Honeyed Pasture [M] bargaining chip

All are welcome :) tags are for reference

Hokulani had travelled up towards the more populated end of the wilds with the hopes of recruiting. She trusted that the river would be safe in her absence, if not only because she would chase away competitors upon her return.

The journey had been pleasant, and now she rested in a pasture where she suddenly began to feel feverish.

Well, shit.

She found her own scent repulsive, her head hazy, but more than that was the sudden feeling of need. She thought to call for @Alaric, or maybe Mist.. but especially @Kindle. She knew him the best of the men she had met.

It was unmistakeable that her first season had come, but this wasn't the right time of year! Then again, she herself had been born in the dead of winter.

Pushing out a breath, she supposed that her plans to recruit may need to be sidelined.. unless..

Hokulani couldn't help smiling. She truly was amazing!

He was looking for mistletoe, having recently realized that Moke could help him get a fresh sample. He'd found it dried on the forest floor on several occasions, and it had only ever made him sick — but more research ought to be done with the fresh plant. Perhaps there could be some benefit from a topical application.

He was headed toward the weald when he was startled by a distinctive scent. Beside him, Moke made a questioning noise — why had they stopped?

"Stay here," he told her, stepping swiftly away from her and beginning to track the scent to its source. She didn't listen, of course, and began to follow at a distance. He didn't know why he bothered.

It did not take long to find a wolf in a pasture. He soon caught sight of another, and as he drew closer, confirmed that the heatscent was wafting from her formidable figure. His approach became more cautious, but he was still intent on speaking to her.

He barked in greeting, stopping at the crest of the nearest hill.

Maybe she wouldn't need to go much further after all.

A man came into view; lanky, a pretty coat, and those eyes.. he was older, too. She had always liked older. Standing to return his greeting with a raised, wagging tail, she didn't say anything immediately.

Was he here for the reason she hoped? More than that, was he worthy. Hokulani had time to be picky, and looks weren't the only thing that mattered. He needed to be healthy, at least by scent.

But why wasn't he moving closer already? That alone agitated her. You're standing so far away! Feeling shy? She called out, the words leaving her tongue without any sign of the hesitation that came with carefully crafted sentences.

That was invitation enough. Aureli set off down the hill, his body language as sure and as neutral as ever. He held himself quite alertly, as he always did when approaching strangers, but he sounded friendly enough when he said,

"I have found that my company is not always welcome, in such situations."

There was a mirthful sparkle in his eyes, but his expression did not invite laughter.

"It is early in the season, for you to want me closer," he told her, though he was not shy about closing the distance between them. His nose worked overtime, likewise making judgements about her age and her health. His body reacted, and he was not opposed to a closer encounter, but his trade would always come first, and his finely tuned mind would always win out over the whims of his body.

So he told himself, at least.

"What is your name?" he asked her. Best this time, at least, not to forget formalities.

Hokulani was nothing if not pleased when he accepted her invitation, happy to meet halfway. His scent was exciting, herbal, clean.

Early or not, don't you think I would be wrong to waste this? She responded, swinging around to inspect him like the most fierce of predators sizing up prey. Everything was intact, as far as she could see. It only comes once a year. If mother nature wills it, then I should follow her plan. 

Pleased with her findings she laid into a roll in the grass, settling down belly up. She was young, eager, and it showed. You can call me Hokulani. I come from the Burning Sea. She rolled back to lay on her stomach after speaking, tail swishing back and forth as she waited for him to return with his own name, and more than that, to make his decision.

Aureli thought that right and wrong were not the correct parameters for such a decision, at least if wastefulness was the question. She was right, however, that her heat might not come again for a year or more.

Mother nature willed plenty of things that Aureli didn't necessarily agree with. This, however, seemed the natural enough path.

"Aureli," he replied, warmly, coming close enough while she rolled to her back to tuck his nose into the fur at her shoulder. His own interest was apparent — and steadily growing — but he did not yet press his suit. "Of the healer's guild. I'm a traveling physician. Not quite what most look for."

Did she want a partner? Or a convenient tryst? He tried to ask without asking — and, if he were to examine that urge, he would find that he was reluctant to dissuade her from lying with him.

Hokulani grinned. A healer, that made sense with his soft edges, unburdened by the life of a warrior.

She wasn't sure he was one to be taken home, but he was here, and he could help her now. There was still time to find a man she could take to the river. Well Aureli, she liked his name, it felt smooth on her tongue. Will you stay with me? Just for today. Scratch her itch, and then she could move on. If he willed it he would come find her, but it wasn't Hokulani's concern as of now.

Every inch of her felt ready to pounce, to take what she wanted, but today she would be patient. They had gotten this far, it felt to her that it would be unwise to risk scaring him a way now. Men liked to be in control, that was what she had observed in her lifetime, and there was nothing she loved more than using that to get her way.

Blinking, waiting, staring.

It seemed that he would. Aureli needed no more convincing than this before he began laving her with attention — clearly, she knew what she was doing. Far be it from him to imagine some moral high ground and hold them both to it.

He was well accustomed to making these excuses, by now. Aureli had found over and over again that he was not a man without vices.

It was a long while before he spoke again. But, if allowed, he was happy enough to remain for more than a day — though not, perhaps, more than three or four. He had his vows, after all, and an apprentice to seek out. Perhaps, if they turned out to have the right temperament, he would even take on a student produced by this union.

"Where is the Burning Sea?" he asked her when they were not otherwise occupied. His voice was tired and hoarse, but he still seemed vital enough where he was stretched out nearby, languid and content.

Hokulani was left tired after their transaction, but satisfied.

She was happy to rest in a comfortable silence, allowing for Aureli to break it after some time. The sun would set soon, and Hokulani welcomed the cool air it would bring.

The coastline. She responded, rolling to lay on her side. We live next to a river, but we'll move to the island across the way when things are more established. Stretching out her legs with a groan, she was sure she could go for a nap. Not yet, she had to tell herself. When the sun is on the horizon it lights up the water like a blaze, you can't miss it. Hence the name.

She wondered what Storm would think when she returned home. Hokulani hadn't gotten the impression that the woman was fond of her ideas to pursue men.

The directions were easy enough; he even thought that he knew the river she spoke of. The island... not so much. And he was a proficient enough swimmer, but held his breath and kept it steady much less reliably. He'd worry about it at a later date.

"It sounds beautiful," he said, easily picturing the scene. He'd seen many beautiful places in his travels, and he'd filed each one carefully away. Ulysses had taught him to send off the dead with something beautiful whispered in their ear — and then that memory was theirs, and Aureli was not to speak of it again, nor to think of it if he could help it. The practice made them all the more precious to him, and he hoarded them like a dragon until it was time to give one away. Then, he always picked the best that he could think of to offer up like a jewel.

"I will bring gifts," he said, and he meant it, but he was also measuring her openness to the idea. "When the time comes."

Hokulani was surprised. Gifts? That seemed quite sentimental.

But, she wasn't in any mood to consider turning him away. Aureli had made a good impression, and as of now there wasn't anything back home she wouldn't want him to see, or vice versa. Things might change later but.. sure, if that would make you happy. She smiled, tail swishing across the ground.

You said you're a uh.. She clicked her tongue, what had he said? Physician. So like a doctor, right? She had only heard the term in passing before today. If you can make it, you should help me when it's time. It would be her first birth after all.

Well, it would be her first birth if it took.

Aureli did not have to consider this for long. He doubted there would be many more pressing appointments at this time in the season. Besides — while he couldn't be a proper father to any pups that came of the union, he still liked to see them, and to learn their names. Hokulani would need to be told the names of his other children, so that she might prevent any inappropriate unions in the future.

But it could wait for another day, he thought.

"I will come," he agreed, his tail thumping the earth once, twice. "Will this be your first birth?"

He would come so long as no one else needed him more. For that reason, he wanted to know what sort of risk factors this pregnancy might pose to the seaside woman.

Hokulani was pleased by his agreeable response, quite clear from her body language. It will be, but I'm not worried. She was rarely worried about anything. The woman in my family don't have a history of dangerous births.

Her grandmother was a healer herself, and her mother had been a midwife many times before having her litter. It was fair to assume that their skillsets played a part, but Hokulani didn't give them much credit.

If you don't make your way to the coast in time, I'll send someone to look for you. She decided. You've promised me now, I'll make you live up to it. Maybe he hadn't actually 'promised' but he did agree. Hokulani would hold him to it.

Family medical history had been his next question, so he was pleased when Hokulani offered it freely. He filed the information away, and the woman shifted easily from lover to patient in his mind. Perhaps he liked being a doctor just a little too well.

"They should not inherit anything troublesome from my side," he told her, though there was perhaps a part of him that wondered if his breathing trouble could be passed on. It had only started after that illness that had almost claimed his life — but his siblings had been ill as well, and none of them had suffered lasting effects. He'd long since decided to treat it as an old injury.

He stood and stretched, a gamely glint in his eyes.

"I will make every effort to attend you, and to be there in plenty of time," he replied, his tail gently whisking. "We ought, then, to be sure that it takes — don't you think?"

Perhaps he was pressing his luck. Aureli was not usually a risk-taker, but in these situations, he found himself ever weaker to temptation.

Hokulani could have purred at his suggestion. What a charmer, and he would take care of her too! Just as she had told Storm, good men did exist.

I say we shall, we wouldn't want you to waste your time after all. Her tail swished behind her, betraying and excitement she hoped to hide. Maybe she would have to seek Aureli out next year, too.

Ready to fade out?