them to dance.

A play bow had him edging closer, a little more cautious this time but definitely more taken with this Catori. "Just for tonight," he seemingly agreed, eyes flickering to the movements of her tail and rump before addressing the whole of her body language and the expression on her masked face. "Let's." The single word was meant to be his affirmation towards the whole situation that was unfolding before him.

"But, first," he couldn't help but tease, his words coming slow now as he stepped towards her left side to wave his own tail impatiently at her. "I think, we should take care of you, hmm?" His upper teeth pressed down into his lower lip, his canines peeking out as he clenched his jaw. Lust was no stranger to Skoll Archer, but for the likes of a Samuel Lyall, it was a whole different playing field. He could give up his games of possession and greed, just for one night... especially if it meant that he could put the anxiousness over the season to rest until Spring came yet again with the  turning of the world. "Correct me if I'm wrong but, you seem to be wanting something. What gift could I bestow upon my royal bride?"

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

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

He edged closer to her bow and in response she waved her tail again, wriggling her bottom in the air and sending her scent all around them. His words teased back and Catori smiled invitingly towards him as she watched his gaze take in her posture. Oh he was so much easier than Drestig and her confidence had returned. No longer was she a woman scorned but a woman who was sought after, a royal bride even if for tonight. The idea of gifts had her smile widening and she stood, twisting her expression into one of mock consideration.

Inching closer this time she made contact as she passed, trailing her muzzle along his chin and up onto his shoulder before ducking beneath him. As she twisted she managed to turn her direction so she trailed all of her body beneath his chin, flicking him playfully with her tail against his legs. She hummed as if still considering what he could give her as a gift as her blunt claws played against the dirt, enjoying every second of the game they dragged out. It was both torture and pleasure as her body screamed at her to end the game and take her prize now.

Finally she smiled as if alighted that she had found the perfect gift, "Why if I am really to be your royal bride then I think you should take me as your bride tonight, as only husband and wife should."The words were whispered coyly as if this hadn't been their plan all along, as if every second of this meeting hadn't been leading up to a moment like this.

[dohtml]

He could have been aware of the pack scent that clung to her fur; frankly, since the distinctive marker was unfamiliar and strange and new, he easily mistook it as a whiff of her past and the potpourri of the lands she inhabited. Never mind that she might have belonged to someone. She was here and he had found her. As far as he was concerned, this late in the season, he was the one who would find himself lucky...

Her voice snapped at his eardrums, each chosen word enticing him further, inviting him in closer in such a way that the other women in his past had not before. "Oh, but of course," he whispered, his whole being feeling as if it had been set aflame from simply being so close to her. Perhaps if Hecate hadn't already smelled of a future that promised new life - a family of their own - he might have welcomed the idea of 'claiming her' again, just to ensure the deed had been done. But, Hecate was on the other side of the mountain and the woman at his side was oh-so-willing to help him sate his innate needs for procreation and satisfaction. At this point - due to his ego, loud mouth, and the assumption that he would never see the woman again - the cubs, should there be any as proof of this one night stand, he was so sure that he could get away with it all. If Catori chose to take up his alias' surname, then there was a chance that Angier,Renier and Rook's side of the family would have to deal with her. No Archer, apart from Morganna (who had prompted him to choose the forename in the first place on some fantastical whim), would ever suspect that these 'Lyalls' would ever be related to him.

And, so, he circled her, tail raised and nostrils flaring, already unable to contain himself as he draped his right forearm over the small of her back. He wasn't going to beg her to surrender herself over or to force himself upon her. All he had to do was to read her - and with how she spoke and how she readily welcomed him close, he could only assume that she ready...

---

The hours that had been spent with Catori had been brief but what few moments he had had with her were genuinely sweet. As much as darkness and fog would allow, he walked with her and told her of the distant lands of Torbine under the guise of the "Howling Heath." They walked so long as he kept the tree line to his left side; and, when she grew tired and sleepy at last, he laid with her to whisper more little lies into her ear... The only one truth and hope he dared to impart upon her before taking his leave as she slept was this: "I hope you'll be okay; please don't ever come looking for me. I can't promise I'll be there."

i'm a dreamer, i'm a man

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

If you want you can post one more of Skoll running back up the mountain/home and then we claim lp, either way this is Aponi's exit

His acceptance, but of course sent a shiver down her spine that caused the silver fur to ripple in anticipation. Setting her paws onto the firm ground Aponi's tail drifted sideways and she nipped at his chin playfully as he neared her. Feeling his weight upon her back was greeted with a sigh of relief as finally the fire within her was stated.

While she would have been okay with parting way immediately once the deed had been complete Samuel seemed intent with walking around telling her about his whole life story. It was pleasant she supposed but not really the purpose of this meeting, she was finally ready to return to the Bend, after making sure to casually brush up against as many trees as possible of course. No need to alert anyone, especially @Kyna of her short tryst. After all this was as innocent as possible, just scratching a need that she could not scratch alone, nothing would come of this.  He rambled on and on about some Howling place or something and Aponi had long since grown bored of his company.

Finally as he had no sign of stopping she claimed she was tired and they should stop to sleep and she curled up along the tree line, not quiet tired at all. Closing her eyes she purposely slowed her breath, waiting for him to do the same so she could flee off into the night. To her surprise Samuel beat her to it, pleading to her sleeping form to never come find him. If she had not been pretending to sleep she would have snorted at the idea, he was nothing to her and he never would be, in fact he talked much too much.

Finally he left and Aponi waited a few moments before arising and shaking her fur back into position. Without even a second thought about what had happened here she slunk off into the early morning, intent on napping as soon as she got back.