Wild Rye Fields i shot the sheriff and i slipped the noose.

RE: The Lore experiences a bout of unseasonably warm weather.
For, you guessed it: my darlin' bae @Askan.

Where the hell was Askan?

After the failed attempt at a rank challenge (still something Reyes was trying to firmly push from mind), the delta had been on a self-imposed probation. He still wasn’t entirely sure what to make out of the leader’s advice; did he mean it, or was he simply trying to take the piss out of the southwestern wolf like everyone who’d come before him? It made no sense – why would he want that? Why would he bother helping? He couldn’t see any direct gain on Drestig’s behalf.

Reyes should the thought from mind, trotting out along the borders of Wild Rye Fields. After a few days of rest, the strained muscle in his hind limb had healed up just fine. That, at least, didn’t bother him at all, even as he slogged through the melting snow. As much as he didn’t like the cold, the shadow was quickly coming to realize the benefit of the cold weather – it kept the snow light and powdery. Now, his simple border patrol was something like a forced march, and stopping to reinforce the heady pack scent was more like a break than an irritating chore. It kept him busy, at least. Once he was done, he would find Askan, and give the guy a piece of his damn mind.

Askan ran like his tail was on fire.

Except it wasn't, it was firmly tucked between his legs. His ears were pressed to his skull and his bright yellow eyes were wide and panicked. He felt filthy, disgusting and just wrong wrong wrong. Why did he let it go so far? Why did he allow that woman- no that snake- get into his head like that? Shame lashed at him like a whip and his sides heaved, but not with exertion. It was hard to breathe, his lungs felt tight and constricted and his mouth was dry, as though it had been days since he'd last had a drink. But still he ran, his paws leaving dents in the snow as he went.

Just a little further. Soon he'd be safe, or at least as safe as he could, considering the season and all. His mind flashed to the memory of his 'encounter' with @Adelayde the other day and he cringed so hard he almost broke his stride and tumbled to the ground. No, he wasn't safe here either, was he? Nowhere was safe. He would never be safe, he'd spend all of his time looking over his shoulder, just wanting to be left alone. That wasn't so hard was it? Was he asking for too much? Yes, he knew that the women had it hard to. They had to deal with the discomfort, the heat and the insatiable itch that came with this time of year, but that didn't mean they had to drag him down to suffer as well. He just wanted to be alone. He didn't want this.

Home was in sight,  Askan could see the ridge of the Lookout and with each step he got closer and closer till he was scrambling up the hill, kicking up buckets full of snow in his wake. Perhaps if he'd taken the time to be observant he would have noticed Reyes and wouldn't have almost run face first into him. Alas it was not to be. It was only pure luck that Askan managed to skid to a stop in time.

Panting, Askan took a moment to try and gather his composure. It was Reyes. Reyes was good, Reyes was safe. He didn't have to deal with any of that with him. Thank the Gods.

"Help me, I stink." Were the first words that passed from Askan's lips. Not what he'd meant to say but accurate nonetheless.

(This post was last modified: Mar 05, 2017, 07:32 PM by Askan.)

If it had been any other wolf barreling through the wet snow like he was afraid of touching the ground, Reyes would have given them a serious warning. Packmates, perhaps to a lesser degree, but the idea of anyone running up on him like that – his hackles bristled regardless, the large wolf skittering through the snow as the dark male slammed to a halt, spraying wet snow and cold slush around him in an utterly horrifying tidal splash. Squinting his eyes shut, the man shook himself violently, melting flakes and loose hair flinging off of him in all directions.

“What the flying fuck, Askan?” he snapped, pink tongue flicking out to wipe the snow off of his own snout.

Only then did he realize that yes, his packmate indeed stunk. He gave a sharp snort, shaking his head forward and back, and fixed the other wolf with a dark look. Nostrils flared. Smelled like another wolf. Like a female – like heat. His ears flipped backwards and he took a step back, snooting violently as he shook his head again, brushing through the snow as he waited for an answer. Shit. What was the boss gonna do if Askan- Would Askan actually do that? To Drestig?

To him?

If he'd been able to think straight, Askan might have supposed that Reyes' response was reasonable. That he had every right to use language like that. But as things were he didn't think it was okay. Nothing was okay. There was absolutely nothing remotely even close to being okay. It was the furthest possible thing from it. Further than the stars in the sky and the sun setting on the horizon. Why couldn't he see that? Why did Reyes have to glare at him in disgust? Askan knew that he was awful, that his current scent was offensive to the nose but he couldn't help it, it's not like he asked for this to happen. It wasn't his fault.

Askan bowed his head down and watched his legs wobble.

But maybe if he explained, Reyes would see, he would understand and more importantly he would be able to help! Because Gods above he needed it right now. This was the closest he'd ever been to being scared. And it was awful, he wanted it to stop, he wanted to curl up in the den and never smell a sickly sweet scent again. That was what he wanted, but the small, reasonable, voice in his head told him it wasn't possible. If he wanted that he'd have to live separate from every other wolf, he would have to break ties with the Rye wolves and he would have to abandon everyone he knew. Just thinking about it hurt, made his heart clench.

Askan took a slow, shaky breath and raised his head to finally look at Reyes.

"It's not what you think." He tried and failed to swallow the lump forming in his throat. "I was at the antler ring and this woman came, just started messing with me. I didn't want her to, made it clear I wasn't into it. But I.. I didn't do nothing, freaked out. It's wrong... I don't want to, it's not me. I swear it's not me." He sniffed, his gaze downcast again.

He was so unclean. So pathetic.

Ears rolled forward and back – this Askan was nothing like the brusque wolf he’d become accustomed to. He took another step back, looking over his companion closely with narrowed eyes. The quake in his knees, the wandering gaze – the fusillade of anxiety from the beta was almost enough to throw him off his guard. It was at least enough to catch his attention, have the older wolf prick his ears and listen in as the stumbling explanation of what had actually occurred. Brows pinched together, tail lashing behind him like a bullwhip as his thoughts started to rattle around inside of his skull.

Dios mio, but he was actually inclined to believe Askan’s story. He was getting so soft.

And all the same, he stepped forward, snuffling into the beta’s ruff and snorting again. Well, he wasn’t wrong, he definitely stunk. The female must have been all up in his face if he had that much stink all over him. And to think, none of the girls in Wild Rye Fields had been that desperate, throwing their bodies at the males. Shit. His ears rolled backwards again, but the steely coldness had disappeared from his moonstone eyes. “Askan, chaco. Amando. It’s over. You ain’t gotta do shit.” His tail continued to thrash behind him. “C’mon, roll in the snow. S’all warm and wet. Wash some of it off. Ain’t so bad.”

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

Seeing the look of resentment in Reyes' eyes hurt. How much more pain could Askan take? Did Reyes really need to beat him when he was already down? Was it wrong of him to think that he would have understood? That Reyes would want to help him? Apparently so. Askan was at a loss at what to do, his thoughts ground to a halt and all he could think of was how all of this mess was somehow his fault. That he deserved this, that he had no right to seek out help when he should have known better in the first place. He hadn't actually 'done ' anything, but the fact he wanted to was more than enough to mark him as sullied, to place the blame on him. He sniffed again, suddenly feeling so very small and alone.

And then there was a nose pressing into his neck, sniffing and rummaging about in his scruff. Blinking, Askan tried to turn to see what he was doing, whether he looked mad or not. His tail lashed behind him and his ears were pressed flat to his head, but those captivating grey eyes were no longer narrowed in disgust. Instead, they carried another look, something equally as smouldering but not so harsh. Askan couldn't put a name to it-unsurprisingly- but it seemed soft, as though Reyes wasn't so angry at him anymore. His heart jumped a little at that, he was just so desperate to have someone help him. Even the slightest possibility that someone cared was enough to make him feel just a little better.

It seemed as though his hope wasn't in vain, as Reyes was quick to squash his fears and reassure him that this situation wasn't so bad.The relief the Selwyn felt was almost overwhelming, like he wanted to cry. Even in this state he wasn't a complete weakling, he'd hold it in, the last thing he wanted to do was make this even more awkward.

"Yes..You're right. It's not so bad. It's okay." He nodded slowly. "I'm okay.

Dropping to the floor, Askan rolled over, throwing his weight about as he did his best to rid himself of the horrible stench that clung to his coat. Just as Reyes said, the snow was wet and his fur was soggy in moments. Eventually, the Yukon wolf climbed to his feet and shook himself off, spraying Reyes in the process. He let out a long breath, he hadn't realised he'd been holding in, and turned his attention to his friend. His saviour really, after all who knows what he would have done if left alone to flip out?

Without thought, Askan headbutted his shoulder with a grumble. The snow had helped, had lessened the stench, but he still didn't smell like himself. Or more accurately he didn't smell right. Like he did before this whole mess. It would have been impossible for him not to notice the change in his scent ever since Reyes had joined the pack. He smelled less like himself and more of a combination of both himself with Reyes' piled on top. It'd been weird at first, but now it was natural. He kind of liked it.

"Still smell."

(This post was last modified: Mar 06, 2017, 06:16 PM by Askan.)

To his great relief, his words seemed to have some effect on the beta. Askan took a breath, some of the freak out seemed to…stop. This wasn’t good, not exactly, but it was certainly wasn’t the worst thing that had happened. It made more sense to him, and the other wolf didn’t look like he was about to… About to… Reyes shook his head, unwilling to finish that train of thought. Before his mind could take him any further, the second splash of slush to his face woke him up. The wolf gave a soft growl, but little else, padding over to investigate his companion now that he’d had himself a little makeshift ‘bath’. True to his complain, he still did have that very distinctive…odor.

Wrinkling his nose, the male gave a sigh, brows furrowed together.

“Yeah, kinda. Ain’t as stinky, though.” Not as powerful, at least. Something was better than nothing – but short of leaving Askan in a river for a few hours, how were they supposed to get the smell off? His mouth twisted to one side before a thought finally sprang to mind. Without another word, he trotted forward, slamming his body against Askan’s, rubbing his side vigorously into the other man’s. If they couldn’t totally get the woman’s stank off of the beta’s pelt, surely they could replace it with his own. “Stay still, amor. I’ll fix it.”

Thanks for the KO, it rekt me real good ace.

Askan supposed that Reyes was right. Surely the scent would fade in time and he'd be more like himself, but until then it was just a burden he would have to carry, a weight upon his shoulders that pushed him down. It wasn't what he wanted, he didn't want her to mark him like this. To have that woman's stamp left on him for all to smell. He didn't even want to imagine what they'd say or think. Would they be like Reyes? Would they look at him with revulsion in their eyes? Would they judge him and think he was the sort who slept about? Because he wasn't, he didn't do that nor would he ever. The thought was enough to make him flinch and lower his gaze to the ground once again. He just wished people would see.

Lost in his-cruel, traitorous- thoughts Askan glanced up just in time to see Reyes coming at him. His eyes widened in confusion and he'd just been about to ask what he was doing when the other pressed up against his side and slid along. Askan was stunned and all of the negative emotions that had been swirling around inside of him like a maelstrom were forcibly ejected and replaced with-what felt like- bemusement. His gaze flickered to Reyes and lingered heavily on him as he moved, continuously brushing himself against his side.  

"Reyes?" He murmured, his voice far more husky than he'd intended. Maybe he'd been closer to crying than he thought.

But oh... He went onto speak and yes, that made sense. He was fixing it, wasn't he? He could stay still, that was easy enough. It didn't require any complicated movements or lines of thought. He just hand to stand and stay still. Which was easy enough. As for the amor part, well he wouldn't admit it but he had grown pretty accustomed to Reyes' way of speaking by now-despite the short time period.

Askan nodded. "Yes. Okay." He nodded again for good measure. There was one thing though, something trouble. "What about you? I don't want you to smell bad."

The Yukon liked how Reyes smelled, he didn't want to lose it nor did he want to go without. The idea of doing so was an ugly thought, dark like those he had earlier.

The sound of his name was like a faraway voice, the wolf getting thoroughly enraptured by the task he’d set for himself. Of course, he didn’t particularly like the idea of getting himself just as cold and soggy as Askan, but it was a far better alternative than the dark wolf losing his mind over whatever the mystery female had done to him. Regardless of what it actually was, it was clearly unwanted, and that was not okay. He’d taught the twins not to let any guys touch them without their permission, but frankly? It should apply to every wolf. No meant no.

He was gonna have to find this woman and have a fuckin’ word or two.

But that could wait. Reyes tuned back in to the sound of the beta’s voice, ear only flicking as he processed. The reply never made it through his brain-to-mouth filter, instead launching from his mind right off of his lips. “I ain’t gonna smell bad. I’m gonna smell like you, cabrón. Not a damn thing wrong with that,” he rumbled, so intent on his chore that he didn’t quite understand how that sounded. Not at the moment. Only once his task was (mostly) complete did he pull back, tipping his head to give the other male a once over. Definitely better, but… Something was still missing.

Something warm and unknown curled up in the pit of his belly as he huffed, slithering closer to lick at Askan’s muzzle this time. “Doing better?”