Blackfeather Woods this is what god did when he wanted to love you

After a few days of some weird restless anxiety settling into her chest, something started to tell her to isolate herself. Kove often flickered through her thoughts but she found other things to distract herself with. If she rested, Iliksis popped into her mind but she can’t avoid sleep any more than the next wolf and eventually it catches up to her.
 
She sleeps hard through the night, the day before pacing along the northern border (unbeknownst to her spreading out signals for attention). For the first time in a long time, she is dream-free but she wakes up with a start, taking several deep breaths to try and calm herself down quickly. She shuffles to her feet and sits upright, glancing around. There is fire in her belly and she groans, closes her eyes, and wishes for it to be over.
 
The last thing she wants is another hugging her close but the desire still lights her insides, crawling out of its awakening.
 
This time, she avoids the borders and keeps close to the length of otter creek the moves east to west through the northern stretch of territory. She can use the time for a distract, the water cold as she dips her feet in and preens at her fur while keeping her mind occupied on anything but the tightness engulfing every move.

That morning, as the male made his way along the border, he found something to be out of place; on the northern border, where his attention lingered, there was a scent. Though not recent, it was still strong and called out to him, the exact cause something that he recognised with ease; this was not his first time catching wind of it in life, though the producer was a new one. His patrol was abandoned and he removed himself from the border altogether, delving back into the woods whilst his nose sought more recent scents; he was not some child that could not control himself, but he felt the need to locate her, if only to ensure she was not claimed by someone else. So the moment he found a trail worth following, he did exactly that.

Before long, he could hear the gentle current of the creek, and then spotted the white mass standing within it. As the space between them lessened, he slowed—stopped, too, eventually—and glanced at their surroundings, searching the shadows before returning his gaze to her form. “Shivali,” he called in greeting, but did not approach; he kept away from the water’s edge, giving her a great deal of space.

It is not her first season but she does not know these lands, or wolves, all that well. The prior years it has come around is often extinguished early without anyone to consider. This year is another but she does not feel the security as she once had. Someone’s grip around her hips, forcing such closeness—the monster appears instantly in her mind and she closes her eyes.
 
Shivali licks her lips, fur damp from the water. Ears twitch, flicking behind her as she hears Kove’s approach but it does not prepare her for his voice. She flinches when he says her name and she pauses, lifting her head to look at him. For a long moment she stares at him, fur bristling around the back of her neck, but she does not make a sound. The pale brute has been nothing but polite and respectful, as one northerner to another, but it is not enough to get across the barrier she’s set between her any any other physical touch.

The way in which her body flinched did not go unnoticed, yet it was not commented on, either. He kept silent and still, keeping to where he had stopped as he watched her; she was silent, fur bristling, but made no move to chase him away. He was not accustomed to handling these sorts of situations, the women in heat surrounding him in the past having often been his mate at the time, and therefore his to take when offered. But this was different—she was not his wife but a friend, a woman with an origin similar to his own. Normally, he might have left, but the weight of the leadership title—and other things that he tried to ignore, with little success—kept him from taking his leave, the need to watch over his pack mate strong.

Kove was slow as he walked towards her, steps cautious yet purposeful. His gaze did not leave her all the while, but he did not follow her into the water. The Inuk stopped on the bank of the creek, tail waving lazily with a few gentle sweeps. For a long moment, he kept his eyes on her, gazes aligned, only to break his stare by turning his head, their surroundings surveyed; he made it clear that she need not worry over his being there, his intentions being to guard her. That anything else was tempting went unacknowledged within the man’s head, attention on ensuring both her safety and comfort.

Kove does not go away with the bristle of her fur and her quiet message ignored. The few steps he does take, closing in on the waterside, Shivali watches without returning to what she’s doing. Not that she’s doing much of anything, of course, but trying to ease the restlessness she’s been experiencing for days. While it is not her first season, it is one she’s wholly unprepared to handle. Before, she hadn’t been allowed to breed—she didn’t hold the rankings—and even here she does not, but the way he looks at her makes her squirm.
 
They are only two of one home, it seem to make sense to allow him in.
 
Right?
 
Her mind crosses over the monster and she shudders, turning away as Kove does. The thought along makes her skin crawl, reinforcing the feeling, but the itch still calls out. Shivali releases a breath and looks down at the water, her paws cold as the water soaks further up her limbs. Instead of crawling out, she pushes onward and moves further in—it’s not all that steep to begin with—and tries to ease some of the heat rising in her body.

Kove remained silent, watching her whilst keeping an ear out for the approach of any others. It was strange to him, guarding a female that was not his own; he felt a need to watch out for and protect her, though, the lands their histories could be traced back to driving him to do so. But instinct still reared its head, keeping him attentive for a number of reasons, even if he only intended to act on one.

“Come out of the water,” he found himself saying, noticing her move further. “It’s cold.” Which, honestly, likely didn’t matter to either of them—but he was concerned for her.

He does not follow after her, but he remains and watches her. Something doesn’t sit right in her belly but she doesn’t voice it, or make him leave. She’d tell him she could defend herself, but is that true anymore? The beast had taken what he wanted and she hadn’t been in season (she can’t be thankful enough for this), but if someone wanted her for the sole purpose she has changed for a few days, well, she isn’t so sure. It isn’t a feeling that settles well with her and part of the reason she doesn’t move forward, out of the water as he suggests and she stares blankly at him.
 
If it hadn’t been for the other brute, perhaps this would be different. Maybe she’d approach him, tease him, let him, but her stomach churns at the thought. It wouldn’t be the worst thing from a good man but the sight of Iliksis plants itself firmly at the forefront of her mind. “No,” she tells him, turning further into the cold. If it keeps him away from her, she’ll go farther. The cold does not scare her, in fact these days have gotten too warm, and while water isn’t the best thing to be in, it’s the only thing soothing her and giving her some semblance of control. Shivali licks her lips and looks away, crossing through the water until she gets close to the other side.

No.

He watched her even closer after that, keeping an eye out for any movements made; he had little qualms with being denied, having some understanding of her reasoning and having never been the overly-dominant type. As she turned, he kept still, eyeing her for a long moment as she proceeded through the water. As she neared the other side of the creek, however, he found his own legs carrying him into the water; there was a sharp bite to his bones as it surrounded his legs, but it took him no longer than a second to adjust—he wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to the cold, even after having spent so many years now away from it.

Kove followed after her, sloshing through the creek as he intended to close the distance between them. Should he succeed in doing so, the Inuk would bump his muzzle against her flank but nothing more, almost as if to usher her out of the water, per his previous request.

She’s close to the bank when she hears sloshing on the other side, turning her head over her shoulder to see him crossing the distance. Her breathing increases, her sides start to noticeably rise and fall, and she looks away for the nearest exit. He must know the first from corner to corner and she still struggles with direction. There isn’t a place she can go he probably won’t find her and leaving the territory like this will invite others, maybe Iliksis again, and she shudders at the thought. 

The moment he touches her flank, she’s instantly swung her head around and snaps at his face. She makes sure not to get close enough to bite but the warning should be enough. If she can’t avoid it, it’ll be on her own terms, but for now her stomach churns and she backs up out of the water away from him.

He eventually catches up and at some point persuades her somehow into mating before leaving her on her own again.