Chimera Fields You know me as the girl who plays with fire

@Mathieu
back dated to the late evening of 4/22

Call already sent out to Matty, Simmik sat just outside their western borders where the trees of the forest gave way to a vast valley. In the winter, this area had been covered in a blanket of snow but during her patrols lately, she noticed that in the places where the snow had melted, plants had started to break through the top of the soil. The light from the moon was minimal tonight; it shined just enough that when mixed with the light from the stars, it illuminated the fields in front of her. Spots of color, washed out by the night, drew her attention from where she had been staring at the borders waiting for Matty to appear. She hadn't noticed the colors before. She got up and walked over to the closest patch and realized then that some of the plants were beginning to flower. She looked around, still night seeing any sign of anyone, then she lowered her nose and drew in a slow breath through her nostrils. The scent was nice but she enjoyed the colors more. So she sat down and slid her gaze slowly around the valley. This seemed like the perfect place for their date. Hopefully, Matty would agree.

okay, he whispered to himself, two should be enough, right? mathieu looked down at the hares and shrugged, then took them both into his mouth. he'd only been able to catch one but luckily, there was another fresh catch hiding in a nearby cache. matty thanked chance and made off to meet simmik.

she wasn't near the border as he had expected. mathieu followed her scent for a short distance, eventually finding her wandering the nearby field. he didn't say anything for a long moment, just watching her in silence, before he finally decided to approach.

mathieu dropped the hares near to where she sat. got these, he said while his eyes scanned the scene around them. you picked this place? matty asked, it's really nice. he sat down and nudged one of the hares in simmik's direction.

She heard his approach and turned to greet him with a shy smile, her gaze dropping to the rabbit he placed on the ground between them. She nodded at his question. Yeah it is, she said first. Then she took the food he offered and slid to the ground, holding the hare between her front paws. Thank you, she offered before taking a bite. Her gaze drifted slowly up to from her dinner. He was, as always, very handsome but he seemed even more so in the light of the moon and stars. His eyes were her favorite, though, and she searched for them, a small smile tilting one side of her mouth. She wasn't sure what to say, really. She didn't want to ask him anymore questions right now. So she just let quiet settle between them and looked back to her dinner to take another bite. This was nice, anyway—just hanging out here and eating dinner. Maybe she didn't actually need to say anything right now.

mathieu looked carefully down at simmik, mimicking her smile. he noticed that he was being stared at and, in typical awkward fashion, tilted his head upward to accentuate his features. this only lasted a moment before he became self-conscious and laughed his way down onto his belly.

i got two so we don't have to do the messy pull-away thing, mathieu mused. he remembered their most recent excursion to the warren and visibly cringed at his misspoken words. what do you normally do for fun? he asked, hoping to get an idea of what to do after their meal.

Simmik laughed and shook her head, not feeling awkward at all that she had been caught staring; she had blatantly done it. Her laughing continued with his, dying down after a few seconds and leaving a brief pause in conversation. She also remembered his strange word choice when he brought up the last time they had hunted together, and she couldn't help but laugh again. Good thinking, she said, leaning down to eat some more. She shrugged when he asked her what she did for fun. Honestly, she wasn't really sure what to say. Her fun might seem kind of weird to him. I like to explore the territories around ours and I like to see how much of the border I can run before I get too tired, Simmik answered, looking back down at her dinner. Not really what most would consider fun, but she liked it. What about you? she asked, her gaze seeking his again.

simmik's interests were...practical. mathieu could tell that they didn't have very much in common, but that didn't matter. he liked her, and she liked him, and nothing else mattered. right?

running is fun, he agreed. though typically, if mathieu was running, it was in the direction of helpless birds or other small animals. running without a purpose didn't really sound like an ideal pastime, in his opinion. 

exploring sounded fun, too. i wouldn't have labeled you an explorer, mathieu said, but it is fitting. simmik seemed too pragmatic for the idea to have ever crossed his mind. making friends is something i do a lot, he continued. did it answer her question? not really, but it was the best he could come up with.

Running was fun. She enjoyed pushing herself past previous limits, and it helped her grow stronger and more able to protect the forest if it was ever needed. She couldn't just have fun for the sake of fun. 

She tilted her head a little. Why does it surprise you that I like to explore? Simmik asked. She was a busy wolf, always craving to know more about everything; it made perfect sense to her that she would want to know the territories around them. 

She took his answer to mean that making friends was something he liked to do for fun, and she could definitely understand that. He was handsome and approachable, so it only made sense that he would make friends easily. Approachable was not a word she would to describe herself, but maybe being around Matty would rub off on her a little. Is that all you like to do for fun? she asked. It hadn't slipped past her notice that he had only given her one of his vague answers again.

mathieu's nervousness was surprisingly well-hidden. he'd been backed into a corner by simmik's questions (again), and although he didn't know how to respond, he knew that it'd be best to not elaborate. having thought about his response, matty shook his head and answered: i'm not sure. it's just not something that i would have guessed.

he didn't want simmik to keep thinking about that one note. mathieu continued with his own question — what's the best place you've ever explored? — before digging into dinner. he was careful to not eat as ravenously as he might have liked, hoping to keep offenses at a minimum. 

of course, simmik was curious for more. mathieu laughed and choked on a rib, coughing it up in a most unattractive manner. sorry, he said. luckily, he'd turned his head fast enough to keep the splatter away from their meal. you're good at asking questions. it makes me feel like i'm actually interesting. mathieu hoped that his light joke might be enough of a recovery.

but, uh, yeah. most of my stuff is embarrassing. it was his main motivation for keeping things vague, aside from the whole "dark past" thing. sometimes i'll sing songs that my family taught me, or i'll make 'em up. that's more of a secret, though. mathieu looked at simmik and studied her expression, searching for any hint of disapproval.

Another vague answer to her question, which didn't really surprise her. She was persistent, but she didn't necessarily think this situation called for it. So she nodded and let it go. Whatever his reason for being surprised, she didn't think he was going to tell her, and she didn't want this to turn into something uncomfortable. Eventually, though, she might not be so accommodating, especially when it came to the more important questions. 

Besides, he quickly covered over the awkwardness with an interesting question. There's a glacier that shares our northwest borders, she explained. I've been exploring it a lot lately...I like it there, she finished with a shrug. Her stuff was weird, yet she freely offered it. But she was getting ahead of herself because it wasn't exactly like she was an open book, and perhaps that was why she was fairly lenient when he dodged her questions. 

He coughed and turned his head, spitting bone remnants in the other direction as she watched with concern. But when he turned back, she immediately went back to eating, afraid it might make him feel weird. She shook her head and smiled, hopefully assuring him that he had no reason to be sorry. And to his next words, she laughed. You're good at dodging my questions, she pointed out before quickly adding: And you are interesting; that's why I want to know things about you. Did he really not see that? 

Her ears perked up when he mentioned signing. She ignored the part about him thinking his stuff was embarrassing, because it wasn't true. He hadn't mentioned signing since the first time they met. Come to think of it, he hadn't even sang a note since then, at least not in her presence. You make up your own songs? she asked. I'd like to hear one...sometime. Whenever you feel up to it. She had a feeling he wouldn't humor her now, so she gave him an out if he wanted it.

glaciers seemed dangerous. mathieu had never been courageous enough to approach one, and much less explore it. he nodded his respect to simmik and returned to eating. that's really cool, that you're brave like that. matty couldn't say the same for himself, though it pained him to admit. 

he looked up at simmik and smiled, not fully convinced by her testimony. was he really interesting? it seemed unlikely, but mathieu doubted that she would lie. he shrugged and replied: i don't do it on purpose, promise. just gotta get specific if you want a specific answer. matty winked, pleased by this retort.

really? mathieu asked, i'm not that good. he hadn't been complimented on his singing before, to the best of his knowledge. compared to the wolves back at the consortium, matty's voice was painfully average. but if you're serious, i'll sing for you anytime.

She smiled and shrugged a little at his compliment. She never really thought of it as brave, but she could see how most would see the glacier as dangerous. She was made for that kind of place, though. I'll take you there sometime, she offered. I know an easy way up. It was a fairly safe route, sure to deliver them both to the top with little chance for injury. 


Simmik rolled her eyes at him. My questions are specific. You just always do this thing where you answer me but don't actually give me information. She smirked. I can ask more specific questions, though, if that's really what you want. She had tried her best not to push too much, but now, maybe she wouldn't be so hesitant. 

I feel like any good singer would say that, she countered when he stated that he wasn't that good at signing. She sat up, the mostly ravished rabbit carcass completely forgotten. Will you sing for me now? she asked. And she couldn't get more specific than that. Hopefully he would stay true to his word.

mathieu might have continued their friendly disagreement, had he another point to make. instead, he shrugged and conceded to simmik's truth, deciding that her points were valid. he did have a way of keeping things to himself, often times without thinking.

still, he nodded to her offer and added: makes it easier to think of answers so i'm not rambling like usual. matty figured that his nervousness was worth joking about; how else would they move past it? 

really putting me on the spot here, he joked. did he even have a song prepared? mathieu tried recalling the melodies from his childhood and after several moments of thought, decided on which one to sing. 

the melody was slow to start, though he eventually found his rhythm. mathieu was surprised by his own ability to remember the words as well as he had. and when he'd finished (after singing only the first verse), he asked: did you like it?

Simmik smiled. I don't know, it's pretty cute when you ramble. That had never bothered her at all, actually. She was pretty nervous around him too, which was part of the reason for all the questions. 

She was putting him on the spot, but only because she really wanted to hear him sing again. She smiled and shrugged a little. He had just said that he would sing for her anytime. She expected more resistance than he gave her, and was pleasantly surprised when he actually did start to sing. She listened closely, studying the shifts in his expression as he moved through the song. Her smile grew and when he was done, she nodded immediately when asked if she liked it. That was pretty. You should do that more often she said first. Then her eyebrows drew together some. What language was that? she asked. It was pretty too. She didn't think she had met anyone in a while that spoke another language like she did. But she had never heard his before.

simmik liked the song, which was good because mathieu didn't really have a recovery planned if she didn't. he laughed under his breath, hoping that she wouldn't notice the shakiness caused by lingering nerves. i don't know, matty replied with a shrug, can't let everyone know my secret.

the language was one of three spoken by all of his relatives. though it was mathieu's least favorite, simmik was right to call it pretty. my great-grandmother spoke that language. they say she brought it from somewhere much warmer than this. he puffed a plume of air, accented with a small grin.

her husband, my great-grandfather, he brought his own language from the north. c'est comme çi, mathieu explained, that's the story, anyway. but all of my relatives know their languages, so there must be some truth to it. it's like the st. clair calling card; spots and useless knowledge. 

he wondered if mal had ever been taught the consortium tongues. did he care to learn now? mathieu imagined his half-brother visiting their family at home and struggling through the language barrier, undoubtedly being teased through his stay. do you know any languages? he asked, not wanting to steal the attention.

She did notice the subtle shakiness in his voice, but she wouldn't say anything about it; he had just sang for her simply because she asked, and she appreciated the gesture. Well, I'm glad that I know your secret, she said, a shy smile finding her lips again. 

He explained where the language came from, offering her a peek into his past. And the grin that he offered in the pause before he spoke again made her heart flutter in her chest. She didn't think she would ever be able to get over how cute he was. When he started speaking again, she pulled her focus from his grin back to his words. A smile spread across her own face as he revealed that he spoke yet another language. She was impressed. She wondered if he knew anymore. She laughed and shook her head at his joke. I don't think it's useless at all, she offered. It's cool that you know multiple languages. 

She nodded when he asked about her knowing a language. Yeah, my mom taught me and my brothers her family's language, she answered, getting to her feet with a languid stretch. Come on, I want to run, she said next, switching to the northern language. Even though he wouldn't understand the words, the invitation was clear on her face. She trotted forward, stopping to look at him over her should and make sure he was following. If so she would turn and sprint forward once again.

huh? he asked. simmik stood and pranced away, giving some clarification. wait up! mathieu laughed. he jogged up to where she stood and moved to brush beside her, but was innocently rejected with her next set of movements.

entertained by their game, mathieu chased behind his companion, teeth aimed for a playful nip at her side.

She heard Matty call out, but she didn't really wait up; he caught up quickly anyway. She felt the nip to her side and slowed a little, glancing to him with a playful smirk. When she could, she reached over and attempted to offer a gentle nip to the side of his neck in return. Then, she burst forward again, offering a few huffs of soft laughter as she moved. She tossed another inviting look over her shoulder and picked up even more speed, a challenge dancing in her fiery gaze.

mathieu rumbled the soft sound of a play growl, then continued in their chase. you're fast, he shouted between breaths. his heart was racing in his chest, both from exhaustion and excitement, but he worked to keep up with the young woman leading their game.

he pushed his body to meet the trail of her footsteps. the burning in either shoulder and sting in his eyes told matty two things, however: the first, that he was embarrassingly out of shape, and the second, that he would soon need a break.

simmik had explained herself as some olympic runner, and mathieu didn't mind watching her prove that true. he took a seat somewhere behind her to hide within the grass, tracing her movements until she too came to a stop.

She only giggled at his compliment, pushing herself to go even faster to show him how fast she really was. She could run like this for a while she had found out, mostly because she did it pretty much every day to keep herself in tip top shape; she couldn't be a warrior if she wasn't. 

She ran for a bit without realizing he was no longer behind her. She was enjoying the burn of her muscles and the wind whipping against her face. But eventually, she glanced back to offer him a grin and he wasn't there. She slid to a stop, a frown forming on her face. Immediately, she retraced her steps, her gaze combing the grass for his spotty coat. 

When she finally saw him, she sprinted forward, a grin spreading across her face. Once she was close enough, she asked: What are you doing? and then launched herself at him, an excited laugh filling the space between them as she sought to pin him.