Coconut Grove We were staying in Paris.

Tags for reference, no need to reply here.  :D  thread is AW!

It'd been a long time since Viinturuth had left Triquetra, and even longer since they'd departed their previous stomping grounds. The ghost picked his way across the pale sands without even recognising what'd once been a home to him. Coconut Grove did not hold any real meaning to him, no place truly had, for it'd been just as fleeting as all the others.

His return to the Teekon was not for his own benefit. He came to sate his mother's curiosity, with the intention of checking in on his brother and his family. Viinturuth had tried to be a good role-model for @Akavir's daughters - his own nieces - but he'd failed them by falling hard and fast for their mother. When @Lilitu and @Arielle were only a month or so old, he removed themselves from their lives to protect not only his brother, but his own heart.

He'd regretted it every single day since.

@Ibis was the most glorious wolfess he'd ever laid eyes upon, and he was nervous at the idea of seeing her again. She'd surely given Akavir another litter and that left an unpleasant taste in his mouth, but he swallowed it and carried on toward the distant mountains where he assumed his brother's perfect family still made their home.

Waves lapped gently at the wanderer's paws as he veered toward the darker area of the strand where earth met sea. He could taste salt water in the air and an alabaster lobe swivelled atop his head at the caw of a seagull that soared above. 

the jewel had been there minutes before to steep in the brine, with a wet path linking her current position to a shallow point.
the gull's cry draws her eye; tugging at a knot of fur along her haunch, pausing momentarily to survey the man when he catches in her eye. she licks her lips.
he is a large thing; older than the last, and strong.
the sea licks at his heels.
jawahir hums a welcoming note to him, loud enough to be heard over the tide.

The tide came gently, and beneath the intensity of a July afternoon sun he considered venturing out into deeper waters. It felt good on his ankles, on the rugged pads of his paws, but the thought was brief and he decided to remain in the shallows where he could feel the land beneath him.

Probably a wise decision, considering the attention he seemed to draw toward himself. Dark eyes found the skinny frame of another canine, a coyoye he noted with distaste, and he frowned deeply in its direction. "What?" Viinturuth paused to stare, wondering why this one hadn't skirted around him like most of its kind seemed to do.

he is not pleased to see her there.
no taste, this one. though he holds a familiar shrewd look upon his face.
hm, i only wished a better look at you. the batting of lashes, a quirk of a smile. taking care not to let her gaze linger long upon his face—letting it slide along his body for a beat.
up she rises through the sand, and shakes with a step.

He didn't like the way it looked at him, eyes roving. His own burgundy stare was sharp, dangerous, locked onto the coyote's narrow features; this one was brave.

Viinturuth had never been a fan of these lesser creatures, and his tolerance for them was little to none. "Well," he answered bluntly, and flagged his tail in warning to accompany the warning flash of his fangs, "that's long enough, so scram."

the courtesan knew not to smile when the man sneered. they did not want to go; this was a lovely place to catch prey, even if some resisted.
this one was antagonistic. likely having never tasted the likes of jawahir before.
hm, a pity. you are beautiful.
not willing to put themselves in danger for longer than necessary, the coyote would leave; a pout upon their face.
there would be other chances for the jewel, but not this day.

Her response was unexpected; no one, not a single soul in the world, had ever called him "beautiful". Viinturuth knew he was not, that he never could be, for the dark desire he harboured for his brother's bride made him hideous.

The ghost followed his apparent admirer with a cold maroon stare and a hardened expression, pallid tail relaxing at his rear as she placed further distance between them. Viinturuth snorted after her, unimpressed, and promptly forgot her compliment as he turned to carry on along the coast.

the man was stricken.
had none ever told him? how sweet; but surely he had earned the adoration of his own women? or perhaps men, or boys, like the jewel — they did not judge.
certainly not the noble wolf.
as the man moved to leave along his own path, jawahir sank in among the grove's flora to watch. at such point that the wolf was out of sight, out again would they slink, to enjoy a continued sprawl beneath the sun.