Wild Rye Fields Dark wave

For my beloved stud-muffin @Reyes  
RE: An ominous formation of undulatus asperatus seems to bode ill for the residents of Relic Lore.  

Askan knew full well that he'd gotten off pretty light, that in deciding to hurl himself at that damn cat he'd put his life on the line. And you know what? He was okay with that. He'd do it again in a heartbeat if another one of those slinky buggers entered their field again. But damn, his shoulder hurt, ached and throbbed with every step he took.

It wasn't the end of the world, @Neko had already seen to Askan and concluded it wasn't going to kill him, but even so he couldn't help but dwell on the fact that it could have been so much worse.

With a frustrated grunt, he cast his gaze skywards, at the tumultuous, stormy clouds above. It all seemed very foreboding, like dread was drawing near, but wasn't it a little late for warning signs? The beast was dead and gone and despite the fact that the Guardian and a few of his fellow pack mates hadn't escaped unscathed, they all were-for the most part- fine.

It had to be a coincidence, the sky merely just happened to be all rolly and mad today. Since when had Askan ever believed in signs and fate? Never, and he damn well wasn't gonna start now. He had better shit to be doing.

So along he limped, ignoring the angry sky, as he continued his sub-par border patrol. He was almost done, planned on heading back to his den after for a well deserved nap when he sensed-rather than saw- something fly overhead. He glanced up with a confused frown on his face, just in time to see something floating down from the sky. He paused in steps and squinted, the hell was that? A feather of some sort?

Slowly and surely, like it had all the time in the word, the feather fell to the earth and landed in front of Askan's paws.  He was no bird expert, in fact he had very little interest in them, but he knew someone who did. Or more accurately, he knew a certain southerner who liked owls. Leaning down to take a sniff, Askan smirked in satisfaction at the scent that tickled his nose. Well, wasn't he a lucky sod for once? What had Reyes once called him, jammy?

Bending down, Askan gingerly picked up the feather and held it between his teeth. As to why the bird was out so early, well if he had to hazard a guess, he reckoned the stormy sky confused the bird into thinking it was dusk or even nighttime. A stupid mistake, but one that Askan was grateful for.

Now all he had to do was drag his arse back to his den and leave it somewhere for Reyes to find.

It took longer- and hurt more- than he would have liked, but eventually Askan pushed his way through the trees and wriggled his way into the den. Over the months the two of them had collected little knick-knacks, things that made the den their own. And this feather, seemed like the perfect new addition. He just had to find somewhere to put it, somewhere just right.

Bad weather was not anything Reyes found particularly encouraging. Which was not to say he was afraid of storms – because it would take more than a few loud crashes to spook him – but a rainstorm in the arid regions of the southwest were nothing to scoff at. A flash flood could kill a wolf, a whole pack of ‘em, and just because that was real unlikely here didn’t meant he couldn’t shake the feeling. There wasn’t anything here to even crawl on top of, not unless he wanted to go knocking on Piety’s proverbial door, so while his mate was out and about, the gamma had no interest in doing anything except curling up into a tiny wolf donut and waiting it out.

It was nice that Kana returned, though.

Reyes glanced up, removing his tail from the tip of his nose to greet the wolf with a soft chuff. “It raining yet?” he asked, even though he could plainly see out the opening of the den. It was better to talk, anyways. Not that he’d say as much. His head picked back up, spying his mate a little more closely as he narrowed silver eyes. “Watcha got there?” he rumbled.

REYES | Dead man walking.

With it being so dark out, and even more so in the den, Askan couldn't be blamed for not noticing his mate right away. The place was covered in his scent, old and new, so he just assumed he was out doing his own thing, be it patrolling the borders or sniffing out something to eat. It was only when Gabriel spoke, that Askan noticed him. And to his credit, he didn't yelp or even jump out of his skin. He merely puffed out a breath from his nose, as he cursed his poor sense of timing. What a great surprise this was gonna be, nice job Selwyn.

It took his eyes a few moments to adjust, but once they did it was easy for Askan to see his mate curled up on the carpet of pelts and furs they'd laid down last winter. Honestly, it was a small miracle he hadn't stepped on him, as his dark coat provided the perfect camouflage, like he was some sort of crafty cat, but a hundred times more handsome. Obviously.

But damn, he should have accounted for Reyes' sharp gaze. There was no use trying to get anything past him, he always noticed the little details, when he wasn't really paying attention.

The game was, seemingly, up. There was little else Askan could do but try and play it cool.

Plopping himself down onto their makeshift nest with an achy grunt, Askan leaned over, dropped the feather and watched as it flitted down and landed on Reyes' snout. It was pretty damn cute actually, watching him go cross eyed as he tried to see what it was. Askan couldn't help but laugh a little as he wriggled closer, so that they laid side by side. As it was supposed to be.

"Not yet." Askan said, as he stretched out his front legs so he could rest his chin on them. This was comfy as he could get, considering his pissy shoulder."It's a little something, not a big deal, but I saw it and thought of you."

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

As the younger wolf waddled in, clearly still stiff from his tangle with the cougar earlier, Reyes began to shuffle, making room for his mate among the furs. Which wasn’t to say that Askan was particularly big, nor was their little homemade den particularly small, but the gamma had certain way of taking up space when he was the only one in there. Scooching his bum to one side, he nuzzled into Kana’s neck, content to more or less leave the conversation there – until his mate just flopped a feather right on his nose. Bright silver eyes crossed, straining to actually make shape of the fuzzy shape when a sudden, violent sneeze attacked from nowhere.

ACHOO!

Reyes shook his head violently, snorting several more times before finally opening his eyes again. “The heck was that for?” he groused, brows knit together. At least he could finally see the feather, now that it wasn’t mere inches away from his face. And now that he could actually see it, he could see why Askan had been possessed to pick the thing up. His tail gave a single thump as he wiggled forward to investigate it, nosing it this time as he hummed thoughtfully. “Where did ya find it, anyways?”

REYES | Dead man walking.

Askan had a real hard time stifling his laughter.

Reyes was usually so stoic and in control , every one of his actions was calculated and considered. And yet there he was, flailing around, sneezing and snorting like some sort of boar. It was hilarious, how was Askan supposed to resist that? He was a grumpy bastard, for sure, but his sense of humour wasn't buried as deep as most might think. It just took a little bit of coaxing and once it was out in the open there was no way it was going back away without a fight. Not without making him laugh  so hard that his eyes got all watery, and his stomach all tight and sore.

To an outsider, it probably sounded like all sorts of weird things were going on within their den. But to Askan it just perfect. A stupid, perfect moment that was theirs and theirs alone. Just as it should be.

He shook his head, as a big, goofy grin pulled at his lips. Ah man, that was...He'd never forget that, it was definitely up in the top five moments he'd had with Gabriel. And with fingers crossed there'd be a boat load more to come.

"Phew...I uh..I honestly can't remember. Does it even matter?" He said, once he'd managed to catch his breath and regain some decorum. He then leaned over into him and gave his ear a playful tug, before giving it a boop to ensure no damage was done. He was just playing, didn't want to sow any seeds of discontent.

"But yeah, it just fell from the sky. Landed right in front of me and I thought, hey I know who'll like this." He shot him a wry smile as his tail gleefully thumped at the floor.

He was tempted to just leave it there, as he didn't really have anything else to say on the matter, the story was as simple as that.But with how jovial  Askan was feeling, he just couldn't. He tried, really. He pressed his lips into a thin line and he sat up a little straighter, but it was like trying to restrain his temper. It just wasn't gonna happen.

"I think you might know him, maybe?" He began, as he tried and failed to be coy."He's grumpy as hell and definitely a dick but...He isn't so bad, has his charms.For one,"Askan rumbled, his eyes gleaming with flirtatious mirth. "He is pretty damn hot."

(This post was last modified: Sep 10, 2017, 10:05 PM by Askan.)

He knew Askan was gonna laugh, that pain in the ass. Not that he could particularly the wolf – at best, he could offer him a cross look. And to call the expression cross was to be a bit generous, for the gamma generally found it a bit difficult to be upset with the man he called his mate. He let the man have his laugh, huffing softly, and with patience came his answer. Eventually, anyways.

“Huh. Wonder if it was Party Owl…” he started, thinking back to the raptor Cottongrass had fondly named, who later attack him and Percy. He thought it was the same owl, anyways. Though he supposed there were at least two if there were chicks, and those chicks should probably be grown. It was practically autumn. So maybe not.

He might have continued on the train of thought, but it seemed like Askan was feeling particularly cheeky today. “Yeah, sounds like someone I might know. Maybe.” He snorted, one brow raised as he forgot all about the rain that had started to fall outside. “What’s gotten into you, huh? Where’s my grump? What didja do to him?” he teased, tail starting to thump against the den floor.

REYES | Dead man walking.

Party owl. That name rang a bell. He could faintly remember being tired and cold in the timbers, stumbling upon Reyes and Cotton, only to find that they had no intentions of going home. That they were content to sit around in the dark and name random owls they heard hooting in the distance.Not exactly his idea of fun, but in hindsight he knew it was one of his better memories. One he looked back on sort of fondly.

Askan couldn't help but snigger at his mate's words. Flirting wasn't exactly his thing, nor was he very good at it-evidently- but it sure was fun and pretty damn satisfying. By no means did he plan on getting all flirty with every soul he met, but if they happened to have more conversations like this then you wouldn't hear Askan complaining. Not at all.

Grinning, Askan then leaned forward to give his mate's snout a quick, but harmless nip. How rude! Nothing had gotten into him, he was just having some fun. Despite his cheeky rebuke, it was pretty damn obvious that he didn't mind. If anything, it was crystal clear that he was having a good time, trying out new ways to show affection to man he adored with everything he had.

With a spark of audacity and inspiration-maybe something had gotten into him- Askan smushed himself on top of his mate and slathered his face, snout and head with so many kisses he sort of lost count.If Gabriel didn't like this new him then it was too bad, he'd have to deal with it. Besides, it's not like he would always be like this. That sounded tiring as hell.

"I'm afraid the Askan Selwyn you know and love is long gone." He said, completely deadpan once he'd had his fill. For now anyway."He belongs to the owls now."

He managed to hold onto that serious expression for a couple of seconds longer, before the facade collapsed and he ended up laughing again. Though a little louder this time. This was what Reyes had done to him, he made him happy, goofy and just plain ridiculous. But that was okay, as long as they felt good and were warm and dry, Askan couldn't care less about anything else.

"In all seriousness," He said, pulling back just a little to give his mate some space. Only a little, he was still only a man after all. "You make me feel good, you know? And maybe it's weird and stupid but...It's just another side of me only you get to see. If you want. I'm gonna shut up now."

“To the owls, huh? Knew they were fuckin’ bastards.”

Which was probably why Reyes had liked the birds of prey to begin with – there was something about them, beyond the talons and sharp eyes, that spoke to the wolf on a soul deep level. Took an asshole to know an asshole, or something like that. The thought was enough to make him rumble; maybe Askan’s laughter was contagious. Just a little bit. His tail thumped from side-to-side, betraying any attempt he made to keep his serious expression.

But in all seriousness—

“It ain’t weird or stupid, amor. If I ain’t doin’ that, then I ain’t doin’ nothin’ right,” he replied, one brow raised. Never questioned it. It was easy as that. Sure, maybe he never had a father figure, and sure, maybe his mother never had a healthy relationship while he and his sisters hung around, but Mama made damn sure all three of her children knew what it should feel like. Look like. And god help that trio if they didn’t do their best to take care of any possible love interests. “‘course I want. Don’t be dumb.” He grunted, leaning over to give his mate a little nip on the ear. His tail thumped again. “Like you exactly as you are, mi luna.”

REYES | Dead man walking.

Askan certainly thought he'd been acting like a goof. But if Reyes was happy with seeing this side of him, all laid back and relaxed,then so be it. He wasn't going to start complaining about it anytime soon, that's for sure. The world outside was so dark and dreary, foreboding even, as though something foul was on the horizon. And yet safe within their den, Askan could think of nothing but how content he was. How lucky he was to have found Reyes. Sure they locked horns more often than not in the early days, but they'd soon ironed out the kinks once they'd come to an understanding.

From there on out it had-mostly- been smooth sailing.

"That so?" He asked, with a roguish quirk of his brow."To me that sounds like you're asking for trouble, Gabriel."

If Reyes wanted to play the flirty nibble game, then it was on! Askan wasn't going to back down anytime soon, especially not when he was in such a good mood. He already had his mate in his grasp, all squished beneath him with nowhere to run or hide. Not that he'd really keep his mate trapped if he really wanted out but...that was aside the point. This was a game, he was allowed to indulge in a bit of smack talk. It was all in good fun.

Reaching over, Askan gave his mate's nose a little nibble, grazing it with the tips of his teeth, only to give it a sloppy kiss once he was done. It was an unspoken challenge, like dangling a bit of meat in front of him to see if he would take the bait. He wanted to play, to fool around like they had at Skyfall Glen. That had been a whole lot of fun. And sure, the season was different but his feelings remained the same. He adored the hell out of his man and in all likelihood he always would.