Neverwinter Forest And staying forever

@Miriam

His plan to go go visit all the packs had thus far hit some pretty major delays. Between Cupid showing up with his kid and Clover being in heat, it strongly encouraged him to not leave right away. No, now he wanted to stay and maybe once he was sure no psychopaths after one thing or another were coming, then maybe he could get back on track. Funny how life worked.

He'd just done a patrol, followed by a quick look around for something to hunt but had come up with nothing for now. Instead, Mal was moving back to his spot -- now that Cupid had found a den and it was Mal's again, it just felt weird, like he was invading someone else's space rather than his own. So, he kind of dawdled and took his time going back. He'd get there eventually, but if he took an uneven path, maybe some dinner would jump out in front of him.

It was all a little bit headache-inducing, but that was what it was like being a leader or whatever, right? Too bad nobody told him this stuff.

Of ice and chills, but the doll felt of fire, a burning passion of desire. She knew of the raging months that swarms the woman, but the last event she hide away within the gardens. However on this year, there was none to protect the maiden.. Except for one, to whome she could rely on. With the belief he was one of her's, someone from the same place, Miriam sought of the warrior, Mal.

The day felt of a blur and she carried herself with weighted paws, prowling forth to one of the Horned God's warriors- she needed help. There was a few faces that came to her mind, of the male variety, but only one was near, and was sure to help overall. After all, that was what the warriors of the God would do, to protect their maidens from the outsiders. 

There he was.

But the words wouldn't come out, only a foward toward him.

He saw her moving through the trees at a distance, heading his way. She'd been in the pack a little while now, but he'd been busy -- perhaps now things would make a bit more sense. Just that little bit of time could really put things into the proper frame, he thought. It should be easy.

Miriam! he said as she came his way, tail wagging behind him, grin on his maw. How've you been settling in? But his voice wavered as she got closer and the scent hit his nose. Oh. There were two of them right now. His past experiences had been more by chance, not him being hunted down. And good, bad, or indifferent, he wasn't so sure which it should be -- aside from the fact it did make him feel powerful in a sense. She came to him. What can I do for you? he mused, slightly quieter. Well, he could guess, but that took the fun out of things.

She needed protection.

She needed help.

His help.

However it felt embarassing to admit, especially within the state. Miriam lowered her head, and approached the fellow, a burning desire. She knew what it was, and denied the sinful darkness to come through, but she was still a woman, an adult, who held desires. Miriam trusted Mal, as despite her yearning, the Horned God's Warriors were protectors, she trusted him to keep her at bay, to not fall for the darkness. The light to guide, and for her, he was the light.

Miriam approached closely to his side, touching if he allowed. She wasn't sure what to say, words stuck within her throat and silence overtook. Her mind was blinded by the season and thought nothing else, even if she interacted with others, her thoughts was him. The trust she held of the warrior, the hope he would protect her from other males, and keep the whole day at the edge. To keep pure, till' the day, a savior to the maiden, "I need help."

But she knew what was really wanted, but couldn't be.

It was all very simple to him. There was no higher power making demands of his behavior, physical or abstract. Mal did what what seemed good, what would make people happy, and if for some reason they had regrets, well that was more on them than him. As far as he knew, there were no moral codes he was breaking -- or at least ones that mattered.

She'd come close to him so fast -- his tail waved slowly behind him, a slight hitch to it when she reached out to him. He didn't budge an inch -- barely resisting just leaning in to her, but no, he'd hold strong. It was all part of the game, wasn't it? more often than not it had seemed like a game to him, at least. His voice was calm and there was that tinge of concern, With what? Tell me and what you need will be yours. Which was maybe a little bit of hyperbole, but here he was feeling better than normal and wasn't about to just come back down to reality.

He reached out to her in the context of a reassuring touch of his own maw, gentle, but allowing him to drink in what he could of her scent in the process. Look, he tried to be respectable but he was still a young man, and he certainly wasn't perfect.

He felt cooling, to the warmth that seeped from within. A pleasant feeling, and a yearning to search more of his fur. Just as he had touched of his maw, Miriam slowly, and with hesitance, inched her's closer. She knew what was wanted, what her body wished to have, but mind and heart refused. However, the maiden held trust to the warrior. She knew he would help in someway, in anyway, to contain that bursting radiance of the season. That is one of their purpose, to protect those in the grove. 

She too, questioned what kind of help was needed. There was silence, a gaping of maw to an unanswered question, and only an adjusment of closeness. 

Miriam just needed him.

What was it that muted her? Shyness? Something about her own uncertainty? Perhaps she was just less forward than Cupid or Hua. He didn't really know, but those were the assumptions that seemed most reasonable to him. So obviously he needed to calm those nerves one way or another or it might be awkward rather than enjoyable.

He took a half-step, just enough so that he lightly pressed against her, the warmth from her body alluring even on a normal day to the touch-starved man. He would be confident -- he was the alpha, he was the one who was supposed to provide those in his pack with whatever it was they desired. And he took that pretty literally at times, and since she had sought him out, she wanted him, right? Hadn't said otherwise. Mal reached out to lick the crown of her head, his words a near purr, Whatever you want, I provide. A slight shift in wording, but the longer she lingered, the more he hungered for her and the line between want and need blurred. Did he need to convince her he was a good choice? Mal was sure Miriam would agree in the end.

In another world, her soft, silver fur would've been a blazing shade of rosing reds, but for now she simply remained hot, with moistened paws. A burning sensation and a jitter with his touch. The feeling remained strong, as he kept prodding to the answer she was unable to give. It felt difficult for words to reveal, and all Miriam could muster was a,

"you.." an embarassment words, what she meant was protection, her mind knew well, but her heart said otherwise. she knew a mistake had been made with her soft voice, but nothing came out to correct it.

He pulled her closer, preening at her fur. I can give you that, was his whispered reply. Mal had reason to just take what she said at face value -- it was like with Aibreann, but she just wasn't so forward. So far, all their interactions had been built on misunderstandings -- two individuals with very different perspectives of the same event -- but since she hadn't said what she was thinking, she hadn't pulled away, all Mal could assume that they were in agreement. He was giving Miriam what they both wanted and needed. After all, she had chosen him to sire her children, and that's what he would do, with all the passion and attention he could muster.