Dragoncrest Cliffs Yeah she steals like a theif

he missed the first one and wondered if she had somehow become lost.

then it came through again.

marco! he barked, tail waving behind him even if she may not see it. c'mon, keep movin' to my voice! he encouraged in warm tones. eventually they would have to bump into one another. so he felt it was really just his job to be encouragement!

de whale be waitin', pirate queen!

His voice became clearer as she moved, responding "Polo!" every time he called out. It lifted her spirits a bit, to be doing something so new, and so foolish, and she slowly forgot her nerves. By the time his voice was clear, and he mentioned the whale again, she could see just the hint of his fur, amber in the shadows. She uttered a soft whine and bounded toward him, tail waving and ears slicked back as she pressed herself against his chest. 

"You found me!" She exhaled into his fur. A bit dramatic, but it did feel so very special to be rescued, and to make someone into her hero. "Lead me to the whale, my hewo," She keened.

suddenly she was at his chest.

it was then he realized just how small she was compared to him. how different she smelled so different from the usual briny scent he had grown accustomed to. how he didn't mind one bit that she was here. it was nothing like tussling with anybody of sapphique.

it caused a bit of a woozy feeling. something brand new about it all.

his head rushed for a moment as he stood. dumbfounded.

uhhh. uh-huh.

only he did not yet begin their path out to sea.

He didn't move. He hadn't stiffened, but like an oak he stood, unbent by the winds, when she wished for him to be a willow. She looked up at him and could only see the faint glint of surprise in his eyes, like a flicker of flame in the dark. He was cute, even more so when he was this close, and she could feel the coarse grit of salt in his fur. Curious to see what he might do next, she smiled faintly. She tilted her head back, and lifted her muzzle to bestow a kiss upon his cheek- a shy and furtive move, but as with anything Lilia did, driven by impulse.

omg (｡♥‿♥｡)

she kissed him.

she kissed him.

she kissed him?!

if his brain had been hard stuck before, it completely malfunctioned now. they were saved by standing in the dark tunnel. none of sapphique could see poor quennell having his first tangle with the concept of a crush. the way his face got so hot he was convinced summer had come back in full at that moment.

a fellow wolf of impulse, he decided there was really only one thing to do.

quickly he kissed her own cheek back, wondering what it might feel like — and boy did it feel like a lot!

There in the dark, they gave to each other their first kiss, which brought the whisper of glee to Lilia's heart. Had any others drawn her eye before, she'd forgotten them now. Not only did she have Quennell so close, but she had him to herself- and he kissed her back! There was no supervision, no adults to stop them, no siblings to tease them or fight for attention. Greedy for the touch that brought warmth to her cheeks, she kissed him again- and again and again, before turning her cheek to him, her heart thrumming as she begged for him to kiss her back.

more and more!

quennell felt that plunge of excited greediness in full swing now. so he returned each kiss that she had given him, chasing that seadragon that she had set free in his heart.

he grew bolder in his excitement.

eagerly he aimed to comb at the golden fur that bled into the ebony of her crown. only briefly, before a humming sound built in the back of his throat. thrumming notes of bewilderment and delight.

Heuheuheu

Sapphique quickly made a good meal out of the whale but more remained than they knew what to do with. Their winter caches were filled to the brim and their bellies were full… but Njord couldn’t shake the fear that another predator would come to claim the rest of the carcass.

So, he happened to be on the beach that day.

Marco! Polo!

He heard whispering giggles echo from the darkness.

He recognized one voice but not the other. The man smiled to himself and immediately knew exactly what was going on in there. It had not been so long since he had invited Meerkat to Siren’s Cove…

But the lad was young. Like an uncle, Njord couldn’t resist the opportunity to heckle the blooming buccaneer. Besides… it wasn’t a good idea to invite a stranger into their home, anyway.

Good lord! He was turning into Rosalyn!

Like a P.E. coach finding horny teenagers beneath the bleachers, Njord stood backlit against the tunnel’s exit to the sea and sharply barked a loud, “Quennell!”

The way I belly-laughed as soon as I saw that you'd replied XD *hi-fives*

She enjoyed this, very much. Not just the sensation, but the thoughts that flew through her mind. She was attractive, she was wanted, she was desired. For someone who had been abandoned, this was all almost a bit too wonderful, but she was too drunk on the sensation to fear that it might ever end. She leaned into his touch, and began to nibble at the fur along the point of his shoulder, uttering a soft, endearing growl as he reached a spot on hers that she didn't realize had been itchy. She arched her neck to let him nibble at the point behind her crown but-

Quennell! 

She lifted her head so fast, it clonked hard against something. Whether it was Quennell's lower jaw or a rock, she wasn't sure but she uttered a yelp of surprise, and hid behind him, bewildered and ashamed of having been caught by some stranger. "Who'th that?" She whispered hastily, hoping it was someone he knew- but hopefully, also, not someone who could tell him what to do.

his name was called loudly, bouncing down the tunnel.

he knew the voice all at once. far too familiar to be ignored. nor could he ignore it when he was stunned into place by the soft knock of leelee against his jaw.

he groaned softly. dazed and maybe his first flick of annoyance at being bothered.

's njord. he offered as he leaned against the girl. he kinda be like an...uncle? in the same way he might look at meerkat like an aunt and their boys like cousins.

the only problem was there was no way around the older man. which meant quennell had to awkwardly face this head on and was prepared to socially navigate the two of them through this. much like he had with meeting chacal.

we just be headin' out to de sea! chacal be sayin' we can see de whale! all of this called out with a voice wavering, charming turned up maybe suspiciously high.

that was all! absolutely nothing else! ask no more questions, uncle dearest!

Sorry everyone!! I got the holiday whelmies
I'll only keep Njord in for one more round and then he'll dip.

From the panicked jostling noises Njord knew that he had interrupted their pubescent tryst. Quennell came slinking from the darkness red-handed, a sheepish look on his face. It took every ounce of strength to keep Njord from breaking character. On the outside, he was composed like Buddha. Inside, he was grinning impishly.

“Is tha so?” Njord mused with faux naivety, a brow raised curiously. “Och, well ye willnae be findin’ any whale by spendin’ so much time in the dark.” A flick of the eyes to Quennell.

“I was just headin’ towards the whale meself tae fetch Meerkat lunch. I will join ye!” Njord began to move as to telegraph that it wasn’t a request.

He turned to the young she-wolf, mid-stride. “What is yer name, lass? I ‘ope Quennell, here, is bein’ a proper guide.”

An uncle? It wasn't a term the girl heard often. She assumed then that the man who'd called out to them wasn't exactly related to Quennell, but that he was family somehow anyway. Rather than barking an order, he employed the use of making them feel lightly shamed- as he'd known what they'd been up to. Lilia, however, did not like what she interpreted to be an implication. She hastily slicked back a couple ruffled hairs with her tongue, making her coat pristine again before she spoke. She got the feeling Quennell's fur always had that just-got-caught-making-out-with-someone tangle to it, but hers wouldn't. 

 "I've nevuh theen anything like thith," She called out from the dark, stepping forward into the faint light, by Quennell's side. "It muth-t've been cweated natu-ally, hmm?" She asked, to pull the attention back to the tunnel. Make it seem as though they'd simply been exploring. From there, she could see the man who spoke to them, with his heavy accent. His face was friendly, and his eyes warm. She tilted her chin up, and offered him a faint smile. She tried not to let that smile falter an inch when he decreed that he was going to join them, though she felt her heart sink. 

Her smiled grew more fond when she was asked about Quennell's skills as a guide. "He ith a vea-urhy eckthellent ethco-at," She said with a nod. She of course wanted to shimmy her shoulder against his- but was still trying to get Njord to forget what it was he'd implied about them. She was a lady, after all. And Quennell too had seemed mortified when they'd been caught. She'd save face for both of them. "I am Lilia, I am fuh-rom uRedtail uh-Rise."

it was amazing that he had not exploded right where he stood. between njord's verbal prodding and the way lilia saw it fit to better compose herself, he was rattled.

fully convinced he would never kiss her again and that njord would hold this above his head for his whole life.

he fell into a grim silence as leelee took hold on the situation with a composed nature he lacked severely. at all times, really, but right now especially.

It was too easy to become drunk on this particular brand of schadenfreude.

Njord could not help but take another swig of the proverbial bottle when he spied Quennell’s expression.

“Aye, you’re right,” Njord affirmed as he went along with the small talk. "Good eye, you must have a penchant for naturalism, hmm?" He complimented, pretending to be cordial for the lass’ sake.

The three walked out of the tunnel towards the gargantuan carcass on the beach. By now, it reeked something fierce (for a wolf, in a good way). Bones protruded as the skill had been devoured by Sapphique and other scavengers.

“Redtail Rise,” Njord ruminated. In the light, this she-wolf looked a lot like Chacal. Black with a gilded topcoat of gold.

“Tis a pleasure, Lilia. The name’s Njord,” he said.

The seafarer turned to pick up a hearty piece of meat from the bounty. 

Quennell looked pale.

Feeling he had embarrassed the lad to an appropriate degree, Njord turned. “I’ll be leavin’ you two tae enjoy. I think @Meerkat an’ I will enjoy lunch on the cliffs,” he said with a whimsical sigh, gesturing to the tall plinths of rock conveniently overlooking the cove. “There’s a nice breeze up there.”

He nodded to Lilia and Quennell and disappeared back down the tunnel.

perfect gif *chef's kiss*

Fade here?

Naturalism? As an an appreciation for nature? Not likely. Lilia was training to become a warrior, a scout and a hunter- but this more gentle aspect suited her well enough, for the time being. After all, it was her intention to seem benign. She would be supple when complimented, and while she was irked at being associated with something as frivolous as being a naturalist, she glowed. "Yeth, I do! Thank you," She admitted, adding a touch of surprise to her voice to seem a bit more genuine. 

Ugh, naturalism. She didn't begrudge her friend Reki for being interested in plants and flowers, but it was so terribly boring in comparison to becoming a warrior. 

She smiled when she was welcomed. And as well as she could, she tried to look impressed by the rotting, stinking behemoth of meat and blubber upon the shore. Its scent was almost overpowering. For one who was almost always hungry, Lilia felt her stomach clench, as though to deny any presence of an apatite. 

Quennell quailed in the moment, seemingly mortified. But his uncle was casual; suave. Lilia could feign her own dignity for a bit longer, and smiled as the red-tailed man excused himself. Her eyes flicked up to the cliffs and flashed, but she simply tightened her grin. "Thankth, Njord. It wath nithe meeting you," She chimed, holding her expression until he'd turned and walked away. 

She turned, and raised her brow at Quennell. She fluttered her eyelashes at him, and flicked her tail. "Well, yow-ah uncle theemth nithe." She said, giving him a moment to recover, under her lightly jousting gaze, and then moved in so that they could eat.