Neverwinter Forest Balenciaga

I thought I'd throw something up; all welcome, but maybe @Ingram. :)

She hadn't slept yet. Something about being in a new environment and around new, interesting, different kinds of people made it difficult for her to relax - in a good way, though. Tuya didn't think twice as she explored the forest; the sky had darkened with intense shades of mauve and plum as night fell, and soon she was trudging through the forest's depths with night's chill as her only accomplice.

Every breath of wind, idle shifting of branches, and hushed scattering of fresh snow falling across the forest made her more invested in her hunt. The girl wasn't looking for anything in particular — until something snapped in the underbrush and zipped away from her, exciting the animal inside of her. She took off after the shape like a comet, and even though she sloshed through the darkness of a not-so-familiar forest, Tuya deftly closed the distance.

Until the target turned sharply in a new direction, and as she did the same with the ease of a practiced hunter, she saw that the trail vanished in to a trench of snow. Whatever she'd found (and startled, and pursued so effortlessly) knew the secrets of the forest a little bit better than she did; thus she lost out, and was left standing over a crunched section of snow that trailed away, the prey long gone beneath the snow.

imrathil hadn't seen the dark shadow that seized tuya's interest, but he certainly had heard the cacophony that ensued. jolting awake, he was immediately aware of crashing and the crunch of snow nearby -- as far as what it was nearby, he could not tell.

he rose abruptly, his limbs stiff from being rather crudely awoken. carefully, imrathil made his way towards the sound and was relieved to see the form was canine rather than what his heart had feared -- the soft pit pit pit pit of his heart gradually subsiding as the form became recognizable as wolf rather than bear.

"who is out there?" he called, feeling rather absurd to be talking to shadows -- but the darkness and the distance rendered tuya's form so that he could not recognize her beyond a silhouette, and the wind played no favors tonight.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, and her ribs writhed beneath her flesh as she stood there panting for breath. When nothing popped out of the snow for a few minutes, she grew despondent. Then, something shifted nearby. Tuya thought it was some snow losing structural integrity - and she turned to get a quick glance at it, only to notice the long limbs and dark coat of s a stranger. Her gut told her it was some kind of deer initially so she had to do a double take. As she fixed her bright eyes on the stranger creeping between the trees, she realized it was a young wolf. He looked a touch under-weight and had a wild charm.

Nothing about him looked dangerous exactly, so Tuya decided to get a better look. She shifted around in the snow and after a few lunges, got clear of a dense pocket of the stuff. She landed a final stride just shy of some tired saplings fighting against the weather; her arrival caused them to shudder and snap, betraying her location, but whenever the boy's attention caught upon her she'd be smiling - and calling out, Hello! Its just me, I was huntin'. What're you doin' out here?

a rattle of sapplings and a few seconds later, and imrathil had focused his tired eyes on the subject -- a she-wolf in better condition than he. imrathil had never been a man to stare long (even if the subject was particularly pleasing), but he had noticed the delicate lines of her limbs, and the warm mix of sandy shore nestled between sleek grey fur. he gave a half-hearted wave of his tail, still somewhat tired but no less worse for wear now that he had found the source of disturbance in the woods.

he had never been a wolf to be particularly distrustful of other wolves, either, so when her voice matched her winsome smile, imrathil found the tension easing a little. "hey - guessing you didn't catch something, huh?" his lips pursed in playful disappointment. "i was sleeping. was. you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" he tilted his head to the side, his tone suggesting the banter was more play than accusatory.

Sorry!

The slightest movement caught her eye; it was his tail fanning about, like he wanted to be happy to see her but he hadn't made up his mind entirely yet. That was okay. She could win him over like she'd won Dash and - hopefully at this point - Cyclone. The girl wasn't the best at reading people since she'd spent most of her time with her small family roaming about, keeping to themselves as they traveled the world; however, she'd do her best to charm him. It wasn't like she was here to eat him or anything.

The way the boy spoke about her hunting made her a little leery of him, if only because she couldn't tell if he was joking or serious. Another draw-back of being some kind of country-roaming backwater-hopping creature. She decided to play it safe and accept his commentary as a friendly jab. I was just warmin' up, Tuya fibbed, and glanced at the long trough of snow leading to where she was standing. Her gaze trailed along to where the target had vanished beneath the snow and lingered there a moment, then snapped back to the swarthy boy when he mentioned he'd been ah, sleeping.

But its the middle of the day! She protested, and her face lit up with utter shock that someone could be so lazy, some of which was for show. She plodded over to him and lightly, playfully, feigned sniffing at him for signs of illness, You don't have the plague do you?

imrathil's features seemed to lose their tension gradually, especially as she claimed she was just warming up. he delivered a rather skeptical look, of course all play as he did so -- but if tuya was warming up, she had an awfully loud way of showing it.

he shrugged as his laziness was pointed out -- he was a man who enjoyed sleeping, especially in the sun -- was he really at fault for that? he gave a sheepish grin, ready to chase off any more accusations lobbed his way. "oh, i definitely have the plague." imrathil feigned a weedy cough, giving her the most imploring look. "it can only be healed by the meat of porcupine. do you think you are warmed up enough, to help a poor, sick guy?"

When the boy admitted to being sick, she drew back with a look of revulsion contorting her features. One paw raised, tail arching like the appendage of a startled cat. But it all smoothed over when Tuya realized he was just kidding. The fake cough was the best part, and she had to stop herself from smiling at the effort he was putting forth.

Ah, but then he gave her a quest! As soon as she heard the decree her tail began to wag, and Tuya assumed a more serious (but entirely farcical) expression. Oh, of course! I will find this mighty beast and slay it! Then, in a lighter tone that was laced with a touch of youthful mockery she murmured, That would make me the knight, and uh -- and you'd be the princess, but, she pulled away from him as a jolt of energy propelled her through the snow, some of which kicked up with her heels as she departed, You're a very pretty princess, so that's a bonus!

There was laughter in her voice as she verbally jabbed at him. Soon enough though, Tuya was striding through the thick snow and trying to find clues for her quest.

imrathil's feigned coughs had their rightful reaction - tuya withdrew, as if fearing the plague. he couldn't help but grin widely as she caught onto his ruse, his tail thumping in the snow.

and then she made it better -- she weaved his imaginary sickness into a fairy tale. imrathil's ears cupped -- he could make a ravishing princess. "oh, okay." he nodded, falling into place in their little play: "so, i'm sick and also ---" another counterfeit cough struggled from his throat -- "i've been asleep for a hundred years - a curse from my jealous, spinster sister." he slumped into the snow on his back, a paw raised over his head as if feverish.

his eyes were closed, though under the shadow of his arm one could see the slight gleam of peeking yellow. "after the knight slays this mighty dragon that has been tormenting our kingdom for centuries, she has to come back to her pretty princess, deposit the meat at the princess' feet, and wake her from her cursed slumber with a kiss."

he was trying so very hard not to grin.

When he caught on to the game and began to play along with more fervour, Tuya stopped in her tracks and turned to regard him plainly. He was a good story-teller, she decided. Even when the story veered in to the dramatic - with acting! - she was finding herself further charmed; she back-tracked as he fell in to the snow and couldn't help but laugh as he Scarlet O'hara'd all over the ground. The knight was a nice touch, —she has to come back to her pretty princess, deposit the meat at the princess' feet, and wake her from her cursed slumber with a kiss.

Tuya was still very amused. The mention of a kiss didn't deter her either - she might have been playing around with him before, but she took the evolution of the story as a jab at her, a jest, and knew he wouldn't be prepared if she swept in nice and quick - as she did just now - to plant a sloppy little kiss to his cheek. It meant nothing, she told herself afterwards. A part of the game.

The girl did it for his reaction. Whatever that reaction was, Tuya grinned and pivoted, and was jaunting through the snow again as if nothing had happened at all. Onward, princess! Show me this dragon!

despite his eyes being closed, imrathil could sense (hear) tuya stepping close; oh damn, she was going to follow through with his taunting dare. he popped open one eye as she quickly swooped in, attempting to lavish his own roguish kiss to her receding cheek with a grin.

he was still recumbent on the ground, and with a dramatic flailing of all limbs, he started to shakily rise to his feet in a theatrical display of awakening. and then he remembered -- the meat! "ope, nope, we're gonna have to do a re-do. you forgot the meat." with that, imrathil collapsed to the ground again, freezing in a grotesque posture as if he had been frozen by a spell.

Did he just --- his counter-kiss was more shocking than the rest of the display, but wow, for someone so slim and spidery, he was one slippery guy! With some legitimately agile flailing about, he managed to counter her attempts and escape, using the momentary blink-blink-blink of her surprise to his advantage. Tuya's brain reconnected and she turned away, hoping he didn't notice how addled his counter had made her. Typically she was the one that did outlandish stuff! It rarely came back to target her, thus the hesitation. But she wanted to get down to work - so she slipped away from him, bounding in the snow and on the hunt.

It would've been better if he was there to help, but Tuya wasn't going to ask him for anything like that. If he wanted to play hard to get, fine! She was stubborn enough not to give up. She heard movement though, and stopped with a lurch and a crunch, turning her head in time to see him fall back to the dirt like a wacky-inflatable-arm-flailing-tube-man whose air siphon had been disengaged. With a huff (cue the triumph-emoji), she was off again — leaving him in the dark as she vanished among the trees.

imrathil heard tuya's steps carry her away -- the crunch, crunch of the snow beneath her paws betrayed her exit. for a while he hung out in that grotesque pose, an idiotic grin spread across his features.

this was fun - he hadn't had this much light-humored fun in forever.. these days, everything seemed so serious. he shifted between several different increasingly exaggerated (and increasingly coy) positions in the snow, hoping she would return soon..

after a while he begun to suspect maybe she had slipped off -- with a grunt he rose and staggered after her footprints. "hey! change of plans! i am now a zombie, eeuuuuuuurgh." he groaned, lurching dramatically about. "brrrains is what i want, i think. i don't know or remember." he giggled at this lapse of memory and then made his way after tuya, hoping she had not entirely disappeared into the wildnerness.