Stone Circle let's try again; you be the lead

The sun had long since set, giving the territory an eery mid-evening glow. The winds blew across the land in gentle waves, picking up bits of the snow still left from winter's ending reign. Watching the stars slowly appear across the sky, Akuti said a silent prayer and looked upward with curiousity. For a moment, she pondered on just how long it might take to count up every twinkling light that the sky had to offer, and she even tried for a bit after that! It wasn't until she realized that she'd passed the number thirty-two around five times that she finally released a slight chuckle and gave up her evening shenanigans.

Her mind was occupied by other, more relevant things than heavenly bodies. Rather, she was caught thinking about @Grayday and his two children, and how much they each reminded her of some aspect of her old life. Akuti sighed and looked down at her paws, wiggling the tiny toes before her. Maybe that was why she liked the brute so much; he reminded her of home.

He was watching her again. And like always, he knew it was her, even in the dark. Even from a distance. Even though the slight breeze blew her scent - crisper now that the milkscent had faded, and always laced with lavender - away from his nose, there was no mistaking the lean cut of the tiny creature, nor the distinctive lack of a tail.

Grayday still didn't know what to make of the woman, despite having had several encounters with her. Maybe hunting with her would help break the thick and ever-present ice, but right then, Day found himself disinterested in that particular idea. Still, his paws dragged him forward, close enough that his ears twitched in curiosity when she laughed.

"Something funny?" he asked after a long stretch of silence, coming closer now that he'd alerted her to his presence. He sat beside her and peered up at the sky, though there was no longer anything to be seen up there for him.

Grayday's presence caused a slight flutter in Akuti's chest, though she remained outwardly contained. I was just reminescing, is all, she said in response to his question. He sat down beside her, giving a great sense of comfort to the tiny woman, despite their stark difference in size. There was a moment of silence between the two, soon broken by Akuti's voice. It's pretty late to be wandering, don't ya think? Especially for someone as busy as Daddy Gray. She laughed at her allusion to his children's pet name for their father, and gave a playful nudge to the brute to show her innocent intentions.

Discomfort threatened to rise in him when she talked about memories. Day couldn't help but think of the last time they'd talked about her past, and how awful that'd been. Luckily, she distracted him with a playful jab - one that he was all to happy to return.

"Please, just Daddy is fine," he said succinctly, unable to hold in a quiet snort. "And I have the night shift - wandering is one of my many important duties."

Akuti turned away from Grayday as a slight warmth formed in response to her own embarassment, though a girlish giggle managed to escape her maw. It had never been this hard for her to keep face, though something about him made her facade all the much harder to maintain. What else are you charged with? Part of Akuti was tempted to add a flirtatious mocking of Grayday's Daddy joke onto the end, but she decided that leaving it where she had with an all-telling smirk on her maw would be enough.

His tail whipped happily and the male shot her a self-satisified look, as though he could see through her prim facade entirely. He'd been waiting for her to use the weapon he'd given her - or to take the bait he'd dangled in front of her muzzle - and was a little disappointed when she refrained. But the dark enveloped him, and Akuti had given him weapons of his own.

"The usual," he said with a little shrug. "Chasing off monsters, rescuing lost puppies, punishing willful packmates that take it upon themselves to wander in the night."

He paused a moment and - slowly - turned his head in her direction, his muzzle brushing her ear as he said in a low voice: "What did you say you were doing out here, miss?"

Akuti's body froze as Grayday's words fell onto her receptive ears, his breath brushing sweetly against the curls of her fur. There was a tense moment as she took in the full meaning of his words before she allowed herself to relax and take on a much more typical stature. Akuti sucked in her teeth, making a tsk sound, before responding to his suggestive words with a few of her own, You want me to tell you? Make me. She gave another slight laugh, though this one held a much different connotation. Rather than returning to the demure posture which she one held, Akuti stood and turned so that she was facing Grayday but her legs were able to carry her away, urging him to give chase.

Something previously dormant twisted up in the beta's chest at Akuti's flippant suggestion. Something about her always seemed to set him off, get him clamming up and quoting his dad. He'd been thinking she was just awkward like that until now, but it was this again. He wanted her - or maybe just anyone - and a growl was already rising up in his throat as her tailless rump blurred out of his vision and disappeared into the night.

Grayday darted after her, not trying to hide the grin on his face. It was a childish game, despite the very adult edge that closed in on him whenever he closed in on her. But, invariably, he'd catch sight of slim, dark hindquarters only to have them slip away before he could change direction. She was too quick for him.

"You're just adding more strikes to your record," he called out, pitching his voice low to keep from disturbing their fellow packmates. "If you turn yourself in now, I promise to be lenient."

Akuti giggled in the darkness of the night, sure that she was close enoough to Grayday's for her to be heard, and yet far enough to be out of his reach. She dodged left and right, occasionally pausing to catch her breath. He called out to her, his voice low and seductive, to which she replied with a purr, But that would be no fun, would it? Akuti gave one last kick before high-tailing it into an opening with the moon's beams focused in its center. She trotted to the middle and sat back down, taking a moment to catch her breath before Grayday had a chance to come up behind her.

"Brat," he complained, breaking character a bit.

Finally, she led him to a clearing where there was enough light for him to see her by. The lean cut of her was outlined in bright moonbeams, the strange, glossly curl of her coat highlighted in raven and indigo. As he drew closer, the sweet set of her face became clearer as well, and Day's tail - previously wagging absent-mindedly behind him, began to pick up pace.

"You're a whole lot of troublemaker for one little wolf," he noted, slowing his pace as he came toward her, not wanting to set her running off again.

So punish me then, Akuti commanded Grayday, her face straight and deadpan. She licked at her nose and turned to face him, her teeth biting at the inside of her cheeks. Her large green eyes peered over at Grayday, her expression now returning to one of boredom. While Akuti was working to catch her breath, there wasn't much that she could do to bring a bit of spice back into the situation, thus she could only hope that Grayday would know to take the reigns.

Surrender at last. Grayday's tail flagged as he paced toward her, circling her once before drawing along her side. She was so little next to him that he could hardly think about punishing her, but this was only a game. Gently, he took her muzzle in his jaws, letting his teeth sink against her nose but being careful not to hurt her. Just as quickly, he let her go, drawing himself up and enjoying how easily he towered over her.

"Are you gonna tell my why you're sneakin' around after dark?" he asked, draping a paw over her shoulders and leaning some of his weight into it. "And why you're runnin' away? Anything could happen out here. I'm just trying to keep you safe."

The last word was punctuated by a gentle nip to her ear, to keep up with this punishment aspect she was looking for. Truthfully, Grayday would rather skip that part. He was a simple man, more interested in protecting (possessing) than harming a woman - even if it was just pretend.

Akuti allowed herself to buckle slightly under Grayday's weight, making it easier for him to pin her down, should he so wish. The slight bite her nuzzle paired with the nibble on her ear was enough to get the flutter in her chest going even faster until it felt as though she might explode in the midst of the excitement. I was looking for you, she whispered, allowing her words to curl seductively in his ear. And now that you've caught me, she cooed, her voice barely audible, what are you gonna do with me?

When she buckled, Day only pressed harder against her, until her belly was flat to the dirt and his was flush against her back, his forepaws splayed on either side of her. It was interesting, how malleable she was. Grayday didn't know if it was her size or that she was just naturally more compliant than other women he'd known.

And then he had to laugh, because Akuti had been the opposite of compliant, this evening.

"I don't know what I can do," he admitted, thinking that he'd break her in half if they went any further than this, and almost saying so before he realized how that might sound to her. He had to remind himself that she wasn't some blushing maiden, that she'd whelped already and if she could handle that, she could handle him.

Grayday tried to let go of those worries, releasing them in a soft sigh against the back of her ear. He relaxed his body agaisnt hers, covering her more fully and allowing her to take a little of his weight. She was the perfect size to trap underneath him, and it was a heady feeling, but more than that, he felt a rush of affection for the dark little shewolf.

"You're a peach," he marvelled, nibbling at the shell of her ear. So perfect and well-formed, and yet so completely dwarfed by him. It was a strange experience, and he hoped - distantly - that it wouldn't ruin him for all others.

Akuti wriggled beneath Grayday's weight, a sweet chortle escaping her maw as she struggled to turn onto her back. A peach he had called her, as if she were a sweet little thing, kissed by the sun rather than an unbroken spirit with her own prerogatives. Still, she appreciated the monicker and let it linger in the silence before breaking it with a long sigh and a faded titter at the end. If I didn't know any better, she mused, her paws lifted to Grayday's shoulders, I would say you have a little crush on me. There was a slight mocking tone to her words, paired with a sharp inhale and a mischevious smile.

As she awaited his response, she took a moment to study his features, her green eyes locking with his. Her face took on a innocent expression of childish curiousity as she began scanning him over for any sign of emotion. Akuti had been lied to and hurt enough to know that there was nothing more important than transparency, but it seemed that finding it in Grayday would never be as easy as she wished.

He echoed her laugh with a huff of his own, easing up so she could twist around only to settle back in as soon as she was facing him. "Yeah, maybe," he responded, his tail lashed in absent-minded pleasure as he looked down at her, not seeing much of anything except a flash of green.

The beta sucked in a breath, feeling as though all the wind had been knocked out of him. It's not her, he told himself, staring a little harder at the woman's face. It was too dark, and her eyes were too green. Day turned his head away, lips pulling down at the corners as he tried to keep himself from thinking. It was a fruitless effort, of course.

"But I ain't - " a frustrated sigh punctuated the thought - "I'm not looking for a relationship," he said at length, rising stiffly to his paws and stepping carefully away. He stood there beside her, silent and still and unseeing.

In truth, this very well could have been the encounter which sucked the last bit of optimism from her chest. It seemed that for each step forward, she was pushed two steps back, and she was just about ready to give in. As Grayday stood and moved beside her, Akuti tried to keep face, though a strange mixture of anger and disappointment began to swell in her throat. She hated just how emotional she was, but there wasn't much to be done about it in the moment but try her hardest to hide the flaw.

Akuti herself hadn't started off looking for a relationship, either. In all truth, she wasn't quite sure if she herself was ready to commit again after the life that she'd left behind, but was it really fair for Grayday to lead her on in the way he had? Not only in a physical sense, but in an emotional sense? He cared for her (or so it appeared) and listened when she was hurt, but did none of it mean anything to him? Not even in the slightest. With a defeated sigh, Akuti straightened herself into a stiff stance of slight defense as she struggled to contain the vexation clouding her thoughts.

It's fine. She choked on the words as they were forced from her throat, the hot air becoming trapped. She took a shaky breath and sat back on her haunches before aimlessly pawing at the moist ground in front of her.

It was easy to tell that he'd hurt her - and what else had he expected? "I don't - " he began, but stopped when he realized he didn't have a follow-up. "The kids - " The kids already have Krypton. But this wasn't about them. This was about Adeline, and Grayday didn't have an excuse for that, even if he could tell her about it.

"It can't be... that - for anyone," he said at last - and this, at least, was the truth. He could be the beta. He could be a dad. Not a great one, but he could do it. He could even be Addie's uncle Day, though he wasn't really doing too well with that, either.

What he couldn't do was look into Akuti's eyes and pretend he wasn't thinking of another girl.

He looked back to her, hating that he'd put that slump in her shoulders, and then promptly turned away. "Sorry," he muttered, beginning to walk away and half-wishing that someone would stop him and tell him it was all a lie, that he could be happy and that things could be as simple as having a crush on a pretty girl.

I don't understand, Akuti called out to him in an exasperated whimper. Though seething internally, she fought to keep this hidden, despite her urges against it. You made me think — she began as she stood to follow after him, I just don't understand why you let me get so caught up in this mess. Why hadn't he just told her? Why did he let her think for all of this time that there might have been a chance? The tiny woman continued to chase after him, her legs working a mile a minute to keep them near one another, but with her current swirl of emotions, she had no issue with working if it meant she would get the answers she deserved.

He stiffened considerably when she followed after him, heated half-sentences pouring from her mouth. It made him think, I'm not the only one who's not so good with words, and he did his best not to let his hackles raise as he focused on their similarities rather than the matter at hand. He thought, I didn't mean to - haven't you ever taken a leap and realized halfway you don't have the legs for it?

Sometimes, he felt like he could barely stand.

But instead, he said, "What do you want, Akuti? I let things go a little too far, and I'm sorry for that - but it was one night. One moment of weakness I'd take back if it would make things better, if I could - " the word came out as a growl, revealing some of his own frustration over the topic. It would certainly make things easier on him, but he didn't know if he wanted that memory gone from his mind. He stopped and looked over at her - down at her - and tried to say with his eyes what he wouldn't with his mouth. "It won't happen again." Not if you don't want it to.

Because he wasn't looking for a relationship, but that didn't mean he wouldn't take what he could get.

Akuti stopped moving with Grayday's growl, her ears flat against her head and her bottom to the ground in submission. She looked up at him with slicked eyes, speechless in response. No, she began, her voice at a low and level whisper, it won't. Akuti blinked a few times and looked down at her paws, then sniffled and made her way back to her feet. There was nothing more that she wanted in the moment than to make her way back to her own den — alone, of course — where she could curl into herself for the night and seclude herself from all of what the outside had to offer.

But of course, that wasn't possible. It was clear that Grayday had some sort of control over her, as there was no other explanation for how easily he was able to take a dark world and add light, and just as quickly steal that sunshine away. She wouldn't be able to let him go just yet, and she wasn't sure she wanted to.

Her response wasn't surprising - not verbally, at least. He stepped back from her, a little surprised by her sudden submission before he realized he'd let his frustration get the best of him. He'd just been growling, not at her, but there didn't seem to be a point to saying that when everything they were saying seemed to point to a hasty goodbye in the near future. It won't, she said, and that part had been expected. Day waited for something to happen, for something to change, for it to hurt.

But Akuti just stood there, and all he could feel was tired and a little ashamed.

"Okay," he said softly, blowing out a held-in breath. He took a deep breath and then let that one out, too, air whooshing past his teeth in a pained sigh. Another breath, and then another, and then he said again, more calmly this time: "Okay."

But she hadn't moved and neither had he, and Day lowered his rump to the dirt, wondering what they were supposed to do now.

Just okay? 

Just okay?

Akuti looked back up to Grayday, as if pleading for him to continue on and say something else, even if it made no sense. If he had pulled a quote from his great-aunt's cousin's childhood crush out of his ass, then maybe things would've been a bit lighter. But just an okay? There was nothing more insulting to the tiny raven than to think that Grayday had no more words left to waste on their conversation.

And yet still, she couldn't bring herself to fight it. Instead, she let the silence between them sizzle and pop with their collective irritation and cluelessness. She inhaled and opened her maw as if she wanted to speak, but she swallowed whatever it was she thought she wanted to say for fear of digging the whole deeper than it already was. Akuti couldn't help but think that maybe this was her fault, and that she had done something to turn him away, but she didn't dare share these concerns.

Grayday simply stared at her, oblvious to the myriad of emotions chasing their way across her face. She was a dark blur, not even the green of her eyes discernable from this distance. He thought he might prefer that, but it was hard to think of anything other than how awkward this was. How awkward it would still be in the morning. How everyone would know that something had happened, and how Steady would probably ask him about it and he'd have to admit to being such a fool.

"Let's hunt," he said after a long stretch of silence. "If we go to bed with just this on our minds - " he didn't think he had to finish that sentence. "Please?" he asked her, standing and shaking out his pelt. "Will you hunt with me? I need eyes, in this light."

He realized that he wasn't sure whether or not she knew about his ailment, but not wanting to explain things right then, he surged ahead, peering behind him to see if she was following.

Akuti nodded in response to Grayday's request. She needed a chance to clear her mind, and this seemed like a decent opportunity. She watched him drift away and followed behind him, albeit with a fair amount of distance between the two of them. He could take the lead if he so wished; Akuti was in no mood to conduct a hunt. So, as she followed behind him, she kept her questions silent and in her mind, wondering what was to come next.