Whitebark Stream I put off saying I love you, oh, oh

Day five of heat—Kaori is receptive.

Each day brought with it something new: a new sight to behold, a new smell to inhale, a new object to be touched. Last year, with the Draconid Tribe, she was surrounded by family; there were a few that lacked both blood relations and a marriage to a family member but, of those few, she’d taken an interest in none. It was easier to focus her attention on her mother, to tending to her needs and preparing for the eventual birth of her younger siblings, rather than on herself. But these lands lacked those same familial connections—here, there was no one for her to devote her time to other than herself, and that opened the door to a world of possibilities.

Possibilities that led her to the stream, strolling along the edge.

i swear everytime i look at the weather widget it's snowing in the teekons, lmao.

though salvatore was all for the aesthetic view of snowfall; the blanketing of fresh snow layering upon ground and tree limbs turning the world into a crisp winter wonderland there was a strong part of him that craved a nice, hot summer day. one of this hazy, lazy days; spent lounging around enjoying the song of the cicadas and the symphony of songbirds. he assumes, as he moves along the curve of the stream's banks that it's this conjured image of his ideal summer day — missed a lot in the wake of snow crunching under foot — that creates a tidal swell of longing within him.

mind's eye mirage cracks and shatters as he is slammed back into reality. salvatore isn't sure what it was specifically. it could've been that his paw slipped upon loamy bank and the ice cold water of the stream jolted him awake; a definite possibility. it could be the fact that while he was daydream he'd been subconsciously and instinctively following kaori's scent trail; lured by her intoxicating scent that tells every fiber of his being ( too aware ) that she's in the throes of her season as helpless against it as a sailor to a siren's song.

stronger now that he sees her up ahead; there's an intrusive and persistent ache in his loins. fuck. he thinks now as he did during first glimpse, solidified upon their first meeting: that she's effortlessly pretty. even so, they've only had one real conversation with one another and he thinks that he didn't have a right to ache so goddamn bad for her. the instinct is as old as time, however; and his body doesn't seem to care about whatever feeble argument as to why social conventions were more important than sexual desire salvatore could pathetically come up with.

driven by those archaic and primal instincts nonetheless, salvatore lets out a chuff in the hopes of grabbing her attention.

s a m e. at this point, i barely even look anymore—i just assume it’s going to snow forever

Each step taken drove her mind further from the stream and closer to the stars; being so far from family made her wish for some sign from the sky dragons even more so than before, assurance that her decisions were correct—that thinking now more of herself and less of her family did not make her as selfish as she initially felt. But Kaori was not her mother and could not establish a mental link with Draco or any others, for that matter; long before her birth, it was decided by forces greater than any could imagine that she would not be a vessel. Yet, despite this, she often wondered if a dragon up above watched over her anyway—a thought driven further to belief as she was dragged back into the present, the here and now, by a chuff.

Along the stream again did she meet the marred bird, his appearance seemingly sudden—a gift from the stars, she wished to believe.

“Salvatore,” she called, name spoken in the softest of tones, but a step no closer did she take. Kaori remained some distance away, near enough to speak comfortably but far enough away yet that she could not reach out to him. Distance alone did not contain her wandering mind, however; her posture remained open—inviting, even—as her gaze settled upon him. Should he heed the lure of the dragoness, her tail would swish carefully back and forth, tempting him to come nearer.

salvatore.

she speaks his name; soft. it causes a delightful shiver to slither down his spine, marveling over how his name could possibly sound so enticing. ❝kaori,❞ he murmurs in return; emberglow eye watching her. her posture appears open and inviting though she herself does not close any distance between them. he ghosts forward a step and hesitates. the careful swish of her tail tempts him to keep closing it just as wholly as every aching fibre of his being does.

for a second, he swears he feels the flash of teeth, the saturation of hot breath upon the back of his neck. even thousands of miles away he hears the growling command of killgrave that he is nothing, that if he wants to keep breathing he better walk away; but salvatore was the rebel child and ignores the haunting abuse of his warmonger father as he did back in the loch.

salvatore draws nearer to kaori; nearer still. when he is close enough, if she allows it, he will brush his muzzle against her cheek. this close to her, her scent is overpowering; all he can smell. it saturates everything, temptation manifested; causing the ache in his loins to quicken as it does his heart rate, his nerves prickling with anticipation.

It is easy enough for her gaze to follow his movements, tracing every detail that lined his body the nearer he got. Hearing him speak her name was different now; just as it slipped from his lips her eyes snapped up to meet his own, ears forward. A single step towards him was dragged out of her, the only contribution she offered to the gradual lessening of space between them; if the young dragoness recalled anything from the coy whispering of her dearest aunts, it was to always make the male come to her—anything else gave them the upper hand, she could hear the elder women murmuring.

All it took was the gentle sweeping of his muzzle against her and those distant voices were laid to rest, returned to where they belonged. That touch alone and she could already feel herself leaning towards him, seeking more; to experience something even as minimal as that made her realise just how much she desired it. To be touched, to be held—was she wrong to wish these things of a near stranger? Perhaps but, at that moment, she didn’t care to think so carefully.

Another swish of her tail, a mixture of nerves and her own desires. She wondered briefly if being there was something she truly wanted—an answer not hard to find, convinced by the intensity of the season and her wish for family; family that could be created, a family to settle in these lands with her. Carefully, she reached out to him with her own muzzle, seeking to deliver a gentle—teasing—nip to his chin, should he allow it. Thereafter followed a whispered query: “Is this—am I—something you want?” And should he not make a move or pull away, Kaori would take what little space remained between them, gliding against him like a cat around her human’s ankles.

she allows his touch; almost demure in its nature as it was. testing; like the brush of lips against lips to see how he will be fully received. the warmonger had made it very clear that salvatore wasn't allowed to have this; to desire or be desired. scarred flesh around his dead eye gives off a shot of a sickening feeling in memory but before the memory can drag him back kaori's teeth are at his chin, nipping gently and teasingly. it grounds him; saves him from drowning.

a low, pleased growl rumbles non-threateningly in his chest.

❝yes.❞ salvatore rasps in response to her question; realizing how true it was as it leaves his lips. he wants this. he wants her. the consequences for it are far from his mind; not to intrude in on this moment. just him and her and the building desire as she glides her body 'round and against his, only furthering the ache of anticipation salvatore feels.

There came a fluttering beneath her breast when a growl rumbled from within his; what normally would have given her pause only further enticed the girl. Anticipation budded and flourished within, overwhelming. She stopped herself when at his side, still pressing her body against his as he uttered yes. Perhaps, at some point, there was a flicker’s worth of thought to cross her mind that she may be making a mistake. An urging from some voice in the back of her head to cease what she was doing, to depart and seclude herself as if she were still with the Draconids—but she was not there, freed from the careful gazes of her elders, and her decisions entirely her own to make.

And Kaori, the dear lamb amongst dragons, wanted this—wanted him.

“Then take me,” came her declaration, her welcoming, murmured against his shoulder. This male she did not know, not well, and yet she wished to feel his embrace—but was her own conception not nearly the same, to the point where she felt no shame towards her actions. For the lamb she once portrayed was gone from these lands, withered away and replaced by the brazen dragoness—and what she wanted, she fully intended to take.

then take me; comes her murmured declaration into his shoulder. inviting and welcoming and commanding ...and what was salvatore besides an obedient soldier?

salvatore doesn't speak again — there is no need for words now — as he moves then; hating to break the contact of their bodies even though it is to circle her and place small love-bites down the elegant flow of her body. he soothes each nip with a draw of his tongue against her ebony fur in tiny kisses. he draws up behind her as he's finished following the mapping of her body; black, leathery nostrils flaring as he draws in her intoxicating scent, strongest at it's source.

it is here he lingers, waiting for her to give him the final go-ahead. when her tail moves for him, he would rise upon his hind legs and embrace her in full, reveling in the way her hips fit flush against his own.

fade-to-black here

Nothing left to say, not another word to be uttered. When he moved away she nearly turned to follow, seeking that his touch is returned, but stilled was she by the nips trailing down her body; the further along he went, she could keep still no longer as a shiver shook her delicate frame. The final kiss placed and she was suddenly overwhelmed, nervous and doubtful—but doubts were an easy thing to be rid of when desire ran rampant, and soon she was moving her tail off to the side.

And if any negative thoughts lingered up to that point, they were soon wiped away by the male’s embrace. Like a missing piece to a puzzle, he fit himself easily against her, and suddenly Kaori could think of no one—nothing—beyond him and there, right then.

For some time after, the dragoness lingered, eager to remain in his presence—she desired his attention more then than ever before, hungry for it. But when the high eventually wore away and she could gather her bearings, she parted from him; stealing away into the woodland, she retreated to the comfort of her own domain, body ablaze and thoughts buzzing.