@Kerosene

Tonravik and Iqniq scarcely left the side of one another. Their coupling had tripled after Kodiak had returned, won, and coupled with her in turn; but in the end, Iqniq reigned supreme, and the punishment was the running off of Kodiak lest he be challenged again.

The leader prowled now, looking for him in her hungry haze, her heat still present but the end of it impending. He was nearby, to be sure, and she sought the flame, stalking loudly through the wood to find him. Her mate.

He was reminded of their first meeting. That time in the woods were he'd made a stereotype of his gender and mistakenly hit on her not once, but persistently. He'd insulted her then, inappropriately making comments about her gruff appearance and telling her that one day some wolf would find her attractive. He knew now she cared about none of this. In the end it had come down to who was the strongest male that dared claim her.

He'd dared for other reasons. He'd won by hers.

Sin eater.

The word echoed in his mind as he contemplated his current predicament. He was hers and she, his. None of this was what he'd set out for when he'd first entered these wilds, but he'd fallen into it all the same. His mind had fallen prey to instinct as he'd given into basic need and taken her more times than he could count. It was only now that he'd fled their honeymoon suite in efforts to guard her that his head began to clear.

Heavy lies the crown.

He stalked, scenting the air for any hint of further threat against his claim. Heavy paws sounded behind him and he turned, a snarl upon his muzzle up until he realized it was she who neared. His posture visibly relaxed as he stared back into her gaze and drowned once more in the scent of her.

He said nothing.

How things had changed. 

Tonravik was not sentimental, and also, could not recall his own words that he did not do pups. In time, he would. 

His feral snarl was met with a dismissive flick of the ears. She could understand. Tonravik would in truth act much the same. The feral bear sidled along side of him, pushing her muzzle into a strong shoulder to attempt to lick at a wound there, tongue sliding through her teeth in a gentle manner she was rarely accustomed to using. But, he had earned a moment of peace for all the chaos he had gone through. His mate would simply be there to share it with him. 

The leader watched him for a moment before looking out into the distance. Neither of them had anticipated this, but Tonravik knew well how life worked. She did not worry, or fret. He was strong. He had proven that. And so their progeny would thrive, and so, too, would anyone beneath them. 

Their eyes caught for just a second, but no longer. She stepped forward, nosing alongside his shoulder for the wounds Kodiak had left upon his flesh. He winced. They were healing just as well as any could expect, but it was not the ache for which he flinched. It was any touch at all. From her. From this connection they now shared which lowered any and all physical bounds and made him, hers and she, his. It shouldn't have bothered him. He knew this. But this was still new and he was slow to let any wolf in.

A deep breath filled his lungs as he force himself to relax. He nudged her, slipping his nose beneath her muzzle and running along side her cheek. He nosed within the furs of her face and licked gently at her ear. He turned, brushing his fur alongside her own to run his nose beneath her tail. Still ripe. Still ready. The scent was fading, but not yet gone. He'd thought, with all their coupling, it'd pass more quickly. As was, that fire deep within his chest still burned. He'd not allow another near.

He fought the urge to take her again. Instead, he completed his circle around her, blending the scents within their fur so none would mistake their claim upon the other.

Tonravik chuffed as he drew nearer to her. In these times especially, she relished in his touch, any touch. But she knew now it would be his alone, as he kept his guard. Tonravik accepted this, and was even pleased by it. He was doing what his new role required him to do. The leader felt he did it well. As he nosed at her plume, she herself moved it aside, stretching forward; if he wished to, she would let him. They coupled frequently, as frequent as possible. The leader was a mad dog, and perhaps so too was he, in these days. For it, she definitely seemed calmer. Her aggression had all but abated in its totality, and she received all he did in these days well. 

He completed his circle, however, and although she was disappointed for a moment (not minding so terribly being beneath him after all), she was at ease. Tonravik exhaled a warm breath onto the bridge of his muzzle, and mimicked his own action. Mine. It was clearer now more than ever, with her scent upon him and his upon her as it was. There was no questioning it, and already a wolf had learned what it meant and was answered. Tonravik had enjoyed Kodiak; he was a good wolf. But he was a competitor, and the leader knew well it would not end. Iqniq did what was necessary to continue his line, and followed what his blood dictated. As they all did. 

It was a strange thing, to watch who he was becoming. 

But she could not deny it interesting. She favored this transition. And thinking of his strength, seeing his wounds, caused her to reach out and sniff at one, her blood hot again. Her dark eyes look to him, and she draws closer if it were possible. She is not sensitive, and also no healer. Tonravik wonders if he is like her, after battle. None were so serious they oozed and bled profusely, and he was well enough to claim her time and time again. As her tail lashes, there is a suggestion there. 

He had once asked her of their coupling. He once also asked of recreational use of it, whatever that was. It mattered not. In these days, the leader was content to give him his fill and more of it. To ensure their bringing of the future, and pleasure alike. 

His will was strong, but not infallible. For all of their brief moments apart, they'd found each other once again. Their nips. Their bites. Their nudges. Just a touch and the hunger overtook him. Resistance was futile. He'd been chiseled away to the core. That dark, primal corridor where nothing save instinct roamed and rampaged with little to curb his appetite.

She nosed through his furs again, tracing over recent scars; reminders of what he'd lost in order to gain the world. If she sought further, she'd find others. Fainter memories lost beneath the thickness of his fur and time and youth. They meant nothing. Their stories vanished when he'd entered these wilds.

Here and now there simply was. That waving of a tail. His resistance broken beneath the weight of his own need. He knew not now he got there, but he arrived all the same, nudging her tail aside and rising so he might mount her as he had a dozen times before. He cradled her hips beneath his own and none too gently forced his way inside.

There was no teasing. No playful flirtations or sweet nothings. Only need. Desire. Insatiable hunger. Her heat fed his fire and he would burn for as long as her flame still flickered.

As they had so many times before now, they followed their instinct. He was upon her, and drove into her, and Tonravik needed no gentle lover with sweet nothings and so was perfectly satisfied with what was given. When it was finished, he dismounted, and there they stood, tied together now as they always would be. In upcoming months, the fruit of this labour would come. She would be a mother, and he, a father. 

They would start their legacy here. There came a time when she could finally step away without injuring themselves, and when she did the leader herself stretched. Tonravik looked tiredly in the distance when another instinct began to niggle at her, and her eyes seemed to become sharper as she thought of all the places within their home, and what place would be the best to birth these bear cubs. 

He panted. Need stated, he lingered for a while longer only to pull away. He sniffed her gingerly, scenting beneath her tail and found himself satisfied. Only then did he offer her a moment's reprieve. She stretched while he groomed and peered over his healing yet still fresh wounds. The scabs still held this time, but he was uncertain as to how long they'd last if he overexerted himself so soon. Oh well. He'd bleed and bleed again.

Rising to his paws, he caught her passing stare move only to focus on something in the distance. He was starting to recognize that look. She'd thought of something. They were bound, but by no means had that granted him the ability to read her mind. "Use your words," he murmured as he stepped up along side of her and tried to see what it was she might have been looking at.

His voice sounded in the air, and she looked to him. It appeared she struggled with something. In fact, it was the very thing he asked of her. Words. This feeling within her, how could she put it in words? She inhaled, then exhaled. Tonravik looks to him, coming to a feeling of utter exasperation in seconds (a testament to her patience, which was nonexistent), before deciding she would show him. Tonravik gestured to her side, huffing as though to say, I tried. The truth of it was that she had. But this very real instinct could not be explained. If it could, perhaps he could put it into words for her.

And then she began to move. Slowly, at first, and looking to see if he would join her... and then her instinct again gave way. It was subtle, hardly there. A simple desire to find something that would offer her... what? She stopped, sniffed, and continued on. Until she stopped entirely, and looked to him, shrugging. The feeling had gone, and with it, the desire to search. She did not reach within herself to search for it.

Tonravik moved back to him, her fellow leader, and inspected him for all the recent wounds she could smell by the scent of dried up blood, and then, new blood. They seemed all things he could handle, and a proud look crossed over her countenance.

He watched her and waited. If she could, she'd put thoughts to words, but whatever it was that had fallen upon her suddenly seemed to perplex her greatly. Kerosene watched her for a moment longer, wondering if she would be able to create the words she needed in order to tell him what it was she needed in this moment. She couldn't. A huff and she gave up before pressing forward as if once more on a mission.

She stopped mid-step and shrugged. Whatever had befallen her was gone. She couldn't find it. Perhaps she simply did not know. Something. He hadn't the slightest idea. His mind was narrowed and even he was not thinking so clearly as he had before.

He'd followed along with her and paused when she made room for pause. Lingering, she nosed through his furs once more and stepped back, a look upon her face. He closed this distance, running his tongue along her muzzle as if to wipe the expression from her maw. They were nothing, those wounds. He'd be fine. He'd survived this long and he would survive again. He had so much more to fight for.

A rumble passed through him. Not a growl of throat, but of the stomach. They'd tended some needs, but not others. How could he have forgotten? Kero circled her, moving towards her opposite side and nudged her shoulder as if to suggest she might turn back. To what? More forest? Now it was his turn to pause; his turn to think.

Tonravik did seem to quiet as his tongue wiped her face clean. Clean of expression, clean of anything. She looked at him for a long moment, and her own tongue went to slide over her nose. Her ear twitched as she heard another rumble, and she felt a familiar twitch in her stomach. Hunger. At the least they had caches to dig into a meal. They refilled them frequently that Tonravik knew there was no shortage of anything they needed there.

Nudging past him, needing the perpetual contact it would seem, Tonravik bounded ahead some. For the moment she would lead the way to meat, 'til he was by her side again. Her nose pressed to the earth as the aspiring gamekeeper sought the closest cache. When one was found she began to dig, a string of saliva oozing prettily from the side of her mouth as she panted heavily. Her temperature in her heat skyrocketed as everything else had. Her temper, her hunger, her desire, her impatience... but still, she dug, their present hunger in mind.

While lost in his haze, she appeared to regain focus. She brushed past him and bounded ahead. Loathe to leave any distance between him, he picked up his own pace and moved to join her. She lowered her nose to the ground and he followed, seeking context clues that would help him understand what she was up to.

She revealed her goals when she began to dig. Kero moved aside, keeping out of her way as she searched the earth for food they'd stored not long ago. The Spine was a healthy pack. They had much at their disposal, but it would be for naught if she overexerted herself in these early stages. Pregnant. Not pregnant. They'd soon find out, but as panted he realized he had no desire for her to become overstressed.

He grunted as he moved towards her and nudged her aside, he could resume the digging from here and unearth their next meal while she rested.

When he moved to take over, she shifted away. There was a reason for it. So she fell onto her haunches and her tail beat against the earth. She was hungry. Having unearthed much of whatever animal lay there, he would pull the rest out when he finished digging and they would eat. 

She watched him attentively. She inched forward, but practiced patience, letting out a quiet whine but falling mute thereafter, observant. 

She'd already done most of the work while he'd sat there. He cursed himself for not being more attentive, but made up for it in his efforts. He dug, straining himself against the tightness of his recent wounds as he created another mound of dirt. She wined. He worked faster and more efficiently.

A few quick tugs and Kerosene unearthed the remnants of the mountain goat they'd taken down not long ago. He grabbed a hind leg and pulled, freeing the creature from the earth so they might have a better chance at it. His nose wrinkled. It wasn't nearly so fresh as he preferred, but it would do in a pinch. That's why they had these stores to begin with. Food was food.

He pulled it closer to her and left it there, skirting the body to nudge the corpse towards her.

Presently, her work did not matter or effect much of anything within her. All was as it was. She watched him dig, observing muscles flex and claws tear into the earth, displacing rocks and earth from their place of rest until at last, there it was! Tonravik rose again to all fours, and watched as he nosed the thing toward her. The alpha wasted no time in digging in.

Meat was meat to the leader. It was old by some days, but not rotten; they always finished their meat before it could get to this point, each wolf here large enough to take their fill when they wanted. The meat was tough, but she chewed through it, nosing it lightly to invite him to join her. She paused long enough to lick her bloodied chops before she resumed eating.

She wasted no time in digging in. Kero lingered for a moment, letting her get a few bites in as he panted and caught his breath. The summer was getting warmer. It was getting hot. Fortunately for them, they were tucked beneath the trees of the forest and the lake wasn't too far off if they really needed to cool down.

When he'd caught his breath, he stepped forward and began to consume his fill. It was definitely harder to chew as the meat was not fresh and warm, but it was enough to stave off his cravings. For now. No doubt he'd hunger again later, but in the moment his stomach was satisfied and he was suddenly filled with laziness as his body began to process the food. He rolled over against her, not minding the closeness to the corpse as his eyes slipped closed so he might doze while she finished eating.

As he slept, she continued to have her way with the meat. When the thing was but a bone, she hoisted a foreleg over it and let out a yawn, jaws snapping shut. The sound of Iqniq breathing was enough to bring the leader into her own tired state, and so the dark alpha moved to place her head on a body part of his closest to her. She did not nestle closer, the day too hot for her to want to be near to anyone, but she remained where she was. Her eyes stayed open for a minute, before the cadence of Iqniqs breathing carried her to a doze herself.