Antler Ring Louder than thunder

for @Morganna

At first, Askan thought they were ghostly white apparitions, that the snow was playing tricks on him. But as he approached it became clear that that he was not seeing things, that someone- for some reason-had created a circle of antlers smack bang right in the middle of the Lowlands. The display held his interest for a little while, as he sniffed at the pointed ends of the horns and tried to figure out its purpose.  Who made this? And why? What did it mean? But like with most things that he deemed useless, he quickly grew tired. Whatever this was, it wasn't so interesting that he'd spend hours brooding over it. If anything, he had more interest in sabotaging it. At least that would amuse him for a moment or so and would serve as a suitable distraction to the troublesome thoughts that the season brought with it.

With a sly grin, Askan approached the nearest set of antlers and clamped down onto one of the branches, before heaving backwards and uprooting it from its position in the near perfect circle. Tossing it aside, Askan couldn't help but look on with mirth at his little bit of vandalism. His little 'fuck you' 'to whoever had taken the time and care to put it all together. By no means had he ruined whatever the hell this was, but he'd done enough so that the next person who passed by would notice his handywork.  That they'd go, 'oh come on, really?' If they wanted to they could put the antler back in its rightful place, they were welcome to. He just wanted to leave his stamp on this place, even if it was only for a little while.

His smug sense of pride was more than enough to cleanse his mind of sin, and for the first time in days he felt like himself. He felt clean, even if he had to be a little shit to achieve it. If only everyday of the rest of this month was like this, if only he could just stay away and be left alone. Then everything would be tolerable. Maybe even fine. But of course, there were other machinations at work, and Askan rarely got what he wanted.

She could only trust that by now, her son had reached the safety of the Willows by now. Day by day, with no sign of his attacker or the Rye girl, Morganna began to wonder if it was even worth keeping the search up. Surely if she was going to show up alive, she would have done so by now and her own experience with these matters left her little reason to think the child was even still alive. They would probably find her with the thaw, after the snowstorm that night, the edges of her mouth pulling down as she brushed the thoughts aside.

Besides, she had more pressing worries. Like this godawful stench and the burning need that it bought with it. Peach eyes narrowed as they scanned the tundra ahead, thinking that perhaps the dark wolf was Drestig, and maybe if it was she should tell him that they had no news to pass on. Maybe their princess had already been found and was tucked up tightly in her den? She snorted a dry short laugh, this wasn't a fairy story.

Her smirk did grow when she saw the wolf displace an antler, all the confirmation she needed that this was not the old man from the rye pack, he lacked any of the silver the other man did. "Jus' what d'yer think yer doin'?" She called out in an amused tone as she sauntered across the distance between them, she moved with confidence though lacking her usual aggression. She had no reason to be scaring people off from this place. Not yet.

Had it been another season he would have likely been able to test her scent, to figure out where she came from using it. But right now, he knew if he even tried to he'd just get smacked in the head by her heavenly scent. It was already a little hard to focus and he could already feel his head throbbing as her scent began to tug at his strings, reducing his sharp mind to a one way route to sin and everything Askan found...Distasteful.

And oh, from that pleased, smarmy look on her face she had to know what she was doing, how her presence alone made it hard to think, hard to feel anything other than want want want. His body wanted her yes, he wasn't doing to deny that, he knew what was happening. He understood the urges. But his head was saying no no no, do not want, do not want! It was an eternal struggle, day in day out, and the longer he fought against it the less he wanted to. The very thought of giving in made him itchy, made him feel as though he'd sinned, like he was wrong.

It was times like this that made him glad that he was broken , that he didn't seem to lust after others as he'd seen so many wolves do. Because if they had to deal with feelings or sensations that were akin to this level of frustration and desire, then fuck it! He was glad he was fucked up. This was worse than hell itself.

Bristling, Askan shot her a dirty look. "What does it look like?"

As tempting as it was to flee, to run back home to the field, Askan held his ground with his head held high. Her scent, the way she moved was captivating to him-disgusting- but he wasn't going to give her, whoever she was, the satisfaction of knowing how much she affected him. He would suffer in silence in need be.

"What's it to you anyway?"

Morganna wasn't used to others biting back at her taunts, not unless they were related by blood or had endured her presence for long enough to know when it was safe to do so. It was a breath of fresh air, really, this lack of regard, such a prickly response. It wasn't enough to make her halt in her approach, nor put her any more on guard than usual, since she couldn't possibly tell if this man was always so sour or if it was a seasonal ailment. "Aww," the word was dripping with sarcasm, "Season got yer down? Girlfriend found another man?" At this point the woman was just about as inclined to fight as she was to fuck, anything to try and take her mind of her own maddening state, but perhaps even a simple romp through the snow with a stranger would be enough?

Her tail waved as she drew closer, hardly a friendly gesture given the scent that already hung thickly in the air between them. She showed no signs of slowing in her approach, steady, confident steps bringing her ever closer to the dark stranger. A smirk betrayed her intentions, though whether he would figure it out on his own was yet to be seen. When she thought she was close enough she sprung forward, hoping to shove the man with her shoulder as she raced past with a laugh. She would spin in the snow, forepaws spread wide as they thumped the ground in a play bow, a growl sent forth in challenge. Come and get me.

Askan shot the woman a scathing look of contempt as his ears pressed flat against his head. Her words weren't even worth responding to, because the way he saw it, she couldn't be further from the truth. Sure, he wasn't so fond of the season. And he supposed it could be argued that it played a part in riling him up but...Who was he kidding? This time of year was intolerable, he hated the foreign, unnatural feelings that settled into his bones and tugged at his strings like a puppeteer. When he was at home all of this hand't been so bad, he'd been around his family and so he didn't feel as much as a draw towards them. But here in this land of strangers he felt as though he was being pulled in a hundred different directions. It was as though his body no longer belonged to him, that he was a slave to his instincts. And that in itself was a repulsive notion, the sort that made the Selwyn want to dig a hole and hide in it. Forever, or at least until the season was over.

Still, there was no way that he was ever going to admit that aloud or show any sign of weakness, at least in front of her- the devil woman. Fortunately, Askan did a fine job of disguising his discomfort with anger, so much so that only those who knew him well would be able to tell the difference. Even then it'd be a struggle.

He thought-or at least hoped- that his callous reception would turn her off. That she'd realise he wasn't willing to dance to her tune. But nope, apparently his not so subtle messages went right over her head, as she kept on- ugh. Askan had to hold his breath, it was too much. Too sickly. And that smile, so cunning and deviant and yet so enticing. She knew exactly what she was doing and she was revelling in it, taking some sort of sick pleasure from his disdain. Except that it was harder to keep the mask in place, it kept slipping and instead of glowering at her like he wanted to his bright eyes followed her every movement, like an eagle spying on its prey.

With a sudden burst of movement the woman sprang forward and shoved into Askan with a shoulder, before rushing past as laughter spilled from her lips. The Yukon wolf was stunned and merely stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do and what just happened. Rather than an act of aggression it was clear to see that she was playing and what's more she wanted him to play as well.

Instinctively, he wanted to reject her invitation, to cast her aside and go on his way. But he...Just couldn't and instead found himself  kicking off into a sprint to chase after her. What had she done to him? What was he doing?