Fox's Glade [M]Macchiato

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The participants have indicated the following reason(s) for this warning: possible conception

Afew more days of travel and she began to understand both why it was she’d opted to go on a small scouting adventure, and why her body began to burn with desire. The ache, the curiosity- coupled with the dread of actually having children but…What if she was lucky, and simply didn’t conceive?

She’d figure it out, let the chips fall where they may- it was the Sapphique thing to do, anyway. And so, she chose a beautiful spot in the glade, where her voice might ring out- and sang a siren song out for any man in the area.

Viinturuth was not one to ignore the beckoning if a receptive she-wolf. He'd detected the scent of one from a ways off and turned in that direction without much thought, his stride quickening when he heard her call.

She was a petite thing, with a stocky build - and young, he noted as he drew nearer. This fact made him feel rather awkward yet he let his gaze linger, maintaining a distance so she could look upon him too and decide if he met her expectations.

Something felt wrong, the moment she’d called out. She half expected Valravn to appear out of nowhere and usher her home- reminding her that she actually had no desire to have children this year. 

Desire lingered, faintly, even when she caught sight of a man who came to answer. He wasn’t her age, by the looks of him- and she wondered if perhaps he might be disappointed to see her; she didn’t consider herself to be a conventional beauty, though such a thing certainly ran in her family. 

She felt green, inexperienced beneath the warmth of his gaze, but sought to retain her composure by lifting her chin slightly. With a slightly uncertain smile, she summoned the courage to speak. ”You ‘ave…come to be wid me, hmm?” That was how this works, right?

Suzu’s voice came along on the wind. For a fat girl, she sure could sing. 

Anselm found himself compelled to follow. His interest was moreso in protecting her — imagining a man covering her caused his skin to crawl with unthinkable discomfort — whether it was fraternal protectiveness or machismo possessiveness, Anselm did not truly know. 

A smokecloud of a wolf trailed her. Anselm watched from the tree line, feeling he was violating a deep sanctity by being here — but as Suzu turned to regard her suitor, Anselm found their proximity intolerable. 

He pushed from the shade, head low and a bite to his voice he could not quite master. Suzu. His gaze rested pointedly on the male, tail arced in a manner that suggested his advancement was unwelcome.

The young wolfess blinked up at him, but there was something oddly unsettling about this encounter. Viinturuth lashed his tail, trying to decide if it might be the years between them that he found off-putting or if there was something else below the surface.

He looked at her, searching for fear, but did not find it. There was no clear enthusiasm for his touch, however, and a muscle in Viinturuth's jaw tightened. His thoughts ventured to the moonlit beauty he'd found in the mountains some weeks prior and how there'd been fierce want in the way she studied him, in the way she'd presented herself.

No she-wolf was the same, but this one seemed almost vulnerable. It was not in his nature to take advantage of that.

There was innocence in her question, that which made the ranger feel as though his skin crawled beneath his pelt. He parted his jaws and prepared to answer, to tell her to seek safety, when the appearance of another drew his dark gaze up. Viinturuth watched the ashen figure of a sour-faced stranger advance toward them, and the white wolf drew in a breath; the aroma that'd clung to Druid hung in the air.

Suzu, the boy said, but his amber stare was on Viinturuth. He knew the girl, it seemed, and the flagging of his tail made his nostrils flare but did not offend him. Instead of bracing to the challenge he gave the she-wolf one last glance then made to withdraw from the area, having acknowledged that it was wholly inappropriate of him to be there.

Her heart thudded against her chest as she looked at him, her mind wound its way down a path she hadn't considered much before. She pondered her instincts, but found herself only becoming more and more eager to know this man- to learn his scent, and feel the softness of his coat. In his eyes there was kindness- but she had expected to see him swoon with desire. 

She tried not to be too disappointed that her first suitor did not come begging and pleading- and she wouldn't have time to register the thought enough, as her second suitor caused her cheeks to flush with angry warmth. 

She glared at Anselm; having learned that he had chosen Heda over Etienne, she instinctively wanted to drive him away. Simultaneously, she felt a sickening attraction to him, as well- that made her want to drive the tall, pale man away. 
 
She wouldn't need to- he began to move off of his own volition, leaving Suzu feeling so terribly unwanted. 

She huffed, and fumed. "HhhhhhhhhYOUUUU!" Her breath was hot steam as she stomped toward Anselm. "What? You come 'ere to ruin my chances at 'appiness as well, hmm?" She came to a halt, only inches from him. She had to tilt her head back to gaze up at him, though the ferocity in her eyes would measure up for their height difference. She snorted, sending a puff of her breath his way- breath she knew full well that he would detest, as she had been able to resume her seafood diet. "Or did you come to offer yourself, huh? You want a piece of dis, ah?" Her words were cruel. She would test his restraint to the very edge if she could.

Anselm tensed, anticipating a fight. He understood enough of the world that not all men were like him — some were like Glaukos, or worse. 

There was a kindness in the stranger’s eyes, as well as unspoken confusion. Anselm didn’t have time to inquire after it — not that he would anyway — before the snowdrift of a man melted away. 

Anselm’s tail rose in quiet pride, reassured that his own strength and intimidation urged the man to move on — not the undercurrent of consent and understanding immutably obvious to the older male, that signaled it’d be wrong to go further. 

Anselm had no such sense about these matters. 

He expected praise from Suzu, but she turned upon him with breath rank from fish, her expression not at all conveying “thank you for rescuing me!”. He balked, taking a step back to recollect his composure. 

Vhat? He spat, insulted by her hostility. He vas looking at you — he didn’t have the words to explain how that set him on edge; how suddenly, he felt very proprietary of Suzu. 

She challenged him by her stare, by her low-slung words. A conflicted growl welled in his throat. Her scent was a biological signal, exciting him — and something about the near hateful way she looked at him awoke something hungry and proud in his belly. Say that again, He growled, holding her defiant gaze as he took a step towards her. His breath puffed back in her face, rank and full of testosterone. Tit for tat, Urchin Girl.

She bared her teeth in exasperation. "I wanted 'im to look at me!" And he'd ruined her chances. It was easier to blame the male's departure on Anselm's arrival, than it was to choke down the fact that perhaps he'd taken one look at her and had decided that he wasn't interested. Part of her knew, though, that if he had desired her, he would have risen to the challenge and taken Anselm down in a fight. He looked like the sort who could hold his own in a fight- but he'd chosen not to. 

She breathed in the heady scent of his breath. "I said," She said, every bit willing to take the chance, not knowing what the outcome would be. "You. Want. A. Piece. Of. Dis," She enunciated- saying the words now because she wanted to trigger whatever reaction it might elicit regardless of how uncomfortable it might be, only to find that she wished, with each syllable, for the words to be true. 

She knew in her heart that she didn't want him. But she wanted someone to want her. 

She pulled back an instant later and chuffed. "No, you don't. You can't stand me, and I cannot stand you."

But the conviction in her words faded.

Anselm had meant the other thing — but as always, communication was not his strong suit. What had she meant by saying he was here to ruin her happiness too? Had she spoken to Etienne — had she seen him since he’d left abruptly, seemingly without a word?

His anger faltered for a moment as she thrust herself back in his face, enunciating with perfect crispness a rhetorical question Anselm didn’t know the real answer to. He wanted, in that moment, to not let someone else have her — as selfish as it was — but there was an altruistic side of him too, that worried for her safety with a strange male. It was not that she wasn’t capable - her breath was probably enough to fend off most — but he’d seen what men could do.

He couldn’t ignore the challenge in her burning gaze any longer. And even though she pulled away, and even though a tiny voice in his head told him it was unwise, Anselm closed the gap.

Vhat if I do? It was Anselm’s turn to issue a steely challenge, his tail swaying proudly over his hips. It only singed him a little to learn she could barely stand him — he pushed it aside, feeling his pulse start to hammer.

He stepped closer and challenged her in every way; disputing the notion that he didn't want her, and slamming her with the task of keeping herself from giving in to her primal urges. She wanted to feel the tug of his arms at her waist- but she wanted to rip him limb from limb, too. She stared deep into his eyes, trying to figure out if he truly meant it- or if he was just calling her bluff. 

She couldn't be sure- but she needed to know. She parroted him now, but not in jest.

"Say dat again."

It was selfish, but Anselm did not think of the trail of betrayal he’d be leaving in his wake as he stepped towards Suzu. He’d be betraying Etienne. Heda. His children. Suzu. Finally, he’d be betraying himself.

But he still wrestled with his sexuality. He wrestled with the budding urge to pull her close to him, and feel the heat of her body against him. And Suzu — for the roundness of her frame, was an appealing spitfire just waiting to be brushed to life —

He wanted to move past Etienne. To prove he wasn’t gay; to prove that Etienne’s departure hadn’t damaged him beyond repair. To prove that Etienne meant so little to him, that he could bounce back from his deepest betrayal to date.

A wanting growl rumbled in his throat. I said, so vhat if I do? He moved close, tail sweeping back and forth, his torn ears bent so far forward they shadowed the goldcoin burn of his pining stare. Vhat vill you do, Suzu? Insult me more? What if he liked that?

His words sent a shudder down her spine, lifting the fur as if an arrow had brushed been shot down the length of it. She felt cool in his shadow, and burned beneath his gaze. She felt the warm fan of his breath on her cheek, and savoured the temptation; she could reach out and touch him if she wanted to. This close, she felt herself pulled in, the gravity of his allure amplifying with every inch they banished. The desire she felt swarmed and consumed her. His low voice practically rumbled the ground beneath her feet. 

"No." Her voice was small, and felt so dull when absorbed by the fur of his chest. Somewhere deep within her was her heart, and as distant as it felt when consumed by lust, she felt it tremble and threaten to break. Etienne was miles away- but she knew that if he had come upon them in this moment, his heart would have been shattered into nothing. 

"Anselm...I can't..."

Anselm was not a particularly persuasive person. He felt the trembling energy before them, and he saw how Suzu reacted to it. Part of her leaned in — but he’d be lying if he didn’t see part of her fight to pull away, too.

Unlike Viinturuth, who understood when things were inappropriate, Anselm became incensed. It was bad enough he had to live with the guilt of well, all of it — bad enough his brain and heart conflicted, that he was judged by all for what he felt should come natural — but how she too rejected him.

He stood tall, gaze flinty. Vhy? He countered, wounded by how small her voice had become. You vere willing to do it with some stranger, but not me? Is it because of Etienne? He left, Suzu! He villingly left — me. Fuck him. And fuck me instead, he thought with a bitter gnash of his teeth.

How swiftly he angered- like dry kindling touched by hot flame. He hissed her brother's name but rather than angering, Suzu felt her heart freeze and sink. She searched his eyes- looking rapidly from one to the other, for any sign of dishonesty, but only saw rage. She reflected for a fleeting second on what it was that Etienne had said to her- and she realized that she had only ever heard Etienne's part of the story. 

She gasped. "Anselm- do you not know why 'e left?" Deeply concerned, she saw the pain in his features, poorly masked by anger. And in the anguish- knowing she could never allow herself to touch the man before her, for her brother's sake- she felt a spark of hope on his behalf. "'E t'inks you love Heda, Anselm. Dat you chose 'er over 'im...An' 'e cannot bear it because...'E loves you, Anselm."

Suzu's lilac gaze bore into him, searching from one eye to the next -- trying to find the chink in his armor, he imagined.

His rage transmuted into something other -- she was the second to share first hand information on the reasons surrounding Etienne's departure. So Etienne had blabbed to everyone but him -- further salt strewn into an already rancid wound.

Anselm drew to his full height, his ebbing lust repatriated to colder shores. Suzu, along with Druid -- along with everyone -- didn't get it.

No such hope sparked in Anselm's eye -- only the dying glimmer of a collapsed star. He left, Suzu. Anselm reiterated, this time his tone so icy even he was surprised.

Why did he had to explain to people that you did not leave the things you loved? Vhen people show you vho they are, believe them.

He was wounded in such a way, it seemed almost fatal for his heart. She squinted lightly, concern seeping into her eyes as she regarded a man that she couldn’t figure out. He had chosen Heda, so said Etienne; and yet- he had nearly been willing to mate with her, and they hardly tolerated each other at best. She would have to suspend her judgement if she hoped for answers.

”Den help me, please,” She said, yearning for better understanding. ”Show me who you are, because I do not understand you, but I want to.” After all, it was possible that Etienne had misread Anselm as well- quite possible, considering how closed off the smoky man was.

Anselm was not prepared for the openness in which Suzu addressed him. 

At first, his pale yellow eyes opened, and the shadow that darkened their depths seemed momentarily lifted. And yet, a blackness shortly eclipsed them thereafter, and a door within those accipitrine yellow plains slammed shut. 

Why? Why did she want to know him? What good would it cause? Any time he had been vulnerable, that vulnerability had been sharpened into a weapon to lodge against him. She was, in effect, Etienne’s sister — meaning she was cut from a similar cloth. As much as he wanted so very desperately to be perceived and loved, he had learned he was not deserving of it — and he had learned the rest of the world was equally damaged and ready to use it against him. 

 There was no safe harbor for him to lodge his soul against — only a barren and rocky shore with its toothsome edges bared. 

He drew his posture to a close. No, Suzu. His gaze had hardened in seconds. There was a part of him that withered to be so cold, but that voice was growing quieter by the day now, and eventually it, along with many other parts of Anselm, would wither into nothing but a wisp of smoke. 

He turned back to Rivenwood, disgusted with himself and his actions.

His reply was blunt, short- and the back he turned on her was just as unyielding. She felt heat rise in her cheeks, and she huffed and puffed for a moment before she stepped forward, stomping one round paw on the ground as she barked 

”Anselm!!” 

Something sharp about her tone hinted that she wanted only a second longer of his time. 

Not an argument, not a discussion-

Just one plea. 

”Dis never ‘appened. Agreed?”

Anselm! The cut of her voice rose into the trees above, forcing him to turn around. The seconds passed as he looked her over -- realizing with a touch of bitterness that more than one mistake had been made today.

This never happened. He searched her face for any readable emotion, but at length gave in. There was nothing to hide, for nothing had happened today. Never happened. His throat was hoarse and full of gravel.

Anselm did not linger. Feeling at the mercy of his own damn humors, he slunk off to Rivenwood.