There was plenty of daylight left following her visit to the plateau, so Bones made a split-second decision: she would pass by the mountain and try to catch up with Ira. Only, the youth remembered his warning the last time and knew it wouldn't be wise to approach the borders or even linger in the no man's land just beyond them. She would have to find a point somewhere well outside the territory but still within earshot. It shouldn't be too hard.
She wound up at the southeastern corner of Neverwinter Forest. She could barely make out Silvertip Mountain over the thinning treetops. Pausing beneath a stately oak, Bones lifted her head toward the late afternoon sky and howled, calling for her boyfriend. She then reposed with her back against the tree's rugged trunk, happily scratching her back against it as she waited to see if Ira would respond to her summons.
Ira had been on his routine recruitment patrol when Bones’ call rose into the late afternoon sky, summoning him to her. Pause was given, eyes of crystalline glimpsing at Silvertip, it’s borders stretching but a few feet from him. For a moment he lingered there, watching, nearly daring someone to melt from the shadows and demand to know why a call had risen from him. They did not, though it didn’t make much of a difference anyway because Ira would have had no intentions of answering, even if they had. Plus, he was pretty used to doing whatever he wanted anyway and would only deign himself to answer to Jinx as both his Alpha and hismotherguardian. In a conspirator fashion, Ira peered over his shoulder as he turned his back to the mountain and proceeded to alter his course to take him to where Bones’ summons had originated from. Like Romeo sneaking out to see Juliet (despite that Bones had cleared she didn’t want to mimic the star-crossed lovers’ story). Ira wondered if soon Jinx would come to question him on what he had been up too, given that he had not washed off Bones’ scent the first time and surely wasn’t going to do it this time, either; because Ira had yet to tell her much about Bones (mostly because he wasn’t even sure what they were himself), but also because he liked to keep his secrets - even though if she would have asked, he would have told her.
It did not take Ira too terribly long to come upon Bones who, amusing to the Princeling was scratching her back against a tree as he stepped onto the scene. “There is probably a better way to scratch that itch, you know,” The Princeling smirked at her, eyes dancing mischievously as he drew nearer to her. “But I believe you summoned me?” He asked in a haughty manner, though he was glad to see her again, even if he was wholly unprepared (alas he came baring no gifts to “woo” her with but himself). He had been busy with recruitment and keeping his food away from obnoxiously annoying, parasitic foxes that had harassed him for it among other things, but he hadn’t forgotten about her, or his desire to romance her (even if he wasn’t entirely sure what all romancing entailed). “You know I should probably tell Jinx about you, before she gets suspicious.” Because he really didn’t want Jinx coming after Bones or any of Silvertip, really.
"Why do you think I called you?" she teased when he mentioned her back scratching. "You're the best back scratcher in all the land!" she crowed playfully in his ear. "I did! I wanted to see you," she continued, smiling. "And what do you mean? Do you still think she'd be angry if she knew we were friends? Maybe you shouldn't tell her; it's kind of fun to be secretive." Except that likely every wolf within a few miles had heard her call for him.
"How're you?" she asked in the next breath, lively and spirited as ever, despite today's travels. "I just came from the plateau, where I visited me dad and his family!" she shared excitedly, pitching herself to the ground the way a teenage girl might throw herself onto her bed while gabbling away on the telephone. Her green eyes remained lifted, fixed on him, glowing. "I have little baby cousins!"
The little motormouth barely gave Ira a chance to get a word in edgewise before a thought struck her and she asked breathlessly, "Hey, you know where babies come from, don't you?"
Ira stood, exhibiting a outstanding amount of patience - something he was slowly teaching himself - as Bones flung herself at him in a manner that made the arrogant Princeling smirk taking it as an inevitable sign that she had missed him much, closing his eye when her tongue swiped over it, a snort escaping his black, leathery nostrils. In truth, he had missed her, too, and was rather glad she seemed unabashed to invading his personal space though he wasn’t sure he would ever admit that to her. “I am not your personal backscratcher,” He growled lowly, albeit playfully to her. Being a personal backscratcher sounded too much like something a peasant would do and Ira was certainly no one’s peasant. “I’m afraid I was unprepared and can only offer you my fantastic presence as a gift to woo you with,” Ira admitted to her with a raised brow sort of expression, figuring that his presence alone was beyond good enough. Clearly, he thought too much of himself, but seeing as no one (besides Jace) had ever bothered to correct him upon that opinion (not that Ira much cared what Jace thought of him) he would keep on believing it.
“Angry?” Ira repeated carefully, thoughtfully. He didn’t think Jinx would be angry at all, after all there was only one Swiftcurrent Creek wolf they were supposed to kill on sight as for the others (including Bones) Ira considered to be safe. “I don’t think so. Besides I don’t much care, you’re my girl,” It was an extremely possessive statement but Ira kept on talking not noticing. “and if they don’t like it they can go fuck themselves.” At that the Princeling snickered despite that he only on an extremely vague manner understood the meaning of the explicit word he had tossed around casually. “I’m exceptionally talented at sneaking but…I don’t want them to come snooping around in our business, or to chase you away or anything.” Because if Ira were to ever catch word of anyone chasing Bones away he would personally skin them alive and wear their pelt as a macabre trophy. For the longest time Jinx had been the only creature that Ira allowed himself to become close to and in many ways Ira did love Jinx - that would likely never change because she was the only mother he ever knew - but Bones was gradually becoming closer and meaning more to Ira. It was selfish to allow himself two creatures but he was daring enough to play with the fires of his curse - so long as he was the only one burnt.
“Well…tired of Lecter stinking up the den,” Because Ira wasn’t about to let Lecter covet Jinx all to himself, as far as Ira was concerned he had been there first (of course that wasn’t true but Ira didn’t care). “Oh yeah he’s my step father now,” Ira informed Bones, twisting his words with disdain. “But whatever. He’s old as dirt and will probably die soon anyway.” His dislike of Lecter was probably mostly based upon his jealousy - Ira didn’t like sharing Jinx’s attentions - though the fact that the shaman had spat duck feathers (of all things) at Ira hadn’t helped any. “Did you meet them?” Ira asked her, picking up quickly upon her evident delight and excitement at the fact that she had baby cousins. He had never really thought of babies much - only that Jinx had, briefly, had them growing in her womb before they had been aborted by the cougar’s attack (a fact that he still, secretly, partially blamed himself for despite Jinx’s reassurances).
At her breathless question of him knowing where babies came from he blinked down at her, wondering why that particular question came from. Admittedly, Ira had a very crude idea of where and how they came about having caught rabbits in the act of mating several times on his hunt for them, though he hadn’t exactly shared that with anyone because he wasn’t sure if he found it disturbing or fascinating - likely a mixture of both. It appeared that he would have to share of it, though, since she had asked and Ira didn’t make a habit out of lying. “I uh, have an idea of how and where they come from, yes,” A burst of heat came to the Princeling’s cheeks then and he shifted his weight as he pictured it - unbidden and humiliating in this situation - in his mind’s eye. He let out a small cough, and looked away from her for a few seconds, shifting his weight again. “Why?” He demanded, fixing his gaze upon her when he felt he had control over all the weird emotions surging through him.
That feeling intensified when Ira claimed her and Bones giggled at the profanity. "Well, if I'm yours, then that makes you mine!" she informed him with a waggle of her rump and a brief kiss to the side of his nose. Although being in Ira's presence filled her with a buzzing energy, she then forced herself to sit down at his shoulder and be still as she bent an ear.
"I can't imagine sharing living space with him," Bones sympathized, her nose wrinkling. "So he's your mother's mate now? I wonder what would attract her to him...?" she wondered aloud. Lecter was old, crusty and smelly. Even though she had nothing against him personally, she couldn't imagine wanting to be romantic with him. Her nose wrinkled even more and she tried to comfort her cohort by preening the soft, pale fur beneath Ira's ear.
And since they were on the subject, she suddenly exclaimed, "Ugh, I can't imagine them making babies together!" Then she added, "I just wanted to check because, you know, one thing leads to another. First we were friends, now we're courting. One day, we might be mates and then we'll have a family. I want to make sure you know what you're doing when that day comes!" She beamed brightly, teasingly at him, then nibbled at the corner of his mouth.
“I’m pretty sure that’s how it goes, yes,” Ira teased her, though in truth the Princeling didn’t mind being Bones’ beau. It was attention and any sort of attention was absorbed by the narcissistic youth like oxygen into his lungs. Plus, he did like her - for whatever his affection towards her counted for. Likely, she could do much better than him, after all he was no one’s idea of Prince Charming (except his own, of course) because while he was a Princeling he wasn’t nice or polite, or anything else your average ‘Prince Charming’ was. Jace would have, if he known about them (meaning Bones and himself) probably would have told her his demon spawn from Hell theory (which may or may not be correct). Then again, Bones was well aware of what Ira was like and for some ungodly reason he still could not make sense of liked him back. But he wasn’t about to complain or challenge whatever divine beings had a role in it.
“I wish I knew,” He said with a grimance but then shook his head furiously. “Nevermind. I really don’t want to know,” Nevermind that he sort of suspected that Lecter had been the father of Ira’s almost siblings (because Jinx was basically his mother and Ira was tired of pretending otherwise). “I think her babies - the ones she…aborted,” He lowered his voice at the word as if he were afraid someone might overhear him which was ridiculous because Bones and him were (as far as he was aware) the only ones out here. “were his.” Of course unless Jinx or Lecter came right out and told Ira he was running off of speculation alone; and frankly the whole thought of Lecter and Jinx going at it like those rabbits he had been unfortunate to catch in the act made him want to vomit.
“He’s so disgusting,” Considering how clean Ira was it about gave him an heart attack to be within ten feet of Lecter whom Ira suspected didn’t bathe and probably hadn’t in the billion years he’d been alive because Ira was convinced Lecter was as old as the dinosaurs. “At first it seemed like he wouldn’t share a den with us because he and I don’t like each other and really just ignore one another but then I guess he changed his mind and is like just there,” Ira shivered, though he was unsure if it was because of Lecter or because he liked the feeling of her preening the fur beneath his ear.
When Bones went on to say that one thing seemed to lead to the next with them - indeed she had a point, he admitted - her talk of the future with them potentially becoming mates and then starting a family together, Ira could see it, like a short cinema clip in his mind. An altercation to the vision he’d seen many times where he was the King. Before he had always been alone on that proverbial throne, but now he added a grown up Bones, and a litter of mini Ira’s and Bones’ standing near them. It was almost too easy to picture in a really nice way. In that instant the Princeling wanted that future, wanted her, wanted her to be his Queen, wanted her to bear him children in a way that was probably an unhealthy possessiveness. Instead of telling her that he asked, “Do you think we’ll go that far?” After all, they were only almost teenagers. Of course, there was nothing that said they couldn’t and in the current point and time in Ira’s life he couldn’t imagine anyone better to make his mate and children with.
“And please,” Ira snorted at her exclamation that she wanted to make sure he knew what he was doing. “I’ll know what I’m doing.” He told her confidently. Honestly, the rabbits didn’t make it look like it was all that hard to do.
Also, did you want to wrap up our other thread with another post from each of us? :)
"I don't know," she answered lightly, "only time will tell! But," she added, pausing for a few beats to playfully torture him, "I'm hoping it turns out that way." She complemented this statement by giving him a wet kiss on the cheek. She then pressed her nose against his fur, giggling into it when he insisted he knew what he was doing.
Withdrawing after a moment, Bones said, "Sorry about your... home situation." His mention of Jinx's lost litter gave her flashbacks of that day and she shuddered slightly, though she said nothing. Even if the parents were a bit strange or even smelly, their pups hadn't deserved that awful fate.
"AVAST!" Bones exclaimed very suddenly and very loudly, the tone giving it the same meaning as a loud oh my gosh! "I forgot to tell you the biggest news of all, Ira! I found me brother, Kraken! He lives in the same pack as our dad! Can you believe it?! It makes it even harder to stay at the creek but, still... I'm so happy I found him!" Bones crowed.
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Bones wasn’t wrong, Ira reflected. Only time would tell if they were meant to be together in the intangible foreverness or not. Ira could not say that he was in love with Bones (to be fair he didn’t really love anyone except maybe Jinx) but that was because of his self inflicted curse made up to explain why bad things kept seeming to happen to him.
At her sudden - and loud - declaration of ‘avast’, causing Ira to bite his bottom lip to keep from snickering at her odd choice of a word, stifling it with his paw as he pretended to scratch at his nose with it. Her following words helped Ira to forget about that though and not for the first time he felt a slight pang of jealousy at her mention of a brother though it disappeared as quickly as it had came. While he wondered what it would be like to have siblings he also knew that he didn’t really want any of them because they would steal Jinx’s attention away from him and Ira didn’t like that thought.
When he mentioned the plateau's proximity, Bones chortled. "No, I'm staying at the creek," she said with a firmness only recently established. "But," she went on to say, "the distance won't stop me from seeing you. I cross me heart," she told him, planting a reassuring kiss on his nose.
Returning to the subject of Ira's family situation, Bones asked suddenly, "So what happened to your real dad?" She knew Lecter certainly wasn't one and the same. "And do ye have any brothers or sisters, aside from... the ones that died?" she queried softly.