she was not surprised when easthollow's remaining sentry came crashing towards her, as if some deep part of her had awaited this moment from the second she'd laid eyes upon his fallen father. something had sharpened within her at the uncanny sight of such a powerful vessel robbed of its soul and left to return to the earth's greedy clutches. such a stark reminder that in the end power meant nothing, even the strongest of towering wolves, or those with the most potent spirit's- no matter your dreams, desires, your choice to align with good or bad or some hazy in between. they all belonged to the earth, easthollow..ursus....they all scurried along a path that had the same destination as the prey they fed so hungrily upon. 

she'd imagined her own papa laying in such a way, stunned to see west's own father fade in such a similarly unexpected way and recalled the rage that had torn through her in the days following. the fury that such weak sprinkles of life in the form of dainty flowers would live on whilst a creature of such intelligence, loyalty and strength as her papa would die. it was different now, not exactly acceptance...more a cold realisation. those flower's were probably dead now too, and one day she and west would also die. 

she couldn't wait, would not risk losing him before....before she could tell him...this love, she wanted to succumb to its embrace and be his, and he hers; she would not let the world get in the way of that.

and so she had wondered if perhaps he'd felt the same dawning, and had in fact convinced herself that he must have surely. which is why the glow in her scintillating look was merely the pleased acknowledgement of expectations being met. 

paws shifted to ease her slender figure forth, closer to him as lips parted to exhale a softly searching "west....tyree" and the former habit of falling victim to lingering hesitation and unease seemed to drop from her as she moved baldly to offer him her embrace, the only thing she could really give in the face of the world and this endless cycle of life and death.

nothing else mattered. as he approached- those verdant eyes with that everlasting glow, so full of potent life in the midst of winter's frigid claws, she knew that in the end it was him. it would always be him. the world had dealt her a card, perhaps it was really an act of cruelty- a way to keep her performing in its tragic play. a reason to keep on fighting forever because as long as west was with her, she would continue on. 

how had she not been blown away by his beauty the second she'd seen him? 

for a moment it was overhwhelming, her steps faltering at the force of emotion that squeezed tight at the mechanics working her chest and air-- god there wasn't enough air where had it gone-- but then the distance was gone and he was there and her muscles seemed to melt as she collapsed into his embrace with the softest of gasps. 

for a moment she focused hard only on drinking his familiar scent, so earthy and reassuring; whilst listening hard to the steadfast melody of his heart. 

death had seemed to have taken a liking to trailing them, cutting down family members like they were weeds but...they had each other. right now they had each other and that was all that mattered. a tense at his words, eyes finally lifting to search his; silently egging him on, widened in their agreement to what she already suspected must surely be coming. any pasts nerves had fallen away, she was no longer daunted in the slightest by such a commitment. on the contrary, she needed this, needed to know that at least this was a solidified fact they could hold onto when venturing a world so unpredictable in its cruelty. 

"yes" she'd gasp the moment he slowed enough for her to squeeze a word in, ears fluttering back as she whispered "i love you...so much and i want to live the rest of my life with you. the idea of waiting, it seems so absurd now, why does anyone ever do it? when we don't know how many seconds the world will continue to grant us together, i don't want to waste a single one. i want to be your mate west tyree."

her heart leapt at the rumble of his deep chuckle, lips instinctively tugging upwards whilst she pushed her smaller figure hard against him as it were possible for them to merge into one being that even the world could never manage to separate. "then that's that settled west tyree" she'd murmur, eyes shutting in brief respite now that she was safe in this embrace "we have each other and nothing, i swear nothing will change that. we will always have each other you hear me?" and as much as it was a statement, it was a request too- no a plea. for the world to hear this and have mercy, did it feel such a thing? it was all she wanted, to live out her life with this beautiful boy; break free fromt the chain of loss she'd been strung along. could she at least be granted this one singular thing? 

eyes flutter open once more, glancing up as he spoke and trying to listen despite undergoing shock every few seconds that this wonderful creature...was her mate. hers. he loved her. she blinked rapidly as if waking up from a slumber when she realised he was in fact asking her a question and offered a rapid nod "oh! yes- yes of course i would aboslutely love to go see your sister and her pack....firefly glen, did i ever tell you that i met one of the moonspear wolves there when i was still with the nightwalkers?" a shadow of shame dripped across her gaze at the mention of the cowardly time she'd spent lingering fretfully with those ruffians. "i couldn't get over the fireflies i'd never seen them before, and this kindly man told me what they were...and told me about wanderlust, the desire to wander- it's a beautiful word isn't it? i was a coward though..ran away when he asked what pack i was in because i was equally frightened that he'd be disgusted at me for residing with such a pack or that he'd be pleased to hear i was one of them...ugh i'll never forgive myself for taking so long to get away from that group" a shake as she glanced back to him and offered a smile.

"anyway it's a beautiful place and i'd love to go there to visit! and i know this is your home, and it has come to be mine too and i am more than happy to stay here with you asides from our little trips every now and then in fact...it sounds pretty perfect."

the soft kiss planted upon her cheek set the blessed skin alive with a steady hum, seeming to tingle as if some plant had been planted with the motion and was slowly unfurling its beauty to the light that peered down at them. face heated with the arrival of a coy blush as she affectionately bumped her head into his chest, snout tilting to run itself along the thickly curling fur as a sigh slipped free to join the crisp air. 

forever and always. a promise.

eyes blinked off across the distance, snow laden lands coruscating beautifully under the sun's touch as she grinned fondly and agreed "yes they're the ones they're....beautiful. like nothing i'd ever seen before like they really do light up! like...little tiny stars flying about around us. i wonder what it's like to be something so small and yet hold enough beauty to have wolves speak of you in such rapturous wonder" she'd also noticed not without an inner squeeze of gratitude, that west hadn't tried to question her on anything to do with her time spent within those shaded woods. it was a topic she preferred to keep buried where it belonged, someday she would likely explain better her days spent there and how she'd come to gain the ugly scars sneering along her flank thanks to vengeance but today of all days she would rather not dwell on such a thing. 

at the next question her eyes flashed with the deepening of a roguish grin. her muscles worked to support her body once more despite the protests of a mind all too happy to remain leaning upon the warmth of his strong chest before she straightened and turned to face him and trilled "you know by now that there is nothing i love more than an impromptu adventure, i'm so down"

a soft laugh at that, head tilting as she jested "i dunno if i try hard enough i might blend in with them size wise, you on the other hand...probably seem like a whole mountain to them" a snicker as she stretched out and glanced in the vague direction that would take them to their destination as she could not help but wonder what thought processes did such miniscule beings have? unlike west, not even taking the moment to consider that they perhaps simply...didn't. 

keen look snapped back when he began to shift himself back, arching a brow until the challenge slipped casually from his parting jaws. eyes flashed with delight as she smirked and launched into a run before he'd so much as finished his statement, hollering over her shoulder at his own quickly approaching form "oh you'll regret choosing to challenge the likes of me west tyree!" 

and the two would dart from the territory, eyes bright with the prospect of beginning one of many future adventures laying out in wait for their eager souls.