For @Black Hat <3

Sky.

From those azure blues, came the gathering of voluminous clouds, brewing in their miserable tenebrosity. Snowflakes danced like gossamer; woven with silk. The winter, yes, it was beautiful - but harsh. A fire stoked deep within her belly, the steady pilot of her limbs, and onward it pulled her; a woman meek in her composure, but born from sedulous refinement. She was not a masterful huntress, nor a seasoned warrior, and perhaps it was a miracle she'd survived--

--but she had, breaths pooling into the air as diaphonous plumes of frost.

She recalled little of the previous months, all passing in a byzantine blur, but she knew one thing - the skies, they called to her now. Summoned her from her hiding, to escape her withering, and seek shelter among the wolves of the teekon once more. This is why she glided now - stride quick, quick and deft. She must move, must seek, find her place in the world...

...lest she wish to face the onslaught of nature's fury.

Mature Content Warning

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The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: Sex talk, vague thoughts of assault.

You get Black Hat's stinky 200th post, yay!

New faces flocked to the Haunted Woods, spurred by the unforgiving bite of winter. It felt suffocatingly crowded to him now. Seeking fresh air, Black Hat slipped from the borders towards the vast lake nearby. Drawing cold air into his lungs, he let it seep back out through his stained teeth in hot wisps. A warm-pelted figure sliced through the icy expanse like a hot knife through butter. Undoubtedly female, the mocha wolfess glided along at a steady clip, and she was headed his way.

What's the rush? He inquired conversationally, taking in the details of her form now that she was within speaking range. White coated her extremities and ventral side as if eternally dusted in snow, fading to grey that gave way to warm browns as his eyes climbed up her willowy body. His gaze returned to those quiet lavender eyes, soft and welcoming. It'd been a while since his last coupling, and the breeding season was upon them. The influx of females in particular was beginning to drive him mad. He could easily overpower and have his way with her.

Tempting, but he decided to employ patience for the moment and feel her out.

omg yayyy, congrats hehee.

"What's the rush?"

Invigorated steps slowed to intricate steps - tentative, fastidious. She looked upon him with those languid gems of violet, before swallowing her surprise and dipping a frosted chin, gaze sweeping like velvet curtains to the space on the ground just before the man's paws. For a moment there was only silence, as the paper-thin snowflakes hurried their pace, whirling around her body like ribbons - ribbons of coruscating white.

As though she was a present, sinous and dainty, laid out in waiting for him--

--and finally her lips parted.

"Ah- my... my apologies sir, I thought I was alone." Her voice was sweet on the frosted air, like icing to a cake, posture elegantly timorous. Quaint. In that moment, she allowed her vision to rise up to a safe position on the lower portion of his cheek, in order to avoid meeting the fathomless, aberrant pools of his eyes; nothing but good manners, truly, and internally she praised herself for not having forgotten appropriate behaviour.

"I'm searching for somewhere to belong." A smile, then - it graced her lips tenderly, like a butterflies kiss. Her honesty was innocently imprudent.

This wolfess positively radiated submission from her low posture to how she avoided meeting his intense mismatched gaze. Then, she spoke to him as if she were a student being reprimanded by her teacher, further solidifying his hypothesis. He returned her gentle smile with a crescentic yellow grin and hooded eyes. Well you're in luck, darling, because my pack is but a short jaunt away, He advertised smoothly. I will warn you though, Nightwalkers is a mercenary pack. But we are strong, and we will keep you fed so long as you do your part.

Remembering his own manners, he introduced himself. The name's Black Hat, by the by.

Cowled eyes did settle upon her crown as she dipped, and Daivya waited in her diligent disposition, until the serrated tongue whispered back upon the wind to greet her. With the understanding of his words, however, a shiver of delirium wracked her spine like acapuncture needles; ends laced in sugar. Soft lips quirked at the corners, sleepy gaze coruscating with unspoken delight. Until, of course, she voiced her glee--

--"Really? T-That is wonderful! Oh, if you would have me, I will serve in a heartbeat." A plume of mottled cocoa waved swiftly at her rear, further betraying her elation. Oh, thank the gods, her mind did utter to her. Sucking a cool breath through her teeth, the girl dipped her chin once more, steadying her thundering heart until she had settled, resigned back to that acquiescent figurine.

Black Hat...

"It is a pleasure to meet you, sir. My name is Daivya - I am a γιατρός, a medic, but a midwife too. I will tend to your wounded, but I will care for mothers, too, and their young. If, of course, I am permitted to do so." Introduction complete, she carefully awaited his verdict, trickles of anticipation running as rivers through her limbs.

Want to close this out & start another thread at the border?

She was ecstatic at the notion of having a place to stay, undeterred by the cutthroat nature of their band — ignorance was surely bliss there. Daivya was her name, light and dainty just like she who bore it. The pleasure's all mine, dear Daivya.

She explained her trades before he even had to ask. Especially with pup season just around the corner, it was… Perfect. We could use a set of paws like yours. Vengeance is the showrunner, but I've no doubt you'll be welcome in our ranks. He turned with a brief glance over a shoulder, silently inviting her to follow.

sounds perfect!

Her smile held true, but delicate - as though a tender sweep of the wind's caress could brush it away. After the incidents within Rosings, she could not bear to raise her hopes toward the heavens only to have them rain back down upon her, like despondent confetti; already she was wistful, agog.

With a single glance back to the path in which she'd trailed, the benign forest sylph began to traipse only a pace behind the atypical man, svelte body weaving through the snow's blanket.

To new beginnings.