Sun Mote Copse Emotion sickness.

This is wide open... :) :) :)

Towhee stood on the far south side of the territory, her demeanor calm while she inwardly wrestled with herself. Upon her return, she had been able to more or less control herself, especially in the aftermath of Wraen's attack. But as the impact of those events faded, her hormones surged with new vengeance. Her body didn't seem to care that acting on these impulses would hurt her. They seemed convinced that abstinence would be even more painful.

But even if she wanted to scratch that itch, almost every male resident of the pack was a relative of some sort. Towhee's instincts compelled her to keep her distance from them, particularly those who shared her blood. Of the two who were not related, one was underage and thus lacked any appeal whatsoever. The other... well, @Pippin was the reason she was standing here, suddenly twitching and moaning under her breath.

He was on the mend—there was a stiffness in his flanks that would likely only worsen in age, but overall, Pippin was simply happy to not have been mauled to death by the hungry cat. Given just that escape, life could be considered good.

Not that Pippin ever stopped to enjoy the roses, or whatever the fuck that saying was. His paws itched with the need to explore, but he had yet to leave the pack territory, not wishing to draw any unwanted attention to himself.

The only reason he was here was for Towhee, and he would openly admit that to anyone who asked—but what that meant was still undecided. Pippin didn’t have friends. And he sure as hell didn’t have any inclination to become romantically involved.

At least, he didn’t think so.

When his gaze flashed upon a rather restless looking Firebird, a small frown crept upon his golden features. With a sharp growl, the concerned Ostrega strode quickly to her side, his nose bending down to nudge at her, announcing his presence in case she hadn’t seen his arrival, and knowing she wouldn’t have heard it.

The moans escaping her made it seem as if she was in pain—and then the scent hit him at just the smallest twist of her lithe frame, and if the color could drain from his face, it would have.

“Oh, shit,” he mumbled, instantly back-peddling in a less than fabulous manner. The stumble of his paws finally gave them some distance, and Pippin looked like the kid caught putting his hand in the cookie jar. He was seasoned enough to know what this meant—had even indulged in the past, though he was by no means an expert.

“Uh. Want me to get Niamh or something?”

She was saved from tearing herself apart by Pippin's serendipitous arrival. She nearly jumped out of her skin at his touch, though her face melted into a marked look of relief when she saw it was him. A moment later, it shifted again, becoming a strange blend of hungry and needy.

"Does Niamh have a dick I don't know about?" she retorted. Because of the events of the past few days, Towhee immediately thought to announce (ignoring the internal twinge it caused), "I can't get pregnant, so please don't let that stop you. This is just as no strings attached as ever, just funner."

Towhee started to turn then, openly inviting Pippin's attentions, when she paused mid-revolution and looked over her shoulder at him to drop another disclaimer: "Don't worry about hurting me." Maybe he wouldn't even notice or care that her bits were in rough shape, any more than her five other partners had noticed or cared about her bonus package.

The first question to fall from her lips was perfectly Towhee, and Pippin was at least relieved to see she wasn’t in pain. Unless being in heat was painful? He could sort of relate—the sudden tug in his lower extremities certainly didn’t feel like a walk in the park at that moment.

“I hope she doesn’t,” he mused wryly, considering the rather attractive girl that had greeted him at the borders that day. He assumed the two were close—Niamh had chosen to vouch for her friend while not even knowing him.

He had always meant to ask if there was something more there between them. And if he could join in one day…

Her announcement at not being able to become pregnant pulled him from that rather distracting thought, and he frowned in her direction. Had it been any other woman, he might have been suspicious they were trying to trick him into a donation.

“How do you even kn—“ His words cut off with a quick snap of his jaw as she turned, revealing herself to him. But it was not because of the tempting sway of her hind that drew him to silence, but the mutilated sight before him. He definitely hadn’t left her in that state last time, and he felt his teeth grind down, trying to fight back the rising anger. She was looking at him, and so she could read his lips. “Who did that to you?”

Because Pippin was ready to return the favor.

Towhee faced forward and waited for him to take what she was offering. When several seconds ticked past and she didn't even feel him move closer, much less take her into his embrace, she quirked a brow and looked over her shoulder again. He was standing there, looking as if he was about to pop a blood vessel, and she immediately knew she'd been too hopeful about him being too caught up to notice.

"I told you, don't worry," she said impatiently, backing up to put her hindquarters closer to his face, swaying her hips tantalizingly. "Some rando was just a little too rough," Towhee fibbed, arching a brow and wondering how Pippin might react to this information.

Pippin was never a scrupulous fellow—any details he took in with suspicion to true meaning was something he kept to himself, not usually pushing his opinions on others or his doubts.

There was something about some ‘rando’ being too rough with Towhee that completely rankled him. Was it that she was boning others? He never considered himself the jealous type—and they were certainly not exclusive.

But the thought of someone else inflicting that kind of damage to her was what did it, and for a stolen moment, the agouti Ostrega was back upon the willowed heights in Marauder’s Keep, watching a black wolf pup doing… something to his mother. The memories were convoluted now. But the flash of ivory teeth and his fury with the need to protect her was what stood out the most, and the golden renegade allowed a loose growl to seep past his lips before he stole toward her, the possession in his stride spurned only from the fact another had thought to claim and hurt her.

As rough as his movement was, it was a sudden gentleness that he nipped at her hindquarters, gaze finally pulling from the injury and studying her intently and quietly as he reared, pulling her hips closer to him. Nestling her against him, as if he could protect her from what had already occurred.

He made no reply, though she could see emotions flickering across his face. Towhee gazed at him until her neck muscles began to protest, then she faced forward. She was just about to press herself back against him one last time when he finally moved, taking her in the most ancient and intimate of embraces and seeing to her needs.

Afterward, Towhee felt a strong compulsion to cuddle. This wasn't unusual, even with the partners she didn't know nearly so well, so the mercenary thought little of indulging herself. She coaxed Pippin to curl up beside her, her eyes heavy with the tiredness that always seem to afflict her after the fact. It was kind of like a drug.

But whereas she usually let herself drift off, she fought it this time. Orange eyes a little glassy, she found herself gazing at her partner, wondering what it'd be like if they were mates, if she could get pregnant, if they could build a family. What was the use of dreaming about this stuff though? She couldn't have any of that. Towhee shoved the thoughts aside with a frown.

Before he could catch her and begin asking questions Towhee didn't feel like answering, she yawned luxuriously and said to Pippin, "Don't go anywhere. I'm gonna use you for your body several more times before I'm done with you." She complemented this (mostly) joking remark with a soft smile right before her eyes drifted shut.