Stone Circle Well now I know that I'm the fuel and she's the spark.

@Nanook

His paws found the familiar path easily, his nose hovering over the tracks in the snow. A smile curled the corners of his lips as the large man found what he had been looking for. Her scent as distinct and unique as the first day they had wandered into each other.

Sia was in no rush to find his wandering beauty, and so he set a steady walk through the trees. The thinly leaved branches did nothing to prevent the falling snow above; thick and heavy flakes fell all around the man, and he enjoyed the chill beneath his paws. He knew that summer would be here much to quickly for his liking, so he enjoyed the brief touch of the north for as long as he could.

She charted an ambling path through the forest, her pursuit, for once, of nothing in particular. A fresh layer of snow had fallen overnight, and fell from the heavens still, and Nanook had abandoned herself to the wonderful crunch of the ground beneath her feet. She had nearly reached Stone Circle when she took a sudden turn and rounded back to follow a new, untrodden course, and lost herself in the myriad of white, until she felt the mysterious sense of another, and she turned her head to see him through the trees.

A coy smile played on her lips, noting his concentration, and the way his nose hovered along the ground. Had he noticed her? The sylph pretended not, and she stole forward in a quiet arch, careful with each step to make as little sound as possible.

There was nothing better than a snow tackle, if only she could sneak up behind him. And if he saw her? She had enough wiles up her sleeve to deal with that ;)

Concentration was a tricky thing you see. Sometimes you could focus so hard on one particular thing, one particular action, that it feels as nothing else matters or exists, and the world narrows into a tunnel. So dedicated to his tracking of the silver woman had Siarut become that he had lost all sense of his surroundings, until suddenly the scent was upon him and all around him. And yet somehow he had hardly noticed it arrival, and finally it was to late.

Ooof! He was sure the tackle she had dealt had looked truly spectacular. For she had a way of completely undoing him, an unorthodox method of making him smile an melting his frozen heart. A grin pulled at his lips as we was greeted by none other than Nanook herself. “Hi.” He mumbled, still trying to catch his breath, content to simply lie beneath her lithe frame.

He is a wreath around her: his scent, his body, his being, and she laughs as they fall together. A tangle of silver and white against the frozen ground. Her nanuk sprawls on his belly, and she drapes across him, triumphant as a queen on the battlefield, her quarry held to rest beneath a victor's paws. But he is not her quarry; he is her treasure, and a smile enchants her face. She leans forward, and playfully tugs at the fur beneath his ear.

"Hi," she whispers back, and she leans down to run the crown of her head against the strength of his jaw. The season is not yet upon her, but there is no need for her heat to draw out her affection for him. "You are very handsome when you concentrate," she whispers, and her voice is charmed with the tremor of a laugh, "But you are also very easy to fell! What were you following, hmm?" and she beguiles a grin, "And with such intent."

A playful growl rumbled at the back of his throat at her playful tug, he was of half a mind to shrug her off and turn the tables. But he remained where he was, fighting hard push down his grin and appear the ferocious and serious man she had fallen for. “Only when I concentrate?” The wink he threw over his shoulder, belayed his serious act.

“I was after the most elusive prey, a graceful creature of silver and copper. She wandered this way not to long ago.” He flicked his head slightly, indicating the tracks in the snow. Or at least what was left after the unpredictable tumble. “Apparently this being is quite beautiful.” Siarut whispered softly, leaning his head back against hers. “Have you seen her?” He pulled back, tilting his head in question. Despite his attempts his grin returned, a cheeky quirk glinting in his gaze.

A giggle resonated in her throat, soft, yet far sultrier than a little girl's, for she was a woman, not some child with her friends on the playground, and this - this was her man. His wink left her flushed for words, so she crooked her nanuk the tease of a smile - you are always handsome - and simply toyed at his fur again, as she continued to listen with upright ears.

"Mmm elusive, you say? Graceful, and... what was it... metallic?" Her eyes gleamed with thought, and with mischief. She curled her tail around him. "Beautiful, too? This is such high praise -- " and with she laxed, and let herself slide off Siarut's back, to oomph dramatically at his side, where she rolled on her back to peer up at him through her copper hearth, " -- even for any heavenly creature, let alone an earthly one. But, I suppose I cannot speak to this, for I was after a most elusive prey myself..." and she shifted closer to her bear, "but, if you can keep a secret," and the softest smile curved over her lips,

"I believe that I have found him."

She slid elegantly (how such an action could be completed with an epitome of grace Sia would never know) from his back, and he was quick to surround her with his larger form. He could feel the flutter of his heart at her words, and his own clowning smirk morphed into a sincere smile. “And he is ever grateful for your discovery.” He thanked the heavens everyday for the moment they first found each other, along the river a few years prior.

Pressing his head against hers, the man’s eyes slipped closed and he released a relaxing breath. “I went to see Takiyok.” The words left his lips before he had firmly decided to tell her, his words just over a whisper. He was conflicted by the encounter, and his heart yearned to hear what his mate had to say. His eyes remained closed, his frame leaning in toward hers.

She closed her eyes, and let his words sweep over her, in the fullness of his gentleness, his warmth. They had both come so far... and who but he could have convinced her, that feeling such emotion could be so beautiful? That such emotion could be so sweet and so lovely, to get so lost in?

Nanook met his revelation with a short stretch of silence. The statement, unexpected. She remembered how they had left the Wilds back in the Spring, how displeased his sister had been. Nanook peeked through a slitted eye and appraised her lover again. "Well, you're still in one piece, so that's a good sign," she finally said. Nanook cared for Takiyok, and as cold as the Northerner had been to her, she was still her sister in a way. "How is she?"

He ignored the appraising look, no doubt that she was looking for proof of his sister’s displeasure. He instead directed his gaze up and away, casting his olive eyes on the blue sky above. “At first she was angry… rightfully so.” Siarut nodded his head, agreeing with himself. “But, I think she’ll forgive me… with time anyway.” He shrugged, unsure of how to feel.

“She says she’ll bring her son to see me, well us.” Siarut flicked his head indicating them both.