The Heartwood heart to heart

Vaati bit back - something that, later on, Alya would admit she had enjoyed. In the moment, though, with her head in a whirl and so many new things happening at once, she could only snap and snarl in retaliation. None of her bites were the hard-hitting, blood-drawing strikes that the Cerberus had perfected, but some of them were still probably painful. No more painful than the grip Vaati had taken of her scruff - and no no no, she was not okay with that!

But... she was also not about to tell him to stop. All this jerking around didn't seem quite right, but she couldn't help but feel that he was onto something. Alya wiggled against him, trying different angles and, ultimately, only finding more frustration. Vaati seemed to be on the same page.

"Maybe - " said Alya, falling silent as a familiar sound reached her ears. That chirp - though it sounded much like a ground squirrel's - belonged to Hydra. Alya supressed a giggle, feeling suddenly rather hysteric about the whole situation. How much had Hydra seen? She was surely a bit concerned - but Alya flicked her ears in a calming gesture and turned back to Vaati. "I have to go," said Alya, not quite sure how to say goodbye. He wasn't Nikai or Cypress for her to press herself against, and yet, she felt as though they'd shared something more intimate than what she'd experienced with either of those boys. With anyone, really. "But will you meet me again? I think we nearly had it," she said breathlessly, her body feeling oddly light without Vaati's powerful form above it. Her scruff twinged, and she had to supress a strange shiver of pleasure.