Horizon Ridge The curse of much knowledge is often indecision.

For Constantine! Sorry this is so shit, I keep getting distracted at work.   xD

When she decided that there was no point in running around the Teekon chasing ghosts, Durnehviir ventured towards the coast where she'd promised to seek out Constantine. With literally nothing to assist her in the search for her mother and brothers, the tawny Frostfur gave herself permission to follow her heart North. Her swarthy companion had spoke of building something for himself, a pack by the sea, and Durnehviir had promised to find him there. Truthfully, she didn't know what to expect - unknown to her, her own mother had once made the mistake of trusting someone who'd drawn her in with his charm but turned out to be unnecessarily cruel.

Trying to find a good viewpoint, Durnehviir pulled herself onto what she assumed was to be a plateau, but found the rock shattered and unstable. She tread carefully, testing areas here and there with the tips if her toes, and she kept her distance from the cliff edge. Champagne eyes looked over the vast, seemingly never-ending sea before her: the sunset sky was a gradient of hot reds, pinks and oranges, littered with lilac clouds. Durnehviir inhaled deeply the scent of salt, which reminded her of the night she'd spent safely in Constantine's embrace. She rose her muzzle then and howled, an announcement to let him know she was searching and where he could find her if he still wished for her presence. 

Backing away from the unstable, broken ridge until she was a more comfortable distance away, the tawny beauty turned around carefully and began to head for more secure ground.

The days passed by rather rapidly – each one bringing with it a cooler breeze as autumn tinged the air. Soon, frost would paint the foliage at night, and the Wilds would soon turn brilliant shades of crimson, orange and yellow. It seemed odd to him – to celebrate his second autumn after the death of his father, and for a stolen moment, the regal considered seeking out the sequoias and the resting place of Lasher.  He could not bring himself to, though – not when the burnt scent of ash turned his stomach and reminded him of everything that had been taken from him. Deirdre and Emaleth had deserved better. His failure would always be apparent by the burnt forest – a reason he settled so close to it. To remind him to be better.
 
So the stocky wolf took to the ridge. His form lumbered along the length of the heights, his paws barely traipsing higher when a call sounded out, beckoning him. He paused, realizing who the voice belonged to – though her tones were still new to him. He had not expected her to seek him out, but he was not displeased that she had – if anything, he felt a surge of relief, something to pull himself from his darker thoughts.
 
He would have called back, but instead, he sought her out. It did not take long as she sought safer ground, and soon, the shadow runner’s tangerine eyes cast upon the dragoness, and his world stilled for a moment as he quietly watched her.

Durnehviir did not expect her swarthy acquaintance to answer the call so swiftly, therfore she set about better exploring the local area. Surrounding what remained of the ridge was a vast woodland of proud conifers, and the scent of pine hung heavy in the air as she approached the forests edge. The tawny beauty pressed a slim shoulder to the trunk of the first tree she came to and sniffed at its bark, testing for any sign that her mysterious acquaintance might have begun a claim of this particular land. Finding that he had not, Durnehviir strode forward, her fur depositing is own aroma for her potential comrade to follow. 

She did not make it much deeper among the evergreens, for the sound of padding paws caused her heartrate to quicken. Pausing in her tracks, the crimson-tipped Frostfur lifted her fine crown and pointed her snout in the direction she heard another approach from, opalescent eyes finding the form of the male who'd invited her to find him. 

Durnehviir was a sight to behold: the sunset at her back, bathing her in fierce bronze light. Constantine did not move to come closer and, determined not to appear too eager, the pale-eyed dragoness simply watched him back. Her heart thrummed loudly in her chest, urging her to go. Go to him. At her rear, Durnehviir's feathered tail betrayed her attempt at appearing cool before this magnificent brute, as it swung merrily to life in excitable greeting.

He watched her with a silent appreciation – though he felt a hesitation in his chest. Whatw as it about this she-wolf that had enticed him so quickly? Did they seek each other out simply to help ease the ache of missing families? It seemed the most likely – but he found himself eager only to explore it further, rather than set up the walls he had been so determined to build against any other after the fires swept Donnelaith. It seemed only fitting that a dragoness had been the one to tear them down.
 
She was breath taking – Constantine’s eye had been drawn to beauty many times before, but only once before had he desired to seek something more from his attraction. Something about Durnehviir was very different than his feelings for Aria – but for now he would press that confusion aside, for it did not matter. The pale dove of his past no longer remembered him.. while the woman before him had sought him.
 
As her tail swept through the air, the shadow runner took the invitation and loped forward. His strides were purposeful, predatory – as if he were seeking to claim what he pressed toward. He made to close the distance between them, a deep rumble of longing escaping his jaws as his teeth made to taste the soft fur along her ear and crown once more – to fold her closer to him.

Constantine was not hesitant to approach, and made his way towards her with bold strides. She barked encouragingly and bounded forward to meet him, tail still waving excitedly at her rump.

It was as though she'd known him her whole life, the way she collided with him in a flurry of nips, whimpers and yips. Durnehviir reared her head up to meet him, delivering onto the much larger wolf's chin a number of delicate kisses - a display of both respect and affection. Constantine emitted a low rumble in return, preening the fur of her larger-than-average crimson ears, and the red-tipped dragoness shifted to lean herself snugly into his willing embrace. 

Again, she offered no words. There was nothing to say when actions themselves spoke so much. Durnehviir had promised to find him after she'd completed her own mission and, although she'd not yet solved the mystery of her missing family, she was not willing to waste this opportunity to move on.

Amusement etched itself upon his features as she all but crashed in to him – the flurry of excitement was shared as the two reunited. The dragoness had returned to his side – but had she found what she sought? The question burned at him, but he would not break the moment and question her. Instead, the ebony wolf continued to nose at his companion, preening her fur and encouraging her closeness. Only after a few moments did he then begin to pull away, coaxing her toward the edges of the forest and what he hoped she would consider her future home – the wolves he had met thus far had been a ragtag group, but he found a certain sense of comfort in that. He was, after all, hoping to build a pack that took the merit of all skills a wolf could offer.
 
His eyes followed her movement, admiring the rays of sun as they glinted off her fur – his own cinnamons highlighting in his swarthy pelt. Something about her allowed him to breathe easier – to acknowledge that terrible things had happened in the past, but he indeed had a future. One that did not necessarily include heartache.

She knew she was being foolish. Old enough to know better, to know that she could well be setting herself up for disappointment, Durnehviir simply could not deny herself the comfort she found in Constantine's embrace. Vulnerability had lowered her to rock bottom when he'd walked into her life, soothing the rawness and emptiness at once as he shooed her troubles aside. They still lingered, of course: the heartache of losing Viinturuth, the time she'd missed out on sharing with her mother and brothers, not knowing if they were alive or how they'd come to be separated in the first place. But Constantine gave her something to look forward to, an escape from her uncertain past and a reminder that the future was not lost.

He nudged at her, encouraging her deeper as he did on their previous encounter by the stream, and Durnehviir allowed him. She blinked over a russet shoulder to beam at him with a winning smile, accompanying the continuous swish of her tail, and bumped her flank to his playfully as they moved. "I told you I'd find you," she laughed softly, her champagne eyes alight as they sought to meet his own. It was unfortunate that Durnehviir had been unable to complete her original mission, but it was something she intended to revisit at a later date. "Did you find what you were looking for?" Durnehviir asked, keen to know if he'd picked a location for his intended pack and if he'd sourced any other recruits to pad out the ranks.

<3 So sorry..it's been a rough week. :C

Her teasing lilt stirred a small smile to his lips, finding comfort in the ease in which they settled to one another’s company. He hadn’t felt such a connection before – spare with his family, and his eyes studied her with a certain warmth. She would brush to his flank in playfulness every so often, and briefly, he considered her words before nodding toward the forest that emerged before them in the near distance. “There,” he rumbled, keen to see her reaction as he mentioned it. Somehow, the fact that she might hate it worried him – and he wondered then if he would change his mind of his spot to claim.
 
How was it that a stranger had such an effect on him?
 
“Stay with me.” The words slipped past with a definitive rumble – a certain need, and he had not expected to be so forthcoming toward the dragoness.

Hope everything is okay!

Durnehviir turned her copper-tipped crown, pale gaze following Constantine's own as he gestured toward a vast, dense woodland. To the north the evergreens faded, where the shore gave way to the distant sea. She looked fondly over the treetops before them, bathed in golden light in the evening's sunset, then beamed encouragingly up at her companion. "It's beautiful," she breathed, seeking to meet his tangerines eyes.

What he said next surprised her, even though she anticipated that he'd want her to remain. His ranks needed fleshing out and the land required protection, the greater the numbers then the greater the success. It was the manner in which he requested her to stay, with him and not simply there, that caught her off guard. Durnehviir's heart skipped an uncomfortable beat as she quietly considered the dark male's words, before her smile returned. "I will," the she-wolf said, leaning in closer to press her ivory cheek to her to-be Alpha's swarthy neck. There, she reached up to nibble at the underside of his powerful jaw: a gesture of submission, respect and budding affection.

We can fade and have a more up to date thread? Sorry for the wait, love. <3

She compliments the forest – the simplicity of this action stirs a sense of pride in the shadow runner’s chest, if only because he was glad another could see the potential that lay before them. What truly drew him was her agreeance to stay, and tipping his nose down to sweep along her cheek, Constantine rumbled a low growl of contentment.
 
While he did not want to, the swarthy Mayfair began to pull from her embrace after a few moments, though not without a gentle nip cast to her fur in a playful tug. “Let’s do the grand tour, then?” Perhaps, with her input, the two could determine a few key places within the territory.

Sounds good to me! I'll toss a new one up soon.  :)

Durnehviir smiled up at her new leader, champagne eyes bright with appreciation for the new opportunity of a fresh start he had presented to her. While she did not yet know Constantine as well as she'd like, the russet Frostfur knew that he was somehow meant to be important to her.

Ravensblood Forest would be her home. Turning her lovely crown to look out over the treetops before them, she vowed then to serve the pack to the best of her ability. With her swarthy companion's offer to escort her on a tour, Durnehviir's tail sprung to life once more at her rump. "Lead the way," She encouraged, excitement clear in her tone.

She followed Constantine closely, thus beginning the next big chapter of their lives.