Whitebark Stream when that strange shape drove suddenly betwixt us and the Sun [mtr.]

Fear. Excited anticipation. Deep-rooted worry. Shame. Delight, for having someone notice him for the first real time since his past beloved. He felt everything, all at once, each nipping at his heels as they battled among themselves in  desperation to be at the forefront. Dawn crooned for him, a delicate sound that sent his heart aflutter, and he rumbled right back.

A decision made: she was worth the risk.

The hesitation would return, he knew, as would his never-ending uncertainty of the situation they'd so suddenly found themselves knee-deep in. It came as a massive leap for the duo who only barely knew one another, but her sorrow would be his, as would her joy and her frustration. This would bind them for life and he hoped fiercely that they could grow together, all of them - Dawn, Artyom and their children to follow. And should fate see fit to ensure they would find themselves unable to breathe, then at least they'd drown together.

It would be easy to gather her beneath him then and there, ge it over and done with, but he had vowed to value her offering. Artyom leaned into every motion of her muzzle, each feather light kiss, listened longingly to each low purl and offered sweet ministrations of his own, though ultimately he encouraged her away.

He led her through the meadows, frolicked like love-struck yearlings beneath freshly falling snow as he originally intended, nipped and nuzzled and flanked her whenever the opportunity presented itself. Darkness enveloped Whitebark entirely and it was hours later, long into the night, he came to settle them in a small clearing amid their evergreen woodland where he turned to look upon her, aglow beneath pale moonlight.

It was then that he reached for her, careful and gentle in his movement, pressing his flank to hers until gold mingled affectionately with silver. His fangs sought to groom the downy furs at the base of her ear and worked their way teasingly to primp  the pale underside of her throat, delivering soft sweeps of his tongue here and there to smooth as he went.