Silverlight Terrace i won't fight the fire, i feel the rain fall down
the bonecracker
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#1
Hydra truly had been busy vetting her candidate's for her youngest henchmen. As she perused the borders, Hydra let out a small sigh. Why not both? Revui and Arcturus both had potential, and they progressed at the same rate—it made sense, she felt. These thoughts distracted her from the fact that Gannet had left Moonspear for a short time, until a fox came too close for her comfort to Moonspears borders. 

And she chased it far from its reach. One might think she was cruel to continue to tag after it and harass it as she did; it had left and made no moves to turn back. But her mood was dour enough to see this through to this creatures end. The Ostrega took her time about it, not needing to exert too much energy—she thrilled at its terror until ultimately she grew tired of it. Once this occurred, Hydra, at last, caught up to the thing and swept it off its feet. It careened downward to its death, and Hydra followed it with far more grace. 

Licking her chops, she sniffed at the carcass and determined it had died swiftly of a broken neck. A mercy, she thought, looking up from her quarry and observing the landscape around her. Her eyes could not help their habitual roving, and she sought the gratification she might find in the cut of a certain silhouette down below.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#2
Seek, and ye shall find—presuming it had been Dirge she had been searching for all along. More than a fortnight had passed since he visited the more southern reaches the wilderness had to offer. To say he had been leery since the sighting of the feline would have been apt; it was on high alert he roved the lower reaches trying to place that predatory musk. It had not snaked its way up to his nares yet, even in the passage of time, and it had not followed him back to the confines of the weald either.

Even it was not enough to deter him from his own habitual roving; he stole a fair look to the looming rise to the monolithic crag that was Moonspear caught in moonlight. Here he thought he could feel just the faintest chill in the humid air akin to a gentle caress, however disconcerting it was. Things would come to change soon, perhaps swiftly, and his opportunities would follow. They too would change in their limitless ever constant way, and that was something he tried not to let cross his mind.

Instead, he entertained the thought of Hydra, not knowing her gaze would soon light upon him.
the bonecracker
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#3
There

He looked upon Moonspear as she looked upon him, and Hydra wondered if he might make his way toward them. Their last discussion left much to the imagination; what would he do? She was not the sort to wait and see, not in this—she had waited long enough. Abandoning the fox and leaving it to the crows, Hydra made her final descent, sure to take her time about it. 

And once she had made it to the flatlands, her long-legged strides led her right to his side. There was a myriad of scents upon his person, and... and were all of them women

Hydra thought of Alya, then, and her words meant to forewarn. Once she had thought his playboy nature to be charming, but now she was made irate by such a thought. It became apparent to her that he very well might have come to bid Moonspear farewell this visit—

But her pride, great as it was, did not allow much room for that belief to breathe, and so it died as quickly as it had been brought to life. No, she vainly imagined—he had come for her. Looking for someone? She inquired, ears pricked.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#4
Her imagination did not led her astray—it was her that he came for, always her. Whatever he thought and hoped to gain from their repeated encounters was negotiable at best and admittedly undecided. Maybe it was her rejection of his advances that left him to vome around again and again, like a morbid game of cat and mouse, waiting to see who would tire first: he hadn't the faintest idea of what he would have done if she one day accepted him.

So when she materialized from tall grasses and darkness, his steps ceased and a knavish smile came to his face at her inquiry. It ignited much in both spirit and heart, his head ever not entirely in control.

"You," he breathed, a call back to their initial meeting, the beginning and unravelling of all he did not quite understand. "It would seem I have missed you a time or two in my last ventures here. But I knew I would find you, or at least be found." His smile thinned as though to smolder and charm, his aim as always.
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#5
She had like such a confession once—and she liked it now, too. 

And to hear that he had scouted these lands for her on more than one occasion caused her head to lift, and a small smile to linger on her lips. I would not have thought you sought me, she rejoined, not when you share the company of so many others, she breathed, her eyes flashing with mirth. Women. All women

Still, Hydra was undeterred. There was no obstacle she could not best, if she desired to; she simply had to figure out what, exactly, it was she desired. She had always known she did not wish to share him, since the day her sister had spoken with her; and he had always known her want, to be One and Only. Idle thoughts that had passed her mind led Hydra wonder, if properly doted on, would she let a leading man whisk her away...? 

It was something to mull on another day. The span of time her thoughts ran was but milliseconds, and there was little time between her last words and the ones that came now as she moved to attempt to place her chin upon his hip. Her blue eyes were bright as she looked to him, and said in earnest: But I am glad. 

Because, although he did not know it, those actions prompted her to imagine he might have always desired more with her—something she had only ever fantasized about. Those women that he did keep were not enough to keep him from the Terrace, from her—did that mean something?
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#6
Their actions mirrored one another, a delicate dance he liked to think they reserved for each other. Her commentary did not come without barbs beforehand, yet he would not have wanted it any other way. It was that icy nature that made her so distinctly her, a sign that above all she guarded her dignity regardless of company. But Dirge did not question whether or not she would betray such a thing, not in the way she did him. His gaze found her own as he settled in, eyes alight in her company.

"Is that a note of jealousy I hear?" he asked. Try as he might to ignore it, the veiled implication exposed her concern, and he twisted it to his liking. "Think I would be too busy fostering ambition not to seek you out? I'm touched that you worry whether I would douse and smother the torch I carry for you." It was derisive to say, but the teasing smile that bloomed in place of all his knavish inclinations was genuine.

"It has troubled me not to find you roaming these stony hills, however. Contrary to popular belief, I do care for you. I may have my company to keep, but I intend to keep you too." He punctuated it by being bold then and raked a long tooth against her spine. She had always played the role of being possessive, letting actions speak louder than words. The passage of time had changed things for them both in its subtle ways—he had missed her, nonetheless.
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#7
His call out caused her chin to lift from where she had placed it, and it was the last of it that seemed to soothe her enough to respond, dignified as ever, You would enjoy that, wouldn't you, she hummed with the slow sway of her tail. Holding her head highly now, she moved to his side, her own smile broadening. She saw that he did, very much so, enjoy the idea of it. Oh, it had been true, she had felt its presence, fleeting though it had been; she did not confirm his words, though neither had she denied them outright. What should I feel such a way for? I could never envy your ambition, a trait she, too, harbored, and therefore respected... appreciated. No, it was not this thought that caused the insidious feeling to leap in her throat moments ago. But she had forgotten such a feeling; Hydra had no need to be such a way. 

There could be no other woman that would ever amount to her.  And it was not because she felt he was, somehow, beholden to her, but because of her vanity. Try though anyone else might, they would ever be cast in the towering shadow her lithe form provided. Tell me more about this torch you carry for me, she said then, though she had heard well and good how the words had been said. But she had enjoyed them, very much—that much was evident. 

His words caused her eyes to seek his own. Popular belief? As his fang raked over her spine, she wondered at this other foreign feeling he seemed to provoke within her—she was too inexperienced to know it by name, or how to respond. He was far more fluent in this language than she. Hydra leaned her own curved hip against his cheek as he drew near to it, turning on her heel swiftly to stand shoulder to shoulder with him. One way to dispel popular belief is to eradicate even the possibility of such a thought, she offered him with an impish smile. Is that your way to announce you have decided to court me? That you would like to keep me? she asked, prompting, moving to trace his jawline, pausing at the juncture where his jaw met his throat. 

Hydra withdrew, slowly, taking some odd steps away. To keep me, I must be caught; to catch me, you must win my affections. I do so love moose femur. Oh! And the antlers of a white-tailed buck. I have no enemies, now, but I would adore hearing that if you wish to have and to hold me, if ever I should, you would fight by my side until my battle is finished—as I would, for you, she tilted her head, wondering what he might say or do now; he had an answer for everything, and she so looked forward to hearing the answer to this.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#8
She teased him ever so subtly, the turn of her hip to brush against his cheek; if he had been bolder, the nature of their intersecting meetings more intimate, he would have given in to the temptation to touch her further. But instead her words only stretched his smile as she rounded back to him, silent as she traced his jawline with the point of her muzzle. Hydra did not linger there long, almost as though she could sense the coiling tension low in his belly; her parting from him seemed too soon, too swift.

It did grasp his attention all the same as she prattled on a decisive list, her particular items that charmed her so, the things she expected. He caught the tilt of her head, of those listening ears, and his gaze wandered along the curvature of her body once more.

"I thought my intentions clearer some time ago," he said, composing himself to tear his gaze away to look to Moonspear's jagged rise. "I do recall saying I was quite fond of your company, that I thought the world to be seen would be better with you in it." That exchange felt so long ago, almost otherworldly like the thundering beat his heart had been and felt. It did not pound away now as it did then; perhaps things had changed more than he realized, but in what way? She had always been so keen on ensnaring him to her precious mountainside, keen to play her game.

His gaze returned to her, unwavering.

"And then it was not long ago I offered you a place at my side, in the home I hope to make my own. I have since found such a place that affords me the chance for our paths to intersect, a place that provides comfort and security for the company I keep. But if it's trinkets you desire," he paused, a mirthful breath escaping him, "then I presume you are coming around to my offer as it still stands... or that I may lead you away with such." He sought then to close in that gap between them, rising to his full height with the sway of tickling grasses. He halted close to her, his muzzle reaching over her hindquarters in the handsbreath between them.

"Have I really not captured you at all? Not even the slightest part of your heart there to believe I would not fight for you as I have? I am no fairytale prince to champion, but I oft wonder if I could offer you the world and it still be not enough." To always heel and bend; he found the pinpricks of a hurt that echoed back farther than his want of her. Dirge wondered if perhaps that was her long con—to bend him until he broke. She was the pit viper here, after all, poised and waiting and watchful of his movements.
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#9
Hydra had not forgotten a single one of their interactions, but neither had she forgotten her sisters words, which always came before any other thought as she looked upon him. It was Alya and Lyra she trusted before any—they would never lead her astray. Dirge's verbage had all the makings of the pied piper's song to his prey of choice, and though it caused her to sway where she stood she had yet to give in to the desire to dance.

He had found a place. It was not Moonspear. But he had ensured it was near, to see her. She sorted through her thoughts as they came: he had not made her a priority... or had he? Was this the middle ground he had found? To cater to his needs, and yet adhere to her own as best as he could? What did she want? Was this not enough? What was?

She felt a stab of something that normally, she could face—but it had only ever been with teeth bared. Hydra licked her chops, turning to look back to Moonspear. That is not it, she admitted, her voice tentative, quiet. Those once closest to me, all but for my family, have turned their backs upon me when it suited them. I... Hydra shifted her weight and turned to him. I have always fought for others, fought for those that I loved. These were my closest friends, she breathed to him. No one has ever fought for me. With the exception of her family. She feared to trust that way, and no longer did so blindly. True, she wanted the world, but that she could take for herself.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#10
Her reaction was not the sort he expected, not in the slightest. For all their encounters, all their little rendezvous, she had always been a domineering essence that never faltered or wavered from her course. It was that particular headstrong approach that had appealed to him, and she danced to whatever song he created from that essence whether he played pied piper or snake charmer. Long ago he felt that had only been a ruse now turned genuine, and so he had anticipated her to have some clever riposte and go springing away from him just as she had time and time again.

So to see her falter, to sense that hesitation as she tried to compose a response and draw her gaze out to the mountains that held her ever tightly, it turned all he knew of her and placed it gently on its ear. Rendered sober and silent, his features softened with her words—words that carried a far greater gravity than any she had swapped with him before, and he was ever an captive audience to the vulnerability she bared. It was a vulnerability he shared without acknowledging it; when was the last time he had ever trusted someone else other than family? His sisters had never steered him wrong (simply put: they barely gave him the opportunity to turn in the wrong direction, figuratively and literally) and even now only moments ago, he had questioned Hydra's intentions.

His gaze had dropped as she spoke, but at the moment he felt hers on him, they resumed their unwavering study. What an interesting turn of events, he thought, and then his gaze abandoned her for the sway of grasses beyond them and towards the not-so-unfamiliar rise of the stone pointed north. She may have thought him to have an answer for everything, but the truth was he made the majority of it up as he went along. This time was bound to be no different, but the usual steadiness he had paled in comparison to the norm.

”That's the thing about trust, it's always a risk,” he rejoined softly. ”We deem who we believe to be worthy to be the ones kept in our company, and the truth of it is that even the best fighters get tired of fighting. Life is a complicated thing I've come to understand and yet not understand at all, but I'd like to think it's more than just fighting constantly.” His muzzle crinkled uncomfortably at the thought, to think that life was only one fight after another re-branded as something else. He shook them away.

”It's not wrong to be uncertain of or to question another though, to not want to be burned again while the last one's still fresh. I always have and I suspect I always will, and perhaps that's why I like to do things my own way. Far easier to answer to myself than another and all. But I wouldn't make these little trips for a chance rendezvous with you if I didn't trust you enough, or wouldn't be willing to fight for you.”

”You can't always think of things as a fight, Princess. It's far easier to let things be as they'll be. All the right pieces will fall into place as they should,” and how that seemed so dismissive to fall out of his mouth. She had been burned time and time again and had every right to have reservations. He couldn't fault her for that when he was often prone to doing the same.

Of course, he had considered the possibility that perhaps even he was not worthy of her either.

this is a lot longer than i planned on but i guess this is why i shouldn't be handed a laptop
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#11
She considered his words as he spoke them. He sought to comfort, but also to speak the way that he saw things. It was a different perspective than her own, but perhaps it had been because he had been burned that for him not everything was a fight. Hydra had learned to cut out those unworthy of her time, affections, and energy... but her family was worth such things. Who else? Whatever other beings she considered a friend had someone in their corner. Was it so much to ask for? Wanting what she was willing to give? 

Hydra knew that it wasn't and that maybe he had not understood that aspect of it all. She wanted love in equal measure (but she would accept more); that people displayed it differently was unknown to her. Hydra made most everything in her life understood with her teeth. The Ostrega was no wordsmith, eloquent though she could be. She was not made to comfort others, or be a shoulder to cry on. 

But at the core of it all, she heard him. He was willing to fight for her. There was still the issue of her own trust, but Hydra relented, some: I want to trust, she admitted, and then, I will try to, at least when it came to him. She had known Dirge for a long time; she understood his priorities, and though they were not here and now identical, she knew there would be a time they perfectly aligned. And until then, she would try. 

As far as things falling where they would, Hydra did not entirely agree with that—you got what you worked for. And you should get what you give. If not, then why bother giving it to that other person? Hydra knew now what a waste that was, and would not make that same mistake twice. 

With a sigh, Hydra drew nearer to him. Where have you settled? She asked then, deciding she would like to see it.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#12
Perhaps above all he longed to give her a sense of freedom. Whether she took note of it or not, he felt her station a cage, a wicker basket set to snare a viper that would thrive without intervention. Though snake charmer he tried to be with mixed success, he had learned that it was not possible to always charm a snake from its basket with ease. The snake had to be willing and the charmer patient, and it was therein the discomfort. He strived for success constantly, unaware that even the hard path he chose was lined with easy victories from time to time.

Her acquiscence, even here, he considered a victory. It would better her in the long run.

"Towards the coast," he answered after a beat, "there is a forest there as thick as the one we first met in, nestled against the mountain's edges. It isn't a far journey, one you could make and return from before anyone wondered. I've done the same a time or two," and had failed at least once he knew of. Nyx had been quick to suss him out from the grasses and weeds and he had been just as quick to steer her back towards the forest. There was no real rhyme or reason he kept their meetings private other than surely to not provide fodder for a cannon of questions. Oddly enough, he had not yet considered what his sister would have made of him and this pursuit, but perhaps it aligned itself with the sins she had committed along the way.

"Of course if you're unable to get away, I understand, and I will continue to return to here to seek you," he went on to add, regarding her with a lift of his head. "But it would delight me for you to come, perhaps eventually stay. I think you would like it there." It was yet another ploy to try and tempt her and so obvious too, but he would continue to try. Patience may not have been his forte, but persistence seemed to win out in the end.
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#13
The Coast. Her father was fond of the coast, and Hydra admired it though she did not prefer it. But his land was a forest, fortunately, and she had yet to see a forest with a sandy floor. Hydra did not enjoy the feeling of the stuff between her toes, and the way that it clung to the tips of her fur. It was inconvenient and messy, though nice enough to look at. From afar. 

As he explained its distance, she listened, a small grin playing at her features as he admitted his own journeys away from his newfound home. Its proximity to her own abode was noted, something she no longer imagined was not without its own intent. Hydra looked as though she were considering something, her gaze shifting off of his features to rest momentarily on a nearby boulder before it drifted back to him. I suppose I can find some time to see this forest for myself, came her words, spoken in earnest. As for when, she would let him wonder—she sensed some enjoyment in the mystery she presented. Though he had learned much more of her today, there was plenty more still for him to discover. But, hm...

Licking her chops, Hydra looked to the sky. As I think of it, now would work, her tail swayed behind her, blue gaze once more returning to his handsome features. She knew her mother had her youngest siblings under her wing, with plans Hydra had not inquired about—and so she did not fret for them and feel the need to return home quite yet.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#14
It was the mystery that he enjoyed, yes, but also the subtle baiting that lingered in her phrasing. Supposing she could find the time to get away and all—if it wasn't obvious. It was to him, a throaty hum in response that was humored as much as it was intrigued when she would find the time to abscond to somewhere else. He could only imagine that her schedule was full, because when wasn't it? Hydra had always busied herself as far as he remembered, whether it was endless border patrols or chasing rodents for sport, she had always found something to do to busy herself.

It was surprising though, that she would cast caution to the wind and simply say now.

His brow raised ever so slightly, the flicker of uncertainty there and gone in a flash.

"Not afraid I'll snare you in a pit then," he said with a toothy smile. Snaring her in a pit wouldn't have been any fun anyway. They didn't even have one dug, though perhaps they should have. He gestured in that northernly direction then, taking a couple of steps to urge her to follow along... if she intended to make good on her words. "It's this way."