Silver Creek girl, you might even provoke me

for @Cyclone

that evening, he settled among a small patch of trees, a spot the snow had not quite coated. boulders shielded him from the winds and offered a generous amount of privacy-- not that grayson necessarily needed it now, but it was still provided for him. they had made it, grayson was convinced. wherever his father spoke of, whatever forest, he wasn't so concerned with finding. blackfoot forest, sounded sort of stupid, honestly. his dad made it out to be so romantic. but grayson didn't actually give a fuck about romance, and that was probably aaron's fault. 

aaron really amped up this idea of being in love, but he cheated on his mom every chance he got. soooo, what the fuck? what gives? grayson was pretty convinced the only thing you could get out of a woman loving you was sex. and power. and stuff. grayson was a big fan of getting people to do things for him, and if a lady liked you well enough, you could get her to do a lot of stuff for you. thus far, grayson had never fallen in love. or really had a crush on anyone. this was easier, more convenient, and offered way more stuff. 

grayson liked stuff.

but so he settled among the trees, stretched with his hind legs to the side and his chin rested on his paws. this would do, he decided. this was good enough for him-- met his high standards.

Once upon a time, Cyclone had met a gentleman named Tantalus. Or was it Aaron? She swapped the names so often in her head she could not recall which was the correct one to say when speaking to him. She had followed him around for some time, and eventually she had met his son, Grayson. Now, this pack of wolves was rather proper and wanted her to be ladylike, but Neasa had never been anything along those lines. Still, she had tried. At least her flirtatious attitude had managed to get her places, even though she refused to settle down.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. She had settled down with some idiot for a few months, done the whole spiel, but she had never felt anything for him. And when he vanished one day, she was more relieved than anything, though she grieved to make herself look like she cared. It was only a few months after that she had started to flirt endlessly with Grayson, making hints and suggestions this way and that. It was not because she felt in love, but because he seemed the most capable of the bunch.

She flopped down beside him, pressing her body against his. ("For warmth," she would tell him if he asked.) How much further are we going to travel? she asked, preening her white stockings.

cyclone was an enigma to grayson-- but not really. on one hand, it baffled him that she could be so loose in her morals, that she would pursue her father (an old man, in grayson's eyes) but then mere months later would pursue his son. perhaps cyclone had also pursued harrison or dawson-- maybe even shaw. grayson wouldn't have been surprised if she'd given herself up to every man in the pack. 

but that was the thing, as baffling as it was, grayson expected it from a woman. which was so hypocritical, because tantalus had distilled the same loose morals in his own sons. but it was different for a man to bed many women-- ask anyone. it was a sign of power. if grayson would settle with anyone (and he knew one day he'd have to), he did not think cyclone would be the best option.

but she was the easiest option. 

"are you tired?" he asked her as she settled beside him, beginning to groom the fur along her pale limbs. he was sure all the women in their group was growing tired-- they had travelled a long distance, after all. "i think we'll set up camp here. explore as we please, but i think this would ultimately be a good place to settle." he was not asking for her opinion.

Woo, more backstory I'm making up as I go along.

Despite settling down for a short while with someone, Cyclone had and he had never consummated their mateship. That did not mean she was untainted, of course. None of this clan knew of her deeds before meeting Tantalus, and she intended to keep it that way. There had been more occasions than she could account for in her wildest days when she had seduced the mates of others. It was always a challenge, always a thrill. She had not done so since meeting Tantalus, even if she suggested as much at every turn. For whatever reason, she had decided that the next guy she shacked up with would be for reasons other than fun. One reason, actually: children.

She had felt the pull earlier this year, but she had not gone through with it. Her heat had come almost immediately after the disappearance of her former mate, and taking anybody else would have been considered uncouth. (Yes, Cyclone had learned some proper manners while living with this family.) So instead she had kept herself away from all of the men, knowing that bearing children out of wedlock would mean death to her offspring, and she simply could not bear the thought of that.

No, her children would be born the proper way. And she would not settle for anything but the best father. Her former mate had not qualified in her books, even though Tantalus always seemed so certain he made the right choices for everybody, but clearly he had not made the right one for her. Perhaps her mate had thought the same, and that was why he had left them all together. Not wishing for Aaron to repeat his mistake with her, Cyclone had opted to follow Grayson and his siblings to the Teekon Wilds.

Isn't it a fact that all women tire more quickly? she asked with an impish grin. It was the Odolf mindset that women were weak and men were superior in every way, shape, and form. Cyclone had seen otherwise, but it made life quite easy for her. She rarely had to do any heavy lifting, things were provided for her, and eventually, a mate would be chosen for her. She could only hope to sway Grayson's mind that she should pick a good one for her this time around and not that half-wit his father had picked for her.

i love the backstory

"proven fact," grayson returned with a low chuff of amusement. proven by who? he didn't know. but it's what tantalus told him and so it's what he believed. thus far, aaron's children had avoided the arranged marriage so far-- since they had not quite reached the appropriate age. now, however, it would seem they'd all be old enough. and so when the pack was established and all the wolves were acquainted, grayson would have to pair everyone off-- including his sister, who he worried for. he could only hope a capable man joined their ranks, and not some low-life, useless piece of garbage man. he knew how badly she wanted to uphold her duties as a woman.

cyclone, on the other hand... grayson could not decide where her morals lied. she kept herself in line, mostly, but she was not raised the same as he or his siblings. there was a difference. he wondered how aaron had handled this difference when he came to the wilds. he wished he would have asked. he wondered if his father would have even told him.

he craned his neck to pull a dried leaf from her fur, at the base of her neck near her scruff. she was mostly presentable otherwise. "i'm glad you decided to follow us," he told her, regardless of his uncertainty towards her. cyclone was not a lady in an fashion-- not truly-- but she kept up with the rest of them, and sometimes proved to be a good time. so, he was actually being genuine.

He played along as he always did, and Cyclone wondered how much stock he put into the silly notions his father had brought him up with. Neasa had seen several strong sisters go out into the world. She imagined Finley was still up on her high horse somewhere leading a pack around here. Fern was likely still trying to track her down and tame her (something that would never be accomplished... by Fern or any mate that tried to do so).

Grayson plucked a leaf from her fur, and she made no move to stop him. He was, after all, her leader, and grooming another pack mate was nothing out of the ordinary. Light flirting in the grand scheme of things, and Cyclone was usually much more foreward with her suitors. Not that she was even sure he was pursuing her. They had never once spoken of it, only danced around each other in some weird “you make the first real move” game. Cyclone intended to keep the game going until the end of time.

It felt less like following and more like fleeing, but if she was going to flee in any direction, it would be toward Grayson. His brothers were acceptable, but Cyclone was smart enough to see that he was the true cream of the crop. He was the brother with initiative, smarts, and plenty of confidence to wrap it all up into a nice, neat package. There were times when she wondered what sort of sons and daughters they would make, but she did this with every male she came across, so it was not as if Grayson was some odd boy out. Still, a man with power did have some appeal about him, and it seemed as though that was his goal.

I’m glad I’m here, she replied. And she meant those words. Staying behind would not have been an option. If she had not gone with Grayson, she would have gone somewhere else. Staying would have meant allowing Tantalus to pick a new mate for her, and after the failure of the first, she could not tolerate another unsuitable mate. Spring would bring about the desire for children, and she was bound and determined to produce this time around.

it was like that with every girl. of course, cyclone had never given herself to him, but grayson treated her the same as he did every woman. lilah, for instance, he'd had wrapped around his paws since they were children. all he'd done is been a gentleman. defend her from some mangey males who did not understand their roles in society-- choosing instead to be crude and lazy. he hadn't necessarily cared for lilah anymore than he had any other girl in the pack-- but he'd done his duty as a male. and she had praised him for it every since. grayson wouldn't complain. 

cyclone was different-- in that he didn't think she worshipped him. though she definitely should. no matter, whatever relationship they could or couldn't have didn't entirely matter to grayson. she'd come with, which meant she held some form of attachment to him. that was all he needed. and neither would he ever move to define the relationship-- because, why bother? grayson had all the power here, and he'd never once outwardly expressed any feelings to her. he had her right where he wanted, even if she acted like it wasn't true.

"we're settled for now," he returned, offering the dark girl a smile, and a gentle nudge. 

and just like that, he began falling loose from whatever strict personality he had in that instant. grayson's jaws parted in a massive yawn and his forelimbs stretched out before him. he switched back and forth so easily, regal and stern to lax and snarky. it came easy to him. he had to act a certain way for tantalus while still maintaining a relationship with his siblings-- who he adored. back and forth. the wolf that grayson truly was would be forever a mystery. his personality depended solely on circumstance.

slowly, he lowered his head onto his paws and let out a heavy breath. "i just hope i can live up to my dad's legacy," he revealed with a fold of a dark ear. sometimes you needed to show a little weakness to show how sensitive you could be-- ladies liked that. it got you further in life, even if it wasn't necessarily true. it showed vulnerability. though, whether he was saying this completely genuinely or to force a reaction from cyclone wasn't entirely readable.

The two sides of Grayson had always been perplexing to her, but they really should not have been. There was Cyclone before and Cyclone now. Those two wolves could not have been more different. The Cyclone before never would have settled for such stability, but the Cyclone now wanted nothing more than to find the easiest way to just that. The Odolf’s customs meant she would hardly have to work once the right husband had been chosen for her. She could laze about, produce sons and daughters, and be comforted by big strong men who wanted to impress her with their kills or their fighting skills. It would be an easy life, even if it meant she’d had to morph herself into something new.

Maybe this new Cyclone was an improvement.

Live up to? she asked, a glint in her eye, You will surpass his legacy. If he had wanted his ego stroked, he had come to the right place. Boys wanted to know that they were the biggest, baddest, most powerful wolves in the whole wide world, and that had always come to Cyclone naturally. And who was to say she did not believe in Grayson? She had followed him here, despite his hoity-toity sister coming along with them. Perhaps she did not want the same piss-poor matchmaking skills her father had doled out lately. Tantalus appeared to be getting worse in his old age.

grayson could only agree with cyclone. his father certainly was losing his edge. he'd grown softer over the times. but, oh, what did it matter? the chicks had flown the nest, off to make families and legacies of their own. grayson cared little for the state of his father... after all, it was the way of life.

a smug smile crossed his features as cyclone certainly did stroke his ego. his head raised and he gave the ashen girl a pointed look-- one that suggested she was damn right. of course, since his outward expression flitted often between genuine and some sort of mask, it was hard to tell if he needed the reassurance or not. who could tell? sometimes, not even grayson. 

"and you'll be there with me," he purled, ears pressing forwards. so would harrison and dawson and addison and emerson-- and shaw and effie-- and every other wolf they'd picked up along the way. but, yes, cyclone would be there with him.

That she would. Of course, the only way she suspected Grayson would really surpass his father’s legacy were if he had a strong woman beside him. Strong in the ways a woman should be. If he meant “with him,” in that sense, then everything would be smooth sailing. If he meant “with him,” in a more general sense, as in he wished her to marry one of his weaker brothers... well, that might very well be a different story. Would she be so upset with that, though? His brothers weren’t awful, and Cyclone suspected one of them would end up beta. That was a perfectly pleasant and welcome position to be in.

Her rivalry with Addison was perhaps the only thing that might put a worm in her proverbial apple. The Odolf sister seemed to have it out for her, and Cyclone was baffled as to why. Probably because she couldn’t stand the thought of somebody skipping her in the pecking order. Or maybe she didn’t want somebody boning her dad. Or her brothers. Cyclone smirked to herself at that thought and how much it would annoy the ever-loving crap out of Addison.

Wouldn’t miss it for the world, darling, she replied, but it was unclear if it was sarcasm or a genuine statement. Like Grayson, she often skirted the line with who she really was, and it did not appear that was going to stop anytime soon. How long before you play matchmaker? she asked. If he had a timeline, she had not heard about it. Thankfully, back on the ranch, she had been allowed time to grieve Jethro’s disappearance and assumed death. If it hadn’t been for that, she likely would have been paired already and would not have been able to follow Grayson and his lot here.

he grinned at her response, a charming, toothy smile that shone in his gaze and the creases beneath his striking gaze. this was too easy. though he knew cyclone, of all women, held the same edge he did. so he took her darling with a grain of salt, along with everything else she'd ever said. but, regardless, he knew she'd still end up following him to the end of the earth. he held it to her. 

"at least a moon cycle-- maybe two," he told her. grayson knew the answer, and was not surprised that cyclone had been thinking about it. all a woman ever thought about was the next man that was going to come sweep her off her feet-- and then she could go gossip about it to her fellow housewives. "we need to get settled first. and then i want to see how everyone interacts," he explained to her. it was sound logic. there was, of course, a grace period so that everyone could meet and begin to get along with everyone else. 

"after that i'll probably host weddings once a week. let the couples get their share of light," he added with a flick of his tail. if he did everything at once then he felt that the novelty of it would wear off immediately. marriage was a special thing, wolves should get their chance to be the talk of the pack. especially the women, grayson was positive they'd love that.

Ah, that would give her time to get settled in and mingle with the men. Impress those who seemed worthy and pretend to be stupid around those who weren’t. The game was entirely too easy, she thought, but it was what it was. She could play it, and she would be the best at it. Or she would forsake it all and find something better to occupy her time. For now, Rosings would do.

You know every girl worth her salt will want more than a week. She’ll want a month all to herself. It was true, and he could not deny it. I’d prefer an entire year, she added with a smirk. Cyclone did love attention, and she fully intended to flaunt whomever she was paired with in front of all the ladies. Most notably Addison, and hopefully with one of her brothers. Neasa would rise to the top one way or another.

"a whole month," parroted grayson with a sneering tone. she was entirely correct, but it still amused the odolf all the same-- of course a woman would want more than what was offered. and then, to cyclone's comment, grayson said, "ah, not everything is about you, cyclone." he offered her a pressing nudge just below her jawline, and though he meant it quite seriously, his tone and actions conveyed it in a way that was more playful than it was scolding. 

but he meant it. he wouldn't think about giving any wolf a whole year to discuss matters. scoff, hardly even a month. begrudgingly, grayson wondered if two weeks would be pushing it or if it would suffice. he felt perhaps it was a more appropriate timeline. hmpf. he wouldn't give the credit to cyclone, at least.

another yawn pushed it's way to his muzzle. he stifled it, briefly, before letting his jaws gape-- and then snap shut. ah. though he was loathe to admit it, but perhaps the journey had been long on him as well. but whatever, grayson was just glad they'd settled, and that all the women were accounted for. 

"we should rest," he murmured gently to the pale-footed woman beside him, giving her another soft nudge, "we'll have plenty to do in the mornin'."

She grinned at his reply. It had hit all the right spots, and she was glad to have brought some humor into his day. When he suggested they rest, she murmured in agreement, but removed herself from his side. She did not need to add fuel to any suspicion that she might be doing things she shouldn’t be doing. She made her way to a wolf-sized depression in the ground only a dozen or so paces away and curled up for the night there. It was chilly, but she had been colder in the past. At least there were the two of them close to each other in case anything crept up on them. It wouldn't be long before she was fast asleep.