Honeyed Pasture nightking

he'd come back, because of course he had. 
the moon was round, glowing among her starlight courtiers as lionel mayfair picked his way across the flat plain where he had seen the bear and then met here,
and he cursed himself for not getting her name.
why hadn't he asked? "stupid fuckin' idiot," he moaned at himself, to himself, a pale figure hunting fervently for any lasting trace of her scent in the pasture. he hadn't said where he was going; he didn't know where knaven or bijou were, not truly. lionel was a searchlight, and on a whim he tilted back his head and called into the lightbound night for the mysterious amazon.

It seems an eternity that Antha has been wandering without sight of another, lost in some strange fever dream. The days and nights have blurred together — and this one is no different, until she hears the call. The sound startles her, and brings with it a flash of hope. The call is not for her, but she cannot help the urge to answer it. She turns toward the source, abandoning her moonlit hunt in favor of companionship. It doesn't take long to find the trail, and the wolf it leads to; a silhouette under the scant night light. She tries to gather herself for a proper greeting, but her typically melodic voice still seems slightly rough to her when she calls to him. Looking for someone? It's not the brightest question she's ever posed, but it's all she has; weeks of loneliness haven't made her very interesting, unfortunately.

Hello~ is it me you're looking foooor - shadow posted so this is... a fucking mess. Have fun! Enjoy! 

Through the wilds and to the other side, the wildfire wolf trekked until her limbs were too weary for her to continue further. It was in the pasture where Piper paused, lowering her narrow muzzle toward the earth to drink in the scents of those who had passed through. When she drew her crown upward and peered toward the direction of the shore, she remembered the time she had visited the sea in search of pretty stones for her brother and mom. The memory left her feeling bitter and aching with nostalgia.
 
When the call sounded, the wildfire’s attention jolted toward it. Her ears were cupped, and her glimmering golden gaze searched the area for signs of whoever had issued the summons. It hadn’t been for her, but she was intrigued enough to hunt him out. The weariness that had plagued her vanished temporarily until she had caught his scent and closed the space that separated them.
 
Just as the fiery figure trotted up to where the golden stag stood, she chuffed a greeting and flashed him just… the most stellar smile. How could he not be instantly enchanted?
 
OH, but there was someone else there. Some random girl looking for attention huh? Most likely. Anyway, Piper knew she was a good shot prettier than this stranger who had just intruded on the calling that she had heard. Piper looked to her, all signs of sugary sweetness having vanished, and frowned in a manner that could easily be seen as judgmental before looking back to the golden male.

:o

a gentle voice with a rasp to it. lionel swung his fool head in that direction, pleased to see it belonged to a woman. "i am." this one was pretty enough, with a willowy, elven build and a distinct hue to her eyes he hadn't seen before. it was not long before the pair was joined by another, a second girl wearing a fireflame coat and a compelling grin. 
both lovely, and he felt himself distracted by the fact he was the focus of their attention.
but helplessly, they were not the round-hipped selkie witch he could not longer locate, the one burnt into the back of his head like a brand. "i mean, i was." did they need to know who he searched for? "are you guys, uh, traveling together?" he glanced to the first, then the second. "maybe not," he laughed stiffly, noting her expression.

i am so sorry for letting this drop out, just putting in a quick exit so you guys can continue

A girl cloaked in red approaches as if she knows him, shooting Antha a frown that immediately puts her off of the interaction. Though the man's words dispel her suspicions, she still finds herself disinterested in getting in the middle of this interaction. I've never seen her before — but perhaps she would be better company, She offers a smile, tone neutral and without malice. I hope you find whoever you're looking for. With that, she takes her leave, unwilling to get herself wrapped up in any petty drama over a stranger.

Oh ho ho! In and out - quick and dirty. 

Piper smiled sweetly as the stranger made a quick remark and then took her leave. The wildfire wolf was no stranger to being far more firm than she had to be and had never carried a quiet presence with her. It was good that the other she-wolf had picked up on those vibes and had skedaddled on out of there. 

Obviously, that answers the question about whether we're traveling together, Piper offered to the gold-cloaked male. She cast one last glance toward where the female had departed and then settled her gaze on the boyish stranger with stunning eyes. What's your name, fella?

hit with the proverbial 'i'm sorry i can't be her,' all lionel could do was gape after the pretty girl who had unwound like a length of silken ribbon and disappeared into the seaside field. in the next, the autumnbound chica was speaking to him, and his head snapped back to her with a helpless wilt of the ears.
"uh, lionel. lionel mayfair," he recovered, fighting the urge to search beyond her pretty shoulder for the shadowbound cougar he had come across before. "what's yours?" the roguish grin charging in after, saving his ass.

Lionel seemed like a nice name for the absolute snack that stood across from her. The fiery young girl could hardly keep her eyes from wandering his figure, checking off each rise and fall of his youthful frame. There were portions of him that reminded her of Lucas, and she felt that swell of emotion as it swept through her, biting back the bitterness that had nipped at the back of her throat.
 
“I’m Piper Redleaf. Nice to meet you, Lionel. What’s got you roaming this part of the world?”
 
The wildfire introduced herself and then carried on, hoping to learn more about the stag and his purpose there. How would her mother feel knowing that her daughter stood there gawking openly at a man? She was an independent woman so let’s just calm the fuck down a little bit and see if we can screw our head back on, huh Piper?

piper redleaf. "that suits you," he said weakly, fumbling for an answer to the question swiftly posed. but how could he tell the newcomer he was looking for another woman? with a last skim of the land beyond her shoulder, lionel thought it more prudent to focus upon present company.
"i was looking for someone, but they're not here. you are," the sea-boy chirruped, hoping to pull piper's focus from his ill-fated quest. "what about you?"

The gold-touched boy seemed like his mind was elsewhere. The wildfire wasn’t sure how he could really afford to be so distracted by anyone other than the prime hunk of woman standing in front of him, right? Like how on earth was he able to even pull his eyes away? Either he was gay, or his heart belonged to someone else. At least, this was what Piper told herself to ease the pain of having yet another man seem to tiptoe around her. She thought back momentarily on the dark boy who lived on the mountain and how positively moronic he had been… good times.
 
“Well I don’t really have a goal to tell you the truth. Kinda just seeing where the wilds carry me and hope that it’s somewhere nice, preferably with a warm beach and plenty of prey,” the Redleaf girl remarked with a cheeky smirk and a wink. Nothing would have made her happier than to find herself on the sand with a thick slab of meat and a handsome guy to wait on her.
 
“Maybe I could help you find your… uh… missing individual?” Piper then offered with a small shrug.

"i can appreciate that," lionel purred back, growing accustomed to flirtation once more. damn he was rusty, and it embarassed the boy. but not more than piper's next suggestion, which horrified lionel to his very core. the thought of disappointing this girl was a torment to the mayfair, who did not enjoy making others feel a negative sort of way.
not pretty women, he supposed.
"or we could go look for that beach," the stag said boldly,a gambit he hoped would pay off. it remained to be seen whether she would would be impressed by his bad boy routine, but lionel could only hope. "sounds like more fun, i bet," he grinned.

Alright, alright, so the golden boy was warming up a bit to play some verbal hockey. Piper’s champagne gaze glimmered delightfully at his suggestion. Instead of wanting to seek out the individual he had intended to find originally, he seemed to have been swayed by the beautiful wildfire that had swept in front of his path. Piper knew better than to simply think she had won (especially regarding a competition that only existed in her internal monologue) so she crinkled her nose and cast her sights upward in a thoughtful manner.
 
“Well, I’ll tell you what, stretch… I think the beach sounds pretty nice right about now. But I don’t mind scouting out to find your lost friend,” and she made certain that she put a solid emphasis on the word ‘friend’ so that it was clear… she did not want to help this young man seek out his long-lost love or the person who had captured his heart. “So take your pick and you’ve got a partner in crime.”

"like i said, they're not here. missing out," lionel smirked. piper commanded his full attention now; he preened beneath the nickname, standing perhaps a bit taller than before. "stretch says the beach, sugar." he did not wait to move off in that direction this time, only took a few rangy steps and then cast a look for the fire-girl. 
in many ways he was eager for a return to the brine. lionel was most in his element when tangled with sea-salt and bits of kelp, a rougish selkie who took a stag's form and loped the sands. piper he wanted to impress, and what better way to do that than prove that he had been born to the ocean? beaches were his specialty.

WHY DO I LOVE THEM SO MUCH???

Oh, sugar was sweet… kinda creepy but she felt like it came from a good place. He didn’t seem the type to want to lure her into a back alley and lift her skirt, of course. Piper accepted the delightful little comment with a warm smirk that swept along her slender muzzle quickly. She even batted her lashes for him so that he could feel like he’d really just swung the bat and hit a homerun.
 
Taking a spot near his flank, the Redleaf girl watched their surroundings with a few curious glances. She had not spent much of her tail traveling the wilds except for when she had been searching for Lucas. The thought of her brother having disappeared still left her with a surprisingly raw feeling in her chest.
 
“So, uh…. where you from? You born around here or did you wash in with the waves?”
 
Clever huh? Cause they were going to the beach…

CUZ THEYRE *tony the tiger voice* GRRREAT*

her lashes swept down, veiling her pretty, direct gaze for a moment. lionel hadn't forgotten about the silken temptress of night, per se; it was just that when piper fell into step beside him, her scent enveloped him. she smelled like soft green places, cut with a hint of brackish wind that floated toward them from the expanse.
"i mean, pretty much," the mayfair rejoined. "traveled most of it, raised by it, born next to it, and dropped into it when i was barely older than a fetus. dad wanted to make sure we were badass." he laughed, waited for her to laugh, but regardless of whether or not she would grace him with her giggle, lionel deadpanned in the next second. "not kidding."

Piper listened as Lionel talked about where he’d come from. It seemed that the sea was a regular mistress in his life, but the wildfire knew that not many things could compete with the grand blue expanse. She offered a sidelong smirk at the comment about his father wanting him to be a badass, finding that sentiment to be humorous. All that talk of family and she was starting to miss her own.
 
“Your dad sounds like a real keeper, I’ll tell ya what,” she remarked flippantly and then offered the stag a sultry wink – or as close to sultry as the young girl could manage. She wasn’t keen on flirting.
 
“Say, hold up a second there stretch. Does that mean you’re gonna fling your own pups into the ocean when it comes their time? You wanna carry that on?”
 
When Piper looked at him, it was surprisingly without judgment. She did not see how it was her place to tell this strapping young man what he should do with the children he created. After all, she hadn’t ever been tossed into the depths of the sea and she’d endured her fair share of cruelty in her short years. Perhaps the waters made them stronger.

"he absolutely thinks so himself," lionel chortled back, before his butterscotch ears quivered in surprise at her words. "can't say i really thought about it," the mayfair answered slowly. "i hadn't even thought about having kids, come to think of it."
lionel mayfair, losing out rapidly if piper was the matrimonial sort. they'd only just met but already he got the sense that the red girl rarely knew when to stop, and possessed ambitions outweighing his own. she was already thinking of the future, after all. lionel was only thinking of how he might woo her upon the strip of cold sand the two would call a beach.
"what about you? how are you gonna pick the best kids?" he teased.

Hmm that seemed fake. Guys were always looking for what they could poke their dick in next and she had no doubts that this golden trotter had mulled over the idea of sticking his in a few fun holes. He was bound to know that pups would follow after something like that, or at least they were much more likely. Maybe he just didn’t care. That was kinda nice right? A guy who didn’t think things through all the way… lived life on the edge and did what he pleased.
 
“Oh me? I was thinking I’d just see which ones don’t annoy me and I guess they can hang around. The others are gonna have to go,” Piper answered quickly. She glanced toward the stag with a wicked little smirk and then chuckled. She had only thought about pups one time and she knew that it wasn’t something that was likely to happen to her anytime soon. She hadn’t even roped herself a boy yet.

lionel was tired of talking about kids, and regretted bringing it up. yet there was absolutely no sensation of that when it came to piper, whose teasing manner had effectively driven any other women from galloping through the mayfair's head.
for now.
charmed, he approached a rocky spread of beachfront and dug his claws into the cold pack of it. lionel nosed a white shell from beneath a gentle swell, knocked it end over end toward piper in a clumsy effort to gift the pretty thing. "what should we call this place?" he said, perhaps a bit too loudly as he faced toward the crash of the waves.
there was a time of great diversion and flirtation, and perhaps lionel mayfair returned to his siblings with a new and jauntier step.