Silver Creek miserere mei, deus

sorry for the brick. doing something for NaWo.

twelve days have passed since their arrival in the teekon wilds, filled with intrigue, drama, and promise. addison expects no less of the odolf clan. they breathe new life into each place they visit. despite harrison's protestations against the prospect, initially, they have remained in the area around the creek, carving out a life here. the hunting is good, and there are plenty of herbs to gather. much to do for both men and women.

she spends much time wandering along the creek, looking for plants. she enjoys the solitude. though she will never admit it, cyclone's insubordination had rattled her, and she goes out of her way to avoid the blackthorn woman, knowing that though her will is stronger, cyclone's body is bigger. should it come to a fight--she cannot fight; her brothers would have her head!--she will undoubtedly be defeated. she can only battle with words, and words can only be used so long before a confrontation comes to blows.

instead, she takes comfort in her sister, in the kinder women around, and in iliksis. not exactly in him, but she watches him, furtively. she admires the length of his body, the darkness of his pelt. like a night without moon or stars, endless, a void. she hungers for his touch, and for him to look at her again the way he had--as if wanting to devour her, body and soul. she finds that she so desperately wants to be consumed. . .by anyone, but especially by him.

not to consume, but to be consumed. to be mastered in a way her brothers cannot do to her. scolding and smugness is one thing; to be penetrated is quite another. her breath catches hard and fast in her throat, and she has to stop briefly to compose herself before carrying on, warmth pooling between her thighs.

will grayson choose the lanky man to be her husband? addison can only hope. truthfully, the pickings are slim beyond him. she will bow dutifully to whomever her brother selects, but perhaps if she can bend his mind a certain direction, a soft whisper in the ear. . .

oh, grayson, look how he is built! imagine our children, quick and sharp and smart. his seed would do the odolf line proud.

how can he refuse her? beyond the structural chasm between them, addison knows that grayson loves her. they have a respect for each other that goes beyond the obvious. she knows that he values her input, because she is more like aaron than anyone would voice aloud. at any rate, she is not the clown that harrison is. only their anatomy pushes him above and ahead. in any other world, she would surely have harrison--and perhaps grayson, too--cowering at her feet.

and on that line of thought, could the problem cyclone presented be mitigated through words as well? say she successfully convinced grayson to marry her to harrison, or better yet, dawson. . .or one of the other men that joined their ranks, eventually. there is a nightmarish possibility that he connects her to iliksis, one that sends hot fire up in her belly, but at the same time, it eliminates the chance that she is queen to grayson's reign.

no, no, no! he is mine--he will have me, not her!

if grayson sends cyclone to iliksis, she will fuck him before cyclone gets the chance. she will bear his fruit first, even if she is punished for it after the children are born. she will see to it. death seems a more satisfying prospect than living miserably with someone else's pups--or, worse yet, a childless virgin. she will die before seeing cyclone and iliksis together.

addison licks her lips thoughtfully, smiling to herself. yes, if she can pull it off, she might fulfill her own desires and crush her rival without lifting a paw. she slides nimbly down the bank, tail sticking straight out behind her to steady her wobbling legs, peering down at a clump of watercress. she bends her head and takes the green stems between her teeth, and slips into a fantasy, the stream cool and tickling against her nose.

she has never had a man; she has no idea what it must feel like. some women told her it hurt, but others had said it is the most lovely feeling in the world. maybe both. did pain come with pleasure, just as fear came with desire? maybe all the world is a series of dichotomies, and life is a constant battle between them. pain and pleasure, fear and desire, strength and weakness, power and meekness. she is both and none, expected to harbor one and not the other. labeled for one specific purpose.

weak. meek. fearful and pained.

but iliksis has brought the fire out within her, and as she pulls the herbs from the damp earth, she feels her stomach tighten. she has let the world fuck her for so many moons. why not let iliksis have a crack at her, too?

for now, she bides her time. rosings will become a part of this land again, just as it was once before. she looks forward to seeing the stories her father had told come to life before her eyes. in her childhood, it had seemed so distant, unreal. everything had. but they are doing it, now, and they will be successful. it is not a question--victory is in their blood, conquest by culture. they will refine the savage women of these lands, fill the place with their children, bearing the odolf name--

well, not all of them. but she hopes that with time, those men that join them are proud enough of the world that they have created that they adopt the surname, too. where would they be without the odolfs? she had said it to cyclone, and she will say it to any woman who dares to question them, and she prays that grayson and harrison and dawson will say it to any man who steps out of line.

they are masters of their fate. her brothers will lead the charge, and she will push silently--but, god, not weakly--behind. they will create. they will survive.

WC: 764

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Oryx had spent a great deal of her time in the growing pack by herself, minding her business but being productive as well. She was aware that Emerson was also gathering herbs, and possibly there were others doing the same...As with winter drawing closer and closer, she felt the pressure of finding what herbs she could and could tell by the way the banks of the creek had been ravaged that others were doing the same. Still, it meant that they would be prepared, and perhaps, she thought, they could pool their knowledge so that each woman in the pack would make a suitable healer and midwife. They would then have nothing to worry about when whelping season came along, and she figured that the other females, like herself, had yet to birth pups and might be a bit nervous about the whole thing. But with so many capable medics about...Surely they would be alright.

Her encounters with the males in the pack were relatively brief; she knew better than to take up their time, and knew to be seen being productive as she went along rather than dogging them and distracting them from their business. They hunted for the pack, and patrolled the borders and kept them safe, so she did her best to keep busy- and pretty- in her own time. She of course, couldn’t help herself but monitor the way the males tended to move, noting particular patterns in their schedules and had more or less figured out a way to cross paths with a certain, champagne-eyed male who almost always sported a handsome, cheshire grin. Of course, she didn’t make a habit of doing so every day, but every other day their paths seemed to cross as she had made her own schedule to allow for that beloved crossing of paths.

On this day, though, she found her path merging with one belonging to another Odolf, but she didn’t alter her course to avoid Addison, as she might have had the path belonged to Cyclone or Faeryn- two wolves that Oryx did not ultimately trust. Faeryn was too bold, and perhaps drawn toward a life that was not one traditionally accepted by the wolves of Rosings, though Oryx had not told a soul about what she had seen or heard from the female. She wanted more than was probably allowed for the Odolf females, and therefore, she frightened Oryx. She did not wish to associate with another wolf who could possibly drag her into trouble, and wanted to keep her own slate perfectly clean so that she had a greater chance of being chosen.

How would she feel, then, if Faeryn was chosen to be the wife of one of the Odolf brothers? Would she be able to bite her tongue, or would she sell the female out? Doing so after the decision was made might make her look bad, and she certainly did not want her decision to backfire. Would it then be best to perhaps confide in another wolf, one who was definitely proper? She knew exactly which wolf she would easily choose as a confidente- but at the same time, would it be frowned upon for her to talk about another one of their packmates? Would she be condemned for not keeping her mouth shut? She was rife with indecision, and whenever Oryx found herself perplexed, she often found it easiest simply just keeping her mouth shut. Now, if she was asked, though...Then she could not be reprimanded for simply speaking the truth, right? First, though, she had to establish the fact that she was abiding the laws, and earn herself a good reputation. And she knew there were two female wolves she needed and wanted to impress.

So when she caught sight of Addison in the distance, she felt relieved. Addison was perhaps the best example of what they were to be, so she was much admired and revered. She approached, head at a respectful angle with her spine and her white-tipped tail swinging gently from hock to hock. Her silver-blue eyes shone as she approached the female who she assumed, without question, was the lead female of the pack, and gave her a respectful bow and affectionate smile. ”Addison,” She greeted, her high voice light and shimmering with reverence. ”Do you mind if I join you?” She asked fervently, one forepaw dangling as though to demonstrate the fact that if Addison preferred to be left alone, then she would simply vanish as soon as the preference was given.

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who comes upon her now? she had hoped it would be grayson, so that she could share her. . .views (if he listens in the first place) but it is instead oryx, one of the newer women to the group. swallowing her disappointment, she returns the smile with one of her own, letting the expression reach her eyes. oryx, she croons, lifting her chin in greeting. of course not. come gather herbs with me.

addison stops and sets down her clump of watercress to allow oryx to come near, all the while giving her the once-over. she is small and dark like the odolf witch, but of shades of black, rather than brown. she has a mane of silver and blue eyes that please addison greatly, aesthetically. she also seems kind and soft-spoken, and that goes a long way in addison's book. she has taken to oryx already.

how are you settling in? she asks gently, once the fae is at her side. are you getting enough to eat, enough sleep? have the women been welcoming? she thinks of cyclone in particular, hoping that the blackthorn harlot hasn't turned her nasty attitude upon this lovely woman. no one deserves that, least of all oryx.

oryx is lovelier than cyclone, and she knows her place. might grayson be convinced to take her as his bride? who, then, for harrison? she rifles through the list of names in her head as she waits for oryx's response.

wc:625

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The invitation she received was friendly and warm, and Oryx moved forward, tail waving silently from side to side, its feathered, white tip flicking slightly whenever it changed direction. She looked up to Addison above all the others, as she had established herself at the meeting, and though it made her worried that she might err in the woman’s presence, she also sought guidance, and to learn from the majestic Odolf’s example. She didn’t seem at all unkind, though her silvery gaze was difficult to read, simply due to the pale-white hue they possessed that seemed to lack innate warmth.
She was surprised, when she approached Addision, how small she actually was. She had pictured Addison in her mind as this large, intimidating creature, about the size of a male when compared to all the other females- but as Oryx made her way to Addison’s side she realized then that they were actually quite similar in build, though Oryx’s posture bent to reflect a rank she believed that she held in comparison to the one that Addison had. But that was simply a trademark of hers, to move as though stalking, with knees slightly bent, to show deference should anyone catch sight of her before she could assume the pose herself. At one point, Oryx had been a deadly hunter- as light and feathery on her feet as a fox, and while she had not lost the daintiness she’d possessed then, she did not consider herself to be a hunter any more. Hunting was allowed for women but...As it was frowned upon, she wished not to be noticed for doing anything that might earn her a disappointed look.

Her ears flick in response to Addison’s question, and though she maintains a somewhat far-off expression on her face (eyes always roving for the sign of something that might be medicinal and still in good enough shape to harvest before the winter) she considers her response for a moment before she turns her head just slightly and nods, an appreciative but small smile on her features. ”Oh, very well,” She said, her words reverent and brimming with adoration. ”This life is perfect for me.” She said, and indeed it was. Oryx was of a meeker constitution than any male wolf, generally speaking of course, so she liked the fact that she could rest into a role that suited her much better.

When the question of the other females came up, she nodded again, though something tightening her her jaw might have hinted that there was something slightly holding her back. Truth be told, she hadn’t bonded very closely with any of the others. In the end, it might have been an asset to her, to avoid bonding with the others if they were found to be lacking in the ideals shared by the true wolves of Rosings. Instead of speaking about that, though, she chose another topic, which was very much the truth. ”They are kind. Emerson...I should like to get to know your sister better as well. She has a kind aura,” She admitted, hoping that Addison would take that as a compliment. ”I must admit that I don’t know the others very well,” She said, though perhaps she more meant that she hadn’t quite made up her mind about them...As she had spent some time with Faeryn in particular, but did not want to comment about what she thought of her. ”But I will do my part to get to know them better,” She resolved. Naturally, it was only polite to turn the conversation back to Addison. ”Are you faring well too, Addison?” She asked, hoping for a positive answer.

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addison nods, pleased that oryx is settling in well. she is made for the family, quiet and subservient. the odolf witch is more than thankful for her obedience. getting to know the others better might be folly; thay may be de facto sisters, but they are also rivals. all hell will break loose when grayson makes his match decisions--she knows this all too well.

quite well, thank you, she responds politely, dipping her head at oryx with a smile. it is a wonderful place, the creek. perfect to settle down and raise a family. the words send an ache through her belly, undeniably mournful. why, why can't she be with child now?

she walks along in silence, motioning for oryx to follow. she is looking forward to a peaceful conversation by the stream with her new friend.

fading this out since i'm dropping her for a while--sorry!