Neverwinter Forest it's about progress

zeph is covered in heat scent rn LMAO, not his own obviously

His melancholy does not linger long. The girl's scent is still thick in his fur as he heads back to the forest, and the whole world seems to be wrapped in a golden haze. Golden like her eyes. He feels good, better than he's felt in a long time, even if the girl who'd given him this gift had left him so suddenly and wordlessly.
He howls briefly as he crosses the borders to announce his return, gazing into the endless sea of trees. He doesn't see any of his packmates from here, but it's a big forest. Surely a few are lurking around. Impatience spurs him to walk a little faster, determined to find company. He wants attention, any attention, and he will get it.

Yolo, gonna go for the awkwards

Mal happened to not be too far away. The last few days he'd kept pretty much in the packlands and to a certain point off by himself because he still wasn't too sure that he really wanted to talk to anyone and let anyone know what was bugging him. He'd just about come to accept the fact there wasn't anything he could do but sit around and wait and see if Cupid ever showed up again, so at least that part was good, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Hell. Whatever.

Moving on. Zeph just came back from some excursion apparently, might as well go check in with the kid (shh, he can call him kid in his thoughts all he wants) and see how that crew was settling in. Again, being MIA himself hadn't helped, but at least no crazy drama had happened so far, so that was good, right? Well. It would have been good, until a scent wafting his way momentarily froze him on the spot. Good memories, bad memories, all in a nice big pile and oh god who the hell was that and why were they here. The fact that Zeph's scent was buried under all of it hadn't registered yet, but he needed to remove whoever the stranger was from the territory and somehow not mess up and oh god. He took off on a quick trot that way.

Yet when he came around the trees to the source he didn't see what he was expecting. Wait-- Zeph?! Mal screeched to a halt, not seeing any other wolf just Zeph -- and it was coming from him but not him and uhh. The end result? Absolute confusion. Umm. Zephyr? Panic and hormones and Mal's general bad education weren't doing a good thing to his poor ol' noggin.

Someone finds him quickly, though it's not quite who he'd hoped for. He might have been happier with a more familiar face, but the sight of Mal lifts his spirits nonetheless. Mal! He greets enthusiastically, stepping forward to touch his nose to his cheek. His own good mood and fogged thoughts leave him mostly oblivious to his leader's panic. Still, he can't help noticing to some extent. Is everything okay?

Certainly was different than their first meeting. Um. How did he even navigate this? You know, without having to answer too many awkward questions he really didn't want to and possibly blurt out something stupid? It's just you? I thought I smelled someone else too. Maybe I'm crazy. Yep, that was the ticket! He looked around as if to emphasize this.

He really did have to make sure that Zeph wasn't like.. Actually in heat though, even though that scent didn't match up to the scents he already knew. So Mal gave him a sniff and a sorta-playful shove, Had a good trip out there? He was 100% trying to play this off as not a big deal and not him previously expecting a world-ending disaster. But it wasn't from Zeph. But that didn't make Mal's lizard brain want to go find the scent's original owner any less. No, brain, bad. It's panic time still. But it was probably a good thing Zeph was Zeph and not like.. Any of the other guys in the pack in this case or they might have had someone else show up at the borders like Cupid had done.

He frowns at Mal's words, unwilling to bring up the girl but unable to think of a lie. He doesn't want to think right now, anyway. Nor does he want to talk. He returns the shove instead, following it with a nip aimed at the other's shoulder, and another meant for his neck. He bounds a few feet back, tail swaying in the air, inviting Mal to give chase. The only thing that sounds appealing to him right now is another game, preferably with no rude interruptions this time.

Apparently the answer wasn't gonna come from words. Hey--! he said, though he was still trying to pretend this was all very normal, but Zeph bounded a bit away before he could finish a thought. Um. 

A second pause for a brief dilemma. Try to figure out how to disarm a hormone bomb, ignore it entirely and let someone else deal with it, follow from a safe distance because at least adrenaline gave him enough brain to keep focused... Hell if he knew. What were people supposed to do? Well, the whole thing was just an assumption anyway, wasn't it? The only other time he'd smelled it had been from Cupid. Maybe there was more to it and it was more common than he thought. Not to mention Zeph wasn't acting the same way Cupid was so.. Shrug?

Hell. Following was safe, and Mal was pretty sure he knew what line not to cross. And hadn't he just thought everyone needed to relax a bit? He could play -- when had he last played? How small had he been? Damn, did he even remember how that worked? Mal ducked into a play bow, wagging his tail a moment before he bounded forward at least a couple of steps before he could properly react -- uncertain what game was actually in mind.

He takes Mal's hesitation for reluctance, and immediately starts to rethink his tactic, though the play-bow is encouraging. If this game isn't to the other's liking, he needs to find a different approach. So when Mal moves toward him, he bolts forward, hoping to catch the larger wolf by surprise and knock him over. He expects to end up on top, but he hasn't quite mastered that yet — so if he does succeed, it's more likely to be a clumsy tangle of limbs.

Mal apparently wasn't expecting a response that quick but given the fact his brain was trying to process a lot more stuff than normal, maybe he was just not thinking fast enough. He skidded to a stop again but way more awkwardly this time. So collision meant Mal did actually topple over onto his side. However, there was that reaction that when you fall, you try to grab on to something, so regardless of Mal's previous thought to keep space, his jaws were trying to grab on to some part of Zephyr to bring him down too -- but given the fact he was trying to figure out where his own limbs were in relation to time and space, he really had no idea how things were going to be arranged in the next two seconds when gravity stopped being a jerk. Only thing he knew was he would definitely be going oof and uttering a play growl as he worked out the details.

pping mal's position a bit for clarity, i hope this makes sense LOL..

He feels Mal's teeth against his neck as they both go down, and a breathless laugh escapes him. He lunges for an ear as he lands partially on top of the other, ignoring the sharp pain of an elbow pressing into his chest. One of his paws digs into the snow beside them, and he uses the other leg to try to pin Mal, shifting to push himself fully on top of him. Then, assuming he's successful, he reaches over to quickly lick his muzzle, tail fanning frantically behind him.

Yeah, no prob! Half the problem with wolves it's like WAIT WHERE DID THE OTHER LIMBS GO, haha

Down they went, Mal did let go and started to turn away until Zeph pretty much crawled on top of him, briefly grabbing his ear and keeping one of his forelegs pinned at kind of an awkward angle. He was trying to wriggle and pull that free when he was interrupted by the unexpected (to Mal at least) lick to his muzzle. His ears tried to prick forward a bit, if they weren't mashed into the snow.

The one main problem was the fact that Zephyr was pretty much smothering him under second hand heat scent, which had started up a nice little argument in his brain about how he should go bang someone versus Zephyr being pretty damn young if not the wolf equivalent of jailbait, not to mention maybe a bad idea to cross those lines with relatively new members -- the whole thing was just entirely one bad idea, let's just stop the whole thing right there. Okay, maybe not so much brain vs brain as much as brain vs body, and Mal was still within the age span where the brain didn't always win.

But still, his own tail wagged. He tipped his head forward to try and nip at Zeph before shoving with the trapped leg to try to free himself. Not that he had much of an idea what he was doing from there, but just from his current position he'd be slower to his feet, but if Zeph just rolled aside, a mouthy bear hug might be a good idea on Mal's part.

Zephyr feels none of the turmoil plaguing Mal, still fairly ignorant about things like heat and sex. He likes the closeness, though, and he likes the way the other male smells. Ironic, considering the conflict caused by the scent threaded through his own fur, but that escapes him for now.
Light as he is, it's fairly easy for Mal to push him away — but that doesn't mean he'll give up as easily. He slides off and into the snow with a huff, then dives down, burying his face against Mal as he more or less burrows between the other's legs and into his chest fur (kinda like when dogs go ham and go face-down into the floor to roll around for a bit like this). He's less interested in play now, though, and more interested in being as close as possible.

Probably should be last post for me for the night! It be late D:

Mal didn't really have to move far in the end -- as he'd started to reach out at Zeph, he'd come right back at Mal and met him halfway. That sure made things easy but not the way he was expecting, and he ended up flopping back down with the youngster wrapped in his forelegs without much of a struggle.

As Zephyr burrowed into the fur of his neck and chest, Mal licked the top of his head when he could reach it, before starting to preen at the fur along the back of the near-yearling's neck. It was probably a bad idea if he'd taken five seconds to think about it, but he wasn't -- he was way too confused by the whole damn thing, so practically nuzzling someone who had been just about dipped in a third party's hormones seemed like the best choice somehow. But if that was the dumbest choice he made in the next few days, he was doing pretty good. Right now was definitely one of those times where he was just reacting -- within limits that he was still managing to keep, mind you, but still just doing whatever instinct said was a good idea for the next 2.5 seconds.

cameo

Whether that be lingering by the borders or wandering a few miles away, Phillip had avoided being within the forest. This just didn't feel right. He left this forest with the soul purpose of finding Alarian. Now he was back here, without his guardian or a clue to where he may be. That made him feel awful.

Phillip had been dragging himself along the borders since he awoke. His ears perked when he caught wind of his friend's scent and.. someone else? It wasn't anyone he knew of and it smelled very strange. The boy followed the scent because he wanted to speak to Zephyr about, well, their living arrangements. That, and he was just curious.

The trail eventually led to the silver. Zeph, can we- Then someone else came into view. Phillip stood there like a deer in the headlights trying to process what was happening. They were playing, or.. no? They seemed to be cuddling.

Embarrassment flushed through him and suddenly Phillip was feeling a lot more worse then he did before. He didn't know why and he wasn't keen on dealing with it right now. Phillip quietly shuffled away, hoping they wouldn't notice him if they haven't already. When he was far enough he burst into a sprint.

i left it up to the evil dice god and he said zeph is an oblivious little shit sooo

Mal doesn't fight him this time, to his delight. Things had been a little rocky at first, but the spotted wolf seems to be catching on quickly now. His heart skips a little at the lick to the top of his head as he settles, then launches into a sprinting pace as the other male starts to preen the fur along the back of his neck. The touch is so distracting, he doesn't notice Phillip's arrival (and subsequent flight) at all. Instead, he tilts his head slightly to allow Mal better access, sighing softly. That feels nice, He murmurs, oblivious (for the moment) to all the turmoil caused by this encounter. No doubt he'll have to deal with the consequences later, namely two jealous friends, but for now his only concern is making this last as long as possible.

Dice are mean, hah.

Mal hadn't noticed either, at least not consciously. But the little nagging voice hadn't gone away. Maybe it got stronger for a second, even. Don't be too much of a fool, Mal. But hey, some of this was a learning experience for him too, so maybe a benefit if you looked at it cross eyed. 

Zephyr shifted and Mal's workable area expanded a bit -- add in teasing an ear, and nibbling along the longer fur of his cheek to the repertoire, but not too much more adventurous. Then I'll have to let you enjoy it a little while longer, hm? Mal mused. If things stayed like this, they were safe, so Mal made no move beyond that. Just let Zephyr enjoy the daze he'd been put into for a little while longer before Mal had to be a party pooper and make sure he got that scent off him. Sure, the bit of grooming would help a little, but there was a lot more fur that Mal hadn't touched, nor was planning to if he could help it. It wasn't like Mal didn't enjoy it, it just came with way too much potential baggage for him to do so completely -- and those were only the things he knew about and understood.

The warmth of their closeness starts to make him sleepy, though his racing heart keeps him on edge just enough to stay mostly awake. He tucks his limbs in, shifting a little more to make himself comfortable as he soaks in the feeling. It almost feels like being loved, though he knows Mal doesn't know him well enough to love him, and vice versa. Still, it's close enough that he can pretend for the moment that someone still living and around actually loves him. I want to stay here for the rest of the day, He tells Mal, though a moment later he corrects himself. Maybe not here... but with you. He's sort of lost sight of what started this whole thing, and by now he's decided Mal is at least half the source of these feelings. After all, he's the one who stuck around to cuddle.

But what was said seemed like too much. Maybe it wasn't. But they weren't on the same page, and that wasn't fair -- it'd be one thing if they both knew why exactly they were being stupid, but Mal was at an advantage. As much as Zeph seemed to be enjoying everything, it had to end at some point. As far as Mal figured, nothing too foolish or ultra-regrettable had happened (now whether Phillip stumbling across them was a problem, that was all on Zephyr's head), so better to wean him off it now rather than have a sudden enlightenment the next morning or something. Besides, Mal needed about like twenty years to figure out how to tactfully explain what Zeph probably had to look forward to in a year without mentioning Cupid.

Mal kinda wished he didn't have a smidgen of conscience. The world would be more fun. Maybe. But whoever you met -- it's that scent, might be fun but it screws with your head a little. I don't get why, but we gotta clean most of it off you. And off me too now I guess. We do that, we can get out of the snow and I'll stay as long as you want me to.  Let's be real, half the reason he was wary about it all was because it felt like Cupid did an entire 180 on him on their second meeting. He really didn't need to be messing up Zeph in an entirely different way. Then later, he could explain -- some of it.

He frowns when Mal stops, and the frown deepens as he speaks. The words make sense, of course; some part of him has known the whole time that the scent is what caused this. But he still doesn't quite understand, and he doesn't like the idea of not being in control of his actions. Tension starts to return to his body, and suddenly he isn't sure he likes being in this position. It's vulnerable, and now he doesn't even know if he'd really wanted it. What do you mean? He asks, twisting slightly to cast an anxious glance at Mal.

Yep, there was that change. Mal let Zephyr go, which was kind of a relief that he beat that scent in a way. He rolled onto his stomach, but otherwise didn't move. Well, he'd hit his limit for equivalent of goofy drunken antics and it definitely was time for Zephyr to sober up. Or something.

What was it like for Cupid? The two seemed so different in their reactions that Mal wasn't sure. I  don't know everything, I don't know what it's like for you. But short version is for me that scent is like something nagging me to go find that person and bang 'em. But since I know what it is, I can like... not do it, and make sure you stay safe and don't do anything too weird either. Though it probably helped that Zeph was a transfer, not a source.

It'd be easier to explain if he said what had happened but nope, not gonna. Like I get it makes stuff pretty damn nice and that's fun, but then nobody's thinking straight, so you gotta get rid of the scent. Everybody should get to make choices with a clear head and not be afraid of regretting anything. Or have that realization come a few weeks later, whichever. Mal was far too aware of that and he'd keep dancing around it but there was probably a little leaking in to his words. Pause, and then he sort of cringed at himself, Ugh, am I even making sense? I can try again... Mal was leaving out a lot of key info. He had no idea what Zeph knew or not.

He's relieved when Mal shifts, resisting the urge to shake his fur out as their contact is reduced. Instead, he focuses on his words. Most of the speech makes sense, except a single vital part — so unfortunately, it leaves him more confused than ever. Bang... them...? He asks uncertainly, still not connecting it to sex. He isn't completely ignorant to the concept, but enough to continue to fail to connect the dots.

This boy is useless. XD

Okay, let's be real about Mal. Nobody taught him anything important in his life. That was kind of why he was maybe having a kid now unless Cupid was some crazy good actor just wanting to mess with him. Did he actually know the proper word for sex? Almost certainly not. He probably didn't know too many slang terms for it either, so that particular word choice was kind of artistic liberty. 

So, his ignorance probably sounded more like he was being embarrassed at mentioning it in the first place rather than at not owning a functioning vocabulary, Uh. You know, like, bang. And he silently hoped that emphasis was clear enough. He looked away a moment, then back.

dont worry, this one is too LOL

He shifts slightly so he can look at Mal more comfortably, still lost in confusion. The other's words do nothing to help that. I don't know what you mean, He says a little flatly, reaching the beginning of the end of his patience. I thought a bang was a loud noise. Now, however, he's beginning to doubt that definition.

Well, that didn't work. Well, now what did he say? Arg. Well yeah -- but I'm not saying like literally..! He was getting kind of frustrated at himself, honestly. He mentally flailed a moment more before giving up and risking freaking Zeph out for lack of a better solution, Look-- I'm not totally sure, but I think that scent is like their body saying they could have pups and then it makes everyone's brain think that's a great idea to make happen no matter how stupid it actually is. Which was close enough to what happened that he couldn't look at Zeph any more, and started to try to wipe the scent from his fur in the snow. Because Mal had messed up, been unable to stop Cupid, and in the end had ended up a worse person than his father. If he could wipe off that shame, that'd be better.

It clicks, slowly. Once, when he'd been very young, he'd asked mom about Maman's sudden weight gain. He hadn't quite understood her answer then, at least not the parts about things called heat and sex. All he'd taken away from it was that Maman would be bringing new children, others to steal her attention. But now, he realizes he should have listened more closely.
Are you talking about sex? He blurts, staring at Mal even as the other looks away. And... heat? He tries to remember what his mother had said; something about sex being for pleasure, and sometimes for children, but only during a woman's heat. Combined with Mal's explanation, it's beginning to make a bit more sense.
I know what those are, It's only half-true, but he doesn't know that, or truly care. He's more concerned with the implications here; not children, which he knows he can't have because he's not truly a girl (he'll panic about the girl he'd met later), but the sex part. He's pretty sure they didn't do that, even if he doesn't know what the actual act looks like at all. But the touches had felt more intimate than his mother had made it seem, and now that he has most of the picture put together, he's starting to share Mal's reservations. So... you wouldn't want this, if that scent — the heat — wasn't on me? I wouldn't want it?

There we go put some names on some concepts finally! He looked back quick, Yeah, that. Was he 100% sure? Nope, but if Zephyr heard it from someone else, that was probably true unless they just wanted to make stuff up and mess with him. Mal was totally gonna pretend he was just being shy about it, not that he didn't know the actual words. Yep.

Either way, it was good Zephyr moved on, back to the problem at hand. I don't know what you'd want, maybe you would, maybe you wouldn't, that's all you. And if you don't know for sure, then I'm not considering it to start with. I think sex is fun, wouldn't mind doing it more, but with people who know they want it. No regrets, no people coming back saying they shouldn't have done that. It sounded good on paper, at least -- and he was entirely assuming that if the actual chick in heat was around that he could totally keep his brain in the game, but whether or not that was reality, who knew at this point. That's why I'm saying get cleaned up -- then you can be able to think about it. And if you still want to stay and just hang out then that's cool, if you don't then we can talk later. Shrug. It was all pretty cut and dry with no strings to Mal.