Caught treading a fluctuating line between where she ought to focus herself, she decided to seek solace in seclusion for a bit. She could afford to steal away for a little while, especially if leaving home was not even necessary. The pack was too small for more than this, but it was fine for the time being.

In marked contrast to her usual habits that hugged her close to the boundaries and middling grounds, she'd pressed the limits of what all she was able to reach after the springtime thaw had started its work. What had meant to be a quick scope turned into much more, and she ended up staying there for several hours then well into the night beneath the vast starry skies, during which she continued to rove just for the sake of covering ground. The burn in her muscles felt far too good, and she chased the heights the Spear could let her achieve.

When she was finally ready to call it quits and had seen enough of these precarious upper slopes, it was pushing dawn and her family was surely bedded down further down the elevations without her. She elected to stay up here, rest a bit, then move on later in the morning or afternoon to rejoin with her packmates then. The tiniest tendrils of dawn's first light guided her to a small cave, and there, she snoozed until a creeping, vaguely worrying realization woke her sometime later that afternoon.

Disconcerted and with a dry, thirsty throat, she moved from her cover then started to move down the pathways back towards the more traveled mountain reaches -- and a creek she knew first. Her plans were changing abruptly and she felt her pulse quicken with the notion of it all. Whereas yesterday's solitude had served as a welcome balm to bring her to a good, balanced place, this day's was unbecomingly prickling all up and down her spine.. already.

She finally drank her fill then traced the waterway for the rest of her trek down, panting more than the warming temperatures truly warranted. Contradicted so viciously by mind, body, and heart alike.. and feeling as if she was about to be pulled in many directions all at once, she knew @Charon just may be the only she'd see without a show of teeth for greeting. She hoped he could be the first she would find on her way.

The lengthening daylight and warming temperatures were the subtleties that had lead them this far already and for the dark alpha, evidently, it was enough. Winter was officially behind them and spring had only just come, but tiny hints of its influence were showing up to those who knew where to look.

Amekaze had somehow been caught up in this great push-and-pull of the season too, and nature deemed it fit to make a suggestion such as this one right now. The signs were delicately complex and understated at first. But by today, she had no right to just quietly ignore it anymore; the last threshold was crumbling fast. A focus that kept finding a way to involve Charon reminded her over and over again, so badly that she was starting to feel impatient for what could follow, be it the next few hours or several weeks.

So Amekaze huffed and sought to balance that anxiousness out if she could, but her heart raced along anyway. He was close and her paws weren't stopping the forward momentum any. It only felt natural to go with the rhythm here.

He appeared suddenly and cut her path in one fell swoop. Her head swung up and rest of her body electrified accordingly, and not with the ache and soreness she'd felt weighing it all down last time. This satisfaction slid her lips back into a teasing snarl, although she knew he needed no invitation of the sort. Pulled up to his whole height, he came to her prideful and alive. Her arced tail waved slowly while the rest of her posture suggested the edge of an impending lunge, contrasted by the playful lure in her expression and the slow stop she brought her paws to. She'd let him take the chance and come even closer.

Reservations swiftly melted away by his nearness. She watched him with keen, hungry eyes and a slow waving tail. Her breaths were coming quickly in an anticipation that she'd not caught until right there, and sight and scent of him combined felt like it may even singe her. Exuding comfortable confidence, he spoke his volumes to everything she wanted to hear—because he knew how, and she let him. At each other's side they had seen plenty, and even still this was far from over. Amekaze now knew she would face this fruitful week without the same doubts of the past because together, they'd discredited so many of them already. Proven so successful, her body pined quite greedily for his, and she would feed into this flame with motion first.

He sprang and she answered with a little growl while dipping out of the way using an exaggerated hop. When she landed, she sidestepped around, careful to stay mostly facing him for now as she fluffed up and arced her neck proudly. Doing so made her realize all over again how musky she was already. There reared fleeting a worry that she blocked by lunging back to nip at his ribs at few times. This whole slowburn attracted attention, had before.. but this had to be theirs only. No matter how soon, no matter why. They knew this.

So maybe that was why she felt a different sort of urgency, or it was just the neediness of new heat spreading through her bones. She liked the push-pull of getting to duke it out like this, with nips, spins, jumps, and bites until she'd relent and they would have her fill—which instead, yearning came after her in a rush, pulling her in close again already, today's brutally reoccurring theme.

Ame brushed alongside him with only her cheek in the beginning. Another step later had her rubbing herself flush to his side where she molded her supple body against him and growled into his nape. Playfulness still tempted her to dart away, largely because he made her feel a lot younger than she was, but as it always did instinct weighed out heftily to leave her striking their middle.

It was easy, although abundantly clear he knew most of her typical tricks and habits by now anyway and that she got the bigger thrill from a little rallying like this. He let his frustration show well before she did, usually, but she liked it this way with the tune of his growls in her ears; the rest of everything was quick to fall to the wayside with all of this—all of him—ardently in mind.

She only barely slipped the grab for her snout, then retaliated with a sharp nip back at his nose's direction and a growl to match his frequency best she was able on such short notice. Instead of angling away that time, or minding overly well for more teeth as she watched his lifted up, antsy paws, she moved closer to him for a rough shove towards his shoulder with her own. She let her tail lash freely with more ferocity now too, flung high as it had been. Amekaze knew she was not helping his aggravation any.. but she couldn't make it too simple, not even with a long, lustful growl that was finally showing her exasperation in its own shape and form.

With desire ablaze in her eyes and reservations brutally few, her hackles were up and her own teeth were barred in silence but she finally moved on to curve delicately around his chest, being mindful to shove beneath the curve of his neck too. Ame slowly slid her hips against her mate; yours, everything about her said. To these rare, sacred moments, in which she finally slowed down and consented to progress of so many matters, he was the only one she wanted to have them. In this certainty, there was no need for any discussion here, not here. Between her heart and roused head, she felt that to be an absolute truth. He still stood by her, she still let him be there, so if her season was going to be upon them again, they may as well enjoy.

She freely let the selfishness take hold when she sank into his touch. To her, it was mostly about them only, and savoring the seasonal heights this old dance would bring them. For the moment, she was less concerned about what it may be in the times to follow. Although they had it all, it was going to be taken in stride by her regardless whatever did or did not come of this, and neither was this something she had planned to come upon already. Rich lands, freedoms, power, strength, and their line already secured through four thriving wolves, anything from here on out was just her being greedy—and how intrinsically right it felt to do so.

They'd been here before, and as in many things, they were evenly matched so it was almost second nature to her by now. She adjusted for his weight with a huff, then settled to arc into his grip with her tail aside as she curved into him. Eagerness twisted in her throat and she knew by now that he knew what he was doing, and what her body asked of him now. 

So easily, they were one again and inhibition and concern slipped away in favor of something far greater. She wanted only him, and these primal lusty moments of ferocity and fondness combined raised her hackles and raced her heart. She egged him on with a few low, fondly growling remarks, although otherwise, she made herself quite comfortable, poised and pliant, in his grasp alone. When he set the pace and chased the peaks, she followed along after him all the way.

Such a satisfaction brought a warm glow and although she felt like she could burn up at any moment with only the two of them in her world, everything seemed exactly right.

He was a heavy weight to bear, but nothing about it all was unusual to her as she adjusted her stance and panted over her shoulder at him. Tied, and knowing these terms, she would start to get anxious if either of them moved around much anyway.. She only slid away when she caught her breath enough to care and their bond allowed her such slack.

Keeping keen to his side, as she would be for the next several days while she tried to sequester him away to her whims entirely, she moved them further down the creek to take this elsewhere.