Haunted Wood sweet darling, what should i do?

@Rouge continuing :)

And so with the female's approval, Nico set off, though making sure he stayed near her. While he wasn't exactly a playboy, the soldier was still a man, in some ways, and his upbringing had significantly impacted his morals. While another wolf might find the deWinter's ways amoral, he thought of it as nothing important and a part of him thought that perhaps, everyone acted the same way as he did. Obviously, Nico's life as a soldier had changed that viewpoint, but it didn't change his attitude. His attitude stuck.

"So," he began, as they explored the woods. The fog was thickening and the sky was darkening with every second, casting the already rather creepy forest into an eerie forest. It unsettled him, but he pushed away the feeling and smiled a roguish smile. "What fun things do you want to do?" he teased, wondering if her ideas of fun differed from his own.

They began their journey further into the wood. The fog still filling the air and the light slowly vanishing away. She loved it. She walked close by the male to the point where their fur would graze often. She enjoyed the company of this male. She was a lone wolf but not because she disliked others she simply hated the aspect of a pack, it brought back bad memories for her that she at most times wished to keep hidden inside her. 

The male began to speak "So" he began and she turned her head toward him. "What fun things do you want to do?" He asked her and she through for a quick second. What could they do... What are fun things I do... Rouge thought. She loved to have fun or loved the idea. To be honest she didn't have "fun" very often. She was alone most of the time and what she did in her spare time was, well rest. The rest of her time was spent fighting, hunting, scavenging, looking for shelter, things she did to survive.

"Umm..." She began "we could... hunt something, play a game, talk some more. What every you would like." She smiled at him though it was somewhat forced as she though a bit about how hard it was for her to think of something. It may or may not have been evident to the male that she was having a hard time thinking of what they would do for fun.

A slow smile touched the greyscale wolf's face at her words and he looked at her, a curious gleam in his apple green eyes, mentally analysing her features and putting her to memory. "How about this?" Nico said, his gaze wandering aimlessly as he took in the details of the ever-darkening forest and wondered why he was even exploring this godforsaken place. "We can play a game in which we each say something about ourselves and get to know each other. Doesn't have to be personal or anything that makes you uncomfortable," he paused briefly, letting his words settle in before continuing, "just things that'll help me know a bit more about you 'cuz all I know right now is that you're a pretty girl with a bad side and..." he smirked, trailing off, allowing her to finish his sentence according to her imagination.

"What'd you say?" Nico asked, ever the gentleman.

The male proposed that they play a game which consisted of them telling eachother things about themselves. He made it clear that it could be of anything to that she didn't have to feel uncomfortable. A gentlemanly thing to do she thought. He explained how he wanted to know more about her by saying "'cuz all I know right now is that you're a pretty girl with a bad side and ..." in his silence Rouge added "I'm extremely good company." She said slighly branging and winking at him with a bit of a laugh. 

"That sounds like a splended plan dear. Why don't you go first." she told him.

She finished his sentence, saying that she was extremely good company in which Nico replied with a small chuckle, eyes flashing over to her curiously before he turned his gaze back to his surroundings. The swarthy female agreed to his game, telling him to go first in which Nico replied with a small shrug and a smirk. "My name is Nicolas," he said, deciding to simply start small. After all, it was easier if they both started out with easier, simpler things than diving in deep and telling each other stories about life before Teekon Wilds, idiotic family, old jobs, regrets, stuff like that. Yeah, it was way easier just starting easy.

"You?" he inquired, sending her a sideways smile and a playful wink, nudging her with his shoulder ever so slightly, eyes gleaming with mischievous delight.

The male recealed that his name was Nicolas. Rouge instantly through of nicknames for him besides her sweetheart ones : Nick, Nico. He then asked her name nudging her in the shoulder. 

My name, thats not so hard she throught. She normally didn't give out her name for secrecy and privacy but this male or Nicolas as she now knew him seemed very nice and friendly. "My name is Rouge." she said and as a sie note said "but don't tell anyone." she smiled back at him. Not wanting it to sound too serious but to let him know that she would like it if he didn't tell anyone else.

The raven furred female introduced herself as Rouge, but told him not to tell anyone. Nicolas smiled, "I wouldn't dream of it," he told her. He wasn't lying. As far as he was concerned, he didn't like it when wolves whom he told his name to told other wolves and so, he'd decided never to do that to another wolf who didn't want anyone to know their name but trusted him enough to tell him. It was an honour, as far as the soldier was concerned, and it was almost the same as a betrayal if one told another's name without permission beforehand. Nico wasn't a traitor. He never was, and never would be. He wasn't about to start now.

"Rouge," he rolled the word around his tongue and grinned. "Nice," he said, and then began thinking of something else to say. "Okay, how about this: I'm from the North. Like, way north, and I used to be Alpha there."

Rouge was pleased that Mico agreed not to speak of her name with unfarmilar company. This made him more trust worth Rouge through to herself as she listened to where Nico was from and a hint to his past. He had been an alpha, had was the key word in that sentence. Rouge disliked packs, she throught them untrust worthy but to hear that he "had" been, she thought night mean that he is a lone wolf now.

Making this assumption she went on to say "So your a lone wolf then? I've been on my own since I was less then 6 months old. How did you come about leaving pack life?" she ask him happy in her mind that he was a lone wolf like her and may inderstand her more."

Rouge spoke, asking if he was a lone wolf to which Nico replied with a shake of his head and a small sigh. "Not really," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders. "I'm in a fledgling pack," he said, keeping this vague. Why? One, because pack secrets weren't something he readily gave and secondly, he really wasn't in a mood to talk about Royal Fire Court because just thinking about that would bring back his troubles and problems at home and the duties he needed to do but hadn't done. He would rather just avoid the subject for now because if they didn't, he was pretty sure he would descend into a bad mood soon enough.

"I stopped being an Alpha because I didn't want to stay there for the rest of my life and...it held some bad memories," he kept the part about bad memories vague, once again, unwilling to dwell into things that brought back ghosts of the past. No, they were better off locked away in the deep confines of his mind.

As Nico replied he started with saying "not really". She looked at him puzzled for a moment almost asking What do you mean? with her expression. Before saying this he sighed something Rouge took note of. 
He then went on to say he was in a pack. She payed no attention to the fact he didn't name it. To her all packs were the same and should be avoided. A bit tense from her thoughts about packs she relaxed when she heard that he left his old pack in part because of bad memories. She felt she could relate and so she said "Bad memories are the entire reason I refuse to join a pack" she said in a bit of a huff.

Nico smiled, "Aren't bad memories always the reason why one decides to avoids joining a pack?" he askes rhetorically with a thoughtful cant of his head. "One has to move on, though," he added as an afterthought, mostly thinking about himself, rather than Rouge. He had refused to join packs for a long time, by his standards anyways, but in the end, he'd known that it wasn't a logical choice for a wolf and had given into the primal urges in the end. It wasn't too bad, he supposed. Although it could've been better if he hadn't joined, given the fact that he would've been free to join Aeronwyn in her pack long ago, rather than wait for Royal Fire Court to grow strong. It was rather tedious, to be honest. And once again, he wondered why he did it in first place.

The soldier pushed the thoughts away, as the trees slowly parted into a space, covered entirely by the thickening cloudy white fog. He narrowed his eyes, a wicked smile touching his lips as he approached with slow, purposeful steps. "Wanna come explore this little place with me?"

Nico spoke regarding Rouges comment, sympathizing with it but adding the fact that we must move on. As far as Rouge was concerned she had moved on. She was abandon and alone without any explanation and instead of withering in sorrow and dying she had survived alone. Though for some time her sorrow had changed to hatred and dislike which she generalized to all packs. She felt that she could trust no pack and so her mind was unchanged in this moment. 

She appreciated Nico's sympathy and understanding though she though she had moved on long ago. He invited her to explore further into the woods and so she smiled at him with a devilish look in her eyes "Of course dear." She said stepping a few feet I front of him expecting him to follow at her side.

As they walked further into the wood the fog began to fade and a fast forest of willow trees emerged. Their leaves blocking out a majority of the moon light which was now the only source of light for the pair.

He fell in step beside her and they approached, seemingly walking through the wall of fog and soon, they emerged in a forest of willow trees, the white cloudiness having faded away to near nothing. The atmosphere was a bit claustrophobic, to say the least, and the soldier felt an unwelcome chill run down the length of his spine. He said nothing, however, nor acted as if anything was wrong. Instead, Nico proceeded with a confident swagger and a small smirk playing almost absentmindedly on his lips as he thought of the last few, good times, that he spent in a darkened forest, underneath the silver of the moon's light. They were rare, but not non-existent.

"Do you like these kind of places?" the soldier inquired softly as he padded through the forest, weaving around the trees with a certain, prowling grace. Brilliant green eyes peer out from the half darkness, and he looked curiously around, deciding that while rather creepy, it wasn't terrible.

The light from the moon shimmered on her fur and her blue eyes glowed lighting her way. She enjoyed the dark and eerie places of the wilds. It was easy for her to hide and the only thing she had to fear was what was in the darkness.  Although many felt unease from this setting so few wolves interrupted her. She had spent most of her time in places like this and fear grew to comfort over the years. 

He asked her how she liked it. "Yes, the dark and mysteriously errieness." She then joked with him smirking "Why? Are you scared?" she nudged his shoulder.

---

By the way. About to get on a plane for 2 hours. 

Nico rolled his eyes. He wasn't scared, per se, he was just a bit haunted by bad memories that he had of places similar to this one. Needless to say, it wasn't his favourite spot, but he wasn't freaked by it, not really. Soldiers couldn't be scared of the dark, and they couldn't be scared of dark forests, otherwise, they couldn't be able to do their job properly. Obviously, they all had fears, but they all did their best to suppress it and overcome it for the sake of their comrades and their mission. It wasn't easy, no doubt, but it was something that had to be done, regardless of how much fear and suffering you had to go through to achieve it. It was just the way things were.

"In your dreams, sweetheart," the soldier boy said with a roll of his eyes and an absentminded smile as he kicked at a bunch of dense bushes, wondering if anything was hiding within it, or behind it. Sadly enough, that did not appear to be the case, so he walked on, glancing around the forest with vague interest. Nah, Nico wasn't coming back here, not for a long time.

Rouge laughed at Nico's eye roll. She enjoyed spending time and messing with him. Night had completely fallen now in the forest and although she enjoyed talking with this wolf she knew that sooner or later she would need sleep. Maybe he would stay through the night she thought hopefully. She couldn't remember the last time she had another with her through the night. Someone to keep her company and another pair of ears and eyes. She let out a yawn one the squeeled at the end seeing what his response would be.

While a part of him had decided that Rouge wasn't much of a threat, he still kept his guard up. Nico knew, for a fact, that even those who appeared to be nice, sassy, funny and pretty, you couldn't trust them completely because chances were, there was an entirely dfferent personality lurking beneath the fake surface. So, sadly for Rouge, she wasn't going to get the full version and package going by the name of Nicolas deWinter unless they'd spent the next few months together, which obviously, was not going to happen given the fact that Nico was in a pack while she was a loner.

Unless she decided to join but the chances of that were low.

"Wanna rest for the night?" Nico asked her with a tilt of his head, a smile lingering on his lips as she yawned. "I'll keep you company. But I gotta go in the morning." 

Taking a hint from Rouges yawn Nico purposed that they rest for the night. He said he would keep her company but that he would have to leave in the morning. Rouge was saddened and frowned slightly by the thought of Nico leaving but she knew that with him being in a pack he had responsibilities to them and he couldn't stay away forever. She also knew that with her being a loner she was often alone, hence the name, and that company was scarce. But she wanted to stay happy so she through about how he was willing to stay the night and her smal frown turned to a smile. 

"Sure" she replied to his questions then said "I understand" when he spoke of leaving. She began too look around for a place to sleep for the night. Looking the the emence willow trees she through they may sleep in a little nuck created by their roots. Instead she found one that had tipped over creating a rather large hole where the roots used to be. She looked over at Nico asking "Does this pace look good or would you like to find another spot." She didn't really care where they slept if he wanted a different place.

Nico fell silent as Rouge began looking around for a place to sleep, following her quietly as his thoughts wandered to places it shouldn't be when enjoying the company of a stranger. At her question, he pulled himself, not-so-gently from his thoughts and offered her a charming smile and a nod. "Looks great to me," he said, approaching their designated sleeping area for the night and prodded around with a paw before lowering himself onto the ground, edging sideways to give her some space beside him. While Nico knew that some may find it inappropriate to sleep next to a girl one barely knew, he didn't really care - he wasn't going to do anything, at least, not now, and if she thought he was going to, then, it was her lost wasn't it?

Resting his head between his paws, Nico's eyes flicked over to her for a moment, "You okay?"

Rouge returned Nico's smile and followed him into their make shift den for the night. She turned to look out the entry at the night and was gazing at it when Nico asked if she was ok. She stopped gazing at the night and looked at him with her glowing light blue eyes. "I'm fine dear" she said then lauded down next to him and leaned against him saying "I'm just a bit bummed that you have to go." Nico was the first wolf in the wilds to ever really be nice to Rouge and she didn't want to think of how he was going to be leaving. But it was down thing she would have to face over and over in her loner life style.

Rouge leaned against him and Nico resisted the urge to stiffen immediately. While he was always available for a one night stand, he was uncomfortable with the idea of...well....cozying up with strangers simply because he had someone he held quite an interest with. While they were not official in the slightest, they were just friends right now, but he hoped that it would grow into something more and while he was busy nurturing that relationship, he wasn't about to start another with a loner. There was a reason why they were called 'one night stands' after all, because it was all over after one night.

And while the two of them hadn't done anything in particular, he still held them to the same expectations. After tonight, he would leave and they would go their separate ways.

"Yeah, well," He smiled wearily, "duty calls." Nico glanced at her and murmured a soft, "Goodnight," before burying his head into his paws, ready to drift off into sleep, though still keeping his guard up, in case she decided to slaughter him in his sleep.

fade after a couple more posts?

Rouge felt very cozy next to Nico. It was a comfort she wasn't used to as a loner who usually slept alone. But Nico could have been anyone who was nice to Rouge and willing to spend the night with her. She didn't expect much from this wolf as she hadn't recieved much from others. One of her fixed mind sets similar to that of packs. She had no intention of taking things any further then the humorious flirtation and cute nicknames. The time may come where she meet someone and bonding with them on a deeper level but she had never experienced this, not with this wolf of anyother.

She closed her eyes "Goodnight" she said in a soft whisper. She trusted this wolf enough not to kill her in the night but she would always be a light sleeper ready for anything as a survival instinct. She fell asleep, her breaths soothing hums.

---

Ya this thread is quite long :) Thinging just having them sleep then Rouge leave either in the night or before he wakes if thats ok.

yep that's alright! fade with one more post from you?

It wasn't long before his eyes drew shut and his breathing grew deeper and longer. The realm of sleep and dreams beckoned for the young deWinter and Nico gladly left the world of reality to the world of dreams where literally anything was possible. Although he dreamed, the soldier was a light sleeper, a habit from his days on the battlefield, thus, he could wake up at any moment and immediatley jump into a fight. 

But Nico was exeptionally tired that day, and so he slept a tad bit deeper than usual, lost in the worlds where he wished he lived.

It had been a few hours and it was pitch black in the middle of the night when Rouge opened her eyes. She saw darkness at first as she stared at one of the walls of the uprooted tree den she had found. But as she ajusted to it she eventually saw the small amount of moon light flowing through the entrance. She looked to her side where she saw Nico sound asleep. She stared at him for awhile just thinking in the silence. 

She slowly turned away from him so she was no longer against him. She then stood up trying to be as quite as she could be and not disturbe him. She stepped out side the den and looked up at the moon and stars. She looked back at the den entrance before walking away into the night away from the woods. She herself not completley sure why.

---

Last post for me. You can finishe up or we can just fade. :) thanks for the thread.