Horizon Ridge Never safe from you.

Firefly ran from his responsibilities, leading @Yami across the fields surrounding their home; the further they went the more free he felt, until he had convinced himself that it was for the best. That he didn't need to put aside his own lust for life and adventure quite yet nor be shackled to one place, in servitude to the women and their spawn regardless of his role in their creation. Soon the fields were all he could see, and as the earth became rockier, more hill-like, his worries slipped away.

Eventually the pair had worked their way in to the mountains - reaching a forested plateau that smelled of pine resin and loam, as if the sea did not exist a day or so north. The terrain became a bit too harsh for his body to handle, so he slowed down and found some comfort in the company of the girl. She had asked for more clarity before, when he had pled with her to flee with him, and only now was Firefly realizing he had no plan at all.

Ahhh smell that?! He called to her, Tastes like freedom! Where do you wanna go next?

The excitement Yami felt over leaving Rusalka was one that stayed with her as they left the beach further and further behind. She had never felt at home in that place and while she would never admit it to ANYONE, she had really wanted to, and it had hurt to feel as though she didn't. It had reminded her too much of how she'd felt at Moonspear.

But this, running with Firefly in the open Wilds with no one to answer to. This felt like her travels with Trouvere and Ripley, which was the most at home she'd ever felt (until the whole rejection incident). She had no pack she needed to belong to anymore. She just had him, and he wanted her. It was perfect.

Her tongue rolled free of her jaws as she came to a stsop and took a look around. The corners of her mouth were upturned in a smile as she took in the world outstretched before them. Firefly's question drew her attention round to him. She gave a nod and a happy wag of her tail.

"I don't know..." Yami admitted. She had been relying on him to direct their path. His question didn't lead her to suspect that he didn't have a plan, but instead made her feel all fluttery again that he wanted to let her decide. She appreciated it greatly, even though it was a bit overwhelming for her. She found herself looking around again, a bit more eagerly this time. But her excitement paused when she saw the peak stabbing the sky to the West.

"Let's go that way," Yami said, looking away from Moonspear quickly. As far away as they could get from that shadow would work for her.

They'd go south, then. Firefly had no idea of the girl's history with the distant mountains and he didn't really notice what put her off of moving west; that was fine, the forest opened up across the staggered plateaus to the south. There were many places for them to explore.

So uh, Firefly murmured once they were moving again, slowing his pace so they could hike side-by-side, What was your life like before Rusalka? I remember when I found you on the coast but I don't think I was... um, in the frame of mind to be all that social. At least I don't remember if we talked at all -- and I regret that. I'd like to get to know you. Behind him his tail whisked the air and then returned to swing like a pendulum at his hocks.

Though she turned away from Moonspear (and it was physically impossible for it to be cast so far), Yami still felt the shadow of the mountain on her shoulders as she walked. She didn't want to think it, but she couldn't help herself. She wondered about them. Her mother, her father, her brothers, her twin. It made her angry to miss them. It made her angrier to think of her older sisters.

Coincidentally enough, her past was exactly what Firefly chose to ask her about just then. Yami glanced at him thoughtfully, trying to figure out how to answer. She had decided a long time ago to drop her childhood from her story altogether. She did not even consider herself an Ostrega anymore. She was just Yami now.

That didn't mean she had no past at all, though. "I was just travelling with a couple of guys," she said with a dismissive shrug, "There's really not a whole lot to tell." Yami paused only briefly before turning the conversation away from herself, "What about you? How'd you end up in Rusalka?"

He couldn't remember if Yami was a chatterbox or not, she'd always kept far away from the other women and Firefly had been so busy causing havoc within Rusalka, he'd never taken the time to stop and learn about her. She seemed to go quiet for a bit as they walked together, and for a split second Firefly thought he'd touched a nerve — perhaps asked too much of her, or in a bold and forthright way that offended her. But eventually she did speak, just not as openly about her experiences as he'd hoped. It felt like she was holding something back; he didn't want to pry, though. The man could respect the secrets of others.

I... he drawled as he strolled, thinking, looking up at the vibrant sky with an unfocused glance as he considered what to say. I can't remember much about my life before Rusalka. At some point I came upon the coast, I met Illidan, and then I met Caiaphas, and -- then Erzulie, who helped me fend off some infections to my wounds, the wounds he hadn't really explained to her, but that was out of habit. Nobody really cared how he got them, and it was only in the past few months that the truth was revealed to his own brain. 

He shrugs his knotted shoulders. They helped me out, I helped them. With their claim, with Drageda, with the strengthening of their pack and its future --- but there he cut his thoughts away, shaking his head lightly as if his thoughts were pixels in an etch-a-sketch. But I want adventure! That's the whole point of being here, with you. I can't imagine partnering up with anyone else. 

Well, except Illidan. But he'd probably burned that bridge pretty good by now.

Yami tried to keep a sly eye on Firefly as she mentioned the couple of guys she'd been travelling with - a deliberate though subtle attempt at testing him to see if he would get jealous. That didn't appear to be the case, which was a bummer and sent her instantly to wondering if he truly did think of her the way he'd said. It was this she was thinking of as he talked about how he'd ended up in Rusalka when she should've been paying attention to how he'd ended up in Rusalka. Seeing as she'd been the one to ask him that and all.

She clued in by the end though, just in time to hear something that would help her continue the conversation seamlessly. Yami smiled at him as he spoke of adventure again. He was really into that. And there was another compliment her way. Bonus!

"I'm still kinda surprised you picked me," Yami said humbly, sliding into a shy, demure persona that was meant to be sweet and alluring, "I mean... A guy like you could have anyone and there's nothing special about me..." She looked away into the woods, her ears falling back to smooth against her neck.

She was demeaning herself again, and he scoffed at her. You're so hard on yourself, and its totally unfair.

But he couldn't exactly tell her the truth. That he had chosen her because she was the first wolf he'd run in to. That she was the resident perfectly taupe shade of beige in the rainbow of chaos that was Rusalka. That her lack of drama, her habit of playing the wallflower, of always being eclipsed by the likes of Rosalyn or Erzulie or Caiaphas, was exactly what made him so interested in her. Yami was still young and still developing a sense of self — and that absence, that bland, unspecial, limited nature that he linked to her — it was perfection right now.

No, he couldn't say that.

You're hard-working, charming, beautiful, and you don't hate me like everyone else does. That was close enough to the truth; he gleamed a grin her way as he listed off these vague traits and even side-stepped so he could brush against her for a few strides, then gave her the space back, but slowed and stopped a few moments later. I'm the lucky one to have someone like you, Yami.

Yami was too young, too naive, and too hungry for affection to consider what a blatant lie his compliments were. She wasn't hard-working in the least. She'd spent most of her time at Rusalka just wandering around, wondering what she was supposed to do with herself. At Moonspear, she'd known exactly what to do with herself and had made it her life's mission to not do anything remotely close to what she ought. She never felt particularly charming or beautiful either, but those were the things she wanted to be. The not hating him was the only real truth, except for the part where everyone else hated him. That part probably wasn't true.

But did she question any of it? Nope. It was what she wanted to hear, and she wanted to believe he truly felt that way. So she did. Yami stopped when he did, peering quietly at him as he finished speaking. She longed for his touch, to physically feel his admiration for her. Tru had made her feel like a child. She wanted to feel like a woman now and leave all of her insecurities and feelings of inadequacy from her childhood behind.

She stepped closer to him and reach to touch her nose to his chin, her heart hammering in her chest.

He was talking out of his ass, but being an ass meant he could be quite convincing, and she was suceptible because of her average-ness; or that's what Firefly presumed as he complimented her again and again, eager to keep her with him so that he wasn't running around in the valley alone. 

When she closed the distance between the two of them he didn't think much of it, but then she was getting closer still — brushing her nose against his chin with some hesitation. He knew he had her right where he wanted her. He smiled as she pulled back from him but didn't let her get far - reaching for her next, sliding his snout against her cheek with a small nibble, finding it easy to use his affection to win her over further. 

In short, he was a total asshole and Yami should've been running from him, not leaning in to him.

Unfortunately, Yami seemed to have developed a thing for total assholes, even when she didn't in the least suspect that the object of her affection was, in fact, a total asshole. She felt her heart fluttering wildly in her chest as he closed the small distance she'd put between them and returned her affections. She realized almost immediately that she was out of her league, even with that one small touch to her cheek. What was she supposed to do next? How did she show him she didn't want him to stop? How could she make him feel the way he was making her feel omg that sentence was difficult.

Uncertain but eager, Yami tried to do as he did. She lifted her nose to nuzzle against his cheek and, after a few seconds of inwardly screaming DO IT, DO IT, DO IT at herself, she slipped her tongue along his fur and gave a nibble of her own.

My god this was nerve-wracking shit. Don't fuck it up, Yam, or no one will ever love you. Ever. This message has been brought to you by your subconscious.

There was a year between them (almost exactly), but it wasn't like Firefly kept track of such things. As far as he could tell she was as developed socially, mentally, and physically, as any full adult; perhaps that was why he didn't get squicked out when she returned the affection and soon the two of them were, essentially, necking like teenagers. It was an ego trip for Firefly and that's all that had ever motivated him in the past — this desire to be desired. He enjoyed charming the ladies and eventually bedding them, which explained why half the Wilds would soon be populated by his progeny.

The more Yami tested things with nudges, nibbles, and kisses, the more he reciprocated. He felt himself getting more invested with each touch, sharing the experience with her more and more. He wanted one thing — and was rumbling a deep and inviting sound towards the girl, hoping she'd take the hint or be charmed further (perferably to a point that would be enjoyable to the both of them). He pressed himself closer to her, let their plush coats fuse briefly as he drifted around her and bestowed affection in small waves, breathing deeply of her light, youthful scent. Mmm, he could really get used to this.