Verdant Basin you are the sun and i am just the planets spinning around you.

Well, no one could dare say Artaax Drakru was not one determined S.O.B. after this.

Or stubborn.

Or kinda dumb.

Really dumb, maybe.

Yes.

His body ached from the misuse he'd done to it these past couple of weeks. Fighting with the neighbors, fighting with cougars, exploring new territories and getting his ass kicked by them. All of that on top of the fact that he'd never fully let himself rest from his time away from Drageda upon returning home. Sure, he'd eaten and begun to fill out his muscular frame again, but he was still so tired deep in his soul. It was likely for that reason the white lion had given the middle finger to the Winter storm that was near to burst over his head and left to return to the Hinterlands. His soul was in need. And his soul wanted her.

 Or he just really wanted to get laid. Best not ask.

Artaax's body was in high protest when finally he came to the spot and settled to his haunches. He sat back with a sigh, shutting his eyes and taking a moment to relax and catch his breath. He had no idea when his golden nymph might arrive - truly, he'd been hoping she'd be there already - but he was content to wait for her. His mind hummed as it tried to remind him how near he was to the Redhawks and his lost family, but he banished it forcefully. He didn't want to think of them or of the pain he felt still over their betrayal. He just wanted to think of her, and so he did, and already his body quit protesting and started waiting eagerly with him.

@Niamh

Mind made up- but only in certain regards, Niamh left the borders, leaving herself just enough time to get to Verdant Basin by following through the frozen floodplains and veering toward the East once she was past the last reach of the plateau. She had expected a winter storm to hit, and for that to mar her plans- but she also figured that Artaax would have begun his journey days ago- and that he wouldn't likely turn back because of some wind and snow. She really was grateful that he hadn't ordered her to meet him halfway- though now, without being a leader, she had the freedom to do that. She wasn't necessarily sure he needed to know that, of course- though she did feel he ought to know a bit of her messed up story...More as a cautionary tale than anything. But not until she was sure she had him hooked. 

When she saw him in the distance, the light reflecting off his white pelt and solid shoulders, part of her warned her to stay away- while another part of her wanted to draw as close to him as she possible could get. Was she not quite ready yet? That wasn't a bad thing, necessarily...As she did have the potential of getting pregnant to worry about. And while she was now completely free of her tethers to Colt, she was not absolutely sure she wanted to leap into something new because she'd gotten pregnant. Her hormones were raging- but she knew she wasn't quite ready yet...Making it just about the perfect time to have a little fun without having to worry about repercussions, right? 

He sat with his back to her, and she'd noticed that his eyes had been closed- but a gust of wind would draw her scent to him, causing her to smile faintly. She wasn't meant to hide from him. Still, she remained where she was, and asked a quiet question across the distance. "Dreaming of me?"

She didn't leave him waiting long.

Artaax kept his eyes shut as her scent drifted over him. He breathed it in deeply, savoring it for a moment before her words touched his ears. His hardened face softened at the sound of her voice, but he kept his eyes shut in spite of how badly he wanted to look upon her. The hunt was on once again, and Artaax would be patient as ever for this.

"Sha," he answered simply, intentionally using his own language as he knew how much she liked it. He let quiet settle for a brief moment before he added with amusement in his tone, "It's a good dream."

When he responded, he didn't turn to look at her- or move much at all. His voice was warm and inviting, but the fact that he didn't move just yet kept her rooted to her position. If he wasn't going to reach out, then she would tease him a while longer, or so she thought. But just looking at him there- the way the wind ruffled the fur along his shoulders showing muscle and sinew that couldn't be moved by such a gentle force of nature- she wasn't sure she could help herself. She moved forward as silently as she could, just a few steps so that the next time she spoke, she hoped to surprise him with her proximity. She was still several feet away- but closer now than she had been before. 

"I've had the same one," She said, reflecting on the dreams she had had since their last soiree, and though so much had happened since then, this was the one thing she felt sure of. Everything else- her position in the pack, her broken marriage and her murdered brother- that was all too much for her to handle, acknowledge or properly deal with. The feelings she had for the man who spoke in an alluring foreign tongue, though, were real. Whether spurred on by early hormonal awakenings or from a real, genuine attraction that delved more deeply than just the physical realm she couldn't tell- but she didn't care. What she felt was strong and real. She shuddered. "Every night." She whispered hoarsely, ears flicking forward as she gauged his reaction.

Artaax nearly shivered as he heard her respond, closer than before but still too far for his liking. He yearned to close the distance, but he remained still, letting her come to him. It wasn’t so terrible, really. He loved the sound of her voice, and he loved the sly way she teased him. There was a fire in her that he deeply appreciated, that he lusted for. He wanted to call her his in a way he’d never wanted anything before.

But he could wait.

”How do your dreams end,” Artaax asked, unable to keep the longing from his voice. He tilted his head slightly towards where he thought she was, hoping the gesture might beckon her forward.

He asked for more from her, but she chose this time not to move forward, and taunt him with her distance. She wanted to pry something from him then- a gesture or movement or something of the like, other than the tilting of his head which called her closer. She had already moved closer to him- and now she wanted to demand that he come toward her, and try to catch her for himself, if he could. She regarded him for a moment, tasting the delicious words inside her mouth, before she parted her lips with a coy smile.

"With a happy ending for both of us," She purred, regarding him then, and allowing herself to enjoy the look of his frame, imagining the feeling of his forelegs hooked around her narrow hips. She licked her lips, knowing he might hear the sound, before she exhaled softly. Her breath was a soft mist on the air that vanished before it touched his shoulders.

She didn't come any nearer, and again Artaax found himself a bit uncertain of his next move. She seemed to need more from him in order to continue drawing nearer, but what? Maybe she needed more of his language... Or maybe he should be the one to go to her. The latter felt more like what he ought to do, but he wasn't too sure yet, and he wasn't willing to make her bolt by being too hasty.

So, instead, he continued the banter. His own voice lowered to a husky purr as he responded, his tone soft and deep. "I like the sound of that," he answered, tilting his head again and adding, a little cheeky now, "Maybe I shouldn't wake up then."

Part of being hormonal meant that Niamh- while she was more or less relatively happy (lots of conditioners in there, true, but given the fact she'd been demoted, lost her mate and her brother, she could have as many qualifiers in there as she wanted.)- she also experienced mood swings, and when she wanted something and didn't get her way, it was easy for her to get frustrated or annoyed. Especially given the fact that she was expecting she'd go into heat any day now- whether that was even a biological plan or not- and was simply willing herself to have an excuse to act and feel more moody than normal. So when Artaax hummed something about not wanting to wake up, she huffed. 

Her temper flared, and part of her wanted to simply growl and say something spiteful along the lones of "Well then keep on dreaming." But she told herself not to be so hasty. Niamh didn't deal well with temptation, and she dealt with denial even more poorly. She wanted him to go to her- but he wasn't budging. Fine. Two could play at that game. 

She moved forward to sit next to him- just close enough so that the tips of their guard hairs would touch, but no more than than. "Fine. Keep on dreaming." She said, but she had tempered the tone of her voice to be warm and sweet, but not without the dark challenge a seductress might give with a particular look.

It wasn't immediately apparent to Artaax that he'd made a blunder. He felt her move nearer, which felt very much like success. Until he heard her words, which made him think twice. She hadn't changed her sultry, alluring tone, and yet it didn't really fit. Curious now, he opened his eyes finally and turned to settle his mismatched gaze upon her. All at once, his thoughts and curiosities vanished, and he was struck.

Good. LORD IN HEAVEN. She was so damn gorgeous.

Artaax spent a few seconds in silence, taking in the sight of her and trying to keep his heart from hammering straight out of his chest. There was nothing about her that he found unattractive. Every inch of her spoke to him, and he suddenly found it quite difficult to restrain himself from jumping on her right then and there.

"No, this is better," he said softly, his gaze roaming her frame greedily, hungrily.

Niamh couldn't help but feel proud, when Artaax looked at her the way that he did. It wasn't as though she needed a confidence boost on a regular basis, but at this point in her life, having lost both her mate and her rank (regardless of the fact that both had been lost because of her own foolishness), having someone look at her as though she meant the world to them meant everything to her. Artaax didn't know anything about Colt, about her demotion, about any of that. He'd never seen her as weak as she'd been when she'd selfishly tried to take care of Screech herself, or how needlessly mean she'd been toward Ceara. With Artaax, she was someone new- someone she herself admired, and wanted to be. It created sort of an illusion of a life she could possibly have lived- and could possibly live yet, and hedonistically, she drank it in like a lush. 

How had she earned the admiration of a wolf like him? She gazed at him with an amorous fondness that she had spared only for Colt before- but something else had awakened in Niamh, now that she was captivated by the illusion that she was someone completely different. This new Niamh wanted nothing but Artaax by her side, and the wilderness at her back, so they could roam together as king and queen. She wanted to rule alongside him, and envisioned a life where she would never be without power and admiration, so long as she held his mismatched gaze. Nothing could stop them- nothing could ever tear them down.

Niamh didn't say a word aloud, but she said plenty in the look she gave to him. Artaax was well-versed in silent communication, so he knew exactly what her eyes were saying to him in that moment. His heart throbbed harder in his chest as he seized his moment, leaning forward to reach for her and touch her - to run his muzzle along her chin, down the length of her throat and neck, planting kisses and preening her fur all along the way - finally.

Artaax, unfortunately, really didn't have anything introspective going on for me to write about. He was not a deep or thoughtful creature by nature. His lust for Niamh was not something he would consider to be love, nor would be even consider whether or not he should consider it to be so. All he knew was that she was beautiful and something inside of him made him feel almost desperate to claim her as his own. It could've been love. But it also could've just been lust. He didn't know. He didn't really care much either.

Niamh was silent as Artaax's touch worked its way along her neck and jawline, causing the fur at the back of her neck to prickle slightly. She closed her eyes but when she did, she lost touch with the current situation- and was sent back to a time when Colt would have been the one to caress her like that. She began to feel guilty, so she opened her eyes, and was aware of the fact that poor Artaax was being led on by someone who didn't have their life together- not by a longshot. She couldn't even get her thoughts organized. 

So she hesitated, and then she pulled back. She was silent for a moment, ready to move away a bit further if her insisted and reached out again, but she wasn't going to have it. She needed to explain, but at the same time, she wasn't sure she should, or that it was even relevant. She gritted her teeth; why was this so hard for her all of a sudden?

For a few precious moments, Artaax began to feel victorious. She didn't deter his advances, but he shortly realized she wasn't exactly returning them either. In the next second, she had pulled away from him, and the feisripa was left in the cold, staring blankly at her as confusion and that hated feeling of loss overtook his excitement. He blinked at her for a couple of seconds before he sat back where he had started with that gap of space between them. It was only inches, but it felt oddly like miles in that moment.

"What is it?" Artaax ventured slowly, restraining any emotion from showing in his features or his tone.

Artaax seemed to sense her hesitation and respectfully pulled back. She clenched her jaws together for a few moments, deliberating. It would be so easy for her to run away with him and seek out a new life as his queen, join with Drageda and forget about the Redhawks and everything that had happened over the course of a year...But she owed more than that to them. She owed more than that to the Redhawks and to Colt, and she simply couldn't take that leap. She stepped away from Artaax, making it clear that she couldn't go through with their affair. 

"I'm sorry...But there's someone I loved...And I still love him. I can't do this." She said, lifting her gaze to his. She didn't want this to mean that all bridges were burnt- she didn't want to disturb the already tense relations between Drageda and the Redhawks...But she couldn't give herself to him. Not when she had realized that she'd already given so much of herself to someone else.

Niamh didn't leave him hanging all that long, but the few seconds she did seemed like ages. Artaax was patient as he waited, though he did feel the first glimmer of frustration beginning to rise. It seemed impossible that there would be any other hoops he needed to jump through in order to win his prize. Yet, she was stepping away from him in the next moment, and apologizing in the next. Two things that were just plain confusing for the young lion.

Artaax stared at her for a long moment after she spoke. Either due to his youth and naievety or due to the fact that he was Artaax (toss up, really), he had never considered that there was any sort of connection between love and sex. They were each separate things that existed independently of one another. He didn't fully even grasp the concept of love on its own either. He had never once thought about any love he had for his parents or his siblings or his packmates. He was devoted to them, would give his life for them, and would mourn their loss. Those were his truths, and he never stopped to think about what drove him to that level of regard. He just felt how he felt and did what he did.

That's why Niamh's words were utterly baffling to him. She seemed to be denying him physically, but her comments regarded something completely different. What did her loving someone else have to do with anything at all? Artaax furrowed his brow at her, bothered that she was causing him to have to think so damn hard. Even hunting golden eagles wasn't this difficult. "Why?" Artaax asked finally. It seemed like there was probably something better he could've said, or he could've at least helped her out by being a little more specific, but it was hard to find the right words when he was so lost.

It'd taken Niamh too long to figure out what she wanted, and Artaax was the one who would be suffering because of it. She regretted this, having made another wolf expect something from her and then receive the total opposite- but she had yet to learn how to better make decisions so she didn't end up ging back on them later. She shook her head and stood up when he asked her a question. She regarded him with soft eyes full of regret. She didn't regret what they could have been- she simply regretted leading him on. 

"I made a mistake. I pushed him away and I shouldn't have. As amazing as you are...This wouldn't be right. I have to go back and fix what I screwed up." She said. She moved forward, hoping to apologetically touch her nose to his cheek. "But thank you...If that means anything...It was nice to escape for a bit."

Niamh proceeded to confuse him even further with her answer to his question. It didn't even seem like it was related to his question at all, but that was just due to the limitations of his own perceptions of this situation. He liked the part where he was amazing, and he liked it when she touched him again. But the rest meant nothing to him, and he was completely lost for a moment as to how to address it without losing ground in the hunt he had yet to realize he'd already lost.

"Go back tomorrow," he said finally, "Be mine tonight." When it came down to it, Artaax didn't care at all about what happened while his back was turned. He lived in the moment. If in this moment and any other they were together, Niamh was his queen and his alone, then he was content. He didn't care who she belonged to when his back was turned. They owed each other nothing. They weren't even pack. But for now was good. She could deal with her whatever nonsense tomorrow. Tonight would do.

Though it was nice to be desired so much, she found herself becoming a bit more disenchanted by the fact that he wasn't willing to surrender her or acknowledge the troublesome feelings she had. Colt would have, or so she thought; he'd always been good at reading her, and he'd always been respectful of boundaries as well...Even though those were pretty few and far between with her. He tried to appeal to her wilder side, but it wouldn't work. She gave him a grateful look, but shook her head. 

"I can't." She said, and she felt good saying that. "I need to fix this now. I know it probably doesn't make you feel great but...Thanks, for helping me realize that." She said. Part of her wanted to reach out and touch him again- but she knew if she did he might try to keep her there longer. Instead, she gave him a somewhat shy smile, and turned to slip away.

She shot him down again, and only then did Artaax consider that he might not succeed in this hunt. He stared at her in silence as she spoke, his frustration rising. She couldn't wait, like, ten minutes to go to this other guy? It had to be now? He could cut it down to eight but like...

She turned to go, and Artaax did nothing to stop her. He was absolutely the kind to take whatever he wanted, knowing full well that he had the power and strength to do so. But he did not disrespect women and would never abuse them in such a way. He would inform them when they were being stupid and inadvertently insult their pride all day long, but he would not physically harm those he cared about. Niamh might be rejecting him for some unknown reason, but she had earned his admiration. She had nothing to fear from him. So, he let her go.

"Kom taim nes, Ai deimeika," Artaax murmured as she slipped away from him. He would remain for a few minutes on his own, pondering what had happened and what this meant. Eventually, he would convince himself that this was not actually the end - just a temporary pause - and he would return to Drageda, confident that she would be his one day.

It was going to be a long hunt indeed.

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