Bramblepoint short change

The Plateau was not suffocating, but she still felt the need to get away.  At least for a little while; a day or two so she could relax.  She felt as if she had done her part lately and that she deserved some time for herself, so she let @Raven know that she was interested in seeing the Caldera in which the Redhawks had hailed from and had set out with a general direction in mind.

The trip was a little longer than she felt comfortable taking, though when she reached the Bramblepoint it pretty much was worth it because there was so.. much food.  None of it was meat, mind you, but there were apples and cherries and blueberries and sap; she didn't know what to do with herself!

So she helped herself to a little bit of everything with little regard to who might see her chowing down.  

His hunting trip had taken him further away from the den than he had originally anticipated, he could only hope that he would find something suitable for Shivali to eat. Having made the quick jaunt out of Blackfeather through the plains and once again into the thick forest of Bramblepoint Siarut was hot on the trail of some rabbits. There foot prints scattered throughout the area. Before he could set mind to task he was interupted by the sounds of someone eating. 

Lifting his head high, his ears swiveled trying to pin point the exact location of the strange sound. He wondered if perhaps a meal could be had from whatever was chowing down so loudly. Lowering into a stalking position he crept toward a gathering of bushes that the sound seemed to be coming from. He silently moved toward the bushes ready to pounce, when a familiar scent hit his nose. Inneq? Taking a moment to peer around the bushes through a whole he could clearly make out the figure of Ceara.

With a small smirk on his lips he called out to her, "Inneq Ququriaq." 

A meal might be able to be had, but not the kind he had been thinking —

She swiveled, ears perked as her eyes widened, caught red-handed doing something so entirely unnatural.  She remembered what it felt like when Kisaut had caught her making out with that tree (or so she'd called it) and her mouth kind of fell open dumbly.  Oh, um, hey!

She rubbed a paw over her lips and finished the berries that were in her mouth, eyes shot at the ground.  Um, what are you doing here?

Her lips smacked heavily as she looked away. "Don't look away." Sia spoke softly as he approached, as usual getting closer than was necessary for a proper conversation. "I was hunting, but I've been distracted." Lowering his head to sniff the berries the still clung to her fur. "Eating more unsavory creations?" He still remembered the apples, and almost gaged from the stomach ache they had left him with. 

Although he had finished scenting the strange fruit, he wouldn't pull away. Rather he savored the time he had with her, keeping his near departure to himself for as long as possible.

He comes close enough for her to touch so she makes to press the side of her face against his as he scents at the various berry juices that coat her fur.  It's me, right?  I'm just so distracting, you know.  She reclined to her haunches and sighed, rolling her eyes.  Those apples are an anomaly, you know.  Not all fruit is like that.  Ceara, campaign manager for #NotAllFruit.

"You are distracting." Siarut affirmed the idea, she was and he had no thought to deny it. He spoke softly into her ear as she pressed her face agains his. Pulling away slightly, he looked at her incredulously, "Perhaps you only want to inebriate me again, to take advantage." The smirk on his lips showed his humorous intent. He almost wished she would. He licked the fruit from her cheek, seeking to groom her beautiful fur.

She was thankful for her thick coating of fur, for the flesh beneath warmed with blush.  Good.  

She smirked and a short laugh escaped from her.  Maybe.  She plucked a mouthful of berries from the bushes, put them in front of him.  Do you want to find out?  These were non-alcoholic, but she was sure if they lingered in the meadow long enough she could scrounge up some apples.  

AHHH 200 with my favourite girl!

He gave her a disbelieving look. She really did feed him the oddest things. Being a good sport, Sia hesitantly lowered his head and took a few berries in his mouth. He did want to find out, and so slowly he clamped his jaws and took in the flavour of the fruit offered. It would take time for it to sink in if anything happened. "You know, I don't need apples to tell you how I feel." Siarut gave her a soft smile as he finished the berries in his mouth. "My Inneq Ququriaq." 

She liked that, even after she had totally ruined their last night together, she was still able to get him to try things.  But even more did she like the way he talked to her, the way he made her feel.  And just how do you feel, big boy?  She tried to remain casual but she couldn't restrain the fluttering in her chest.  Ahh!

He peered at her, wondering if she really wanted to know. The ice bear knew, deep down, that this could be cruel, but he had to tell this woman how he felt. "In such a short amount of time you have cracked the frigid surface of my heart, thawing the ice that had long since settled. You are like the sun that shines through the dark tundra night, spreading warmth to everyone you meet." 

"I have started to fall for you Ceara Blackthorn, you make me feel whole and have brought me happiness I never thought to find. You are my Inneq Ququriaq, my Fire Dragon." Siarut watched her reaction, "You make me feel complete. You make me feel myself." He laid everything out before her, she could run, and probably make this easier. He could already feel the pain etching into his heart as he finished. "And all I can do Ceara, is to ask you to come with me."

It was so much more than she had been expecting.  She ducked her chin, wide eyes linked to the apple green of her northern companion's gaze.  She did not know how uncharacteristic it was for him to express his feelings, and she did not know just how much she was about to crush him (for she, too, was not used to expressing herself).

You know, they call me Fire.  Back home.  She looks to the berries in the distance, to the sunlight that trickles from between the trees.  I find myself.. I don't know.  Seeking you out.  I think I like you.  I don't know.  I've never.. done this before.

She sighs and turns back to him.  Where?

"A fitting name." He mused, looking at her pelt, "To me you are Ceara, or Inneq Ququriaq." He had no notion that Fire held a significan above more than a nickname, that Blackthorns were only known as their nicknames. Siarut liked the way his language tasted when used to refer to Ceara. 

"You don't need to know now, we can figure it out together." How he hoped she would come with them, join him and finally meet his family. "We are leaving." Sia dropped his head softly, avoiding any gaze she might direct at him. "My family and I. We are settling far from here, leaving the Woods in favour of ice and snow. I would very much love for you to join us Ceara. Bring warmth to my family, even in the frigid north." 

We are leaving.

It hit her like a ton of bricks, crashed down every bit of fantasy she'd built up in her head during the few seconds that they'd spent musing their future.  Far from here.  You mean, like, closer to me, right?  Her words were casual but her tone was disappointed and broken, because somewhere deep inside she knew that it wasn't.  

I can't leave.  My brother — her brows contorted as she thought of what he said.  The Woods?  Blackfeather?  

No.  No, you're — what?  She stood up, reeling, and took several sprawling steps back.

lol I feel like simba.... running away! be my NALA!!!

Siarut could only shake his head at her query to their proximity. He couldn't bear the thought of hurting her, he could her the disappointment and it was so hard and all he wanted to do was run away. Run far away and never look back. 

She started a new scentence, something about her brother, and Sia could understand that. But she cut herself off, suddenly sidetracked by his current home. Next thing he knew she was scrambling away from him. Confused Sia jumped to his paws and took a hesitant step in her direction. "Ceara? What's wrong?" Siarut was throughly confused, "Yes Blackfeather Woods, that where my family and I have lived for months." 

You can't be Blackfeather, I — and oh no, there was that steady cascade of tears and it had come out of nowhere.  I'm a Redhawk, you can't, we can't — !  She shook her head violently, wondering just how fucking stupid she had been to have been so entranced by the first person who had given her an ounce of attention.

Redhawk. He had heard the name in Blackfeather, spoken in a foul light. He could see the tears streaming from her eyes, and it broke his heart. "Ceara, I....." What could he say to that, "We..." He shook his head, and looked away. Siarut couldn't see the tears without his throat constricting, with a thick swallow he found his words. "I don't care what pack you from, or who your family is. I care about you, I know that much is true. Come with me. We can leave Redhawk and Blackfeather, they don't need us. We can start fresh together." Siarut didn't want to let her go, he turned back to her and tried again to get closer to her. "Please Ceara, don't leave." 

She couldn't do that.  Not when she had just found Tuathal, when she had started to carve out her place in the pack.  She'd felt so alone around those desert brats that she didn't want to risk ripping herself from the only thing she knew.

She would, however, remember this.  I like you, Siarut.  I'd like to.. to explore this.  With you.  But I can't leave, I can't leave him, I can't abandon my family.  It's not fair to them.  And it's not fair for me to ask you to, either.  She sucked in a breath, shook her head.

You say we'd be starting fresh but you'd still have your family, and I'd just have you.  And as much as I like you, as much as that makes me happy.. that's not healthy.

Truthfully, she wished he would come with her.  They could lay in the apple blossom fields together, hunt together, patrol together, sleep next to one another.  But as she'd said, it just wasn't fair.

Her legs were trembling, and all she wanted to do was run.  I'm sorry.

She wanted to continue this, just as he did. It gave him hope, but it was quickly snatched at the mention of her family. He understood her reasons, they were the same reason he was leaving in the first place. For the betterment of his family. She couldn't leave her's in the same way Sia couldn't leave his. As much as he hoped that she would come, he couldn't do that to her. The loneliness of having no one but Siarut. There was no doubt that she would be accepted amongst his sisters, they would treat her as family. But that wasn't enough. 

Sia stopped his advance and retreated instead, putting distance between them. Was this it? What could they do? "So..... I guess thats it." He looked at her, taking her in for this could be the last for a long time that he would get the chance.

She swallowed, throat thick, eyeing him with a guarded intensity.  An invisible thread that had tethered them to one another had been sliced clean by the finality in his words, and on quivering legs the young Blackthorn bolted from the northerner and away from this cursed forest. 

She ran, and Siarut ran after her for a ways. "Ceara wait!" He called after her, but she was gone. Disappeared, lost to him. He dropped his head, "Dammit!" He yelled, as a single tear fell. With no one around to see he let the sadness show for one moment, a single drop fell to the ground. "Goodbye Inneq Ququriaq." This was the last time he would ever utter those words, and no other would ever hold the nickname. He turned from the girl that had fled, and returned to his family ready to leave this godforsaken place forever.