Bearclaw Valley succubus

due to a perpetually overcast sky, stigmata was able to get in a full day's travel to reach bearclaw by nightfall. the fishbowl seemed quiet when he arrived - a purpling-orange dusklight lingering at the height of its jagged rims - and he stood with nothing but the sounds of a teasing wind and  the starting melodies of crickets to keep him company. the birdsong, by comparison, sounded distant and sparse in twilight's approach.

he knew better than to assume he was simply welcome back after weeks gone of him missing in action, so the rangy dragoon loosed a howl to announce his return (calling chiefly for @Indra) and waited patiently to see how he was received.

The call that rose over the valley had been for her aunt, but Piper didn’t really care. She had turned her attention to the borders and set out in search of the stranger who thought he was close enough to the Redleaf’s to summon her family. The audacity was astounding, really.

As the long-legged girl drew closer, she noticed that this was a face that didn’t match a name. Tadec was easy, Mona was even easier, but this was a brute who looked just like any other. It caused her brows to furrow and her eyes to squint on his shape.

“What do you want?” the growing firecracker demanded, doing her best to seem intimidating.

though a red figure poured from the blooming shadows, it was neither the one he had summoned or his bewitcher that approached. it was a girl - presumably one of the alpha's children he had not met - and she had an attitude that more or less confirmed his guess. stigmata was amused, interested even, but he didn't necessarily have the time to entertain a young wolf.  "i already asked for what i wanted, and you are not her." this, however, did not mean she couldn't be useful. "is she in the valley?" the hound asked, assuming that she knew who he was referring to.

Piper really didn’t like his response. She scrunched her nose up and drew her tail to stand taller at her rear. There was a defiant glint in the champagne color of her eyes; one that could not be missed. The Redleaf girl’s youth afforded her a fiery snapback when she felt as though she had the ground to do so. Then again, it didn’t seem as though her age had much to do with it.

“Well, she’s my aunt so, you got the next best thing, buster,” Piper claimed. She glanced back over her shoulder and searched the valley for signs that Indra might approach the loner on their borders. Even the wind seemed to lack the scent of the woman. Piper thought she might have been tending to Merrick.

“What’s your name, anyway?”

"i see," the wolf drawled, trying not to feel terribly disappointed that this was not his daughter accosting a true stranger. but oh, the kingdoms he would see to it were built and devoted to her name; because, kin or not, he saw worth to her and where he was from, she would have been raised to have her pick on the mountain. some cubs were just more deserving of the attention, and those to him were the facts. "i did not realize the task of acceptance had been passed to you in my absence."

he took a seat, neither offended or intimidated by the girl's posturing; relaxed, though attentive, he hung his head slightly and let his tail stretch out along the ground. the hunter pressed his ears forward and he trained his eyes on hers. "stigmata," he answered coolly before slithering: "and what is yours?"

There are a lot of things you don't realize, she wanted to snip back to him. For once, Piper held her tongue and proudly drew her skull upward. Of course, it wasn't up to her whether or not this storm cloud of a wolf was accepted back into their pack. She was just a child and she had very little say in the comings and goings of the valley. That would change one day, she was certain. If she made a big enough name for herself, Piper was positive that she could lead the lot of them.

“That's a weird name,” she opinionated with a scrunched nose. “What's it mean?” As if that would make it less strange to her. Once he inquired about her own moniker, the Redleaf smiled and made herself as tall and proud as she possibly could. “I'm Piper Redleaf.”

One day, that name would carry weight. One day, people would know just who they were talking to.

though she had most certainly not heard enough names in her lifetime to know what constituted as "weird," stigmata was patient enough for the time being to indulge her rather than snark about it. he didn't have anywhere to go, and she was right... anyway. to her question, the duskwolf shrugged his bladed shoulders. "to the fearful, it means i am bad."

piper redleaf. the surname was received with as much fondness as dread, equating to a very pinched expression from stigmata. she was trouble if he ever saw it -  and the wolf figured out rather quickly that if she wasn't on his side then he would be in for more drama than he could ever care for. he stared at her baldly, wondering what she would make of the over-simplified meaning to his name.

“Well, it's a good thing I'm not fearful.”

That might have been a foolish remark to make. After the disappearance of her brother, Piper should have been a little more than fearful. Instead, she had forced her fears to make her stronger; she had grown out of her quiet shaking and hardened her skin against the terrors of the world. The dusk wolf with shimmering argent eyes did very little to sway her. Foolish, but headstrong; Piper would not waver against the sultry words of a fierce stranger. That was her home, not his... and fear wasn't good for anything.

The young girl continued to stare at him, openly. In the back of her mind there was a scene in which this Stigmata was the creature who had stolen away her brother. In this fantasy, the Redleaf girl was powerful enough to tear him down – through fury alone – and return Lucas to his home. The more her champagne gaze lingered on him, the less she suspected him of any true trouble. It was disappointment that took hold of her. She gritted her teeth together and waited for what he might say next.

"it is indeed," the druid agreed wryly, his tail giving a cat-like lash as he met the girl's determined stare. "i can be quite useful to those not afraid to claim me." children, by nature, were often easy to seduce - especially the ones who thought themselves capable and bold - and stigmata was not above using his superior knowledge and intuition into getting what he wanted; even from the mouths of babes. he played a well-chosen angle here, careful to stroke her ego and pique her interests, so that he might worm his way tentatively into the folds of her trust.

not that he intended to abuse said trust; things would simply be easier if he had it.

he let her gaze burn him up, inside and out, and he returned to her a sly, hungrier look - unfazed and inviting more of her fire.

i would like another thread between these two if you're down

The girl smirked at him with a wild twisting of her features. There it was! There was some flash of personality, and she was thrilled by it. Something within her raced to her chest and forced her heart to thrum in rapid beats. Piper thought him far more interesting and could understand why her aunt would be drawn to his type. It seemed that she was less impressed with his confidence and more drawn to the dry humor that lingered underneath his tongue.

“Well, I'm definitely not afraid to claim you, but it isn't up to me. Hopefully my aunt finds you before the weather gets cold,” she offered him with a wink and a full turn of her figure. As easy as children were to seduce, Piper was probably too self-absorbed to really be pulled in by the weight of his words. “Nice to meet you, Stigmata,” the Redleaf offered him with a sweep of her tail before she bounded away across the valley.

at some point he noticed indra, looming like a bad omen in the shadows, but he didn't let on that piper was missing a quarter of his attention. the girl had impeccable timing, however, as she suddenly decided to dismiss herself with the note that she hoped he was found... eventually. stigmata snorted as she went - noting that piper was a terrible guardian - and smiled almost ruefully after her before turning a straight and dire face in the direction of indra.