Blackfoot Forest Is it love if I take you, or is it love if I set you free

@Aries

No. No. No. No. No.

The word pounded in her mind as her paws hit the ground again and again.

Why him? Why now? Why him? Why now?

Every syllable squeezed her heart a bit tighter with each echo of the words spilling from her mouth. The fresh white snow only reminded her of him, and she growled, flattening her ears back, yet the growl was  trapped, broken, terrified. The dusk had spread out over the land, snaking fading light through the seemingly twisted trees. She had wandered aimlessly, the promise to Dakarai ringing louder in her ears and her heart shattered a bit more at each paw fall, knowing that she was breaking the last promise she made him.

She had caught his scent earlier, her very essence trembling with the abhorred familiar scent, yet her resolve pushed her forward, and the unseen drive to keep the ones she loved safe was pushing her to the man who haunted her every night, who weighed heavy in her mind every day, and whose voice echoed through her being. With a look of disgust and terror, she lifted her nose again, nostrils flaring then a loud huff as she caught it.

Snorting several times, she whined softly as her drive set her eyes forward. It was ripping her apart as her heart pulled her back. As she saw where the scent was leading her, her steps faltered, her legs barely holding her body up. A forest. Her trembling lips whispered into the fading light.

Why? Why there?

The three words were caught up by the wind, a hope, a hopeless plea that was spoken to the unyielding black forest.
Memories flooded back, and her breath came fast and shallow, a band of uncertainty tightening around her chest, stilling her step for only a moment. Yet her family's faces floated like ghosts through her mind, and she took another step. 

And another. One more into the forest of her nightmares.

The pale moon and stars that accompanied it cowered behind a dense layer of cloud, last beams of golden sunlight streaking down in rays before vanishing beyond the horizon. Now upon the painted sky lay a deep, midnight blue that faded into a glowing vermillion - and the land laying underneath remained various dark shades of grey, as though all was captured in an old photograph partially burned and blackened. The branches of trees creaked and groaned in the wind, each sudden snap causing the scatter of birds. 

It was in this darkness that the Reaper prowled, drifting and weaving between those towering trees with twisted, leafless branches. His elegant movements made not a sound, silent as he was trained to be - a deadly snake in search of a victim to taunt into his jaws. The svelte, starborn youth lived for the shadows and a shadow he had become, each pierce of his icy gaze like a venemous wisp that dripped from the point of a snake's sharpened fang. So intimidating was his stare, so void of emotion and yet filled with masked desires, dreams of blood and longing to harm yet another innocent soul.

This place, he cared naught for it but found himself traipsing within, lithe figure sliding in and out of the elongated figures stretched upon the ground as a shadow casted by the light of the moon. The breeze was cool against his face, a rushing of air bringing the gift of a scent to Aries' nostrils. The quirk of his lips heralded the curiousity of the young man, though he was sure to keep this well masked when he began to trail the scent to its source, black nose tipped downward.

Her footsteps were light as she trailed through the forest. She ignored her trembling, her resolve set in stone. He would not get to her family. Not if she could help it. She growled softly, yet it came out with more fear in it than she cared to admit. Shaking her head, she sniffed her head and froze. His scent. Mixed with...an unfamiliar one.

She looked around, her eyes scanning the forest. No. She didn't have time for another. Yet the scent lingered, and her thoughts suddenly gave her an idea. Would this stranger know where he was? It sent a shiver of terror through her, yet she had to know. Keeping her voice steady, she called out.

Who is there?

The call echoed through the forest, and silence again lay on the land. Huffing, she stilled her trembling, knowing it would be seen as a weakness to whoever was out here, in this forest of nightmares, with her.

The steel boy observed from the cover of darkness for many heartbeats, each pump sending his senses reeling - the girl with a pelt of sunshine was alone, nobody to back her up in the event of an ambush. In this forest of nightmares, the Reaper could see that she was unnerved. Why did she not yet flee? She was aware someone was watching, someone was seeing. But still no moves to take this opportunity to run were made - only a voice, echoing in the dusk, calling out to any stranger that lurked. But Aries did not respond to this, allowing the silence to hang like a thick fog that curled between twisted trees. 

Those orbs of ice scanned the wolfess from the shadows, simply waiting, enjoying each moment that she trembled - it was like a rush of energy, adrenaline, hushed excitement. He could feel her fear deep within his chest and it was one of the greatest pleasures he had experienced. 

At last, the starborn emerged like a ghost from the haze of darkness, movements slow, elegant and calculated. It seemed almost as if there were invisible shackles chained around his ankles, like he was tied to this very land and this was why he fit so perfectly. So dangerously. "Hello," A deep voice rumbled, thick with silent violence, a promise matching the venomous glint in his eyes.

She could feel them. Burning orbs staring at her from darkness. Yet she couldn't see them. This unnerved her more, yet she tried not to show it. What did she come for? Oh. Right. Taking a deep breath, she tried to steady her nerves, her eyes scanning the trees again.

Then his voice rung in her ears, and she almost turned and ran. Yet she stood her grond, locking her gaze with his. Cold, nothingness eyes bored in her, and his presence made her sick. Hoping her voice was steady, she spoke. I'm...looking for someone, and I was hoping for some help.

The soldier of darkness harboured within his chest a tangle of secretive desires, those poisonous thoughts that ought not to be spoken upon the lips of any. Of course, he was aware he had the strength and speed to knock the girl off her feet and leave her bleeding on the ground until her soul was stripped from her body, but he did not act on this knowledge. Her deep, chocolate gaze met his own icy orbs and for a moment there was a thick silence that needed no words to fill the gaps - emptiness within her eyes, not too disimilar from his own at times. After all, how void of emotion had he become? Perhaps he should toy with her a little more - was it not better to feel pain than nothing at all?

Ah, information was what the wanderer sought. Information seemed to be what every traveller desired, every wolf upon the earth who wished to know things they had no true need to know. This wolfess with the foreign pelt of sunshine claimed to be searching for someone, and he almost laughed - they were all searching for something, someone, what made her so special? Why should he scour his memory and aid this stranger in locating whoever it was she wished for the presence of?

The young man stalked closer, movements elegant yet deadly with every step closer he took. Aries began to circle her, to dance around her pretty little body with a wicked grin upon his maw - "The girl wants information, information she says. Why should I help you? What do I gain from this?"