Steady paws, silence. It was cloudy today, and the sun was setting in the horizon, casting bright warm orange, red and yellow rays over the meadow. This was the first time Raziel had been to a 'pretty' place, for he had lived his whole life in harsh, rocky mountains where there was snow year round and rocks. Even on his travels, he was usually fighting and avoiding, hunting, not time to appreciate a view. But now he could, he was free for now. Even on the edge of full winter, this place was still gleaming, it was warm colored now, when snow came, it would be topped with snow and ice, the pure whiteness.
"You see, big brother, snow is only white because its forgotten what color its supposed to be." he remembered Anselm talking to him in his solemn quiet, heavy accented tone and gazing up at him with those wide soft pine green eyes, gray surrounding his irises. His dark coat clinging to him like rags, Raziel kept him company that night and stood watch while his brother slept. Thinking of it now, hurt him badly. Like most Angelus Mortis wolves, he cared for his family deeply and would die before he let any harm come to them if he could help it. He was identical to his younger brother Shadow in so many ways.
Raziel moved to the center of Wapun Meadow without realizing he was moving at all. A creek, half frozen but not fully iced over, lay in the middle of the meadow. The agouti Roman trudged towards the edge and lapped up some water. Suddenly absorbed in a melancholy mood at the thought of Anselm. Raz worried most about him for he was frail and small, Azrael was strong and a good fighter, if he hadn't left yet, he would be the heir to Aequor Ignis. But Anselm, the hardened heart of the warrior softened at the thought of his brother.
The ashen Angelus Mortis had sworn to protect all his relatives, expecially the young, if he'd known Hadrian's kids were here and he was forbidden to see them, Raziel would make sure they were taken care off and that none of the kids knew their father was a bad wolf. He'll tell them stories of Rome and its beautiful regions. Teach them about the gods and his home, and perhaps one day they would go back and see the great Empire.
On her way home with the warm orange sun shining on to her back it was time for the white female to return home. After having ventured out for the day she liked a good chat. The female was thinking of sniffing out her new found friend Maera. A club meeting could be a fun thing to keep her busy for the night. She could also take the juvenile on a hunt even though she needed to learn some techniques herself Scarlett could always give some tips to the younger wolf.
The female was slowly settling in her new home. She wondered how many days it took her. It surprised the white female that she settled in so easily. Her rocky start made her think otherwise. Wolves were more accepting here. At least that is what she found after meeting serval new faces. Her red eyes gleamed even more in the orange sun. Her pure white coat reflecting the last rays of sunlight before it would disappear behind the mountains. It was almost like a beacon of light that transported itself down the meadow.
Scarlett stopped in her movements when she smelled a very strong scent. Her eyes only took a few seconds to see the lion of a male. An uneasy feeling settled over the small framed female. She wondered if the male was lost. Immediately her brain scolded her for being rude. Just because the male was massive, and a bit intimidating, didn't mean that he would prey on her. At least she hoped so.
A swift gust of air blew through her fur, carrying her female scent to the male's nose. Now she could hardly avoid him, could she? Blood red eyes studied the male at the small creek. Slowly she staggered her muscles forward to the male. She would have to cross the brook anyhow if she wanted to go home and she wasn't taking the long route. The tip of her fluffy white tail was gently raised in a neutral position. "You look like you have never seen a meadow before," she commented quietly. "Although I admit the afternoon rays of light make it a pretty sight to watch."
Raziel stiffened as the wind brought a new scent to him, tickling his sensitive nostrils. However he didn't turn around, already keen ears caught her pawsteps echoing across the meadow's ground. "You look like you have never seen a meadow before," she said and he smiled and turned to look at her, taking in her creamy white coat and blood red eyes. "I've never actually seen one, born and raised in the Northern mountains, then on the run ever since until I decided to settle here. Never had time for little pleasures like this. My old home was all about leading and battles." he commented in a lightly accented voice.
"Although I admit the afternoon rays of light make it a pretty sight to watch." Raziel flashed her a grin, "They are pretty, aren't they? Sunset is always the prettiest for me." Eyes of the depths of the sea observed the setting sun on the horizon for a few more moments before deciding to introduce himself. "I'm Raziel, Raziel Angelus Mortis. But ya can call me Raz, a lot of wolves do." He waited to see if she would introduce herself.
"Oh. You haven't? I didn't want to come across as rude. My apologies. I think I might understand what you have been feeling. I have been on the run, too, before settling here," she commented gently. The female got more confident around the male now he had spoken which got her to step forward towards him. His eyes were an amazing color to look at, especially with that grey fur around it. She couldn't help but look, okay maybe stare, at his eyes. It was in no way a dominant stare, which you could read of the gentle and rather submissive body language of the female. "Does that mean you never had cuddles?," she questioned curiously. She sounded really serious when asking that last question.
The ghostly white female turned to the sunset. "I have to agree. Although I think the sight of your first litter, or maybe any litter, will probably be prettier,' she dreamily spoke. The female tend to live in a bit of a fairytale at times. Now she didn't had to prove herself so much as back home she had the time to be a dreamer. "That sounds like a really fancy name, Raziel. I'm Scarlett. Just.. Scarlett. Nice to meet you."
Raziel noticed the female staring into his eyes but knew immediately it was not meant to be a challenge, perhaps she was merely astonished and surprised by the intense color of his murky eyes. A lot of wolves were entranced by the his eyes that were the color of storm clouds but the depths of the ocean at the same time, particularly she-wolves. "Does that mean you never had cuddles?," she sounded so serious when she asked the question that it dragged a smile from the Angelus Mortis.
The corner of his lips quirked upwards and Raz laughed softly, a smooth musical sound that danced around in the air. The laugh turned even louder at her next sentence, he was going to like her. "I have to agree. Although I think the sight of your first litter, or maybe any litter, will probably be prettier," "Is that a compliment, milady?" Raz grinned. "D'ya want to be the mother of the litter, eh?" his tone was playful though, he was in no way a womanizer. Like most of his relatives, he was extremely loyal to those he loved and would sacrifice himself if it could save their lives.
"That sounds like a really fancy name, Raziel. I'm Scarlett. Just.. Scarlett. Nice to meet you." "Nice to meet ya, Scarlett." Raz flashed her a smile that leaned to becoming a smirk.
Her red eyed blinked for a moment. Compliment? She was referring to herself. Suddenly her eyes widened a bit with what she said. "No.. I meant.. From my perspective... That would be the-- Not that you... aren't--- I mean... you are.. kinda.. I think.. I--," The female began to stumble over her words. That would have been very forward of her to say so if she meant it that way. She was a rather modest and shy in that whole department. "Ah... Yeah..," she eventually awkwardly mumbled.
Scarlett would love to have a litter. She had a bit of a dream vision about it. "I would like a litter yes. But I might need to strengthen my own skills to be a good mom. I want to be a good mother. And, well.. I also need a mate for that which is also.. lacking," she spoke, feeling a bit pathetic how that sounded. "Well you don't really need to have a mate of course," she rambled. "But I'd like one. One who I feel safe and protected with.. and I can curl against.... And I should stop talking right now."
If a wolf could blush Scarlett would be as red as her eyes at the moment. "Likewise, Raziel. And old wise wolf close to my old pack carried the same name." The female flickered her tail and crossed the creek to get closer to him. Her nose nudging a bit in his grey fur. He smelled very manly and strong. Yet, secretly Scarlett liked that.
"No.. I meant.. From my perspective... That would be the-- Not that you... aren't--- I mean... you are.. kinda.. I think.. I--," he raised an eyebrow at her, the corner of his lips quirking upwards as she continued to stutter. "Hey," he said gently, a smile on his face. "You don't need to be so nervous, Scarlett. I ain't going to bite....yet", he smirked playfully. But Raziel listened quietly as she continued to speak, saying she would like to have a litter, be a mother but didn't have a mate. That she wanted to have someone who she would feel safe and protected with, someone she could curl up against.
"The female mind is interesting, all I ever think about is surviving. There was never time for that kind of pleasure." Raziel said quietly and watched with fierce green eyes as she moved closer to him. The Roman, afraid of too much affection and physical contact his whole life, yet secretly craving it, was astonished as she nudged him softly. A look of confusion, surprise and curiosity covered his usually stoic features before he brushed his nose against her cheek.
"A good mate is a desirable thing to want. Not for all females, though, but for me it is. I know I am not the female that gets the male I want. I like to be good to my future mate and give him off spring," she shrugged lightly. Scarlett tipped her head. That was a curious thing. Did the male not think of procreation? She thought that was the only thing that males would think about. "Well everyone his own thing right?," she stated gently. Scarlett even smiled a bit. She glanced with one red eye at the male's nose coming closer. She turned her head more and then licked over the tip of his nose. A rather bold move. "I should return to my pack sometime soon,' she drawled but she might not even want to. Not really. She thought about the fact she just met this guy.
Raziel blinked at her, "Why not?" he questioned her. "I think your beautiful, especially those eyes of yours." a light smile graced his lips as he spoke, if there was one thing you had to know about this particular Roman, was that he didn't lie much, only if it would protect those he loved dearly. To him, there was no reason to lie about something like this, he thought her pretty so he said so. If he thought she was ugly, he would probably have said it too. But perhaps not so confidently, Raz didn't like hurting innocents feelings, unlike his father Aku.
Raziel gazed at her, in a mixture of confusion and surprise as she licked the tip of his nose, the Roman's tongue flicked outwards, attempting to lick her cheek as a symbol of their friendship, or the start of their friendship if that was going to happen. Hopefully it would, now that he'd 'hopefully' settled down, perhaps he would be able to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, such as having a mate.
"I should return to my pack sometime soon," she spoke, drawing a smirk out of the rather youthful Roman. "Sometime soon, Scarlett. Not immediately I hope. I rather enjoy your company here, and besides, since I've never had cuddles before, aren't you going to teach me?" There was something about this girl that none of the females back home had, perhaps it was because they were all busy training to become fighters and best wolves of the packs. Roman she-wolves had to double their efforts to get noticed as they were immediately prejudiced since birth.
Her tail rose a bit in confidence when the male made a sign of licking her back. Her tail let out a friendly wag. When the male spoke about wanting to spend more time with her, her tail moved even faster. The female got confirmed the handsome male never had cuddles. She was disliked and had even gotten some cuddles! Suddenly a playful mood settled over the young lady. She sunk a bit though her front paws before she jumped up against him. She had to use all her weight to unbalance the male towards the ground. If she would tell him what to do it would be so.. awkward. Scarlett had such an innocent spirit at times.
She let her white body fall down with his, half rolling off the male. She let out a carefree laugh and rolled onto her tummy. Scarlett curled against the thick winter coat of the grey male and let out a content sigh. She was hesitant at first but then moved her muzzle to his ear and licked at a rhythmic pace behind it. She knew it felt nice, especially when a rough tongue went softly past the sensitive edge of one ear. Basically the young and innocent female was licking somewhat of a stranger to her but it felt surprisingly good to be close to someone.
The silver boy laughed, a soft musical sound that resonated through the air, "You're welcome, Scarlett." he responded, smiling brilliantly at her. Realizing that this was how it must be like to be hanging out rather than running and trying to live another day, perhaps he might actually enjoy this life of peace. And perhaps, if the gods were nice, he would find himself a mate he loved. Keen eyes did not miss the way her tail rose when he licked her back and her tail began wagging, when he said he wanted to spend more time with her, it moved even faster. Raz decided he like this Scarlett and would like to spend more time with her. It was too bad they came from different packs, but that could be easily fixed if they wanted to fix it.
Raziel stared at her, surprise evident in his features as Scarlett leaped up at him, using all her weight, trying to unbalance him. His paws were solid and didn't give way so easily, so he let go and let her push him against the ground. Her body fell against his, half rolling off him, Raz laughed, a large grin plastered across his face. The white female curled up against him and sighed contently, the Roman echoed her sigh, there were not much duties here to attend to, they were less than those he had back at home. This was pure freedom, thank the gods.
It seemed the day was full of surprises, because moments later, he felt a rough tongue against his ear. Raz smiled, and exhaled softly, content with everything that had happened today. Eyes the color of the depths of the mysterious sea sought out Scarlett's blood red ones, the Roman reached out and attempted to wrap his limbs around her, pulling her closer to him. "Do this is cuddling." he said in a thoughtful tone.
Scarlett had no clue that the male had let himself fall down. She wasn't the biggest wolf so that meant she also didn't had a lot of weight she could use. Scarlett felt really strong in that moment. Her fluffy white tail wagged over the ground as the male let out content sighs and grunts. It pleased the young female that she was at least doing something right. And that the male seemed to like it. She let him tug her closer. Secretly she would have nothing rather. Her red eyes fell into his beautiful light colored eyes. His grey fur complimenting the eyes even more. Raziel was such a strong male. He was kind of the type Scarlett wouldn't mind curling against. Which is probably why the female was so close to the male now.
The lighter wolf felt rather safe with the strong male so close. She gave him a lick over his cheek and then lowered her head to place them on his paws. The side of her head resting against the longer fur on his neck and chest. She would probably heavily smell of them male. Somehow that didn't bother her as much as it might should. "Yes. This is cuddling," she hummed. "Although the licking is not necessary but it just feels really nice. And I wanted you to know how that felt too" She was such a sucker for being groomed or licked. Every girl liked to be pampered right? It felt even better if Raziel would do it since the male didn't look like he would be doing this often.
She noticed some other scents mixed in his fur. Her nose going through the grey fur on his chest and from his chest to his neck. "Which pack are you in?," She asked with some interest. Maybe she sounded too obvious while inquiring answers. But Scarlett really liked to know more about this male. He found her beautiful after all and she would not complain if it would turn to more than friendship. Her head was often in those fairytale worlds and how she would find her mate one day and they would stay together forever.
Raziel smiled, Scarlett's furry form snug against his own and he found that he liked it. That he like someone cuddling with him, especially if that someone was Scarlett. She was especially cute, probably because of her sweet and childish nature. All of the females he had seen were battle hardened warriors, he had never actually seen someone like her, who had such a gentle and sweet personality. Perhaps that was why he was drawn to her, he himself was a typical warrior, not gentle nor kind. It was interesting how easily they bonded.
The Roman's rough tongue moved gently over her crown, carefully grooming the fur between her ears and her nape. His strong limbs still wrapped tightly around her smaller form, probably providing her a sense of comfort and safety. He hugged her closer and resumed licking in a casual pace, like they had all the time in the world, like time stopped for only the two of them. Two strangers that only knew each other for some minutes and they were cuddling and grooming each other. Beautifully strange and rare.
"Yes. This is cuddling, although the licking is not necessary but it just feels really nice. And I wanted you to know how that felt too." Raziel laughed, his chest rumbling as he did so. "You're an interesting little lady, Scarlett. An interesting pretty lady." he spoke softly, his tail thumping contently against the grassy meadow ground. "I recently joined a pack called Swiftcurrent Creek. It isn't far from here." Raz replied, still grooming her fur.
"You are secretly really sweet for a strong warrior," she returned. Which happened to be just her type. She was a sucker for the strong warriors that had a sweet side to the ones they liked/loved. And now one of those types was calling her pretty and interesting! Maybe it was good that she was laying down. "Oh yeah. I think I've heard of it. It is one of the other packs in this valley, right? That means you are close!," she spoke with a soft hum in her voice. The thought of seeing him more often make her heart flutter. She was just about to enjoy being groomed when she could hear the howls of her pack starting with their weekly pack hunt. "Oh no," she whispered. "I have to go. I don't want to be kicked out! I will howl if I am close to your territory. Hoping you are there." She got to her feet and gave him a quick lick over his cheek.
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What was this he was feeling? Satisfaction? Contentment? Happiness? Freedom? Whatever it was, it was something he hadn't felt before. His life always being a mess, a mix of worry, fear, anger, resentment, bloodshed, violence, laws, rules. He was bound down by ropes he conjured up himself, yet now it seemed like they were rotting away, leaving him slowly but steadily free. Raziel hoped Anselm and Azrael were also happy wherever they were, and the rest of his half siblings, they all deserved it, especially since they had that sadistic bastard Aku as a father. May the gods have mercy on them, they deserve happiness after suffering so much, the silver lion prince prayed silently as he lay, staring at the sunset.
"You are secretly really sweet for a strong warrior," she spoke, Raziel laughed softly, the melodic sound drifting through the early evening air. Sweet to you, Scarlett. I'm not exactly like this around others.
he laughed again. Now that I think about it, I've never been like this to anyone before, in my three summers of life. Ah well, guess everyone has a starting point, right?
She was an interesting one, and Raz already knew he would like to spend more time with her, after all he had never met someone like her.
She said she was close, was she from the pack Duskfire Glacier, they seemed to be one of the closest packs around, he didn't know much about this land, he only knew about the Glacier from his travels before Swiftcurrent Creek, but the mountains reminded the Roman too much of his old home, so he moved on. But their peace was short lived, for moments later Scarlett rose to her paws, kissed him on the cheek in farewell. The silver wolf rose to his own paws, flashed the girl a winning smile. I'll see you sometime soon, won't I?
a promise hidden in his words.