Foggy Bottom Way Drain all the blood and give the kids a show

Let me know if the powerplay isn't okay <3

The sun was setting over the desert, casting a fiery glow over the sands — but Candle was no longer afraid of the dark. She led @Zoug from the ravine to the waterfall she'd found so many weeks ago, wanting to show him this place which had captured her heart. And it was as beautiful as she remembered.

The priestess yipped once to her mate and plunged ahead, disappearing into the fog as darkness settled all around them. She turned to peer at him, silver-green eyes glimmering from the shadows, as if to say look! See how well it suits me? Here she was nothing more than a shadow among the mists.

Candle fell into a playful bow, inviting him to join her.

she moved in and out of shadow.

she was joyed.

her exuberance was the opposite of her mate's stoicism. he glanced around the arching beauty of the waterfall.

his mind explored it as a resource, though candle's demeanour clearly said she would rather her mate frisk with her.

she was always courting him. zoug was not unresponsive, only far unruffled.

he trotted after her now all the same, satisfied to nip affectionately at her haunch with a little dancing step, amusement in his single eye.

Zoug's immovable mannerism never faltered, but she saw in his gaze a mirror of the affection she held for him not in spite of his nature but because of it. Candle was proud to have been chosen by him; flattered by his quiet acceptance of her love. And she had chosen him too, as he was, not in anticipation of any change.

So she was content with the way things were. A soft peal of laughter followed his affectionate nip. Candle rolled on one shoulder to the ground, reaching playfully for his paws with her own teeth as her back met the earth. She pushed small dark paws against him, but only for a moment.

Then she was on her feet again and heading for the water. The priestess knew that her mate would see the value in this place, the way they could stay hidden here, the water source which offered precious sustenance in the desert. She ran across a mouse fleeing her approach and caught it with a swift motion, crunching it once between her teeth before she turned and tossed it to Zoug.

she hunted. she was a good mate. he took the mouse with a soft grunt, a sound reserved only for her, and chewed it with relish as his stare drank in the place.

the shadows were gentle, the water inviting. he tasted it with approval and then waded into its embrace until the rippling touched his belly.

zoug dipped his muzzle below the surface and snorted bubbles to life.

Warmed by their companionship, Candle stepped into the waters while Zoug chewed the mouse, lingering while it rippled around her ankles. This place remained a contingency plan in the back of her mind, a way to remain hidden from the encroaching wolves if the need should ever arise. And perhaps it would.

She watched Zoug wade deeper into the water than she dared, awash with many emotions at once; affection and sorrow, anticipation and fear, so many thoughts of the future and the past threatening to overwhelm her. Sometimes Candle wondered what the others would think of her if they knew what she had done. The violence of it, the blood and the way she had hidden herself in the aftermath. She didn't wonder so much what Zoug might think. Yet she knew that her actions would bring the wrath of the wolves upon them, where before The Tribe might have gone ignored. Might have.

Was that uncertainty worthy of complacency?

A quietude stole over the priestess as she trailed after him and the waters engulfed her small figure. The confession almost burst from her then, in warning more than regret, but the words died on her lips when she considered Zoug again; relaxed, almost frivolous. How many more of these moments would they have?

Besides; if anyone knew, if anyone suspected, it would be him. Maybe there was no need to say it. Candle mimicked him, blowing bubbles of her own before pressing further into the water, where she found a large rock to balance on precariously. For the first time, she stood taller than Zoug! She peered down at him with tail waving and lashing droplets of water all around them. Her head lifted after a moment, gaze searching the rocky formations around the falls for a safe place to climb up. She wanted to see the water up close, though instinct warned her against getting too close.

zoug did not follow her.

in many ways, candle was not the same as he. she thought of things he did not, could not. had not. she considered situations with an abstraction that zoug did not comprehend. he saw it now, and always, a faraway look that he knew as thinking.

thought.

but not for the hunt or the desert. it was specific to candle, this look.

zoug let out his breath in something ending with a grunt, wanting his mate to be careful on the stone.