Altar of Twilight I am bouncing off these walls

@Alya <3

He was done. He was completely done with self-torturing by staying at the Caldera. He was done pretending everything was okay - that his family would return to him. Even his grandparents had left them in the dust, rubbing it in with pride as they left with his older brother to some far-off land to found a pack. The Redhawks were to blame for this, he felt, seeing they had not even paid attention to their missing members. His father was to blame, seeing he had not done much to try and find them again. He was to blame for not keeping an eye out for them...

In the depths of the night did he go for a walk, his brutish, pale form sliding over the moonlight as he made his way to the mountains. The light of the moon made a spectacle of a show upon the ground as he arrived there, and he decided that in this Vale he wanted to stay for a while. To get his thoughts on a row and become calm again. Burke's words still stung, their departure still scorched and there was nothing anyone could do to make the hurt go away.

While Hydra took it upon herself to guard their borders, Alya spent much of her time scouting out the territories surrounding Moonspear. She liked to know who was coming and going, and sometimes made up stories to go with the scenes and scents she came across. Sometimes, she pretended she had her own mountain, and that the scents around her were those of her loyal subjects. Hydra and Lyra reigned beside her, of course.

It was during one such game that she came across Ben, and though her self-centeredness did often seem to verge on delusional, she made sure to shrug off her imaginary titles before going to greet the stranger.

"Hello," she called out, voice cheerful and body language open and friendly as she moved toward the pale stranger.

He was a big, drooping ball of fluff and sadness - his rough coat seemingly curling down at every end. He didn't know why it seemed that way to him, perhaps because he felt like it. He blinked his foggy eyes, brilliantly blue clashing with the coolness of the mountain's foot. He liked this place... calm and nice - and girl... Wait, girl? He hadn't spotted the young shadow of a girl the first time, but as her footfalls came closer he was forced to look. Stare, look and not even feel threatened. He was no wolf, not in his mannerisms - just something much paler than whatever she saw. Something more broken than bones once one tumbled off the mountain.

Hey... He replied, sad eyes curling slightly up as he forced at least some friendliness into his facial features. His massive form, however, was kept bend down - large paws motioning her to come closer. He had no ill intentions, and even if she had... Was she any match for him? He was all muscle, not much fat left from his youthful days.

Alya's ears flickered in displeasure. It was nothing big - the way he reacted to her just left a little to be desired. Was there something in her fur? Did she have a dumb expression on her face? Did he think she was ugly? Such thoughts drove her to distraction, and her steps faltered for a moment. Rather than try to smooth over the awkward motion, the dark girl just came to a halt several yards away, feeling off-kilter and wary.

If there was one thing she was not used to, it was wolves who didn't adore her. And if there were two things, they were falt ground and wolves who didn't adore her. At least they were on an incline.

"I'm Alya," she hedged, waiting to be fawned over, or greeted properly, or something.

From what he could see from under his lashes, she was not ugly even one bit. Just as pretty as Lagan and mom... He shouldn't think of that now, but he did, no matter how much they didn't match. His mother had been white, Right?, and this girl was definitely the blackest he had ever seen. He lifted a bit, straightening his bulky shoulders and offered the other a smile. She didn't seem very happy with this encounter though. Should he be? She was the only one to talk to right now.

Benjamin Rochester-Iosila - just Ben is enough though. He grinned forcing himself even more upright. Where'd you come from? Behind the mountains? I heard there was a pack there with really pretty wolves... haven't gone there myself. He tried, not sure of what to say.

Sigh. Why did other wolves have to have such long, boring names? Dutifully, Alya filed the name away to be shared with Hydra at a later date, and stepped forward to give her own introduction, having been assuaged by Ben's mention of 'pretty wolves' and how she must be from that pack, considering her own exemplary features.

"Alya Ostrega," she introduced, pairing the prideful words with a demure smile. "I am from a pack of beautiful wolves - just over there," she explained, nose pointing primly toward Moonspear. "I'm a princess, actually."

Although no such title really existed at Moonspear, Alya considered herself and her identical siblings as such. Charon had always called them his little princesses, and no one had ever contridicted the assumption. The Cerberus, after all, had always gotten just exactly what she wanted. What was a princess, if not a girl that lived the life Alya did?

"It's a pleasure to meet you," she added, but what she really meant was, "Isn't it a pleasure to meet me?"

Yeah, he didn't really dig his name either. It didn't have a nice ring to it - at least, not the kind of ring "Alya Ostrega, princess of Moonspear" had. That he was surprised and impressed could be read instantly, face morphing into that of a kid going outside for the first time. It was hard to deny her beauty and her title, but he tried his best to keep the conversation... civil. While he was blunt and oblivious, he wasn't that stupid. It was hard to be, now that his heart had been trampled on by the ones he loved most.

Really nice to meet you too. He replied with more butter-y tones than he had intended. Since when did he act this way? He surely didn't remember him being like this with anyone inside of the Caldera. He cleared his throat awkwardly. So, eh, what does a princess like yourself do around here at night?

Good - they were flirting, now. At least, that was how Alya took it. His acknowledgment of her beauty and title might've been enough to appease her, but it was so much more satisfying for her ego to be actively pandered to. In response to his sweetened tones, the dark girl took a few steps closer, and graced him with a half-lidded stare.

"I walk the outer territories," said Alya, drawing herself up and circling around behind him. "And I see what there is to see. And when I get home, I relay it all to Hydra." She came around so that the last word could be brushed against his ear. It was a move that both Hydra and Lyra said was quite titillating, but this was the first time she'd used it on a stranger - or, indeed, on a member of the opposite sex.

A more suspicious man would've not liked a female creeping up and behind him, but Benjamin was captivated. Brilliantly blue eyes followed her until she was out of sight, nearly forgetting to listen to what she was saying. What was this beating of his heart? Was he getting sick? He felt hot and cold at the same time, especially under a sky full of stars.

His ear twitched, his tail began to wag and his fur bristled slightly as a chill ran down his spine. He could not calm down, not even as he tried to think of something else but the tickling sensation of her hot breath. H- Hydra? He questioned, clearing his throat when it sounded a few octaves lower than he had intended. This did not help, for it made him choke and nearly cough up a lung in the process.

 

"Mhm, quite," Alya agreed, eyes sparkling with silent laughter as she observed the fruits of her labor. Hours and hours of practice had gone into these methods, and the girl was delighted to find that they worked even better on boys than they did on her sisters. "There are three of us," she added. "And we all look exactly the same. Perhaps you'd like to meet them, one day. We love making friends."

Alya inched closer, so that their shoulders pressed together, and their fur mingled from flank to collar. "Especially ones as handsome as you. My father is a white wolf, you know," she said in a sultry voice, not realizing that the last addition to her machinations was a bit odd to other wolves. Alya, of course, assumed that it was common for daughters to be attracted to men that reminded them of their fathers. And, perhaps it was - but most did not bring it up to possible suitors.

He knew nothing of triplets and found the idea of wolves looking like copies of each other a strange one. Then again, more of the princess's beauty wasn't a bad thing. He swallowed, his mouth feeling dryer than usual, but at least he didn't feel the beating of his heart as badly as before. How.. do they keep you three apart? He asked out of curiosity, not wanting to confuse her siblings for the real deal. He was growing rather fond of having her around, for he had nearly forgotten about his initial struggles and worries.

Under his snowy fur his cheeks glowed a bashful red - redder and redder as she scooted closer. He had been called attractive before, though never by a wolf of the opposite sex. The strange addition of her father's fur coat didn't mean a lot to him, and he was too lost to make the possible connection between her attraction to him and that strange trivia fact. I'd like to meet them - e-especially if they're as... nice as you.

"They don't," Alya replied, her voice gentle and her expression benign. There was faux-warmth in her eyes as she regarded the pale boy, internally calculating what ought to be done next. She understood that a shewolf needed to be 'in heat' before she got pregnant, and since Alya was fairly certain that wasn't going on, she thought it was a good time to practice this whole 'becoming one' thing her mother had told her about.

First, though, she had to make sure this boy - Ren - was completely under her thumb. How did one do that, anyway? For all her expirimentation, she was woefully ignorant of how sex and romance really worked.

"Do something sexy to me," she demanded, a bit of her regular tone making it through her carefully constructed facade.

He chuckled, not knowing how to picture 3 identical wolves. Could not even their parents keep them apart? Though he could name a few ways to do that, he was too busy being nervous around her. All the females his age either had never shown interest in him or had been his sisters, and now this. He shuffled  around a bit, masking it by swaying his tail more frequently, waiting for what came next in such an encounter.

He could've never predicted her words, though. His eyes grew wide and he was frozen for a wee while. Sexy? How was he supposed to do that? Father hadn't told him what to do when he did find someone he liked - he only had the slightest idea of what to do when it came to getting someone pregnant. He cleared his throat, nodded, and was to press his nose just behind her ear if he were allowed. He'd stick his tongue out to dab at the flesh underneath, not sure why he was doing it, and feeling a strange tingling in his belly.

"Hmm," said Alya, her expression falling into scientist-mode as she absorbed the strange sensations that went along with the action Ben was performing. It felt... very nice. Not at all like how it did when Lyra or Hydra did it. They'd begun to think that it wasn't sexy at all, but she'd have to let them know that they'd just been doing something wrong.

"How are you doing that?" Alya demanded. Then, after a beat, "Let me try."

She scooted closer and craned her neck to touch her nose to Ben's ear, breathing soft breaths against it for a moment before laving her tongue against the silky fur. It didn't feel sexy to be on the giving end rather than the receiving. Alya made a mental note of that, and planned do dissect the encounter later on with her sisters.

She seemed to enjoy it, but he couldn't be sure and quickly pulled away at her question. How? he didn't even know how to explain himself and kept silent until she moved to do the same thing to him. She was a lot more assertive than him, that was certain. Not nearly as awkward either. Where did she get the confidence from?

Eheh... He let out, moving his shoulders a bit. It tickled, much so, and though he would not easily admit it to his siblings he was rather ticklish. It - It tickles. I'm sorry.

"Hmm," said Alya, drawing away. A look of mild frustration was written across her face, but mostly, her expression of full of determination. "That doesn't seem to be working. We'll have to try something else. What other sexy things can we do to each other?"

Now in fully into science mode, Alya's voice had lost all sense of teasing or pretense. Her eyes were roving curiously - and a bit clinically - over Ben's body, looking for other weaknesses to exploit. Perhaps the genitals? But no - that would be silly. Penises were just for urinating, after all. And what were tesitcles for again? Alya had never paid much attention to their function, as she didn't own a pair of her own.

"What are those for?" she demanded.