Yesterday had been Velox's birthday, and though she was always generally unaware of it, it came to her mind now that she felt especially old today, specifically with the pains that plagued her healing body. It had been so long now that she had almost forgotten how it felt to be completely healthy, which is what she had been for the majority of her adult life. Her days felt long, and the nights even longer, but she attributed this to having nothing to pass the time but to think her thoughts and occasionally exercise her stiff, aching limbs.
The freshly aged five year-old took to the cloudy afternoon with less vigor than she had in the previous days. Velox had been eager to be on her feet and get well again, but these thoughts were as clouded as the sky today and she could not shake the feeling of dread on her shoulders or the feeling of her mortality that surrounded her usually pleasant attitude. She limped forward slowly, again journeying to the nearby Creek on her own and finding herself slightly glad that she could make the trip easier now and would no longer be subject to the ice-melt at the back of her den.
Her resilience to tragedy was immense, so she started to shake her unhappiness and replace it with thoughts of her fortunate survival. Idly she wondered if Dawa would be there at her den tonight, as she lapped at the cool, refreshing water and kept her bi-colored eyes on the sky above. It would probably rain, and though she liked the sound of storm, she didn't think that she wanted to be alone tonight...
(I hope you dont mind me popping in!)
It was warm today. The greying skies seemed to envelope the valley, holding in a peculiar spring humidity. His fur felt slick with all tje water that made the air heavy, and, strangely, he felt the urge to bathe. The demon was not usually so attuned to his physical appearance, nor what stench of oil and mud wafted from his body, but today in particular he felt irritation at the density of his greasy fur. It would do him well to clean it for once, and so the beast directed himself towards the creek that bled through the valley's basin, mindful of the pale skies.
He had left the others in his faction to patrol the border as he headed into the heart of the territory. The titan's massive bulk wound without grace through the revealed grasses, almost missing the icy sting of snow on his paws - it kept him alert. A low rumbling accompanied his steps, a natural growl he could not hold back; Raheerah was by no means silent or delicate. And so he felt no need to announce himself to the woman perched by the edge of the creek, content in assuming she would hear him regardless. He moved up to the brook's edge and cast his gaze to his packmate, grunting his greeting before progressing into the current.
Of course not! I've been secretly trying to coax you in with one of my threads anyway ;D
Velox paused in her drink as another sound became apparent. Heavy pawsteps. She thought it might be Xi'nuata again, since they had talked in nearly this exact spot a few nights before, but the accompanying growling made her hesitate to think it was the amiable she-wolf. She looked over her shoulder with her ears back, prepared to fully submit to an angry superior, but she did not meet the sight of a wolf trying to assert their dominance; though his dominance was
omnipresent in the dauntless, sanguine movements of the smoldering shadow.
A singular eye peered in her direction, and Velox dropped her bi-colored gaze and inclined her muzzle, receiving only an acknowledging grunt to her presence before he splashed chest-deep into the waters. Over the clear scent of the creek, her nose identified the stranger's pungent aroma, grimy and thick—vaguely unpleasant, but it spoke of his wild, virile ways, and she was not unimpressed. She studied him openly now, as his back was to her, and she studied the warrior's stature and build with candid curiosity.
She bent to drink once more as the dark wolf began to bathe, and thereafter did not leave during the event of it, instead choosing to ease into a careful sit on her injured leg and watch him more until he was finished. After a while, she spoke carefully to him.
"I could help with your grooming... if you'd like." It was natural for wolves to be social, physical with one another, but for some reason she did not assume that this wolf would like another's touch. Just as Dawa, albeit in a different fashion.
(flaps arms!!! i feel wanted!!! ;v; )
Without hesitation he splashed into the water, and relished the sudden coldness that enveloped his body. It rose up and swallowed the male's body up to his chest, creeping in past thick and oily locks of fur to touch his taut skin, bringing sensations of cold and icy needles. Raheerah stood in it for a moment, feeling the current tug on his limbs. He tilted his head to peer out towards the origin of the creek - somewhere among the mountains, surely - and then further out towards the Vale, before his attention affixed back on the waters. He snorted gruffly and briefly plunged his jaws beneath the surface, gnawing at stray debris that slowly drifted away from the fur of his legs.
It was her voice that summoned him from preening filth from his limbs; hearing her speak out against the babbling of the creek, Raheerah first twisted back an ear, and then raised his head to turn and look at her. Water dribbled quickly, and then lazily from his chin as it hurried to meet the pull of gravity. It was mimicked by rivulets of water that streamed from the fur of his cheeks and throat, all of which already clung stubbornly to his body, outlining the curvature of his honed muscles. Like a wild predator, the burning red of his single eye lingered on her, indecisive of her offer.
He wasn't so certain how well the water itself could clean him, and Raheerah knew that he had little intention of tending to his appearance himself once he emerged from the creek. Perhaps it would benefit him to allow the woman to groom him, if cleaning himself had been his priority. "Veerry weelll." The dragon rumbled. He slowly turned and lumbered back out of the water, drawing from its grasp to the dry land beside the porcelain lady. Raheerah faced her - he held her mismatched gaze for a moment that could have been rendered uncomfortable on her end - and then he turned and faced the creek once more, only to sink down to his haunches. He was a hellish and frightening creature. His essence was crafted in an environment that shared the brutality of Hell, but he had emerged from that creation somehow astoundingly tolerant of mortal beings like Velox. It was one of his small virtues.