If only Ciervo could decide which pack to join with the same ease he decided to be an ass, perhaps he'd have more than a small den and a smelly rug of fur to call his own. But for some strange reason that choice didn't come so easily to the man. Incredibly enough, chosing what pack to condemn or rather give himself to was the only one he actually gave thought to.
Like Jekyll and Hyde, Ciervo seemed to have a duality when it came to taking decisions. And his usual rash attitude was not welcome for such a life-changing choice as this.
With his mind still reviewing the words said by the two Caldera wolves and their attitude during their respective encounters the Ostrega began to wonder around the lands that laid past the Whitefish River, unknowingly heading directly towards the great Plateu that held the Caldera's Alpha former home.
Though he was still at a prudent distance from the borders, the instrusive manner with which he sniffed around would have innevitably caught the eye of any of the Plateu wolves walking by.
Kesuk had started to get stir crazy. Sure she had only just rejoined the pack, but she had done virtually nothing since then. At least nothing productive to the pack. So instead of sitting around gnawing on old bones, she decided to go do a little patrolling of the borders, maybe even catch some real food while she was at it.
She had been walking through the dense undergrowth for some time before she caught the scent of another wolf in the air. Sniffing again, she noticed that it was not a wolf from her pack. The plateau was not a hostile pack, but it was weary of wolves just lurking around their borders.
And so the chocolaty lass set out to find the culprit of scent. After crossing out of the plateau limits and trotting towards the scent for a bit did she finally come across the wolf at the end of the trail. He was a good size and he had the build of a wolf, but something was a bit off about him. Having never seen a coywolf, the girl didn't know what she was looking at.
Still, it was better to be nice, she figured. Approaching him with her tail at unaggressive angle, she let out a light bark.
"Hi, there! Can I help you?" She asked hopefully. He hadn't been trespassing or anything, but Kesuk wanted to make sure he wasn't aggressive.
With his nose closed to the snow and his ears swivelling on top of his head, Ciervo began to zig zag his way through the flatlands looking for a treasure underneath the ground or a simple distraction to pull his head out of the sudden enigma he had been faced with. Despite the flowery descriptions made by the female about her pack, something about it all didn't seem to convince the man entirely.
Then, as the scent of another wolf drifted into his nostrils he pulled into a halt deciding to drop his hollow search to follow the scent to meet whoever was at the other side of it all. Surely a conversation would be better than walking around pointlessly around the snow covered flatlands. Unfortunately, before he could begin hunting down whoever was out there he realized he had turned into the hunted one instead.
With a hasty turn of his head, the seemingly strange coywolf directed his attention towards the chocolate colored female. Having the blood of coyote running through his veins had never been a drawback for the gutty Ostrega; even if his limbs and muzzle were noticeably longer and slimmer than most wolves he met (even more now that Winter was taking a toll on him) he had never felt as if these traits made him less of a wolf as of to speak. "No -- unless you could give me a pointer of what this place and the pack living here is called" he barked with a cheeky half-smile, having a slight suspicion she belonged to said pack.
When the stranger wolf asked about her pack, Kesuk figured that he was an outrider, like Rain. But after going over his scent again, she realized that he didn't belong to a pack. Maybe he was searching for one. If that was the case then Kesuk would be happy to help him.
"Of course!" the earth hued female barked happily. "The pack that claims these lands is called the Black Tailed Deer pack. I am part of that pack." she stated. She wondered if this wolf would like to join the pack. Winter was now apon them and it seemed like a better idea to Kesuk to be with a group rather then alone.
"Are you looking to join our pack?" she inquired, quirking her head to the side to study him some more. The pack was filling up fast, but he looked like he would be a good addition to it's ranks.
The female's overzealous response was enough to make him wonder what was it that these Plateu wolves fed on to be so cheery. Though he had nothing against the girl's happiness, Ciervo was just not accustomed to such cartoonish expressions. With his own lips pursing into a small smile he watched the blue eyed woman wag her tail happily, making what could only be another invitation for him to consider joining her pack.
With his encounter with the two Caldera wolves still fresh in his mind, the Ostrega's smile was quickly drained away, leaving only a thoughtful pout to remain. "Maybe" he barked simply, lifting his gaze to meet his golden eyes with her own sky blue orbs.
Then, with a sudden idea and his tail curling playfully behind him he took a small step towards her, cutting through the sudden silence with a low chuff accompanied with a smile. "I mean I like the place and all -- but I don't know if the wolves here would like me" he mused jokingly while allowing his lips to draw back to reveal an inviting smirk.
While he had no real interest on the (already bethroted) female, it was innevitable for him to turn down the opportunity to play a game : specially one he knew he could easily win.
Kesuk turned her head again to study the wolf that stood in front of her, a smirk on his face. She returned the smirk at his slightly joking words and decided to play along with his game. What could it hurt really?
She pretended to look over him, making sure that his wasn't injured in any way, before pulling her ice blue eyes back up to his golden ones. "Oh I think they will like you just fine." she teased, her tail curled playfully behind her. "That is unless you're some psycho killer or something." she smirked at him, her eyes sparkling devilishly.
She wondered what Koda would think of their little interaction. He probably wouldn't be too pleased with the way she was talking to the stranger, but oh well. She knew that Koda was the one for her and nothing would change that. She was simply playing a little game.
At least this approach was more interesting that the one with the 'love for all' chick he had encountered near the Greatwater Lake, he thought quietly as he watched the dark colored woman in front of his play along to his game like a marionette. With his own eyes resting on her, Ciervo stood still as her eyes traced every inch of his body, his ears pricking curiously as she lowered her head to look him up and down, as if the icyness of her eyes could pierce through his flesh like a little x-ray machine.
Finally she raised her head back, a teasing smirk stretched across her face to keep the joke alive. "Luckily for you, I'm not" he barked with a careless slump of one of his shoulders. Now that he knew she was interested in playing along, he could let the games begin..
Without vocing his intentions or even making sure they were on the same page, the rusty Ostrega launched himself forward, his lips drawn back in a playful snarl. Ready or not here I go.
Kesuk let out a light chuckle as their little spar ended with her successfully shoving his face into the soft powder, pushing a bunch of it onto her dark fur in the process. She felt a smug feeling fill her up as she smirked at him, taking a seat in the area that was mussed up from their scrabble.
"Ha! I win!" she taunted happily, her tail brushing against the snow behind her as it waved back in forth in joking triumph. She hadn't been in a spar for too long and it felt good to get some energy out.
"While you might not be serial killer material, you are pretty good." she chuckled, shoving some more snow in his direction.
Humiliation was to little of a word to describe the feeling that now swelled in the Ostrega's chest as he ungracefully shook as much as the white material off his tousled coat. As he proposed the game, the possibility of being beaten had never crossed his mind. And yet, he had been the one forced to bite the floor.
This wolf -- no, the Plateau wolves, were no joke.
And they were also of his liking.
With his tail lashing to one side as the female expressed her triumph, the coywolf abstained from pronouncing a word, only a sarcastic tsk came from his lips as he tried to redirect the conversation from his embarassing defeat. Never had the man given in to loss and tucked his tail under his legs without attempting to use one of his many tricks.
And this time was no different.
Instead of turning the other cheek and accepting his failure, the man allowed a crooked smirk to crawl upon his features and shape his lips into the same cocky grin he had began with. "Totally let you win" he retorted, his tone meant to be nothing but playful."You never know, I could become a serial killer right now -- you'll be my first victim" he played shrugging his shoulders as a twinkle of malice sparkled in his golden eyes.
It was true that Ciervo was a serial killer -- but wolves weren't his victims and announcing his assasination plans beforehand wasn't his modus operandi.
The brutally murdered fox that he now used as a rug could confirm that.
Kesuk laughed in a good hearted way as he said that she could be his first victim. As if. She smiled and widened her eyes in mock terror, jumping to her feet and scrambling back a few feet before dramatically falling on her butt. "Please, no, don't hurt me!" she faked, her eyes sparkling in laughter.
It had been a while since she had good natured fun like this and it was really lifting her spirits, making her hope even more that Ciervo would join the plateau, although she was pretty sure that the pack was full at the moment.
Her eyes wide and her body shaking, she continued to fake being terrified for a bit more, making little whimpers and squeaks for good measure.
[size=small]The man's mocking threat was nothing compared to his next actions. As the devious man he was there was no way the Ostrega would refuse to elaborate more on his little charade. With lips curling back again over his pink gums he stepped towards the female. Despite he was not in the mood for a round two he would not let the female know this. With all the seriousness of the case he continued to step towards the girl, his eyes narrowing like those of a puma that hovers over an injured animal.
"It'll be quick --but I can't assure it will be painless" he barked, his voice slurring eerily as part of his act. Being the eldest of his litter meant nothing to the young spirited OStrega. Games were his life and his life was a game, and nothing would ever change that as far as he was concerned. Soon the coywolf had reached the female, his snarling muzzle hovering temptatively close to the female's own (jokingly) shivering face.
Now there were a million things that could go wrong.
For one his joke could be believed (which was kinda the point), causing the female to react anywhere between amusement and aggression depending on her interpretation.
Still, there were a million reasons more that made Ciervo want to keep going.
"Die" he breathed, his teeth snapping a couple of inches over Kesuk's cheek as he emitted a low, teasing, growl. The game they were playing was too good. The temperature of their encounter was rising, and not exactly because of the crashing of his hot breath over her skin.
Kesuk shivered playfully at the threatening sound of his voice. His eyes had narrowed and his voice had lowered, but she could still make out the faint sparkle of joking in his yellow eyes. She hadn't done something like this in a long time and it woke the playful being in her back up. She hooded her sparkling blue eyes and met his with her own darkened gaze.
"If that is what you wish, sir." she hummed, lifting her chin to expose her neck, the feeling of his hot breath on her making her fur prickle pleasantly as he hovered above her. Although his next actions were completely unknown to her, she was sure that he wouldn't actually hurt her.
[size=small]He did not want her trust, or her faith. He was not a criminal, but he was not a saint -- even if in the gold glimmer of his eyes there was a certain magnetism that could be mistaken for interest in her specifically, she held no real appeal to him; not in that sense anyways. Yet, the same could not be said of her.
Even if she held her heart on Koda, she seemed to have taken her ring off for this little while, for her actions, bordered dangerously the line between the innocence and sin.
With his lips curled back and his ears slicked back over his skull the Ostrega allowed his breath to clash with her skin, a gesture that despite building up the tension inside the female's heart, sought to tempt his luck. How far would she go for the sake of not breaking character? How much longer could he keep avoiding concequences with his charms? How many more souls could he corrupt before karma got back to bite him?
It seemed that life would give him this win too.
Slowly, and quite unexpectedly the female tipped her head back, exposing the entirety of her vulnerable throat before his very eyes. Incredible. A lamb pleading to be sacrified, a volunteer to his first murder.
With no real script to follow, the two were playing the game by ear -- that if they were playing at all..
Suddenly, with his jaws breaking open and his eyes narrowing into sliths of gold, he clamped his jaw shut.
His teeth not piercing skin, but merely pulling on a feral tuft of fur that hung from her exposed neck.
Her actions were getting dangerously closer to betrayal as tipped her head back. If Koda ever found out about this, he would not be happy. The reason's behind her actions had left her mind, leaving her grappling for an explanation. Maybe she just wanted to feel more like she used too. More rebellious, more dangerous. Darker.
She felt the stranger's hot breath meet her skin and his jaws close around her fur. A sudden flash-back brought her to her last meeting with Vector. He had said he wanted to kill her as well, except he had been serious. She had seen it in his eyes. She had done the exact same thing to him. She had offered him her life. But unlike Ciervo, he had held back, closed up. The two males were so different, but so alike.
As his fangs met her fur, pulling out a few strands, she let a breath hiss through her teeth. It stung, but she would not show it.
While she held no real interest in this wolf, it was fun to play a game every once and a while. Her heart still lay with Koda and she would never actually cheat on him. This wasn't considered cheating, was it? It's not like they had done anything.
[size=small]In the Ostrega's mind there was only two ways this encounter could end.
She could be killed, or she could break character, whichever happened first -- but ultimately, whatever outcome resulted, was entirely up to her. Even if it were his teeth which ended up lined with red, or his jaws which ended up suffocating the life out of her, he would not claim responsability for his acts.
Because in his mind, it was her who asked for her death -- even if it had been through simple joking words, she had placed no resistance when he suggested she were his first kill.
She wanted to help with his debut as a murderer, and for that Ciervo was glad.
With an unceremonious growl that blew the remaining hairs he had pulled out from his lips, the Ostrega narrowed his eyes as he again pulled his snarling muzzle dangerously closer to her still exposed throat. "Do you want to die?" he breathed through low snarls that began to grow louder by the second.
While she worried of cheating her mate, he only thought of the dimming options she had to cheat his unmerciful jaws.
There were few ways one could cheat death, but there were even less ways one could cheat Ciervo.
He was a hustler, a dirty lier, but most of all a shameless sinner.
She lowered her chin so her neck was out of reach and stared into his eyes with a challenging sparkle. If he thought he had a chance at killing her, he was sadly mistaken. First of all, she had beat his sorry ass mere minutes ago and if wanted to try again so soon, she could give him a few real scars to remember her by. Second, they were so close to her pack that even if he did get a good grip on her, her screams would be heard and responded to. He didn't have a chance.
"Doesn't matter what I want, you wouldn't be able to do it anyways." she sneered, her persona changing within the space of a few seconds, her eyes turning cold and deadly, a confident shine glossing them over.
She wondered what he would do. If he tried to kill her, and when she reacted fought against her, there was the possibility of death for either of them, and the sparkle in her eyes showed that she suspected it wouldn't be her that would end up ten feet under. "You're too weak" she hissed, her eyes narrowing.
