Blacktail Deer Plateau lost in the backwood

For @Harlyn, because we need an up to date thread. >_>

I'm also taking some liberties here so if they're off from what you had imagined, shoot me a pm/txt/whatever. <3

It had rained again, though brief and sporadic.  It had washed the ash down and out, pushing it further from its original starting place.  It left the air musty and stale as the heat of the day came rolling back in after the rain had passed, and Mordecai still wanted to believe he could smell the faintest of residue of the fire.  He had chosen to stay out in the elements (which he often did anyway), once more letting it wash him and wash away the soot that had clung to him.  He had made another round through the charred woodlands.  And when the rain came he had left them, venturing further and deeper into the forests that stacked themselves on the plateau.

He plowed through a stream that was more shallow than it was wide, uncaring that it did little to dry out his drenched state.  He imagined he would dry, at least somewhat, before he found Harlyn.  He presumed that she was still laid up where she had been, staying somewhere cool and in the shade to keep whatever ailed her at bay just a while longer.  Either way, he was aware that she was safe and alive, and other than a venture along the river some time in the past, he had been not so keen to stay too far away.  So when he came up upon where she had been resting up and found himself still fairly soaked, the tawny Ostrega set about to shaking loose water from his coat.  And once that was about as good as it was going to get, he slipped forward towards the den mouth and whined curiously.

After all, there was always the chance she didn't want him to be a resident noise maker.

16 horsepower — beyond the pale

YAY!  Do you think we should fade out our other two?  I just realized we got to exactly 26 replies in both of them lulz

The pain that had plagued Harlyn since before the fire was fading by the day.  It remained now as a dull ache between her temples, almost like a bad memory that she simply couldn't shake.  The herbs she had gathered helped, but they also made her mind slow to the point where she had difficulty focusing and remembering.  She was glad to be able to lower her dosage and was eager for the day when she didn't have to take any at all.  


Today was certainly not that day, however.  Harlyn had awoken to a pain of such intensity that it had made her stomach turn.  Quickly she had devoured a few of the little white and yellow buds and their brilliant green leaves before resigning herself to sleep the day away.  She did not like to try and function as normal when her mind was so sluggish, and so she did what she could to remain tucked away in the comfort of sleep whenever she was in the throes of the remedy.

She had been asleep for a few hours before the sound of Mordecai's voice gently shook her awake.  Slowly, her dark lids peeled back to reveal the vibrant embers of her eyes which immediately searched for her friend's face.  She spotted him quickly, giving him a sleepy smile and a wag of her tail - indication enough that he was both welcome and encouraged to come right on in.  Her den was spacious and with a ceiling high enough that they barely even needed to lower their heads - just the way she liked it.

Definitely, lol. If you want, maybe you could edit in endings on them since I think you were the last to post? >__>

As he peered down through the den mouth, he spied her resting. Not really resting so much as she was stirring to the sound of his nonverbal inquiries. The startings of a sleepy smile and the wave of her tail against the dry earth was enough of an invitation; Mordecai slipped in quietly and softly.

"How are you feeling?" came his words, just as quiet and soft. He could not have been entirely sure that she felt any better at all. It seemed whatever travel she did was not too far at all and for the most part, he had been able to account for where she was with relative ease. Of course, maybe she was simply sleeping in late.

As Mordecai slipped in, Harlyn shifted her limbs in order to stretch her muscles.  A yawn widened her jaws and caused a shiver to tremble down her spine just before she relaxed again, rolling onto her stomach to position herself like a sphinx, the tip of her tail twitching in an almost cat-like manner against her stomach.  Her gaze found the Ostrega's as he made himself comfortable and inquired about her well-being.  Truth be told, her head still ached with a monotonous, slow-motion throbbing.  It was far better than it had been that morning though, so the Cinderloch focused on that fact instead of the latter option.


"Much better than this morning, thank you," the druid replied with a soft smile.  Mordecai had been wonderfully attentive to her, even with everything going on.  She knew he had been out searching for Osprey and for Dante with the others.  She herself did not carry much hope that they would return, however her heart overflowed with prayers to the spirits that her friends were somewhere safe and happy, even if it wasn't at the Plateau.  "I take it you've had no luck finding them?" she asked after a moment.  Undoubtedly, the Ostrega's demeanor would have been much more excited had they found a trace of their missing packmates, but there was nothing about his character now that hadn't been just the same yesterday.

She had him pinned well, for if in fact their pack-mates had been discovered he would have been more one way or another. Things would have either been grim or joyous, and as it stood Mordecai had not embraced either. He was significantly more lighthearted in her company however, though that was hardly a shield against the question that had left her lips.

"None yet, or anything particularly concerning around the borders. Lasher's asked that we keep them guarded. No news is good news, or so I've been told," he mentioned, settling in beside her. Here the cool earth felt refreshing compared to the damp warmth he encountered outside, though the heat of the days were of little concern to him. He could handle it and in turn, had spent his time well outside of the creature comforts some interior cooling would have offered.

Mordecai shared his lack of news as he laid down beside her.  She could tell how it troubled him that their packmates were still missing.  For a moment she wondered if it was just Dante he worried for, or if there was a relationship he had with Osprey that Harlyn was unaware of.  It had never before occurred to her that Mordecai might have found another woman in her absence.  It was an unwelcome thought, but one that Harlyn could make peace with under certain circumstances.


"I think tomorrow I'll be ready to leave the den again," she said after a moment, "I'll go beyond the borders to look.  Who knows, perhaps the fire spread further than we thought and they had to run far to escape it.  They could be injured and holed up somewhere recovering for all we know." 

"That's what I'm wondering myself," Mordecai murmured at her side, thinking of the mountains that reached over the Plateau. Though they were sparsely lined with forestry past where the pack resided, he knew brush existed there. And who knew how far Osprey would have gone, or how far Dante would have pursued her to find her. These thoughts he had no qualms in sharing with Harlyn either.

"I'm wondering if either of them didn't find a path up into the mountains. The terrain there is pretty rocky, but the cover of the forest gives out along the rise," he went on to say. "We've scoured most of the territory looking for them and I think it's obvious to say neither of them are here." They were neither dead or alive and for a moment, it was a complete Schrodinger's Cat. They had to be tucked away somewhere, but until they were found he believed that there was no way to guess whether or not they had survived.

Mordecai confessed to sharing her thoughts on the matter.  She listened as he expanded on the topic, and soon she found herself wondering about these mountain trails.  They sounded rather dangerous, and not for the first time did she say a quick, quiet prayer to the gods that their lost packmates were not lost in the figurative sense.  

"It sounds dangerous," she responded, "Dante at least I know has better sense, but I suppose if they had no other way out..."

"He went in for Osprey," Mordecai mentioned, recalling the fateful day as though it were idle conversation. "She's the one who warned us all about it, at least those of us in earshot." He didn't mention that he himself would have gone in as well, if not for the whole picture at hand. And perhaps if not for Dante's instructions.

Mordecai breathed out, still feeling the touch of burn to his lungs from the smoke. "I'm sure they'll turn up eventually, I just hope it's for the better. They've been apart of this pack for a long time." How long, he couldn't have guessed. When he and Dante had brushed arms, so to speak, they had both been on their own and just as wild as they came. Osprey, as far as he knew, had always been apart of the Plateau.

Nudging Harlyn, he went on to add: "I'm glad we're all alright though." Things could have always been much worse, and he would have been among the first to admit that he perhaps had anticipated things to go a lot worse. Fires were no joke, they were savage and much more untamed that the wild creatures they were. They did not care for what they ravaged.

Mordecai brought her up then - the female.  Again, Harlyn's mind went to wondering what sort of relationship he had had with this woman.  He made her sound like their saviour, which perhaps she was... But the spirits had guided her there - the gods had put her in that spot at the right time to ensure that she saved them all.  Sure she should have some credit for her part in it all... But Harlyn was feeling a bit too territorial and jealous for giving her any props.

As he spoke, she held her tongue.  She had little else to say on the subject anyway, and besides... He distracted her soon enough with his touch and by commenting that he was glad they were both alright.  It was small at first - like ashes barely smouldering in the hearth.  The feeling grew quickly though, and soon enough, she was flooded with the memories of their nights together before when they were traveling.  She thought of her conversation with Luke - a small, subtle gesture was all it took...  They were so close to each other already.

Emboldened by her memory of the effect she'd had on Luke without truly meaning to, Harlyn turned her head towards her companion.  Gently she ran her nose along the length of his jaw, her tongue flicking out against his fur as she reached his cheek.  With that, she withdrew.  Her ears slipped back as her gaze flickered briefly to his face, trying to glean in that split second what she could about what affect she was having on him - hopefully the one she intended.

Had he known of her thoughts, Mordecai would have sought to dispel them. But he didn't and went on blissfully unaware of them, instead warmed by her affection. Or instigation, whichever or however someone wanted to take them. His eyes closed briefly as her tongue ran across his cheek, a smile spreading between her passage. He knew deep down inside how much worse things could have been, and in a way having someone to at least shoulder a piece of that burden came in handy.

And as he drew in the world again and saw past her to the splay of her ears, he couldn't help but think that she was just as equally comforting him as she was being coy. He pushed his snout against hers in a crude nose-bump, sweeping his broad tongue over her face. It was silly, but he couldn't help it. But the affection was all there, as well as the relief that she had stayed safe and sound midst all that had been ravaged and burned by flame. What an immeasurable amount of guilt it would have been for him to carry, had she come all that way to stick by him only to be eaten alive by fire.

Harlyn's heart nearly stopped when he leaned towards her.  She was so sure he'd picked up her signal, and now he was rewarding her courage with a sweet kiss and then some... Well, you know what.  The kiss he gave was not sweet though.  In fact, it wasn't romantic in the slightest.  It was sloppy, messy, and a little too friendly in the wrong kind of way to be at all sensual.  And yet...

Harlyn laughed gently and batted him away with her paw.  Her blood was positively boiling now, though, if only for the simple reason that what he had done was just so him, and the way he made her feel was electrifying even at its silliest.  She gave him a playful little frown before she went on the offensive again, starting this time at the same spot on his cheek as where she had left off before, now trailing down the side of his neck towards his shoulder.  He'd get it soon enough.  Maybe.

ヾ(⌐■_■)ノ♪

we should fade this or something with your post

Oh, he knew what she was suggesting. It was just as fun to temporarily derail the events just because he had only the inkling that she would resume her otherworldly touch. Though truth be told, it would have taken much to draw him in and tune him to whatever beat she was playing. Romance was probably not even needed.

He relaxed, shifting his position ever so slightly to better draw her in, breathing deeply to the cascade rush of sensations that ran from head to toe. And this time, when he returned the favor, it was much more sensual than the previous derailing.

It would have seemed that she was feeling much better after all.

It didn't occur to her that Mordecai knew what she was attempting or that he was just messing with her. She assumed he was just being obtuse, though it would have made sense for him to immediately pick up on what she was laying down. He too must have been suffering from this primal ache. Especially him being a man. Even in wolf world it was generally known that men wanted it more badly than women. At least so Harlyn believed, though in that moment she could easily have given Mordecai a run for his money.

Eventually, he moved in such a way that Harlyn knew instantly it was on. Just like before, she lost herself to him - to every touch, every move, every intoxicating breath of him. It was as though the time they'd been apart had never happened. All that mattered was that moment, the two of them intertwined until the morning sun.

Bow chicka wow.