Swiftcurrent Creek that aint no lie

SORRY i just have so much muse for him please feel free to do a chomp <3

it was day four of the black eyjolfur's sojourn, his first objective having been tentatively completed. he had found a potential match -- @Aria had demonstrated she was at least perceptive to his presence by having approached each time he called for her.

which meant, in thorn's interpretation, that he might have a shot in hell of securing her.

romeo, they called him -- and perhaps, it was not a blameless moniker. he was devoted to his task of obtaining a partner -- perhaps to the point of being overzealous. consumed by his own ambitions to win over the pale she-wolf, thorn collected a small cache near @Constantine's borders.

first, he arranged the feathers he had painstakingly discovered on his travels. a raptor's banded pinion feather was the most prominent of the tokens, followed by a fistful of barred turkey rectrices, identifiable by their long shaft and blackened tips. there was a cardinal primary feather, the fluted grey feather of a goose, and finally, an imperceptibly pearl-white feather of a snow owl.

these he arranged flat on the snow, anchoring each by pushing their calamus into the ground.

nearby, his proudest gift slumped in the ground, a band of rosy colored snow pooling underneath it. it was a freshly killed adult porcupine, its mouth bloodied and eyes closed -- a token, thorn believed, of his inimitable hunting prowess. proof that he was capable, and clever -- and could provide for aria and the family she bore for years to come.

his shrine to appease the she-wolf was not quite completed -- the final flourish was an egg of unusual proportions (to a wolf, anyway) rested against the porcupine's slouched quills. the egg had been a hard-fought, and difficult thing to obtain, for thorn had discovered the eagle's nest high in the alpine mountains flanking diaspora, and had gingerly carried it (suffering all the while, he might add) all the way to the creek's borders.

his labors had taken him a day and a half -- but they were finally complete. inspecting the wares he had assembled to win aria's affections, the bullish hound once more set his song to the sky, calling primarily for the elusive gamma that thus far, had not met him alone.

he was on edge as he waited -- he expected any minute the dark flash of the alpha's fur come to chase him off once more.

again? 

aria was shocked that the dark man had come once more to their borders. she hesitated to go to it, just like every time. because as much as she wished to defy ... constantine. durnehviir. herself, even -- aria really didn't want to cause problems. and this man seemed to be a problem. but she was so intrigued -- she couldn't help but want to come... at least see. like a bad car accident.

her pale coat seemed to materialize out of the snow, her gaze icy and sharp as always. she stopped before him, her nose dark and twitching as she looked the man over. him first, before she looked down to the offering -- an assortment of ... things. prizes. feathers, mostly, along with an egg, and a porcupine. it was impressive, truly. aria only showed this in a prick of her pale ears, her nose still twitching as she took in the scene. she looked back to him.

"i do not lead this pack," she told him, as if he had asked her. gently, her crown tilted to one side.

thorn rose as a crackling noise announced someone's arrival. his breath held, he waited for the approaching wolf to become visible -- there was a ripple of white and aria's figure broke through the snowblind canopy, her ears perked in interest.

the black shade hung back as she inspected his wares, his own expression one of apprehensive eagerness. with his limbs gracefully folded in a non-threatening posture, the inky male moved towards her with his thick brush of a tail wagging loosely at his hocks.

her first words confused him for a moment -- but then he recalled their conversation before. "good," he growled, pulling as close to her as she would allow. "then it would be easy for you leave it to make your own someday." thorn was nothing if he was not pragmatic in his desires -- find a mate, whelp children, forge a new pack, and start a dynasty alongside diaspora. yet for all of his careful planning, he was not a clinical wolf -- he could not help the thrill he felt to see aria stand before him.

the stalwart beast felt his heart pound -- for right now, he was standing closer to her than he had ever managed before.

extending a rough muzzle softly towards her cheeks, the brute sought to inhale her scent -- and perhaps learn if she was claimed by another man in her pack -- particularly, the stalwart one that seemed most keen on shielding her from thorn.

"it's bold of you," said aria as the man dared to come closer to her, "to think i would want to leave." she allowed him closer, but she was still entirely, her tail held stiffly out behind her. he stretched closer to take a sniff at her, and she allowed it for a moment, before she gave a soft growl of warning. not a mean one, not one meant to chase him off -- just a warning. 

as far as the pale january woman was concerned, she had never gone through a heat. not all women did. and despite aria's one, true dream of having a family... she'd never had the opportunity. for many reasons. but the starting signs of gestation were upon her, just barely upon the cusp. if she had noticed, it was barely. she let out a breath, pale gaze still upon him. "my name is aria."

a growl paused thorn's exploration of her fur. he stepped back in obeisance, finding the white-iron flare of her gaze upon him. while her tail was rigid, his was loose -- and outwardly the brute looked deceptively relaxed despite the buzz within.

he was excited; excited she was here, honoring his efforts with her presence. he remained composed in spite of this, but in his gaze was a boyish wonder that betrayed him in some small part. it did not matter to him that for now she did not want to leave -- thorn was not afraid of time, nor how it warped wolves of their convictions.

he gave her ample space as she shared her name -- an elegant name, he thought, for so elegant a creature. taking a deep breath, the brute answered: "thorn." next to aria, the name seemed lackluster and coarse -- quite similar, he supposed, to how he must look standing near such a pale vision of refinement. "those are for you." he motioned to the gifts he had assembled -- in hindsight, it was quite plain the offering had been intended for her all along.

those were for her. so she was right, after all, that he had returned all this time for her. absolutely for her. her gaze swept towards it, and once did her tail loosen, falling into a single wag at her hocks. mostly out of girlish glee -- that a man did all this... for her. but she remained quiet as she looked upon it, thinking. thinking. 

she thought now if she should accept it before him or wait. it seemed like there might be a political side to the whole ordeal, and aria almost wanted to drag the game on. she came closer, pressing past him with a flick of her tail towards his chest. her head dipped, and she sniffed quietly at the offering. thinking. what did she do? what did she do... 

her gaze found him again, standing over the offering. "where are you from?" she asked him, her ears cupped forwards, "before diaspora." she had heard ruenna say it -- just barely. she had questions before she had answers.

thorn's stomach fluttered as aria stalked past, her fur brushing his flank. he held his breath as she inspected the gifts. suddenly, under the intense scrutiny of her icy glare, they seemed inadequate -- as she glanced back upon him, thorn felt his hopes wither in the fear she might reject his day's work.

in the end, she did not -- and he loosened with a large exhale. his tail wagged genially across his hocks, though it paused as her question registered. "schugkill. not very close to here. and you?"

and you? aria almost told him she didn't know -- so much of her life she'd forgotten. but she knew where she was from. "green woods," she said, it was hardly as interesting a name as schugkill... but her home had been interesting enough. "maybe further," she added with a quirk of her brow, a break in the blank expression that she'd done so well at holding, "but i liked living on the coast." that, she didn't remember. 

"and what do you do?" she asked now. it sounded like an interview -- like he was joining the pack and aria was just conducting all the questions she'd ask. but wasn't it the same? at least, in a way... aria didn't know how else to handle it. and the way he looked at her...

green woods was not familiar to thorn, and he did not hide the furrow in his brow that suggested it was a nebulous location to him. the coast, however, was not -- the brute's ears cupped forward at mention of the sea. his blood had been shaped and made by the coast, and while he was a perfectly capable terrestrial hunter, he knew he was denying his birthright to be so deeply inland.

but it did not trouble him -- for he was a man who believed he was capable of forging his own destiny -- with a mate besides him, of course.

thorn realized aria's next question was rather --- stiff -- but he supposed, if he was to win over her counsel, he best be transparent. "i hunt, i provide." it was not a grandiose answer, but thorn hoped aria could look upon the small splendor he had assorted for her, and understand that he was a man that took pride in providing.

next would have come a polite 'and what do you do?' if thorn had been a gracious host -- but he found himself nervous, particularly in talking, and wished to flex his limbs or somehow show her his true talents, which none of them were conversing. "hunt with me?" he growled, his gaze suggesting it was more implore than demand. "and you can tell me what you do, as well."

her expression deepened, a smile pressing onto her features as he suggested a hunt. aria, still standing over the offering of the porcupine and co, was profoundly amused at the question. for what reason, she was unsure. it was a really simple thing, and fairly causal. maybe the tone he asked? she couldn't think why she thought it was just so... cute. 

"i heal," she told him, without answering his question first, "and i'm a diplomat." but, hardly, honestly. carefully, aria dipped her head, reaching for the egg her nose pressing against it. "there seems to be plenty of food for the two of us," she told him with another quirk of her brow. then she stepped from the display, daring to moving closer to him again. reaching out with her pale muzzle to sneak a kiss along the fur of his cheek. 

she pulled back again. "next time i see you we will hunt."

she was a healer. thorn blinked, his gaze communicating he was impressed by such a deportment. he had never been the type to care for wounds -- he was more the type to exact them -- and the prospect of having a wolf alongside him knowledged in the arts of mending the body and mind was exhilarating to the eyjolfur.

he remained silent as she bent down to the egg, politely deferring his invitation. even declining his request, the sylph still seemed positive -- thorn did not take the rejection to heart despite the light frown that troubled his features.

perhaps she was wise to decline his offer -- many women had been stolen into the night, captured by suitors with evil intentions. thorn was not that kind of man, but he understood the world hosted all types of malign curs, and that perhaps aria was simply being cautious.

and then the unmistakable happened -- aria's muzzle brushed along his cheek, sending a shudder through the stocky beast. he turned upon her with his eyes wide, jaw slack in subdued excitement. "next time, then." thorn affirmed, daring not to return the gesture despite every muscle in his body willing him to connect with her.

he would refrain -- and as hungry as he was for contact, the black cur dipped his muzzle and backed carefully away. "aria." his voice was hushed, a growl of intrigue hid in it -- but without any other word, the male turned on his cobbish limbs and strode away.