Bearclaw Valley “What am I to you?”

brring brring, paging miss @Laurel

The days went by and he, anxious and dreading the encounter, continued to avoid Laurel. Unlike Indra, the tawny sister had always been a bit more brazen, and that aspect of her worried him; he did not fear whether or not he would be able to take her on in battle, he simply worried over what she might do. Whether that be attack or challenge him—both of which could lead to her departure, which he, surprisingly, did not want. Because despite her attitude he had grown to appreciate her, perhaps even for it, and could not allow himself to see the valley without her there to act weird in it.

Thus, it was time for him to stop avoiding and approach the issue head-on.

It was easy to pick up on her scent, and even easier to find her; Alexander, having no idea how heats actually worked or how long they lasted, had hoped that things would be back to normal by today. Of course, he was wrong, and this he realised the moment he started trailing after her. But it was too late to turn back now, he’d already made his decision and was going to follow through with it. So when he saw a familiar mass up ahead, he let out a low chuff with the hope of getting her attention.

Indra was off doing stuff on her own and Laurel had decided to take some me-time too. There weren't a whole lot of boys to manipulate in Bearclaw Valley, which was unfortunate. She had no clue that her heat was only about halfway now, and was naively thinking that she had somehow acquired a super power that was going to last forever. Laurel was preening her fur, wanting to look as pretty as she could in case she ran into any boys later on, while admiring a scenic view by a narrow frozen river.

It wasn't until she heard the chuff that she realised Xan was nearby. She had decided to simply forget about him entirely because he wasn't worth feeling shit about. Obviously he would still be mad, too, she thought this whole time, because she had shoved him and yelled profanities in his face when he ditched her and her sister for that stupid mutt bitch of his that day. Just another sign that he didn't care about them at all, that he thought them insignificant. But he might still be angry about her actions, she realised, and though she had glowered about being ignored she had not sought him out herself for fear of facing his anger.

It surprised Laurel to see that he wasn't at all looking mad when he approached. She could tell very little about what he was feeling or thinking, which unnerved Laurel a bit because she liked to know what to expect. Instead of going for the usual angry-Laurel-routine and asking him what he was here to do, she took a gamble and haughtily said: "Here to beg for forgiveness?" She knew that she was in no position to grant forgiveness, that he probably didn't think he'd done anything wrong, but whatever. He would probably get mad one way or another, so she might as well put the stakes in high and hope that the rewards would be equally high.

As she glanced his way he stopped, keeping some distances between them. He wasn’t sure how to go about getting back into her good graces. He thought of just apologising, but then he thought back to Indra—a compliment had worked then, sort of, but would such words have any effect on Laurel? He considered it, briefly, but his thoughts were soon cut-off by her voice. Focusing back on her, his gaze narrowed slightly but was corrected a mere few seconds after; he reminded himself that he was there to try and fix things, not argue with her and make matters worse. So he swallowed his pride—it was an incredibly difficult thing to do, and likely to never happen again—and regarded her with an apologetic look in his eyes.

“Yes, actually,” he said. “I’m… sorry”—oh, how foreign apologies were on his tongue!—“for just leaving you.” Although getting the words out was a bit of a struggle, he truly meant what he had said. Having been pushed aside and forgotten countless times in the past, he understood the feeling well enough to know that he didn’t want to leave her feeling the same way. And perhaps he was thinking too far into it, maybe she didn’t even care, but this was a wrong that he felt he needed to right either way. Alexander refused to become the same as those that he despised so greatly.

For a moment Laurel prepared for confrontation again, knowing that she was out of line but caring little for it. He started it. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at him, almost daring him to do it, say it, but he didn't. Instead he actually apologised. Laurel felt taken aback and didn't know how to respond right away, but tried not to show it. "Well, good," she said when he finished talking, the haughty tone still to her voice. She didn't really know what else to say at first, and a silence lingered between them for a few seconds.

"And if she showed up now? Would you just leave again?" she asked scrutinisingly. "Everyone makes mistakes. The only thing we can do to learn from them is just... doing things better next time." And Laurel knew that he'd likely leave again. But what if he would say 'no' and then do 'yes'? She almost sort of hoped that the girl'd show up again, just so that Laurel could prove her point — or Xan could.

Her response was lacking, not resembling Indra’s in the slightest—which, he reminded himself, was normal and to be expected because they were not the same wolf. Still, that didn’t make her well, good any more or less satisfying; it was just there, a reply but not one that he’d been hoping to hear. His mind once again travelled back to compliments and how they worked, curious to see if offering one up might earn him a better reaction—but then he remembered that he didn’t know how to give compliments, as well as how they just felt weird coming out of his mouth, and ditched the idea altogether. Besides, the longer he was around her, the more he realised that Laurel couldn’t possibly be the sort of girl to change her outlook entirely just because of some kind words.

Again, she had questions to ask, which led to another gap of silence between them. He didn’t know how to answer her, being not fully certain himself what he would do. “It depends,” he settled on. “If you tried to attack her, then yes, I’d leave with her to keep you both from being hurt. Or if she tried to run away during her heat again—I’d also follow her then.” Reigi was his friend and he wanted to keep her safe; he wanted the same for several others, too, Laurel included. “But I don’t want to have to choose between going with her and staying with you,” he added, his weight shifting from one side to the other as he spoke. “I want us all to be able to hang out together—aren’t packs supposed to do that?” Although it should have been rhetorical, his curiosity of her views towards the matter added an inquisitive pitch to his voice.

Xan's words were lacking, of course. Laurel huffed when he said he would run after her during her heat; what about if Laurel ran away, then? Would he follow her? She didn't get the chance to ask before Xan said that he preferred if they all stayed together, like packs were supposed to do. Laurel rolled her eyes dramatically because obviously she had no part in this whatsoever; it wasn't her fault that the dumb chick kept running away.

"Well maybe you should tell your perfect girlfriend that she shouldn't run away then," said Laurel with a huff. "It's obvious that she's much more important to you, because I doubt you'd come after me if I ran away." To prove her point, Laurel turned around and started to walk away. She wanted so badly for Xan to come after her but she knew that he probably wouldn't, and even if he did then would it really mean something now that she was literally the only wolf there for him to socialise with? All Laurel wanted was to be appreciated and loved, but the world was against her and Xan, being part of the world, would just disappoint her and prove that he didn't love her in any sort of way, like all men — and most wolves — had before. And anyway, some of this heat-type magic should work on him, shouldn't it? He couldn't be the only dude immune, she thought to herself.

A huff and an eye roll. Whilst neither were preferred responses, he almost expected them. He nearly huffed himself, not knowing how to get the answers that he did want, but the sound never managed to work its way out—nor did he get a chance to speak more in favour of the idea, her words cutting him off. One word in particular—girlfriend—not only took him by surprise, but made his innards twist at the thought; Alexander didn’t like the idea of that, believing that going that far would mean getting too close and leaving him open to being torn down. “She’s not my girlfriend,” he argued. “She’s just my… friend.” He didn’t quite like that word, either, and he especially detested saying it out loud. It didn’t feel right on his tongue and didn’t sit well in his mind, dragging out memories that he’d much rather forget—but there was no other way for him to describe his relationship with Reigi.

An accusation was made and an attempt to leave followed right after, intensifying his focus on her; her turn sparked something within him, which he tried so desperately to ignore, reminding himself that he was there solely to fix things—which worked, sort of. And rather than outright saying you’re wrong, Alexander opted to just follow after her. What started as a walk slowly turned into a light jog as he tried to close the distance between them, after which, should he get close enough, he’d nip gently at her hocks.

"Pfffr, yeah, sure she is," Laurel sarcastically huffed even as she bounced off, believing none of this 'friend' stuff. It was clear that he was head over heels for this girl. As she trotted away an ear kept a close watch on him. As soon as she noticed he followed her pace quickened a little and she suddenly felt a playfulness get to her that replaced her earlier grouch.

Tail waved, a subconscious act, to spread her scent and indicate her improving mood. She giggled when she felt a nip at her hocks and sped up a little, then pranced to the side and turned around to cut him off. She met him head on as she reared on her hind legs, aiming to wrap them around his neck in the collision.

When her speed increased, his followed suit, doing what he could to keep up with her without passing the girl by. And when her tail waved through the air, it was more than just the lure of play that pulled him towards her. But the game still continued and she sped up once again, so Xan, of course, mimicked her pace—and what a mistake that had been. In the moments the followed she moved, turned, and met him head-on all in one fluid motion. There wasn’t enough time for him to stop, only slow, and thus he continued right into her arms.

Alexander’s head tilted down at a rather uncomfortable angle, trapped between her forelimbs. Playfully, he growled and nipped at her chest, before taking a few steps forward in an attempt to knock her over—with him following right after, should he succeed.

Laurel expected for Xan to come to a halt and either run away or meet her head on. She couldn't quite tell which of these plans he'd gone for; all she felt was the collision. He lowered his head and Laurel nipped playfully at his ears and the fur on top of his head. She growled playfully in appeased way as he nipped back at her.

As he stepped forward Laurel, who wasn't trying very hard to be the winner of the play fight at all, easily lost balance. She let out a surprised laugh as they both went tumbling down to the ground and nipped at Xan's face almost gingerly so as they went crashing down to the ground.

Their entanglement led to a variety of nips and playful growls, with Alexander returning each of what was given to him. He didn’t mind these games—in fact, he actually preferred how physical they were, appreciating the soft nips and overall mouthy gestures that they extended to one another. He especially liked it when she fell, despite how he’d gone along with her, because of the position it put him in; he believed himself to have the advantage by being on top, even if it was only just a game.

With his chest pressed against her and his forelimbs on either side of her head, Xan let out a low, playful growl whilst his tail waved behind him like a flag. For a moment, he froze and sought out her gaze, the inquisitive glint in his own suggesting a question: do you believe me now? But he didn’t remain like that for long before he was mouthing at her muzzle, an uncomfortable and eager warmth spreading throughout his lower regions in response to their closeness.

They went crashing to the ground, which caused Laurel to get stuck underneath Xan. She growled playfully and returned his nips and growls in equal measure. As he froze momentarily she was just on her way to nip at his nose. She finished the nip and then looked back at him, feeling strange and fuzzy inside at his gaze, a thing she didn't remember ever feeling before, with anyone, really.

Quickly she shook off the weird feeling, aided by Xan continuing their moment of play. Laurel opened her mouth to try and prevent it from being caught by Xan's snaps, but it was a half-hearted attempt and half of the time he managed to wrap his mouth 'round her muzzle easily. She returned the gesture by mouthing back at his muzzle, too, causing their teeth to meet in the middle occasionally. She wriggled free one of her front paws and pawed at his face in attempted distraction.

The need to sneeze burned through his nose after she nipped it, only to fade away before anything could come out; there was a split second between then and the continuation of their play, as she gazed at him, where he felt rather frustrated by the lack of release. But just like the sneeze, that feeling subsided and he was right back to playing with her.

Each time their teeth clashed he heard a quiet click, though the collisions were soft and without any jarring effects. In a moment of desired control, he reached out to grab hold of her muzzle, but was distracted before he could follow through with it. Towards his face there came a paw, earning his attention and drawing his maw towards it, rather than her mouth. He aimed a few lazy nips towards her limb, but it wasn’t long after that he was looking back towards he face, tail waving freely behind him whilst the male leaned forward to begin grooming her face; he started at her cheeks, tongue drawn over them slowly, before eventually making his way towards her forehead.

Then suddenly, he stopped, a low whine slipping passed his lips as his hindquarters shifted so he was positioned directly over her. But rather than trying to go any further, he tilted his head down at an awkward angle to nip at her chest, essentially trying to distract himself and thus continue their moment of play.

His attention shifted to her paw and she giggled as he nipped at the paw, feeling ticklish suddenly. She didn't realise his attention back to her face until he started grooming it; Laurel was surprised when he started to lick her cheeks, but the gesture wasn't unwelcome at all. For some reason she felt particularly drawn to him now, and she knew that the same went for him. It was like she had gained some sort of superpower to draw him towards her but in return she, too, was affected by his affections for her.

The whine he elicited sounded almost needing, desiring, and she mirrored it with one equally desiring of her own as he shifted over her, providing even more closeness between them.

He tilted his head to nip at her chest, though she wasn't sure what he wanted by that. Instead of taking up his invitation to play Laurel stretched her neck forward and licked the side of his muzzle, near his lips, deciding that she wanted more of what they had shared only moments before.

The same whine that fled past his lips soon left hers, too, sparking a sudden longing within him. He wanted her, for more than just play; the realisation brought his head back up and away from her chest just in time to meet her licks. The pace of his tail quickened, excited by her gesture, which he returned as he licked along her muzzle and the side of her face. The world around them faded from view, leaving nothing to distract him—it was just her, in that moment and beneath him, who held his attention and received his affections. But Alexander wanted more, he wanted all that she was willing to give him.

Another whine, low and drawn out by his excitement, exited the male’s mouth. He nosed through the fur surrounding her neck, licking and nipping at every point he touched; his nips were no longer playful, but filled now with unspoken desires and needs. He made an attempt at adjusting his stance over her, but the angle was strange and the positions felt unnatural. He did not know if she wanted the same as him, nor did he dare break the silence of their moment by asking, so he let his body continue to do the talking.

Nudging the side of her neck with a lust-driven growl, he urged her to turn over, to let him know if they were on the same page. But until then—if it were to happen—he settled for pressing his nose into her fur, inhaling and revelling in her scent.

A sudden longing fulfilled her as she started grooming his face, almost as if the touch of his fur had a spark of magic in it that made everything else seem unimportant. She could only feel the pair of them, right here and right now, nothing else. With desire running through her she continued to slather his face in licks and he returned the gesture. She whined high-pitched, longingly as he nosed and licked the fur around her neck. It felt ticklish and so good at the same time.

Another whine exited his mouth and he drew closer, but she knew that this wouldn't work as it was. When he nudged the side of her face Laurel was quick to make use of the space given to turn around. She let out another wanting whine as she instantly missed the closeness between them and being able to groom him, asking wordlessly for more of this closeness.

Each whine struck a chord within him, making him want her more and more. He had never been attracted to her before now, her attitude pushing him away and making it hard to find out what was going on inside her mind. But things were entirely different now—he liked this Laurel immensely, as playful and alluring as she was. And as she turned over for him, a pleased, throaty rumble emerged from the male’s chest. Did this mean she wanted the same as he did? Would she let him take her? Questions raced through his mind, though each were answered and new ones prevented from being created when her whine reached his ears.

She wanted him with her.

Alexander adjusted himself again, forelimbs planted firmly on the ground on either side of her body. Slowly, he pulled his limbs together, hooking his paws around her waist and lowering his caudal region to be flush against her own; it was awkward still, his body crouched down lower than what he was used to, but he made it work. He directed a few soft nips along her back and between her shoulder blades, then lingered at her scruff. Whilst he usually would have taken the loose skin between his jaws, he instead craned his neck so that the side of his muzzle was pressed against her cheek, getting as close to her as he was physically capable of.

And then, should she not object, he’d become even closer yet, driving himself into her.

The intensity of the moment made it so that Laurel didn't think of anything or anyone else. Now she understood what she had heard before, that a mind could feel clouded; it was as if other stuff and other wolves existed but they were somewhere far away. She didn't presently care about them at all. She just wanted him, and she wanted this, right now.

Her whines seemed to have the desired effect for she felt him draw closer again. She pressed her hips closer to him but there was little space to fill already; yet if he had had any doubts that this was what she wanted, then now they would be gone. His nose craned into her cheek felt nice, and she let out a purr-like growl to indicate she liked that while another whine begged him to do it because she wanted to be even closer.

Whilst he positioned himself, aligning his body against her own, he felt her press back against him; it was all the consent he needed, assured that they were as equally interested as the other in going forward. With a low growl in her ear, Alexander’s hips thrusted forward, bringing him closer and closer until he was finally inside her—and in that moment, he could think of no other place that he’d rather be than right there and with her.

His hips rocked against her slowly, almost as if he was teasing her, before his pace picked up and his breathing came out in soft pants against her fur; at some point, he titled his nose downward and turned his head, pressing his face further into the fur along the side of her neck as he worked to satisfied himself—and hopefully her, too.

There was no thought of consequences as Laurel whined longingly for things to start, but she did not have to wait very long. Soon Xan granted her wishes. The feeling was very intense, though not her first — a string of tragical romances had followed Laurel until she eventually decided all boys were stupid, but that was before the magic of heat — and she savoured the feeling of his face alongside her neck rather than the traditional grabbing-the-scruff. She was Laurel, and no one could ever tame her — the fact that he didn't pin her down for this, despite knowing she wanted it, spoke volumes to how well he knew her, in Laurel's book, and that definitely gave the specialness of this moment bonus points.

He started slow and she let out another longing growl-whine. Soon her wishes were granted as he sped up. The feeling of his breath on her fur made her hackles prick up — in a good way this time — and she panted softly along with the motions while she felt better with every thrust.

The longer he went, the quicker he got, until he reached his climax and his thrusts gradually teetered off. He didn’t think about the potential consequences—he never did—and definitely didn’t think far enough ahead to pull out beforehand. As the swelling knotted him to her, he slumped against her back, breathing heavily into the crook of her neck as he did so.

He could not think of anything to say to her, nor did he even want to speak; words floated through his mind, jumbled and sprawled out, and encouraged him to say something, but he ignored each suggestion. Rather, he began grooming the parts of her that he could reach—neck, cheeks, poll, and so on—loath to put an end to their closeness; he silently hoped the knot would last longer than usual, allowing him to linger inside and against her, but his body would likely not answer his wishes.

The warm feeling further spread as he continued to speed up until eventually reaching a climax. He then slumped over her, causing Laurel a short oof though, unlike she normally might have, she did not snap at him or tell him to stop being so heavy. The intensity of the moment was still too present on her mind, the heated feeling in her loins and tummy and the entire rest of her body was still fluttering around and she could not shake off this stupidly happy feeling, though she had no idea where it came from.

There was a silence between them where all she could hear was both their panting. When he started to groom her again a low growl rumbled in her throat that spoke of approval. No words were fine for her; she just savoured this moment for as long as it went on.

As the minutes ticked by and their silence continued, the swelling gradually decreased until he was able to remove himself from her; during the process of doing so, his hips bucked once or twice more against his will, after which he pulled away entirely. Alexander made no effort to clean himself up, his tongue instead working its way over the back of her head as he stood over her. Yet, his legs were weak so he eventually retired to her side, slinging a single forelimb over her shoulders whilst he gently nipped a few times at her cheek. His tail continued to wag as he laid his head on the ground beside her, nose touching her leg.

Although he was previously content with the silence, a question nagged at his mind that he could not rid himself of. “You won’t actually run away, right?” he asked, lifting his head to better see her face as his tail stilled. He wanted to believe that it had all been a game, her words coupled with her previous attempt at walking away from him, but Xan had been burned too many times in the past to not be cautious now.

The weight left her body eventually while her entire body still tingled in the aftermath of what they had done. With a soft smile on her face she remained on the ground, feeling as though aglow; this felt better than anything she had ever felt. She startled briefly when he lay down beside her, not used to this kind of affinity, and glanced his way briefly, the almost at-peace smile still on her face.

After what felt like a really long time Xan uttered a single question. "What?" Laurel said, the word accompanied with a laugh. She'd already forgotten with what excuse she had lured him into this, but was reminded suddenly. "Don't worry, I won't leave..." She reached out gingerly to nip at his nose while she mentally added 'maybe I will stay if you leave her', but Laurel didn't want to ruin the nice moment so stayed her tongue. She considered it was likely a lie. Eventually, everyone either left her or stopped caring, driving her to leave them. Still, though, Laurel figured she'd just see where things went and how long she and Indra would be able to be 'round. For now, she liked here, this — Laurel was a very day-to-day living wolf, so she worried little about the things that bothered Xan right now. Today was good. That's all she needed.

Her response, accompanied by the nip, solidified his belief that he wouldn’t lose her. His tail began wagging again, sweeping gently over the ground, whilst he watched her for a long moment. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips and he drove his muzzle towards the side of her neck, burying his nose there in her fur. He let it linger there, taking in her scent whilst a low, playful growl slipped past his lips. But he did not try to wrestle or mount her, letting his head slide back down towards the ground again. Content, he remained there, an arm slung over her shoulders and his head across one of her forelimbs; there he would stay, pressed against her side, until she grew sick of him and they were both left to their own devices.