Moonspear champagne
the bonecracker
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#1
All Welcome 
attn: @Dirge
 

With the hormones running rampant in the air, Hydra had gone from standoffish to receptive. Should she come across any female who was not her sisters, they would be met with one or two responses: exceptional affection or outright aggression. Hydra knew to actively avoid her mother in these days. Though her ambition was ever-growing, she had no desire to push boundaries this year—there was nothing for it. That being said, her interest seemed to rest primarily in those of the opposite sex. 

At present, Hydra rolled around on the earth, letting out a low groan as she satisfied one particular itch she had endured that had been out of reach of her teeth. And then she lay there on her side, huffing in discontent, before she rose to all fours, shook out her furs, and broke into a run.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#2
Winter storms curbed what ranging he could accomplish. It had snowed for what seemed like days with minor reprieves and the nights still lingered bitterly. It was a frustrating point as he wanted to stretch his legs, wanted to wander freely but yet didn't dare risking getting caught in unfavorable conditions. Staying alive still outweighed seeking danger for pleasure any day. With the turn of the late season so to speak in action as well, he had sequestered himself to the lower climes of the mountain. Far from interested in settling or jockeying over the willing, his thoughts had mostly gathered over the certainty that spring would be coming.

That was until Hydra came zipping into view. At least he was certain it was her; she did have a propensity to delightfully pester him and as of late this was yet to change. He saw less of Lyra and Alya, perhaps for good reason. He chuffed questioningly out to the blur of darkness, hoping to catch her ear and find out what all the fuss was about. She was off towards somewhere in a hurry.
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#3
The sound of Dirge was one she had memorized by now. She kept his company, and he hers, a lot, though had avoided most everyone in recent days. Her delightful pestering had been put on pause until now. Hydra slowed, shifting gears up until the point she was at a walk, and then turned to greet him with a waving tail. She still felt the urge to run, but instead moved toward him firstly and attempted to lick-nip his shoulder once it was within reach. 

The Beta female then drew alongside him, offering him her own knavish grin, before she again pushed herself into a run. The scents in the air brought about a newfound energy in her, a slow, kindling burn she had no clue how to work with. Usually when she felt antsy, a good run did the trick—but something prompted her to invite him to chase.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#4
Her distance now made more sense to him when she drew near; the same tantalizing of scents rose to meet him as she nipped his shoulder. Her expression twisted this further, teasting him into a toothy grin with a nipping riposte in return. She was in a visbily good mood, something of which he could not have said he was familiar with. No, her reservations were lowered and that emotion bled through.

And then she rocketed off, her own invitation clear as he drew long limbs after her in a chase. With the path she forged cutting a swath through ever-constant snow, he barrelled behind her wordlessly in their game of pursuit.
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#5
His own path to her was easier than the one she forged; the snow that had fallen here but the previous night was soft, and she sank through it. She was not quite large enough to be the perfect plow, and her energy was easily wasted in this task—Hydra loosed peals of laughter at the failure, giddy instead of frustrated, as her chest pressed against the snow and sent it every which way. Much of it covered her person, the tips of her furs shimmering and looking as though she were shrouded in diamonds.

Both ears turned backward as he caught up, and her eyes were wide as she looked back to witness her inevitable 'misfortune' (she could hardly call it that) as he closed the distance between them. She let out a playful squeal as she attempted to avoid capture, breathy laughs coming from her as she bounded onto what she hoped might be more solid ground and letting out a horrified yell of disappointment as she found she had been horribly wrong. Snared! Damnable snow!
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#6
Her laugh was encouraging, pushing him onward across the trail she blazed in deep snow past jutting spars of stone. The hinderance it offered gave him the edge he needed as she sank further into the drifts, the inevitable conclusion to her game came swiftly once she was snared; Dirge plowed through here too, long limbs reaching for her in efforts to bowl her over into plush glittering cover. His smile spanned the length of his muzzle then as he devolved to rough housing. Nothing too wild, but it was a game she wanted through her courting then he would happily oblige.
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#7
Ah! She fell onto her side once she was pushed, her limbs loose and enabling the attack as she more-than-willingly fell. And then he was upon her, and Hydra permitted this, too—his roughhousing was met with feathered nips that spanned the length of his jaw to the soft, plush area near his throat, hoping to sufficiently distract him with the perfectly administered dose of affection prior to making her grand getaway. She attempted to hold him in place, as though she herself was rooted, to give him the illusion that she had no intention of going anywhere else.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#8
A volley of nips met him as he stood above her; Dirge returned them nip for nip, reaching to pluck at the thick hairs of her shoulder. His tail swung in a wode arc—it had been far too long since his last rousing opportunity for play. The pallor that had hung heavy over the mountain was absent in these fleeting moments as Hydra grabbed for his scruff, a playful growl rumbled low in his throat as her teeth sought and found purchase there.

With her illusion cast, he suspected she intended to use him to right herself in the snow bank. Dirge steadied himself but not before pressing his snout against the snow-dusted tendrils of her coat. A subtle gesture to encourage keeping their closeness came bravely, and he had long left the bastions of gentlemanly wisdom to fall prey to an enchanting temptress.
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#9
Each nip stirred a fire within her. Not the sort that razed forests to the ground, but the sort that warmed you on a too-cold night. The sort you yearned to get nearer to, to ease the aches and pains of the air that had become painful to breathe in. Dirge was relief, reprieve, comfort, and more—moments ago, she had thought to flee, but as he drew nearer...

Change of plan

Her forelegs sought now to wrap around him in the wolf equivalent of a hug, and what upper strength her body harbored attempted to take him to the snowy earth beside her. Distance was not what she sought this millisecond, she decided. The warmth his nearness brought was exactly what she craved more of. His bold move was paying off in the moment, so it would seem.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#10
What he hadn't counted on was for her to wrap her legs around him and the realization set a moment too late. He found his tentative grip slide and soon he was pulled into deeper snows in what could best be described as a tangle of limbs. It left him to stretch his neck and head the length of what he thought was her nape; she had fallen so swiftly out of view in her masterful snare that a passing moment of uncertainty rendered him still. But this stillness was not to last as he loosened another rumbling growl and wriggled against her wolfish hug. In an instant he had forgotten that initial perception of her—all pit viper ever poised and coiled left laying in wait—and now paid dearly.

His attempts to escape however were all show. Dirge thought he could have broken her grasp if he tried, hind feet planted firmly in compressed snow and somewhere beneath them both, but there was fun in the struggle that erupted at the forefront of his actions. As though it were the last line of defense he fought to gently rise or perhaps smother her against the earth. He thought perhaps he would repay her the favor of her snippy fire-and-ice demeanor as his muzzle turned in the cold and offer a fervored nip where he could reach.

Ever the snake charmer it seemed, he spoke lowly—"Have me where you wanted then?"
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#11
Hydra grinned at her success, once she managed it. Mhmm, she hummed, snuggling up real close. She moved to bury her face in the thick of his chest-furs, which there was plenty of. She moved nearer to him, moving to comb the crest of his now reachable shoulder with her teeth. But soon she fizzled and twisted herself to lay and rest her head on that in-reach shoulder, hoping now that she might use that very shoulder as a pillow.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#12
With a shuffle and a bit of untangling of the limbs, she seemed content to nestle down. The content murmur sounded lazy to his ears and for long moments he stayed still, waiting for the next action she was apt to submit him to. Their closeness was a lull to him as it had been before, but he felt indescribable tension stir where it had not before. The muddying of his thoughts was enough to fluster him; Dirge broke through her relaxed hold to bound for snow again, shaking the toussled hairs of his coat back into place.

Other than the unsteady pound of his heart away in his chest, he beamed like a not-so-bright boy would after figuring out a puzzle. He'd charmed the snake enough to get away; his tail waved as his grin turned smug smirk—as soon as she rose to meet him it would be his turn to barrel off through the woods.
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#13
She was surprised by his escape, and it showed in a very displeased and disappointed scowl. She'd been pleasantly drunk off of his contact, and having it ripped from her was sobering in a way that a cold bucket of water could be. The smug smirk was not missed by Hydra, who was sore over the abrupt change, and Hydra contemplated her next move. 

The Beta recalled the words of her sisters; that Dirge was a bit of a flirt. Hearing he flirted with other ladies that were not her, even if they were her mirror images, caused Hydra's typically flirtatious nature toward him to pause. Even with the pleasant, peachy haze surrounding her, Hydra wanted to be wooed and won over. Some snuggles may have dulled the edge of her blade temporarily, but as he tore away from her she was quick to remember he might be considering other prospects. 

The idea made her blood boil. Hydra was quite possessive. Even if she had not officially decided what or who it was she wanted, she (unfairly) wanted to be One and Only, and to be doted on. 

Well, his other potential ladies, she imagined, would rise to the occasion and chase him—but not her! Hydra rose slowly to all fours. She was a hunter, and quite interested in pursuit, but before she pursued any man Hydra would not let herself be made a fool of. She had made that error with Rian, and he had disappeared. Maybe he and Dirge played the same game, a game that Hydra only realized here and now existed. Dirge seemed more upfront than that, but then again, hadn't Rian? 

With her own muddled mind, Hydra turned on her heel and attempted to strut away in a way that Alya, she, and Lyra had practiced many-a-time. They called it the 'make them watch'—Alya had cultivated it, and to be sure, it was something. One of those walks where your hips swayed, hips they were growing into now, and your stride was long and exaggerated and yet seemed entirely natural. It was a card Hydra played with the singular thought that he would, in turn, be reluctant to let her leave, that he would do some debonair move to make her stay a while longer—that he would convince her of something solid to make her linger, not that she knew what solid meant.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#14
And watch he did.

This abrupt change of pace left him mute, a raised brow curious as he calculated options before throwing figures out an imaginary window and sprang to life. The first few springs back into the path he had forced into the snow had the vigor of a less carnal beat, as if he intended to bowl her back over. Perhaps a year or more ago that would have been his direction, to harass and intice with no real intention other than being a pest. Those days had been fun, but his world had changed greatly since then.

Instead now he thought himself bold and in bloom, a royal flower high on a vine over a common weed in shade; he reached for her flank to give decisive nips in a one-two fashion. Low tones rumbled in his throat and then out as he matched her stride not more than a half-step behind—a tentative gesture to toss her sourness away, to stay, to revel in whatever affections could be passed. It seemed rather playful in essence but she had sparked in him this interest for something more, and he, well, he was ever the opportunist.
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#15
He again sought to bridge the gap between them, which took him no effort at all given the path their forms had cut. An ear turned backward as he assaulted her with playful nips, and his low growl certainly made her want to reconsider leaving at all—she hadn't truly desired to—but would that be all it took for him, to stop her, Moonspear's warrior princess? No, that was not the main issue here, was it? It was the fact that Alya had perceived him as potentially flirting with other women, and she would know such a thing, wouldn't she? Flirting was her own specialty and weapon of choice.

Hydra wanted to lay some sort of possessive claim to Dirge, but if he were making a fool out of her before everyone, how could she?

She wheeled herself in front of him, parrying his nips to her flank with a deflecting click of her own teeth. The heat of the moment, the fog, the warmth, whatever was in the air—she acknowledged it as she looked to him. Hydra burned in various ways, she moved to press near to him, drawing close to his ear. What is it that you want? came her direct question—because if it was not her, if it was whatever he could land his teeth on, she would let it be, let it go. But if it was her? Well, it was not something she had the answer to, here and now.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#16
She whirled on him in an instant, the sharp click of her teeth stopped motion at once in all but that knavish smile. Hydra wound in close to him again, her words velvety thorns that barely lent him reason to pause. He thought he had answers to all things until then, you being the foremost forward, a one word drop that seemed far too needy and too brazen. He dealt with her being as much of a pit viper as a sultry ice queen and in that momentarily pause he knew better than to dole out basic answers. His actions had spoken louder than words when it came to her.

"A chance," he murmured back towards the curve of her own ear as his eyes traced her nape. He was not foolish enough to believe she didn't search for other, if not better suitors. More permanent ones, at least. Still time after time, she had sought him out over comfort of another; the odds felt tipped in his favor. It was a safe bet to say he wanted a chance to be the first, to fulfill that calling need that was desirable as much as it was instinctual, and he would not hide it away behind the guise of something else.

And if she decided otherwise?

C'est la vie.
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#17
His words were precisely what she wanted to hear; it brought a vulnerability to him she craved, it gave her what she desired. So she circled him, to linger by his side for a moment, her eyes warm as they held him. You might have your chance, Hydra determined, if you speak to my mother and father about your intentions, and I am the only one you seek a chance with. Her tail waved, and Hydra placed her own muzzle beneath his. Maybe he would deny her this; maybe he was caught in the moment, and that would wound her, but Hydra would not be made a fool of, not again—this time, this time, she would be certain. 

Her heart was on the line, after all; it was Moonspear's greatest prize. 

It was true, she was a terribly hopeless romantic beneath it all. A warrior princess who would kill for those she loved. She was in search of someone who would kill for her—but perhaps the bravest thing of all one could do for her now, in the meantime, was confront her parents to, well, inform them of their intent to pursue. She grinned at the thought, one ear twitching. What will you do?
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#18
She hooked him with baited breath, then a cold wash overcame him at her proposal. It was not so chilly as to make him shudder and surprisingly he found himself able to keep it together in light of her words. Did she think to ensnare him and hold him tighly so? She had lured him there to Moonspear to begin with, so perhaps it was her intentions he needed to reconsider. He could not answer that question, not that he could fault her for budding thoughts of conventional romance... but he was far from a conventional sort.

"Are you not a woman grown enough to let a leading man steal her away?" His words were teasing and teased they did that boundary, either daring to embolden her resolve or set her teeth angrily to his flesh from hurt. It seemed his turn to play coy with that still lingering smile; the mood may have begun to pass him ever slightly but he would try to save the moment all the same. Such seemed their game anyway, ever back and forth though here he did not quite doubt a note of seriousness placed. It held him to a sobering place then and he thought to add before her riposte.

"You know," he started, far from his usual fanfare, "the spring will come and whisk winter away, and I too." It was his turn to break away and regard her from arm's length. That knavish smile had disappeared now. "And while there are many things in this world I desire to see for myself, I should think they'd be better with you. I am quite fond of your company, after all." He paused before letting it all taper off, not quite sure of what words to pluck from thinning air. This, he decided, this was more nerve wracking than any dispute he had wormed his way out of. Offering an invitation barely veiled in a time when more than just tensions ran high set his heart near to thundering.
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#19
His words were met with a sneering smirk; Hydra was plenty woman, she thought to herself, and she sought to keep her womanly honor intact against this knave in the one way she could think of, in her addled mind—because surely she desired him in many ways. Here and now she was ever aware of it. But she disabled them both from acting on it, and fortunately this was not a time where her wild instincts claimed every ounce of her. This year she would not come into heat, though the scents around her provoked her still. 

He sobered, though, and spoke true—she remembered when they had first met, the words he had spoken. Hydra had hoped to keep him here, for a time. Perhaps forever. His inquiry shocked her into a thoughtful silence—of all the things for him to say, to ask... she had not imagined this. Perhaps he asked because he knew the answer. Hydra could not leave her family, not yet. Not with the promise of new siblings, and the utter abandonment of so many... 

But... 

Well, she was clearly fond of his company, too. She might be able to meet him halfway, for a short time. Her own scouting expedition, brief and quick and not at all removing her from Moonspear in any sense of the word. Hydra was loyal to her family, and Dirge himself might find himself more loyal to his wanderlust at the end of the day than he was to her. 

She would find out. I have always wanted to see the coast, she admitted, her tail twitching idly behind her. Her father had taken her there once, when she was very young... the memory was one she wanted to revisit. With the warming weather, she could. Perhaps... I could accompany you there, for a short time. I... cannot leave my family. Not now. Not after everything that has just happened, which he might understand, or he might not. She could not leave Dune, or Gannet, and would never leave her sisters. Her mother and father she would not abandon in their own time of need; Hydra would serve them still until the day came that she would need to serve herself. At present, she was able to do both. Dirge was handsome and bright, an eligible bachelor to be sure—but she understood his need to see the rest of what the world had to offer.

Once he was finished, he would see that nothing, near or far, could compare to her anyhow.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal
so lay your hands across
my beating heart, love
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#20
Her silence drew out; he steeled himself for what he thought would be the inevitable outcome. She would rebuke him here, once and for all in spite of his transparency from the beginning. It seemed a great thunder cloud building on a distant horizon, culminating into a vast storm beneath wide seas that were never quite settled, but churning. He anticipated this like he did all things, ever opposite of positive and true to words that all good things must come to an end.

Instead the words that came at last were gentler than his expectations and surprisingly more interesting than the ire he had thought to receive. A compromise hastened in their wake and he found bridled elation build that she favored him enough not to be rid of his company yet. Dirge knew this was not an easy choice of words on her part, for perhaps even they both could tell that change was swift on mountain winds. It always came and it would soon, though those upheavals and abandonments came and went with every season. He understood these things to a degree, but with no desire to let them settle into dust on his earthy shoulders.

"Nothing would delight me more," he said then, unable to hide the smile that came to his face. He held no real desire to tear her away from what she felt she needed to keep; the heart wanted what it wanted, and no law or wolf could hold sway over it. He could take her to the coast with little more than company as fair trade, and the rest thereafter he decided he would figure out then. For now he would settle for this exchange, though there was work yet to be done ahead of them.

"I'll call for you when the time comes," he decided, feeling he could wait for her to put her affairs in order. The weather was not favorable yet and until he felt it was, he had little desire to pursue an adventure that ran a high risk of disaster out the gate. But here he was hesitant yet to depart her company, leaving conclusions or questions to her.
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#21
Hydra could not help but echo his smile with one of her own, her tail waving. She was excited for this venture, however brief it might be. He understood she had her reasons to return home, and she understood he had his reasons to not if he did not desire to. Selfishly, Hydra wanted to convince him during their time away to stay. 

She nodded to him, glad for his patience regarding time of departure. The Beta was quiet now, and then moved to nose his cheek should he permit it. Her emotions were rampant and she could not settle on just one, but now she had other things to do. More time with Dirge would come, but for now there were other things that needed to be done. Until then, she rejoined, and then began to head toward where she knew her sisters would surely be.
I'll find that you'll find that I'm lethal