Tobias’s glee at her surrender was almost more than she could bear, only the voids of his eyes doomed to never hold expression allowed her to keep her ground. He rumbled with pleasure, the first time she had ever heard such a sound from the chasm of his chest, futile heart beating like a tribal drum, its savage timbre brutal on the ears. Holding her breath, she took the first step towards him, her resolve solidifying with every step, caution forgotten in the whirlwind of her good intentions. He seemed to find her approach natural, even acceptable, for he came towards her in turn causing her to shiver as his cool shadow engulfed her in acrid darkness. Already he looked down at her, features cold with the promise of an untameable power. However, though she studied them, Jaylah could unearth no intelligence behind the glazed windows he peered through, only a cool manner of accepting and altering. She had already discovered his weakness though she was an emotional being of fire and ocean, for she harboured an intelligence underestimated by others for her lack of self-control that shielded it. Without hesitation, lest she lose her brittle grasp of control, she thrust her muzzle deep into his black fur. Her breaths came short and shallow with shock, fear, exultation and a churning feeling of disgust that turned her insides to water. Slowly she ran her lips across his skin, tasting its saline flavour as her tongue trailed across the ridges left by some well-meaning stranger, or so it seemed to her. She had noted his body stiffen, heard the growl that rumbled through his being and erupted from his mouth like lava to flow down the sides of his neck and pool in her fur, but she did not stop, for a halting on her part would cause her to lose all the ground she was gaining, the connection she was hoping to spark in that one-track brain. Although it clearly pained him, he was forced to return the gesture she proffered, confirming her suspicions. His skin twitched as though he was dislodging a fly, but she persisted, though every instinct inside her urged her to imbed her fangs deep into the yielding flesh of his hated throat. It seemed he too shared her desire, for his hot breath on her neck was demanding and a white-hot energy enveloped them both, stemming from some wellspring inside him. What she did then was wrong, she knew it with every fiber of her being, but it was something that fate had declared she be the one to do, and so she allowed herself to be guided by that invisible hand, creating a damp path through his ebony pelt with her nose until the moment he could not take it any longer. With sudden violence he reversed at speed, head snaking wildly and teeth bared as his breath hissed menacingly between them. Still, she was unafraid, though he appeared more dangerous to her then than he ever had before. He spoke, his usually empty voice charged with a thickness that hinted at emotion, its passage through the air akin to a plea on his part. In that moment, the golden girl realized the power she had over the demon. She alone had discovered a way to conquer an invisible soul, and the feeling was as gratifying as that of arising victor in any battle. Her expression softened visibly, a pitying frown pasted onto her maw though her eyes remained hard and she sought to reassure him, to let him know that she did not wish him harm. Or at least not at that moment, “It is a good hurt. A healing hurt. It can fix the scars on your throat. Let me fix what other’s broke.” Her words were lilting and coated in honey, their meaning as clear in her tone as in the syllables she uttered. His face twisted; his emotions conflicting and, for the briefest of seconds, she felt almost genuinely sorry for him until he found that place of nothingness again. He let his features melt into what hers surely must have appeared to him as she spoke, and he looked almost beautiful. Fortunately, Jaylah was not stirred by his display, for she knew what so finely carved a mask hid behind its gold-plated exterior. His voice was smooth and gentle, caressing her with its strangeness and his words carrying little meaning. She did not reply, only kept up her façade of pity and fondness, drawing him in closer despite the wariness etched into the furrows of his brows. Slowly, gently, she reached out once more with her muzzle, her dark intentions clear in her eyes, ready to assure the dark prince of her trustworthiness. The space between them was so small, only a fraction of a second lay between her and her goal. Elation blossomed in her chest and she licked her lips in readiness, one more millimetre, another….

The undergrowth that spanned the treeline exploded with a harshness that sent many small birds skywards, raucously crying their disdain at being disturbed so suddenly. Startled, Jaylah drew away from Tobias, her ears pressed into the folds of her ruff and her expression alive with guilt. She turned her head, afraid of what she would see, and was rewarded with a sight that turned her fiery blood to ice. From the shadows came another despised figure, his once pitiful expression hardened into an unrecognisable visor of bitter hatred. He oozed from the darkness as pus oozes from a gigantic wound, never seeming to fully leave it for it clung to his ebony frame stubbornly refusing to succumb to the light. King Kong came like a tornado, his black pelt like Tobias' and yet his mind so different. For a moment her heart stirred and hope seemed to glow when she thought she had forgotten what it tasted like on her tongue. Perhaps he had escaped the impregnable cell of his mind and come to his senses, ready at last to show his true colours to her. That hope soon died, for he gave her not a glance as he flew by, his shoulder causing her to stumble in the jetstream he created. The collision that ensued was akin to that between two freight trains of equal magnitude, the deep groan of bone on bone causing her to blanch at the ungodly sound. The scuffle that followed was brief and bloody, both black wolves stained with the crimson of war as they parted for a brief respite, their growls still haunting the air that had grown so abruptly still, as though every creature paused to witness the epic confrontation. Kong circled Tobias manically, hungrily, the single word he chose to utter causing her to shake with anger. However, it did not reach so deeply as Tobias’s cool command, spoken with confidence as though he was already certain of her compliance. In the stillness of that moment she eyed her aggressors, fiercely proud. To her right stood the husk of the wolf she used to love, and to her left the husk of the wolf that never was. An impossible choice to make.

The wolf whimpered and growled, immersed in her dreams as she had been not so long before beneath the lapping waves of the Aplos. She remained blissfully unaware of what was going on around her, ignorant of all but her subconscious mind. Even the jolting of her body as she was carried into the welcoming shadows of the trees was not enough to rouse her, much less the thump she made when she tumbled from broad shoulders to land on her side deep in the earth. Every now and then her muscles twitched as though she were trying to shiver, but she was too far gone with hypothermia to really react to the coldness numbing her bones. Winter began to howl outside the warren, the icy breath of the wind screaming manically outside, as though trumpeting the triumph of its mistress. However, it seemed the dark harbinger of death had well and truly vacated the area and, as though she sensed that she were safe at last, Fiammetta began to stir. Her battered body erupted into convulsions as she shook uncontrollably, the warm pelt of her saviour rousing her from her descent into the underworld. That single eye was not yet open, but she pressed almost savagely into the source of the heat, making the most of her own personal fire. Only after many moments had passed, did she fall abruptly back into the living world, coming into herself not slowly, but with a sudden start.

Pupil adjusted desperately to the darkness as the small fatale struggled to get her bearings, face buried in fur as it was, but eventually she regained presence of mind enough to retract her head from its warm nest and regard her surroundings. She was in a small badger sett, the pungent odour of earth and the sight of gnarling roots above her head telling her what she needed to know. How she got there, though, was as much a mystery to her as the stranger she so depended on for the warmth he gave her. She had known he was there, of course, even at the moment of waking, but her bleary mind was not ready to puzzle him out just yet, and so she ignored him as she began to find meaning in the tumultuous ocean of her thoughts. Her dream still clung to her like damp cobwebs, and she couldn't shake off the realness of it, the sense that it was not just a random assortment of thoughts but a memory from another time and place. Tobias had been there, and two other wolves she recognised only by the stories she had been told of them as a pup; her grandparents. But she had never met them, and so she couldn't possibly have known the events of their lives. Iskra had been want to mention them, never giving much more than a description, and had spoken more of her adoptive mother than her blood dam. Fiam tried her utmost to bring to mind the title of the other, but couldn't summon it from the recesses of her mind. However, this prodding in her memory did unlock something useful, the events that had occurred earlier that night, and they came flooding back in a torrent that made the ivory girl growl. Only once this initial tide had abated did she finally turn her head to face her rescuer. She was still pressed up against him, and a small shiver of anticipation rippled along her skin unbidden (as is normal in the winter months) while she took in his handsome face and concerned golden eyes. Thankfully, the general movements of her body disguised this spark of desire until she could quell it, replacing that gleam in her eye with a whirlpool of emotion so complicated that he would not have been able to read her even if he did get past his revulsion enough to look her squarely in her ruined face.

Before she might have snapped at him, her pride preventing any gratefulness from blossoming in her heart, but she was no longer so naïve, and she knew full well that she would have died without his intervention. Swallowing away the awkwardness of their intimacy, she dipped her head slightly and spoke, her voice light and carefree and not suited to the mask she had been forced to wear, “I don't know how you did it, or why, but thank you for your help.”
It was no more and no less than what he deserved and she felt relieved that the deed had been done, for none of her bloodline were swift to show their gratitude to an interferer and it went against her very core to do so.

Unsure of what to do next, and still too dependant on the stranger to move away from him, Fiam remained as close to his side as a lover, although she placed her chin on the hard ground to her right, turning her muzzle away from him to lessen her discomfort. She was still painfully aware of his nearness though, and she could see how his larger frame had curled around hers, noting the placement of his tail across her thighs and feeling the touch of his pads on her hind legs. He was a little too youthful to be thinking of such things (in her esteem anyway) but one had to be aware, just in case. After all, she was in far too much pain to accommodate a bedfellow, even if nature decreed that she desire it, and she could only hope that he was as innocent as the first impression she had got of him.

OOC: haha lol I laughed so much when he dropped her..he's absolutely charming, I think I have a wolf crush:p


Fiammetta - Female - No Home - No Family - 4YO - 28 inches, 32 pounds