Overture Downs what we lost in the fire, we'll find in the ashes

@Grayday

Pipit had not had a good start to her year. The search for Shrike had proved fruitless, and a particularly harsh winter had dampened her spirits to such a low that the weight of her lonely survival was something she continued to carry with her even now. She felt very much like a failure, and solitude had only driven her deeper into the harsh confines of a newly negative mind— until simply one day, she shed her grief and replaced it self-preservation. Sulking when the earth's bounty was high and the summer air was sweet, wouldn't do for the wolf she truly wished to be.

Happy.

Such a simple thing eluded her that late afternoon on the wind-ruffled Downs, but she was determined to find it despite the heaviness clinging to the fringes of her bright soul. She lay beneath a lone tree, picking glumly at a rabbit she had no true appetite for. She'd only caught it to feel her heart race and her blood run for a time, but the feeling had gone now, and all that seemed left to do was wait for nightfall, when it might be cooler to travel. With the sun as low as it was, she wouldn't need to stay here long before she'd be able to comfortably push on.

It'd been almost a whole day since he'd set off after the buck, and though it hadn't been a completely meaningless adventure, Grayday was still a bit irritated that he'd been away from his family for so long. He grumbled to himself as he crossed the flat, sprawling meadow that separated his home from the lake, not really paying attention to his surroundings until wolfscent hit his nose.

The male lifted his head, ears swivelling. He was not particularly worried, as it was the scent of yet another shewolf, but he still felt the need to locate the other before carrying on. His eyes settled on a brownish blob in short order, and though he knew by her scent that it couldn't be Adeline, his heart still gave a painful twinge at the sight of a similarly patterned coat. And, as he drew nearer, he saw that she cut the same smooth, dainty figure. Before he knew what he was doing, Grayday had switched directions to trot toward the stranger.

"Hey," he called out, his voice nearly cracking on that single word. He same to an uncertain halt a dozen yards away, not quite sure what he wanted to say to the woman.

Pipit was lost in daydream, her eyes glazed as she stared off into the distance at things that weren't there. She saw her family and the countless loves she had lost, and the spirited woman sighed to herself, when a voice pulled her abruptly from the rose-colored reverie. She turned bi-colored eyes on him, fixing the stranger with a look that didn't seem to see him at first. She was reminded terribly of her brother, and she swallowed thickly as the differences between this male and the one she knew came under scrutiny in the late falling sun. Her tail wagged despite her melancholy, and she realized that this was the first wolf she'd properly met in quite some time.

"Care for a rabbit?" she called to the stone-furred wolf, nosing the dead thing at her feet. The breeze had turned out of her favor, so she couldn't tell much more about him than what her eyes could tell her. "I'm afraid my own appetite's waned a little." Pipit smiled, a sad sort of expression— perhaps expecting him to decline.

"I just ate," the male demured, the pointed refusal almost automatic, but still genuine. He had just eaten, but even if he hadn't, Grayday had never been one to take handouts.

But he drew closer anyway, letting out a sharp, silent breath at her bi-ccolored eyes. He was glad for the striking feature - it drew his mind away from his green-eyed girl. Still, he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from her.

"I'd take it for my kids, but they're still a bit small to play with that," he added, for want of something more to say.

"Oh," Pipit remarked quietly, finding herself straining to remain chipper, something that had never been such a feat for her before. Silently, she reached down deep into herself and grasped at a light within she had felt was buried too long ago. It came up easier when he mentioned young children. "You're a recent father?" she perked up considerably, ears suddenly taller and her expression brightening in the waning light. She had a great love for pups, but more than this, she had a thing for good fathers. For as sweet as Pipit seemed, she was a creature bound by fire and sin— her preferred activities dealing in what she felt was forbidden to her. Nothing was forbidden; not with the right charms.

"Congratulations!" she beamed, pushing herself up into a sit, and then standing after that. Her daintiness made her seem small, even compared to an averagely-sized wolf as he, and she bravely stepped a foot or so closer, her tail low and wagging in kind meaning. Away from the blood of the rabbit, she caught his aroma. There were many others on his pelt, but they had faded slightly through his recent travels. She had caught him at an opportune time, and Pipit was not keen to squander it. "How many? Boys? Girls?" she asked in dulcet tones, coming nearer still with each syllable.

Grayday felt himself grin - there was little he liked Vetter than being asked about his children. "Yeah, just a week or two ago. This is my second set," he replied, because while his newest babies were recent, he'd been a father for some time, now.

His tail wagged violently at her interest, and at her friendliness as well. Pointedly, his eyes did not follow her fluid movements, but found a peculiar interest in the nearby tree instead. The woman wasn't Adeline, but there was a likeness there that drew his eyes, and Day knew how easily his head could be turned. "Three of 'em, this time. Two girls and a boy. My first litter was a boy and a girl," said Grayday, holding himself back from spewing more information about the five of them than any stranger could possibly want. Instead, he forced him self to say, "What about you? Any kids?" And while he burned to share more of his excitement over his own litter, he found that he was interested in knowing more about the pretty stranger as well.

His interest in her interest was all Pipit needed to find herself a foothold with the male. She glanced up into his slim, grinning face, and besides the slight fading of his eyes like burnt tangerines, she found that he wasn't looking at her directly. Good. Avoidance meant she had stirred something, and Pipit never felt better than when she could become a spoon to hot tea. Her tail wagged a little fiercer, and she stood now at his chest, extending her nose politely to sniff the wrinkled guard hairs at his shoulder. "Three girls and two boys," she remarked in an awed whisper, a soft whine bubbling up in her throat. "You must be so proud."

She tilted her head at him as he asked her the same, and gave him a lamented smile. "Regretfully, no, I've never had the pleasure. Never seemed appropriate before. But I keep hope for one day!" she added with a quick, mirthful laugh. "Some knight'll bring me my season, I'm sure. I nearly can't wait," Pipit babbled like a cool brook, daring to nip at his fur with another giggle to mark her playfulness.

"I am," he agreed without hesitation, thinking mostly of his older two and how fiercely independent they were. What he felt for his younger three came closer to mindless adoration than pride - it was hard to be proud of someone when you wear cleaning their shit with your tongue - but Day figured it'd grow.

"I'm sure you will," he agreed, privately a bit surprised that a girl like her hadn't been snatched right up. But maybe she'd lived like him, alone and on the move. Well, she's a lot more sociable than I was, he thought, letting out a playful boof and darting back a step when she nipped at him.

Day was quick to crowd her, sniffing more deeply at the fur of her side before jumping back again. He tossed his head, giving an encouraging whine and slapping the ground with his paws.

Pipit was glad when he found no offense in her forwardness. Some wolves took her brazen charm for a ploy, when in all actuality she just craved the attention and closeness. And the more forbidden it was, the better. Surely he had the kids to flee to, and a mother of them that was waiting for her wayward husband to return, but it all fell away in a game he seemed eager to play— and the daring and darling Pipit was more than happy to oblige.

She yipped gleefully as his cold nose briefly found flesh beneath the the down of her shoulderfur, and the two danced away from one another; Pipit turning in a dancer's spin, as the giddy father took to beating the ground in a barefaced display of riled sinew. She was quick to dart near again, immodest as she freely challenged him back with a needy whine and a filly-like head toss as she tried delightedly to circle him. Pipit was a fast wolf, tagging him here and there with a brave muzzle, before scampering down the grassy knoll as a fairy's laugh trickled from her lips to beckon him.

His laughter rolled rather than rang as Day spun in a half-circle, trying to keep his front to the woman. It occurred to him that he still did not know her name, but just as he resolved himself to ask, she was darting away from him with a sign that read chase me taped to her tail.

With a loud chuff - pleased and startled both - Grayday took off after her, knowing he wouldn't be able to catch her if she kept up her top speed, but content enough to carry on either way. Slow down! he barked, but whether she did or not, the male's tail flapped like a flag in the wind.

As you wish! she cried back with a gleeful yip, easing her stride before doing a sudden about-face with the intent to meet him head on. The doe reared on her hind legs, batting at him even as she fell forward to capture him. He was most certainly capable of overpowering her, of turning on a dime and taking violent advantage of her openness, but Pipit's body had thrown itself pell-mell into this physical game, and she was quite obviously not afraid of what consequences might've lied therein. Whether he chose to overpower her or let her take the upperhand in their frisky dalliance, the girl who felt her skin come aflame with his attention, would be happy with the outcome.

A playful growl came tumbling past the male's lips. Almost took quick for his eyes to follow, she'd turned and gotten herself over him. In a real fight, it might've been dangerous, but Grayday wasn't bothered by it here except in the spirit of friendly competition. Instead of employing the more harmful (but highly) effective method of dragging her off him by biting down on one of her back legs and shaking rather vigoroualy, Grayday did his best to rise up on his kind legs and knock her off that way. She was rather light, luckily, and Day managed to dislodge her enough that he could hook a paw around her shoulders.

From there, he attacked with mock-bites and blustery growls, mouthing at her shoulders and at the scruff of her neck. He tried his best to knock her over, but left room for her to escape if the game became too much. He didn't want his face torn off, after all, and some wolves took offence to being forced into the ground.

Though Pipit was perhaps the prissiest and most vain of her siblings, this wasn't say much when it became compared to her true wildness. The girl was rowdy and fearless— a pink-dressed princess with a sword and shield. She wasn't to be deterred by the unnamed wolf's superior musculature. If anything, it invigorated her, causing her to throw caution to the wind as she was practically thrown off the mottled grey like a flimsy rodeo clown. She laughed even as she hit the ground, trying to scramble back to her feet, but was unsuccessful as the oppressive weight of her playmate descended upon her with a vengeance.

He was rather ungentle with her, though Pipit seemed (almost masochistically) to be enjoying the roughhouse anyway. She laughed as if he were tickling her, and she rolled onto her side so that she might gnaw defensively on his foreleg. She'd never be able to get from beneath him unless he allowed it, but she didn't seem very eager to be free of him just yet a any rate. She squirmed and writhed under him, rejoicing in his closeness with groaning whine-growls as she rolled onto her back and began to jaw-spar with him.

The woman, hard as she had run from him, gave into his bullying quite easily. It made Grayday miss Sylvas a little bit, because women always seemed to fight this way, and lately, there were only women to contend with. Still, despite the lack of challenge, he was having fun. The woman - whoever she was - seemed like good company, and he hoped he'd run into her again.

But, he really had to be on his way. The male flopped over on his side and continued the game a few minutes longer before pushing her head away with a rough-padded paw.

"Okay, okay," he laughed, "you win." He rolled to his paws and shook out his fur, smoothing out some of the places she'd rucked up with a few well-placed licks. "I need to get home. Do I get to know your name, before I go?"

Pipit, for all her vivaciousness, was a terribly emotional creature. Her good time was stymied by a firm paw to the face, and she panted as the male insisted she had won. She thought she could convince him otherwise— wanted to try at any rate— but more than she wanted him to continue horsing around, she didn't want to seem desperate. That simply wouldn't do for a girl's image, so she relented to his resignation, but let him know of her disappointment by way of saying: "giving up so soon? Shame on you, handsome!" She got to her feet too, huffing as she watched him smooth the fur at his chest, and she nodded when he affirmed he had to get home.

I suppose you do, she thought ruefully, her mood turning coy when he asked for her name. "Oh, and ruin the mystery?" she purred slyly; "what's the fun in that?" Bouncing up, she gave him a rough, goodbye nip to his closest ear, before charging up the hill to collect her rabbit and be on her merry (secretly heartbroken) way. Pipit deeply wanted to follow him, but his mild-mannered rejection stung deeper than that still, so she was sure to let him know what he was missing, by swaying her hips and not looking back as she went.

Thanks again, Mix <3 You da best!

Day gave a hearty laugh at her words, shaking his head even as he shot her a speculative look. "Come on, you don't want to get me in trouble, do you?" he replied. A huff of disappointment escaped him when she denied him a name, but he held still while she nipped him goodbye.

It's for the best, he thought to himself, a frown creasing his features as he thought back on his actions. It'd been just a game, to be sure, but there'd been a subtext there that he hadn't acknowledged at the time. I really am trying to get myself in trouble, the male realized, thinking guiltily of the family he had waiting on him back at home.

Still, he watched the strange woman dashing away, his frown deepening at the show she was giving. I have to be more careful, he told himself, but his mind was already elsewhere. He couldn't help but think about how Adeline would never have done that, would never have thought twice about his actions, if it'd been her instead of the stranger. Perhaps that was what had put him at ease, had him acting like a free agent. If it'd been Adeline, it would've been innocent.

The male turned away, the now clearly-punctuated differences between the two causing him to view the woman in a lesser light. It wasn't her fault, he knew - he'd given a certain impression, and the woman had acted on it. That made him the home wrecker, and not her... But he couldn't help it. His heart belonged to someone else, and the stranger and everyone else would always be second-rate.

He thought of green eyes as he made his way home, trying his best to picture them in a thin, dark face.

Thank you, too! Sorry about Day being a lame-o XD