Bearclaw Valley woe.

@Amneris and @Athalia remained in the valley with the young hunter and his mate. it appeared that keiko had traveled away for the time being, which left he, @Ameline, and sariel behind.
"big packs around here. unfriendly dudes, too." the valley was nice and well protected, but what about when they left? what about when they tried to hunt? he thought of the valley as his already, but now he pillowed his forehead against his mate's shoulder and contemplated that this was not a home for them.

She craned her neck so that she could lick the place between his ears where his soft face fur met the guard hairs of his nape. She too sighed deeply, reflecting on the brief encounter she had had with a guardian at a pack called Kvarsheim. It was within a day's journey, which made it uncomfortably close. While she had yet to witness either of the nearby packs coming to their valley  to hunt as a pack, she did have to wonder if it would offend them to be turned away. 

"Yeah," She moaned softly. Still- she was a a creature who felt entitled to the things that she liked- and the valley had quickly become something she felt was their by right. "Maybe they'll chill out. We don't know what they've been through," She said, trying not to jostle him too much as she shrugged her shoulder beneath his temple. 

Still, there was something about the tone of his voice that indicated that he was disappointed. 'What're you thinkin'?" She asked. She had come to revel in the thought of claiming the homeland of his family, but knew that these were his ties, not hers. And if he felt unsatisfied with their location, she would trust his judgement.

"i guess i wasn't expecting to settle so soon. or, like, not in a place so — controversial." as if he knew the half of it. he shifted, lifting his own muzzle to caress the roundness of one ear, pressing their faces together in the long kiss that had become their signature.
"maybe they'll chill out. we could be friendly. offer to hunt. the valley only has that one hunting ground we really need, the meadow."
he hadn't expected to be a parent so soon either, but he didn't really mind enough to mention it and risk ameline thinking he didn't want kids or something. he truly did.

"I gueth that'th what happenth when you have kidth," She said with a slight laugh. She had expected to travel and scout for some time- perhaps all the way through the winter, so long as they were able to keep themselves well fed. Nevertheless, there was no regret in her voice, only soft affection. While the two girls had changed their plans, it felt to her as though this was what they were meant to do anyway- just a bit sooner than expected. 

His suggestion was met with a nod. "Yeah. I mean, I kinda liked bein' hothtile on thight when I wath patrollin' for the Rithe, but at the thame time...I dunno. I could get uthed to bein' nithe."

"being nice might be the best thing in this situation." it had been so natural to alter their plans for these girls, to all but adopt them the first day that breath and meat had been shared with them.
was it only wolfkind? or had it been a deeper calling?
"we'll make overtures then. gestures. whatever," he was kissing her, his youthful energies and eager body responsive and attuned suddenly to ameline in a way he could not fathom would ever be stronger.

Being nice. 

She wondered how she might have received that bit of advice a year ago, when she had been wild and hungry for a fight. She had enjoyed the thrill of the hunt, and the surge of energy she got during a fight- but she had spent time nursing wounds and limping around the borders for weeks from injuries...And she found that she did not miss the pain. Once, in her life, she had had to prove herself by inflicting pain on others- now, though, she could stand tall, and be whoever it was that she chose to be simply because she was in charge. 

Ancelin was too; and it seemed that they would be doing things differently. 

He flirted with her and she laughed, pushing him away playfully with a teasing shove of her paw before she collapsed against him, burrowing the crown of her head into the thick fur of his ruff with a chuckle.

sweeping her against the fierce, eager cadence of his heart, ancelin laid kisses from the roundness of one ear to cheek to shoulder, to hip — he lingered there with a devilish look, raking his fur through her fur before sinking them both to the ground.
in these moments, he was truly one-track minded, but his heart said a thousand things his body only had one language to convey, and the sensation now was of an exquisite bonded nearness that had deepened before they ever conceived their first litter.

She purred and melted, thawing like frost in the morning sun at the tenderness of his touch. She tumbled to the ground alongside him and pressed every arch of her body into every crook of his, singing out at every touch that caused excitement to lift the ridge of fur along her spine. She was familiar with him in almost every way, and knew everything there was to feel. She knew where his coarse fur changed, and grew soft and thick, and she knew the places where his skin was always hot to the touch. 

Once they had settled down, quietly together, she rocked against him so they might sway side to side gently. "We'uh gettin' good at thith whole 'bein' friendly' thing," She said with a light laugh.

"yeah," he grunted, wanting to add that they had no other choice. but that felt too bitter given the circumstances, which were quickly sweetening in both of their favour.
she slowly heated him to boiling; he lolled like a happy frog against her, nipping toward the back of her hackles, breathing down toward the roots of her hairs.
"one day we'll outnumber them," he muttered there, utterly content save for a sudden ember of burning ambition: to build for her the empire that he had been denied the honor of ever knowing, a deep and welling instinct that was once bearman for blackbird.

The thought of power sparked a match. While it was appealing to think they could collect other wolves who might be drawn by their charisma, she also felt a primal urge to create such numbers herself- the desire to have children grew with every day that the pack remained small. 

”We’ll have tho many children,” She said, pulling closer, hooking her dewclaw into the thick skin at his shoulder. ”Thoon enough I’m gonna need you,” She said, her skin dotted with goosebumps.

"what, you don't need me now?" ancelin crowed back with faux offense, turning to close his mouth gently over her paw with a gentle growl.
his. hers.
soon.
he pulled ameline into another kiss, one that promised to blot the next hours.

fade soon? <3

Her eyes flashed, but the smile on her lips remained even as he grasped her paw in his mouth. The instant he pulled her closer, she drew back her paw and felt the jagged edges of his fangs against the rough skin of her paw pad. She slung her forelimb about his neck, and held on to him just as tightly.

Their hearts beat together in a cacophony, pressed as close as they could get. She did indeed need him now- just as she felt she always would.