Silver Creek cocoa

@Iliksis

After managing to treat the stormy male's wound, out away from the creek, Daivya had returned with a muzzle full of whatever herbs or medicinal items she'd had left - all knew that the winter was harsh, not only on fauna but on flora, too. Herbs became difficult to discover, and sicknesses or wounds became difficult to treat in turn; exactly why the forest sylph had gone hunting for whatever she could find, dainty paws traipsing over shifting snow and ice in order to collect anything of use. Perhaps it would have been better to save what she had scrounged only for the wolves of Rosings, but she found herself unable to leave a wounded man in great pain alone to suffer from his ills - it would please the gods, at least.

It was still cloudy upon her arrival, with a dim grey haze settling over the sky, but snow had temporarily ceased to fall, and the Meladi shook her rosy pelt to free the fur of any stark lacings - winter's grip was beautiful to admire, but the frigid deposits of white were bitter and stung her paws, her eyes, too; a shiver crept up her spine, and she slowed, coming to a halt beneath a naked tree. "κάνει κρύο," the medic muttered softly to herself, voice warm to soothe away the raw, crisp burn of wind.

thank you for starting <3

iliksis had been aware of the nymph's passage through the creek for some time -- hungrily, he followed her browsing form, wondering what ailing pilgrim it was she tended to. he did not keep too close, and took care to avoid any wind that might betray his presence. yet the sylph was clearly gathering herbs for some purpose, and iliksis did not like the idea of carnage happening in the creek without his knowledge (or involvement).

he approached her as a shiver wracked her spine; he liked to think it was a shade passing through her, warning her of his arrival. adopting as inoffensive a smile as he could (one that still looked, despite his best efforts, quite unsavory) the male greeted her, his eyes trained on the clump of plants in her mouth despite wanting to travel her body instead. "what are the herbs for?"

<3

Daivya was so aborbed in her thoughts that his scent passing on the wind went unnoticed - only the voice sunk through the cracks, ripping apart the trance that had befallen her under the tree. Her body stiffened, but then relaxed, head dipping as she shifted to face him with a sliver of frosted air slipping from her lips.

The nymph allowed her gaze to watch him for a few, silent heartbeats, but the sleepy violet could not stare directly into the pools of gold, and she felt his watching eyes like acapuncture needles. "They're... I was just gathering what I could. Winter is not kind to herbs, sir." came the soft response, smooth and deep as hot chocolate, plush tail swaying as she awaited his conclusion - this was her first encounter with a male in rosings aside from Grayson himself, and she was determined to give a good impression. Her rosy pelt glimmered in the pale light; grey soaked the sky, but every now and then a spill of shimmering yellow would drip from the haze and bathe the ground in liquid gold.

The unknown man was handsome, to say the least; claiming an almost unsettling appearance, but the forest sylph found herself rather drawn to such a quirk - she was intruiged to discover who he was, and resisted the urge to let her eyes wander the monochrome waves of his pelt. Oh, who would Grayson select as her mate? With breeding season upon them, would he choose to pair them soon, or await the following season?

his gaze remained steadfast on the moss hanging limp in the woman's jaws, but his mind... his mind had wandered. in a brief snapshot glimpse he had seen enough of her svelte form to know he liked it; a fanciful flicker stole across his vision as he thought of how her frame might look bent beneath him.

just as quickly, he steeled himself, steering his thoughts back to something less carnal. he thought of wilted flowers, of moss, of rot -- anything but the nubile curve of her hips, the light tuck of her slim belly. think of the conversation, think of nice and fluffy things -- "no, winter is not." he answered, an ear pulled back as if in neutral expression. "who are you?"

he hoped she was of grayson's clutch. a small monopoly of women had been collected by the industrious male, and iliksis naturally, was quite excited to be the only snake in the henhouse.

She shifted lightly under his gaze, rather enjoying the trickles of adrenaline that ran through her veins - she became flustered under the watch of men, but it presented her with other emotions, too. One of which being excitement.

The forest sylph gave a gentle smile, though her limbs fought the urge to twitch, legs desiring to sweep her figure closer, to bury herself in- no! Oh no, she couldn't think like that; it would be wrong, she had to remember that Grayson selected their mates. Not her. Even so, it didn't stop her mind wavering, trailing off in thoughts that ought to be kept to herself. "...Daivya, sir. Grayson accepted me into the group not too long ago." Her chin gave a polite nod, but her teeth idly chewed on the inside of her cheek, sucking in the flesh lightly just to give her mind something else to think about.

Oh gods, what terrible hunger would her heat bring?

it was as he suspected -- the female was part of grayson's ever growing harem. for such a pompous and arrogant man, he sure had a way of collecting broads -- iliksis wondered if women were naturally wired to seek powerful and arrogant males -- perhaps it was the omnipresent prospect of danger that drove them to men that were impulsive and forceful.

perhaps they knew that a man that was not willing to burn kingdoms to the ground or kill for them, was of very little use at all.

he kept his gaze off of her frame, despite wanting otherwise. "iliksis." he returned, finding the conversation grinding to a rather cold conclusion. he was not a wolf of small-talk, and for good reason -- he often said unsavory things.

The sylph drank in the name and turned it over in her mind, enjoying the subtle hiss produced by the slithering letters and the forked tip of his tongue - he was, perhaps, the snake of the men. It didn't make him any less desirable, with a coat of thunderous monochrome and the sliver of silver lining his cheeks; he was capable, she thought, though her opinion mattered very little amongst the rosings' males. He was dangerous. As delicate as Daivya appeared, her heart fluttered at the sight of someone who could show her more than what she was, and her gaze faltered with his stare.

"Y...You are different, Iliksis. φίδι." She murmered, still conscious enough of her thoughts to dip an ivory chin in politeness. Awareness of the coming silence forcing her mind to rebel against it, she allowed another slip to fall from dark lips: "I can't... quite place it." And that was all - a dash of truth amongst whatever secrets she would not betray to the wind.

she thought him different -- an opinion she would come to find was shared among many. iliksis shrugged the assessment off with a roll of his thin shoulders, finding little to say in response. was not every wolf different? each life unique?

he was not one for such philosophical ponderings, and his mind went no further than to search for a reply that would not rouse suspicion. "must be because i'm northern." he replied - an answer that was not untrue -- his birthplace, himminrond, was on the northern cusp of the great bristleback range -- the last frontier before the world dipped into arctic tundra, impassable due to the constantly shifting snow and unbroken arctic landscape. not even trees could withstand the shrieking wind past the himminrond, and with no prey to be sustained on that last frontier, there was little to be had past his homeland.

he did not expand -- and if pressed, would say nothing further on his homeland. it was not fit for even coarse table talk, and had daivya been aware of the horrors he had grown up alongside and been desensitized to (and even accepted as commonplace among his kind), she might have understood just what about him was different.

she was testing his resolve, just sitting there -- the coy way she dipped her ivory chin, the soft, svelte plush of his fur. he was feeling his resistance ebb away, and knowing better than to stay, the man rose, dipped his muzzle silently, and then made to fashion his leave.

It appeared her statement was one that had fallen upon his ears countless times before - the φίδι rolled the dark silver of his shoulders in nonchalance, and Daivya's sleepy gaze traced his movements with a careful precision. She must be aware of his slithering, aware of his body's coils; if the violet of her eyes drifted too far into her thoughts, his teeth could pierce her skin. Beware the snake's bite. 

Then again... perhaps the venom had already trickled into her veins.

The forest sylph allowed him to take his leave there, else the temptations would grow too powerful even for her to resist - though she could not take lead, she knew the draw. The strength of the pull. It would do no good for either of them to linger in a place where they were not allowed to go, not allowed to test. These waters were not supposed to be broken.

Not yet, at least.

if iliksis was aware of the she-wolf's recognition of the dark pull in his eyes, he did not show it. with smooth-practiced ease the monster steered one limb in front of the other, walking so that the downy-pelt of the woman was no longer visible.

he was hungry, and his teeth were set on edge in frustration -- it was unnatural for him to surprise his urges, and much like a bird derived of flight, he sunk to new abysmal depths, his mind churning with fanatic new schemes for how each woman in rosings would be introduced to true terror.

already, the dybbuk was gone -- the only thing left in his passing were the crisp pawprints imprinted upon the snow.