The Sentinels Bring your love baby I could bring my shame

no need to reply to this if you're busy i just have this stuck in my head.

The woman was more familiar with her packlands now, she spent her mornings marking the borders, her days spent mostly through the packlands - watching the lives bloom in the lands, offering her strength as she could and pushing the world around her to grow again. Evenings were spent hunting, small animals usually the only things to find themselves between her teeth. It wasn't much, but she survived, though her figure was more gaunt than it had been when she arrived. 

There was no regrets in her. 

She wanted to seek out the dark wraith, to see if @Lasher would offer her more truths of their family; the more she thought on it, the more she was there, and present, and thriving in the famine the less she trusted what Ellie had told her. She was nothing to be ashamed of. There was no harm in who she was, or what she was. Her blood was something to be proud of, and what they could do - what her mother could not - only made a fear rise in her that perhaps more of her life had been a lie than just what was denied to her. 

There was the possibility that her mother was not truly hers, it seemed the most logical route. 

Dawn found her cutting through the packlands, the girl stopping over a small sapling. She murmured softly beneath her breath, eyes closed as she focused on the little sprout. It would take years to join it's brothers and be as tall, but she had faith. It was half the game, after all. 

a great sadness had settled into every facet of lasher's existence. had it not been for his daughters, he would not have hunted, but instead allowed himself to waste away and succumb. it would be an easy thing, but he could not bring himself to abandon donnelaith. a hunted expression had replaced his usually affable gaze; his days melded into one another, and he had ceased the grooming of his pelt, so that it fell into tangled disarray. 

if he had cared to know, taltos appeared to be an elder these days, a skulking and aged man who moved through the thin shadows cast by the bare branches and said little to his wolves. the woman of ash and snow he beheld through such a copse. she did magick, he knew, whispering over a small seedling as if to persuade it to grow, and though he did not think it would, lasher saw no reason to dash her hope.

No matter how slow the progress would be, the woman was determined to strengthen herself and her pack at the same time. She would see it grow, see it thrive, and she could already see the fruits of her labors in the rest of the pack. Her grey eyes shifted over the small sapling, trailing up to the tall trees that marked this one's goal. Give it time, give it the right energy, it would grow. Rowan turned as she recognized the approach of another, her critical gaze falling upon the dark male and taking his state in. It was upsetting; this was not the spirit she met on the borders, the one who had consumed her thoughts for so long.

She crossed the ground between them, moving confidently until she stood before the male. He could rebuke her as was his right to do so. "Lasher," His name was a soft croon, asking for permission to touch him, to comfort him - to help, if she could. She has not shared any time alone with him, and while she had hoped to find him her selfish wishes were pushed aside on the plans to tend to him as best as she could. 

there was no want to chastise rowan in lasher's gaze; he was merely relieved that she had not turned away from him. in answer to her silent inquiry, the druid settled himself to the earth alongside the woman. his eyes fell fixedly to the tiny green shoot, but he had no energies of his own to urge into the delicate little leaves, no strength of presence to speak to the plant, encourage it to grow.

"i must look quite undone," came the tones, rough despite their soft edging in glen-accent. a grim smile alighted on taltos' lips, then faded as he raised his swampwater eyes to rowan's own worried glance. "do not fear for me."

The wraith did not reject her and she settled with a soft sigh, her frame not quite as tall as his. Her grey eyes drifted over the man and she gave him a small smile in return. "Disheveled was my thought." she supplied, reaching out to start to tend to his coat. "What troubles you?" it was not a question if there was an issue for the male, but more exactly what that was. She would not see him wilt and wane in this way and not attempt to do something about it. 

The ashen woman was not ignorant of the desires of the world, of loss, of love, she could only imagine though what might have driven the male to such a state. For that, she did worry. She had done what he asked, tried to keep herself busy and support the pack, but now - the dark alpha was her sole focus.

"it is an accurate description," he murmured, smiling at rowan as she began to preen his matted fur. there was a pleasure in this, one that he leant into. his worries. how could he burden the mayfair woman with such, which she was so new to the clan? taltos decided he would not do such a thing; the man shifted and gave rowan a pointed look. 

"it is merely the land, and its bareness. i shall be all right when the herds return. and what of you, rowan?" lasher inquired, steering away from himself and to the woman who had not known she was a member of a witch-clan.

This was a luxury she rarely afforded herself. Touching another, sharing in that communal comfort, she was gentle as she nosed along the scruff of his neck, nose brushing his skin soothingly. Her grey eyes met his, pausing in her motions for a moment to listen to him. The land, yes, it was troubling, probably more so for the alpha and father than for herself. "I am well."  She admitted, and offered him a genuine smile - relaxed in these details. "The longer I am here the more questions it brings - but I have suspicions. They can wait, I do not wish to trouble you. "

He was weary, and she leaned in again, briefly nuzzling against him before returning to preening him. "I am grateful for the opportunities you have given me, Taltos." The moniker was given with a soft lilt, a reverent sort of whisper. He had told her when they met, he had served the witches; for now, she was pleased to serve him. 

lasher closed his eyes as rowan swept her lips along his ruff. it was not often that he was touched, save for a nudge from his son or kiss from one of his daughters. blue willow was gone; his features tightened perceptibly with pain, but he shook his head. "no. tell me of your thoughts. i welcome the distraction they will bring." of he could not be a leader, he would fit himself into the role of mentor, and silently he willed rowan to heed. 

there was a worshipfulness in her voice that caused the druid to open his eyes and appraise the woman with a sharpened gaze, the haunted expression dying away momentarily. "they were not mine to give," he murmured gently. "the spirits guided you here, rowan. i am merely your teacher."

She saw a glimpse of the male she had met on the borders, watching him as he looked at her. He had the spark of life, that fire in his eyes that had quickened her down to her soul. "I have met your dear daughter, "  she began, offering a smile as she thought of the girl. "It is easy to feel her strength, her promise." Rowan could offer him that assurance. "It makes me wonder about my mother though. Anything is possible since I did not know my father, but, I doubt that someone without the power would be given a witch to raise." 


She regarded him for a moment, leaning into tease another tangle from behind his ear. "I am still grateful." She admitted. How could she not  be? 

he knew of whom she spoke. deirdre was the witch most turned outward with her powers, she who had brought peregrine to the pack and sought to understand every facet of healing, who applied the green magicks to her daily life and taught those around her the simple pleasure of witchcraft's medicine. "you are undoubtedly a mayfair, rowan. you would not be drawn to donnelaith if you were not; there is something for you here. keep company with the girls. it may be that they teach you more than i am able."

he shut his eyes with a low sound of contentment as she continued to groom him. shame rose in his heart, that he should let himself fall into such a state of abandonment, but he did not pull away. the earthen spirit and the newly budding witch fell into a moment of silence, one taltos found he adored on many levels.

This was soothing to her. Tending to him, feeling useful in that moment - feeling wanted for a brief while - it was equally for her own benefit as much as it was for his. She gave a nod as he instructed her to stay near his girls, her heart stammering as she thought of growing as they were. She was older than they were, and yet she had been stifled, she knew that the reason she had been lead there was to find the dark male. "Yes, but I doubt now that I am Ellie's - perhaps someone else's." She suggested. "I will probably never know." After all, she had no plans to return to the French Quarter, no desire to raise the dead to ask them. 

"Je suis à toi, maintenant." She murmured softly, pausing to look him in his eyes. "One of yours - I do not need parents for that. The pack, it is more than enough to please me. I know I can grow here. I will make up the time I lost, I will grow. Already I see improvements, already I have been accepted. It is....it is very freeing, to not longer walk in the shadows of doubt."

it was comforting also to lasher, to have rowan near, focused only on him as he was upon her. the woman's tones also were comforting, and it was not of the mundane she spoke. lasher found himself willingly and gratefully distracted by the she-wolf. "someone else's. one day we will know her name."

he felt he knew already that the title of rowan's mother was close to heart, for the witches' intuition had never departed him. it merely lay latent until a mayfair had need of him, and such was rowan. "you have completed this pack in some way, this family. i apologize that i have not drawn near enough to guide you as i should have," the man murmured, lifting his own muzzle to preen beneath her ear.

Rowan relaxed against him, giving the tiniest sigh as he spoke. He confirmed her suspicions, and the woman nodded. It was terrifying, in a sense, to come upon the realization that no part of her life was accurate. Nothing she had known was real, and she was left to put the pieces together as much as she could. "Soon, I would hope." She admitted.

Rowan tilted her head, a little crooning sound leaving her lips as he groomed her in turn. She had not been grazed with the touch of another - mostly her own fault, she was admittedly standoffish - and it was welcome. "It left me time for my thoughts." She admitted. "Most drifted between you and to my past." The woman stated quietly.

presently lasher felt awareness steal across his spirit; he looked upon rowan with new eyes, not merely as a woman who had come to donnelaith, led by some hidden thing, but as a mayfair, with the comeliness of a witch and the promise of one surging dormant in her gentle countenance. 

they touched one another with a familiarity that would not have arisen so swiftly were she not a member of their far-reaching and powerful clan; he felt a kinship with rowan that was common only to their kith, specific only to the druid and those he lived to serve. "speak to me," he commanded softly, drawing away only to find her eyes and hold them with his own.

The ashen woman did not pull back immediately, tongue soothing along the tuft of fur she had just untangled. The dark male commanded her to speak, but for a moment her words were frozen on her tongue. Her grey eyes fixed on his face and she offered him a small curve of a smile, something tiny and only for him. "As a child, I remember a male coming upon me. He was older - sickly, and I could feel it. He tried to attack me but before he landed a killing blow there was a great thing that ran through me. He fell over, blood pouring from his mouth..." She had never admitted such a thing to anyone, and yet, she knew the dark male would not rebuke her then. 

It was invigorating to admit the things in her life she had hidden so long. "The same thing happened with the man who was my mother's mate. He came along after I was older, and when she perished - he had his harlot in her den before she was even properly mourned." Admitting such a thing was a rush to her, making her blood all but sing. "There was a force, and it was with me from time to time - in those times, I believe, especially. I did not know it's name. But there was a promise - and that was what drove me here, to you." 

She did not mean to will such things onto another. She never had. "It is why I pushed myself to learn as much as I could about healing. To counter the horrific things I had done. To atone." Hopefully he would not recoil from her, drive her from his pack. He hoped it would not make him think less of her for the things she had done before.

the force rowan described was something that lasher felt he had heard of before, though he could not recall from where he had found the knowledge. and atonement; he knew well the driving force that could spur one on, consume them utterly. rowan did not appear to be addled by her guilt, but he felt the deep current of shame that ran through the woman, and his heart was coursed with pain for her.

"there is no sin in defending oneself, or punishing one who had done wrong unto your person," lasher murmured. "though ... this force. i agree you must learn to control it, lest it get out of hand and thus take you." a small smile lit his weary visage. "do not fear to tell me these things, rowan."

The council he offered soothed her, a small smile growing on her face as she looked up to the dark male. To not feel the sort of fear that had overwhelmed her - it was liberating. Utterly intoxicating. You are a gift to me, Lasher. Rowan offered, her slender muzzle dipping beneath his chin for a moment. She felt she could grow here, she could understand the gifts she was given with the male at her side. He would show her the things she needed to know, she could fix things she felt she had lost as a child. 

She made a soft sound, crooning almost. She was comfortable here, surprisingly so. It was shocking, her eyes lifting to meet his face as she relaxed entirely. No walls left up, the defenses dropped for the sake of letting the male see her fully. He had offered her a home and allowed her to be safe. She just wanted to let him be comfortable too - she wanted to help him however she could. He seemed to so weary, as if he had maintained alone for so long. A shiver ran down her spine, her tongue running along his strong jaw. I am drawn to you.

rowan seemed then to melt into him, touching him with a tenderness he had not experienced in quite some time. his enjoyment of aria's body was tempered by the feeling she did not love him as he did her, and while this was not of true concern to the man, it held him back all the same. with the quiet mayfair before him, taltos knew he could relax in the trustworthiness of her nature, and abided her kiss with great pleasure.

her admission was taken with a low chuckle and he roused himself to take her into his embrace, his lips finding with a light caress the bulb of her ear, sweeping down along her jaw to her lips, where he lingered. his response was the same as her words had been, only silent, rife with his own want and the seed of affection that had been planted upon seeing rowan.

She did not recognize the sudden shift of feelings, or the obsessive way that she had thought of the male. It made sense, given that her only other companions were female aside from Renoir but she had not approached him since joining the pack. She swallowed back a little sound, shifting further into the male's embrace. It was pleasant, though unexpected, and the words she might have spoken were rendered useless for the time being. 

The dark male was attentive, his lips finding places along her body and drawing out soft little murmurs from the white witch. She turned her attention to him, focusing on only his touch, responding in kind with her own kisses along his body, the playful sway of her hips. She was not as experienced, but still, was eager to learn and with her Taltos, she knew she was safe to explore.

she responded to him, the youth of her body resplendent with vitality and firing his own. he forgot the famine, the bare land, the desperation of his own soul; lasher placed the focus of his heart upon her own. her inexperience was a worshipful thing -- not only for the magick of the mayfairs did she seek guidance. slowly his touch became more pointed, the kisses of his mouth more firm.

slowly he moved to arrange her in preparation for the drawing together of their bodies, circling her with the wanting of his body and the response of her own, though taltos paused at length to find rowan's eyes and ask her with a silent expression if she was sure of herself.

There was a moment when she might have recognized this, maybe in another time with a clearer head. Her only thought was that she was drunk on the druid, that he was in turn drawing her into his embrace and stroking the fires in her. Instead, it was a mixture of passion and biology, a need instilled in her from the moment they had touched. Her touches became more flirtatious, her movements mixed between pressing against him and darting a bit away, a playful sort of movement just to draw him further from the main lands and into the seclusion of the forest. Among the ancient trees and the promise of new life the young woman spotted another fairy ring, reverent and careful to avoid tainting it with her touch. 

Instead, she looked to the dark male, her eyes meeting his with confidence; not only in him, but herself, for the first time. She bid him closer, crooning against his neck as she nuzzled there, before she turned to offer herself to him. Willfully, wholly, she let herself be consumed by him.

she danced away; he felt strength flow into him, and followed, let himself be drawn into the darkness of the great trees and the magick that beckoned to him. he drew from it as it encircled rowan and then came near again, to kiss her and to caress the slim lines of her body beneath the ashen pelt. and the eyes that met his own at length were filled with confidence, and with the wanting of her response, and she turned to present her curved body to him.

lasher let his eyes linger worshipfully for a long series of moments before he leant forward to savour her, to tempt her with the carnality of his desire to make her an altar to the splendor of their interlude -- at last he could wait no longer and gathered rowan close, his breath warm along her nape as he brought them together in the most primal of bonds.

She offered herself to him, bidding him to do as he would with her. The heat did not command her - not that she could tell - no, it was the druid and his steady offerings to her. There among the ancient trees her soft murmurs - her pleas, her commands were given, offered as an invocation for the druid as they fell into one another. There with him she did not hold back, she did not try and limit herself. Powers unfurled, with the dark druid, she relaxed and let the heat and and the male consume her.

She gave herself over entirely, grey eyes closed as she moved against him - seeking to stroke the fire in him the same as he did in her, giving as much as she could to him. Her soft breathy moans, the movements of her body, it was all for him and him alone.

<3 fade w your next post?

the magick of the glen surrounded them, engulfed them in a cascade of glimmering starlight and the wreath of fairy-whispers, the murmurings of nearby spirits. they were drawn to the coupling of the witch and her servant, she with ancient blood within her veins, and he bound to her clan inexorably.

the rightness of their melding comforted lasher in his desires and he gathered her closely, whispering in glen-tongue against the softness of her nape, until he fell from the grace of control and lost himself within the witch, completely, utterly, and for the eternal sensation that their dance had wrought in him. 

"rowan."

He stroked the fire that had begun in her, and she begged and called to him. He was accommodating, he was generous and Rowan could only give back as much as she was given. She could do little than speak in the old-tongue, her whispers and gasps given to him in the way that a woman like she could offer. Little experience, and yet so wholly confident in her own abilities; it had grown in leaps and bounds since she had come into his lands and he had accepted her. 

When finally she could hold back no more she felt him spasm within her, overcome with one another and the moment as surely as anything else. Once they had finished and he returned to earth she turned to carefully align herself with him, licking and tending to him as sweetly as she could. "Stay with me tonight," She murmured with a smile, giving him a look that said she clearly wasn't done with him yet.

By the time dawn had found them she was nuzzled into his plush pelt, sleeping soundly, though her body had begged for him time and time again. Her heat and body sated for the moment, she could finally rest feeling as relaxed and settled with the dark druid at her side.