Jasper Rocks they say love is pain well darling let's love tonight

She woke with a fever. It was the only similarity Pip could compare it with. The mute first looked to her shoulder, expecting to find the recently healed wound festering and angry. Surprised to see it was in no worse shape than the day before, she frowned and stood with a nervous jitter. The female couldn't quite place the feeling, but her fur stood on end with alarm. Nostrils flaring, Pip found no sign of danger in the air and only the scent of...herself. It was a strange one and it scared her a little.

Rather than disturb her packmates, the littlest sea wolf left the den to let the cold night air cool the sudden heat beneath her fur. The tawny female tried stretching and turning in circles and bowing down and scratching with no relief no matter which way she stood or moved. A swim, she decided. A swim would be helpful. So what if there was snow on the ground? A little cold never hurt anyone. Or maybe it did, but still. This heat was miserable and nerve wracking and Pip found she had far too much energy. Swimming would be a good outlet.

The mute quickly found her way towards Jasper Rocks and wasted little time in plunging in to the shallow waters there. It was a momentary reprieve, she found with disappointment. However, her mood brightened significantly when she scented @Kjell on the cold breeze. The little female trembled as much with shivers as she did with anticipation. Was she really so excited to see him? When her dark knight came into view, Pip bounded towards him happily and nuzzled at his chin for a moment before turning and pressing her bum near his chest.

Realizing what she'd done, the young female in her first season immediately spun back around and lay down with embarrassment, her tail swishing across the ground while her ears fell flat with shame and apology. Something was wrong with her! Maybe she should have woken Veho afterall... She was afflicted with an awful sickness!

 

If it was any kind of normal night, Kjell would not have felt nearly as comfortable denning so close to a pack’s borders.  But his little Signy was clearly well-loved by his packmates, and even if it had been months, he did not quite have the energy to fight off another cat.  Was it likely that a cougar would come this far off the mountain?  Would chase him or Bennet again?  No.  But the man had made his brother a promise, and he might be doing a shitty job taking care of his niece, but he was, damnit.  This was the best he could do.  For now.

These were the things that kept him awake at night, led him away from the mouth of the den in the early hours of light.  Dozing in the peaceful period, his ears airplaned outwards, his eyes mostly shut, when a familiar scent tickled his nose.  But there was--  There was something a little different about the way Signy smelled this morning – before the dragon could put a paw on it, he was greeted with an eyeful, chestful, of plush rump.  Without another thought crossing his mind, he twisted to nip at her tail, ears pricked as he studied his silent friend.

“What’s wrong, darlin’?” he drawled, brows furrowing as he got to his feet, padding over to where the female lay.  He reached down, pushing his nose into her thick ruff.  “You still hurtin’?”

There is a deer that was killed by a lynx nearby. +10 Health

Her exhale was thin and long, indicative of a silent attempt at a whine. How could he not know all the things that were wrong? She was too hot despite the quick plunge into wintry waters. She was losing her mind and pressing her butt up against him for what reason she couldn't begin to fathom. Was that normal behavior to him? Certainly not from her! Who else was pressing their butt against him? The small female looked up with a sudden frown at the disturbing thought before shaking her head and giving her attention back to @Kjell.

Hurting? Pip paused and took stock of herself to evaluate for any injuries as if the idea had not occurred to her before. No, nothing that she could find. Her shoulder was sore, but that hardly mattered lately. It was well enough that it didn't hinder her too much. She gave said shoulder a good roll just to be sure.

Half rolling, the sea wolf kissed sweetly along Kjell's muzzle as if to convince him of something she had not yet figured out herself. She wanted...him. What that meant, she didn't know. But she wanted him and thinking it had her fur burning all the hotter. Pip bounced up and out from under Kjell only to leap in circles around him. The little wolf threw her legs over his shoulders and squirmed for a moment before leaping over him completely and then dropping to the ground once more. It was embarrassing to feel so needy, but she couldn't seem to stop herself from slavering for his attention.

It was weird behavior, sure. But nothing about Pip was particularly ‘normal’ by any sense of the word – these days, the dragon prince was pretty sure that’s why he liked the little mute. She was like no one he’d ever met before. She wasn’t too flirty, didn’t play his sharp little word games. She didn’t get mad or flustered. Perhaps she was the first wolf that Kjell could simply be Kjell with, and that was one of the greatest treasures he’d ever encountered. It occurred to him, then, for all that he questioned the Mother’s validity, it was possible that there was some small punishment in this. Or lesson to be learned. Left what was good for revenge, and look where it got him!

The kisses the lone wolf back to reality and he crooned softly, tipping his muzzle to return the kisses. She seemed relatively healthy, at least. Before he could ask another question, she was back on her feet, bouncing around, leaping on top of him – and then it was all over again, as if Signy couldn’t really make up her mind if she wanted to play or not. Kjell trotted around her in a circle, bending low to nip at the tip of her tail, about to encourage the playful bonding when he finally realized something about Pip’s scent had changed. Had this happened before? Had spring really snuck up on him like that?

Kjell circled around her again, reaching down to nibble on her scruff affectionately. “You don’t gotta hide from me, gem. S’alright.”

She could tell the very moment he sensed her intentions, though Pip honestly didn't know what they were herself. She knew only that he was the most handsome and wonderful wolf she knew and surely he could help her in some way. Either way, she could tell. His stance changed from curious and confused to knowing and gentle and oh so kind. Did he know, then? Did he know what was wrong with her? How to fix it? Would he teach her?

The little mute rolled to her back as she felt @Kjell's teeth scraping gently at the back of her neck. One paw pressed to his chest as if asking for space even as she lifted her muzzle to kiss again at his face. He was a sight for sore eyes, and she wondered terribly what happened to his. It didn't look like anything a moose could have done and a moose was just about the scariest thing Pip could think of aside from that green eyed demon with beavers following closely behind them.

His reassurances eased her nerves and Pip rolled back over to her belly and pressed her head beneath the dragon's chin with affection and relief again for his safe return. At least, most of him.

There were so many things she wanted from him in that moment; to hear of his adventures, to hear him call her gem and Signy and all those wonderful names he had for her, to listen as he breathed while laying beside her. She wanted to lay there all day with him and all night, but also to romp and roll and run and watch him try his teeth at fishing again. For him to devour her whole and wasn't that a terrifying, embarrassing thought to have? Grateful it was impossible for such a thought to be voiced out loud, the little female set her head between her paws and attempted to will away the heat from her cheeks without success.

Soft orange eyes regarded Kjell with utmost trust as if she expected him to have all the answers.

At least, he decided, she wasn’t as embarrassed anymore. Or, she didn’t seem as embarrassed? The entire situation was nothing to be flustered about – as far as he could tell, it happened to all the female wolves this time of year. In fact, last spring, he’d had a few interesting romps with a few nameless women; strangely, he had no such desire to give a repeat performance. Some of it was doubtless his lack of desire to be near anyone save for his niece and his friend, but the rest? He mostly just wanted to be near Signy.

Even before he realized how very good she smelled.

The dragon rumbled again, deep in his chest, and pressed his nose back into Pip’s thick winter ruff. By the time he glanced back over, she was hiding again – why did she keep hiding? It couldn’t be fear, or surely she’d have returned to her pack lands by now. Even Kjell wasn’t foolhardy to pursue a female who wasn’t interested, much less into lands owned by another alpha. So he chuffed softly, pressing his nose to her crown, and dropping a few sweet kisses there. How else did he assure her this was perfectly normal? That nothing she did was silly, or embarrassing, or would make him go away?

“What do you want, Signy? I ain’t-- I ain’t gonna do anything you don’t want. You’re good. Special. Real special, okay? We only go on your say so.”

(This post was last modified: Mar 11, 2017, 10:33 PM by Kjell.)

For the first time in a while, her thoughts strayed to @Niq'x. Her sister always seemed to know what to do. In this situation, would she be as hesitant? Or did she have some innate knowledge of what should happen that Pip was simply lacking? If @Oula were not missing, could she explain it? The warrior woman seemed to have as clear an understanding to her thoughts as @Kjell himself, though perhaps there would be that extra component of being female as well that would grant her an advantage the dragon did not have.

Pip trembled as his warm breath ghosted across her head, followed by gentle kisses. Not even the dullest of wolves could mistake Pip's shivers for anything less than excitement. Her tail thumped on the ground behind her as she let him groom her sweetly. She had missed him and he'd never kissed her like this before but it felt unbelievably right.

Was it foolish of her to love him? Kjell was a loner, bound by no laws but his own. Was that what drew her to him? No. It wasn't that at all. It didn't matter if he traveled far and wide or never went farther than the forest. His travels aren't what made him mysterious and inviting. It was only him. Just him.

Soft eyes lifted and that love was never more apparent in her gaze as it was now. He wouldn't hurt her. Whatever was to happen, she knew he would never. He was at heart a protector. She wondered how he would feel if she could call him that. Would he like it or disagree or feel embarrassed?

The little female sat up and pressed her face against his neck as if she never wanted him to let her go. She'd heard stories while in Bella Coola of foolish females falling for males in the heat of spring. That had never made sense to her before; spring wasn't a season she attributed to heat. But she understood now. The memory left her smiling. She didn't mind being another fool to fall for a male. Not just any male, she amended. This male. Always this male. Even if he tired of her and left her behind some day to satisfy any wanderlust, Pip felt her heart would never turn away from him. It beat for him even now. In fact, it beat because of him. He'd saved her from murderous beavers and savage demons. It could hardly belong to anyone else after that.

Kjell had always made her feel like she was enough. She would prove the same was true of him. He was enough. Always.

Just say you won't let go.

She shivered, but she smiled – and wasn’t that a sight for sore eyes? If there was any such thing as an afterlife for all the good little wolves who did the right thing and honored the Mother, the dragon prince was fairly certain he’d just caught a glimpse of it in that pure little expression. His heart did a weird little flip-flop somewhere in his chest, and then it lodged somewhere in his throat instead of its proper resting place. And despite all this, Kjell found himself smiling right back, his tail waving behind him in a slow arc.

Shit. Shit. When had he ever been this happy?

And in the wake of all that had happened this year? He certainly didn’t feel like a one-eyed moron who’d almost let revenge ruin his life. A second chance, maybe? Wasn’t he just the luckiest wolf in the whole world?

Kjell hummed happily, pressing into the warm embrace for several soft moments before he finally drew back, making sure he had Signy’s gaze before he spoke back up. “Oh, beautiful. I’d hunt down the moon an’ bring it back for ya, if that’s whatcha wanted. You sure this what you want, treasure? Me?”

He had always treated her special. Not quite like she was fragile. Reverently, she decided. As if maybe she were some gift from the heavens. It was a silly thought and delighted her all the same. For a man who seemed so serious and stern in all aspects, Pip was happy to bring out another side to him. He was playful and kind and unbelievably awful at fishing and she loved him for it. Yes, yes, she loved him. The more she thought the words in her head, the giddier she felt. Her tail waved to match his own, though it swept low to the ground compared to his own lifted tail.

Pip blinked in surprise at his words. How strange to find her instincts confirmed in that moment. He really could read her mind, she thought. He must.

She felt silly about it, but tears pricked at her eyes. Happy tears! Only happy ones. That he was willing to do so much for her - her! of all the wolves out there, he wanted to treat her with all the kindness!! - touched her in ways Pip could not define even to herself. Her heart felt as if it may explode right out of her chest.

His probing question had Pip's muzzle falling as she tried to stop the silent laughter from happening without success. Her small frame shook with it. Silly man. Of course.

With tears blinked away, Pip lifted her face and pressed her nose up to his while her tail swept behind her happily. Yes. You. Always. Forever.