Deepwood Weald Construct my summer home.

Again, the serpent had vanished and with her went all hope of recruiting her to support a faraway dream. Dacio had been drawn to her at once, lured by the beauty and strength he saw in her despite not even knowing her name. He was frustrated to have missed out on an opportunity to explore who he might be with her at his side, so ventured from Moonspear to be alone with his thoughts of yet another failure.

It didn't matter, or at least that is what he tried to convince himself. The young warrior roamed the woods quietly that evening, aimlessly, led along by the teasing tang of salt in the air that reminded him of his distant home.

The evening after meeting with Hydra left her with more questions than before. She had learned- and yet, failed to make an alliance, and seemingly disappointed with her appearance. Huā felt like she'd failed entirely as an empress. She'd made some essential mistake and now she headed home with a dragging mope to her walk. 

In the distance she spots a figure, quietly roaming in the same way as herself. Slate and shadows met together in his fur. Curious, she heads his direction slowly, straightening up her walk. For now, the scent of Moonspear on his fur does not reach her.

There was some small semblance of peace to be found there in the dimming light of the weald, enough that Dacio could begin to quieten his thoughts. He was content to find solitude beneath those trees, away from the stresses of his mountain life and the never-ending headache that seemed to plague him there.

It was perhaps the hint of brine on the breeze that soothed his wearied soul, calmed his frayed nerves. He was reminded both fondly and solemnly of his birthplace on Drageda's proud cliffs, the same place his heart would always long for. One day, he continued to promise, yet it never seemed to come.

A dark ear swivelled backward toward the sound of footfalls, and his speckled snout was soon to follow. Pale eyes were swift to source the dark features of a she-wolf who approached from his rear, sweep her lithe frame to find that the charcoal if her crown faded to a much lighter frame.

Blackhead, he was quick to assume with some distance still between them.

A swell of anger, of anxiety in his chest. Dacio was quick to flag his tail and veer to the side so he might better look upon her, unwilling to reveal his back to an enemy who he knew would grasp any opportunity to seek purchase on him with her fangs. He would maintain his cool silence and let her draw near, let her be lured closer by a false sense of security, and strike when she might least suspect it.

There were many wolves desperate to snuff life from Caiaphas, he knew.

Let me be the one to succeed.

He turns then, slicing through her with pale cold gaze. There was a new purpose in his slight movements which has her a little more tense now- but he does not intercept, nor flee, as she continues her approach. So then comes the most hesitant little wag of her sandy tail, hoping to bring out a little brighter of a spirit from him.

It was her heat, after all, and whatever that seemed to mean, she knew that for once, men glowed with a shining light like never before. Each one she came upon she had to know, each one drew her in the way women usually had. So attached to nature's leash, she was pulled closer, wanting to know him, to meet him. 

She halts a couple yards away, little black nose sniffing wildly at the air, catching the scent of many upon his pelt. Hydra? Hi, you from Moonspear? She chirps with dripping accent, while seaglass eyes seem to scan his figure like an art critic at a museum.

Undeterred, the hooded wolfess carried on toward him. Dacio's gaze narrowed and he huffed a breath through flared nostrils as he studied her, finding something off with her but unable to quite place it. It was with his next inhale that he could better test the aroma she carried which, fortunately for her, clearly did not compare to that of the dreaded Blackhead.

Dark tail lowered a little, tension seeping from his muscles. The stranger drew nearer and he took note of the finer details: warm-toned pelage, cyan eyes, and that scent. He had smelt it before on Hydra's mountain, recalled the curiosity and frustration that often followed when he failed to locate the source. It wafted his way as she halted before him and the boy's dark ears pricked forward with intrigue.

"Sha," he answered simply, shifting his weight to dare to venture closer to where she'd paused. His stride was tentative, careful as he reached out with his speckled snout, keen to drink deep more of that enticing perfume that seemed to radiate from her.

An annoyed huff had her eyes widen a little, wondering if somehow she had broken another unknown rule. Were this Moonspear wolves all so picky about her actions? Her presence constantly seemed to offend. And then the tension was gone. He changed again, tightness seeping out of his muscles as he came closer with careful little steps. Odd.

The word that slipped from his mouth only served to confuse. Was that... her own tongue? Sha sounded not unlike the word shà- meaning 'what'. And the boy did have the dull tones of the wolves of the southern beaches... so she tests carefully then, voice hushed, 啥? 你说中文吗?

The word had rolled from his lips with ease without thought, that he failed to appreciate how outsiders would not understand. Dacio only took note of how the stranger struggled to understand when she simply stared back at him, confusion in the seaglass of her lovely eyes. The sterling guardian twitched an ear backward in acknowledgement, remaining expressionless as he parted his jaws to apologise in the common tongue.

Before he could, however, she piped up in another language and his turn came to be confused. "I don't understand you," he opted to say, and was content to cast their previous miscommunication aside: "who are you? What do you know of Moonspear?"

Oh... let down again. Well, she thinks, it was her fault for getting her hopes up in a foreign land. His questions seem eager as he demands her name, what she knows of Moonspear. Sorry, I... my name Huā. I empress of Yuèlóng... from the beach. I come try make alliance... She explains, then an uncomfortable pause. 

But, no alliance. Hydra, she not like me because... um, the, the heat. She says, the story still feeling strange as it exits her mouth. She complements her words with a little wave of her tail, as if to accentuate the scent further- still not wholly aware of the effect it could have on her companion.

He listened to her, and let himself soften. "My name is Dacio," he offered after she answered the first of his questions. Huā, she was called, and the ashen warrior let his frosted gaze wander to take in the delicate shape of her. He inhaled deep, unconscious of the desire that her scent flared to life within him, and could not explain the pull he felt to reach out and touch her.

She did, however, when she went on to share her recent attempt to gain Hydra's favour. His Alpha had repelled her due to her heat, apparently, and Dacio's puzzle pieces suddenly began to fit together. It was purely instinct that attracted him to this she-wolf, the rush of hormones caused by her delightful perfume that made him feel so good.

"I see," he said, and swallowed, "don't take it personally - she doesn't take kindly to other she-wolves breeding on her turf." He could understand why, of course, considering the results of such encounters. Hydra had a duty to her own children, and it was her role as Alphess to be sure of their survival first and foremost.

Dacio- to know you I am very happy. She chirps with a respectful little dip of her head, never careful enough to try and perfect the grammatical organization of english. In the moment he introduced herself, she could feel that invisible force squeezing her tightly, some strange new hunger growing in her gut. She forced it down- beware men, Hydra had advised, and Huā would try her best despite her weak resolve. 

He tells her not to take Hydra's words personally- that she only intended to control her people's breeding. In a way, Huā could understand that. There were a few peoples among her pack that she would not want breeding (even if Huā herself had slept with a stranger). The resources needed to raise children ought to be saved for the children of the most loyal, the most permanent. But for this reason, she did not regret her action- she was the leader after all. The most permanent and loyal of all- so who could stop her if she did have puppies of her own? Whether wed or not, puppies were necessary for building a strong pack- and perhaps it wouldn't be such a terrible thing if she did end up with some of her own. Those among her people who cast dirty looks her way could be exiled in the blink of an eye. 

I see... even though, I was not going breed with anyone there... but I guess she very careful. Huā muses thoughtfully.

Since the nameless huntress had caught Dacio's eye during his time as Roangeda's Klikalida, he'd grown significantly more aware of the opposite sex. He looked at them in a different way now, some more so than others, as he quietly considered their capability to stand at his side as potential mate. Huā was no exception, especially with the pheromones that lured him in with such ease.

Still, Dacio did his best to remain cool anod collected, impassive, though couldn't deny the flurry if butterfly wings in the pit of his abdomen to hear her say that she was "happy to know him". A curious thing, though the newly aroused teenager in him was tempted to quip something witty and suggestive in response.

"Oh," he started, regretful to have potentially led her to believe she had come looking to pimp herself out among Moonspear's bachelors, "I'm sorry, I... I did not mean to suggest that you would. It's just that Hydra prefers to monitor and control these changes. She would say that your heat might tempt the, uh... the males who follow her rules."

He apologizes then, further informing Huā on Hydra's system. The males who follow her rules... that has her looking Dacio up and down again ever-so-subtly. He wasn't allowed to breed, then? What a shame- because he sure looked like quite the specimen to Huā right now, through the rose tinted glasses that biology had placed over her eyes. 

So you too? She not want you be... tempted by me, or other women, yes? Huā wonders. Her tone hadn't turned to anything suggestive yet, but her sly gaze sure communicated her feelings, whether or not she truly had control over them at this time.

Something changed, and he didn't know what, but he felt it in the uncomfortable skip of his heartbeat - the stirring of an unfamiliar sensation in his loins. Suddenly his mouth dried and he simply stared right back at Huā, who gazed at him in a manner no one else ever had.

Hungrily, almost? He wasn't sure, yet felt the rebellious desire to pursue her for more. Still, he'd made a promise to Hydra and Dirge. To disobey his leaders pissed on every value he'd been reared to follow, every single thing he'd ever believed in.

"Yes, that..." blink, blink, "it would be disrespectful to ignore her wishes." Yet there he was, tentatively creeping closer even as he spoke those words, eager to better explore and test his limits.

Hooked, reel him in. She could see it- whether in his glossy eyes or that tentatively curious step forward. Huā had him now, didn't she? And yet he still spoke of disrespect to his leaders. What a nice boy. If only my members were more like this: ever-obedient. But it seemed to Huā that the string holding him to his values was only so thick, and it was getting thinner and thinner with her every little accented word. 

And so she would try her best to snap it with subtley. No disrespect to Hydra- she still wanted that alliance- but the queen must never know. It was nothing personal, she was just a servant to her body for the time being, and there was no other way to quench that thirst. But I think sometimes, good to follow your heart. Your gut. I am sure that sometimes, you want rebel. Right? She asks, voice taking on a slightly more foxy tone as she creeps closer on ebony toes, tail waving in the air behind her, spreading that perfume around.

She had him hooked without even trying. Dacio, with his gaze never drifting, stretched out his neck to reach out to sniff at a tuft of fur at the she-wolf's throat - where ebony faded elegantly to sandy hues. "Hm," was all he hummed in response, having stopped listening to what she was saying. His focus turned toward what was directly in front of him, ears made useless as he dared to part his teeth and preen at her pelage.

When he dared to make contact, a flurry of little girlish giggles erupted from her throat. There was no more need for words now, he was scarcely himself, controlled only by thoughtless desire. And she had become the same in only moment's time. The heat was like her puppetmaster, and her like a doll on strings. When he preened her fur, she made her own daring move, (daring for her, at least), to crane her neck and lap little kisses at his jawline, down his throat.

Wanna fade with your next post?

Her laughter was like music to his ears, one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard. Dacio, suddenly spurred by her eager reception of his advancement, grew more urgent in his ministrations. He nibbled and tasted, licked and nosed roughly, accepted her own gestures with a deep and suggestive rumble in his chest.

Dacio was content  to explore her body with his snout and teeth, nipping and teasing as he went. Always eager for more, he located the source of Huā's most enticing aroma and prodded the base of her tail with his nose. Groin suddenly ablaze with uncontrollable need, he made an awkward attempt to mount and gather her beneath him, though inexperience made his movements clumsy. Still, he instinctively reached for the she-wolf's nape with his teeth and fumbled to seek a better position, determination in the urgent and premature thrust of his hips.

yep! thanks for the thread <3

He became more and more bold until he finally took his place behind her. The moment was not unfamiliar to her, and though however many times she had wanted to fight and scream against those who had taken their place here without her agreement- for the second time in her life, she was content to allow him to do what he pleased. Some little part of her would rejoice that Hydra's followers were perhaps not as obedient as they seemed- at least she was not alone in such struggles. And though the disrespect of Huā's people was an annoyance to her, the disrespect of Hydra's people to their queen would only bring her joy, at least in the coming experience.