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 Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 7:18 pm
 The dark she-wolf lounged in front of the dens, enjoying the feel of hot sun warming her fur from above even as the stone cooled her from below. She felt…content. Utterly content. It was a strange feeling for her, one that she had not felt in a very long time. Not since Cith had died. But now, it was becoming a more common occurrence. All thanks to the large, handsome alpha beside her.
She glanced at Hephaestus, her joy warming her eyes, even though her face remained otherwise unaffected. Yes. She had been gradually healing with his help, ever since she risked her heart on the chance that they could learn to love each other. As she watched him shift yet again, her joy reached her maw, gracing it with a smile. The risk had been well worth it.
“What is it, Hephaestus?” she said at last, trying to sound annoyed, but likely only succeeding in conveying her amusement. “You have been squirming like a pup caught sneaking out of the den at night.”
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Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 7:59 pm
He froze mid-squirm, smiling at her at having been caught. The truth was, he wanted to ask her something, and it was driving him mad not asking, but he didn't know how....
The den site was empty, as the pack had dispersed hours ago to go on hunts in small groups around the territory. The only sound came from the wind whistling quietly from the vast emptiness that was the drop-off a dozen yards in front of them, and the soft sound of Tisiphone's heart beat.
Heph looked at the femme from his upside down position, wondering how to answer. She had quickly grown accustomed to the fact that he liked to lay on his back.
"Umm..."
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Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2011 8:08 pm
She shifted slightly to rest her chin on his chest and stared down at him. “Um?” She teased, seeing no reason to make it too easy on him. It was not often that she found him at a loss for words. Of course, that only made her all the more curious as to what was on his mind. Truly. What could make him so uncomfortable?
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 5:02 pm
He couldn't help but smile. When she had come here with her painted wolves, she had been reserved, acerbic, and quick to flee not out of fright, but out of a strange sense of pride. Now, all she did was smile around him and the sight warmed his heart every time. She had finally relaxed, and it was all because of him.
"I have...something I wanted to ask you..."
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Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2011 5:20 pm
Something he wanted to ask her? That he was so nervous about asking? This, she had to hear. The dark femme was beginning to suspect that teasing her alpha and newly-acquired loved one might soon become addictive, if he gave her enough opportunity.
“And what is it that you find so difficult to ask me, hmm?”
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 7:58 pm
Wriggling again, he flipped over onto his belly and inched forward, until he could touch his nose to hers. Anxiety squirmed in his belly but he pushed forward.
"Tisi . . . Raising Syn was one of the best moments of my life, even with his mother . . . I'd like to feel that again. But . . . With you. And -our- pups . . . "
His bi-colored eyes stared intently into hers; he was terrified of her answer, what it might or might not be. It was the only time he'd ever felt so afraid, but he held her gaze, unwilling to look away until she gave him an answer.
Good or bad.
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 8:34 pm
Whatever annoyance she might have felt over his use of that particular nick-name vanished in the face of the words that followed it. The utter unexpectedness of it completely blindsided her, making her freeze.
Was...was he really asking what she thought he was asking? Dare she hope? Was she ready? Was he serious?
Tisiphone had only to look into his eyes to have the truth of it. What she saw there reassured her. She blinked and sighed, nudging his nose with her own.
"I've always wanted pups," she confessed. "And I cannot think of anyone I would rather have them with."
Overwhelmed by the emotional effort of the moment, she then nipped at him and complained. "I barely get settled in and already some overbearing male thinks to tuck me away and make an honest wolf out of me." She paused as something occurred to her.
"You do intend to make an honest wolf out of me, don't you?" she glared at him suspiciously. "I won't settle for being a mistress."
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 8:48 pm
He tucked his right paw against his chest, over his heart. "You are the only one I want. You can gut me if I ever act otherwise."
Confident in his ability to keep true to his word, he licked her cheek and felt his heart swell . . .
Until he caught movement out of the corner of his eye.
"Oh, my bad. Didn't know I be interruptin' such a . . . friendly moment."
Zanza stared at them both from the side of the den, obviously returned from his hunt. His expression was neutral, but for anyone that knew him, it was obvious he was hiding his emotions.
"When can we be expectin' da leetle ones?"
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Posted: Sun Nov 06, 2011 9:19 pm
"Don't think that I won't," she muttered, pleased by his attentions. Naturally, fate chose just that moment to have the peskiest member of her band overhear and interrupt a rather...awkward position.
"Zanza!" she exclaimed, both startled and embarrassed to have been caught thus. She backed up a little and turned to face the clown of her band.
"Don't sneak up on people and mind your own business!"
Still, even her embarrassment and shock could not keep her from noticing the unusual mood that the male was exhibiting, or rather, that he was hiding. Sure, he was no more straight-forward with his emotions than the rest of them, but he wasn't normally this careful with hiding them. It made her uneasy, which, naturally, added fuel to her temper.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 11:51 am
"I not be sneakin', ya just didn't hear meh. But fine, I be mindin' mah own business ova here," he murmured sullenly, wandering towards the den and laying down in the entrance. He wasn't very far away, and he knew it, staring out at the sun but with his closest ear rotated towards them.
"I think something is wrong with your painted wolf..." Heph murmured, concerned. He liked Zanza, and was starting to see that Zanza really like Tisiphone, whether it was just a deep friendship or something more. He licked her muzzle. "Maybe go talk to him?"
"I not be needin' any talkin' to, brute wolf."
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:05 pm
"You can mind your own business elsewhere," she snapped, annoyed at the the interruption. Then Hephaestus had to go and open his big mouth, and all Tisiphone could do was gape at him incredulously.
Zanza rudely barged in on their private conversation, and he wanted her to go and talk to him? "I don't think so."
Of course, her oddly ornery gamma could not help but add his own two cents worth...which, unfortunately, had to include an insult to her just-turned-official mate. "Mind your tongue, Zanza'jin," she warned. "And just what has gotten into you, anyway?" She might have expected a lot of things from him, but this pitiful me act was not one of them.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:10 pm
"Doesn't matta." With that, he rose to his feet and loped away into the clouds without looking back.
Ears back, Hephaestus watched the gamma go, worried even if Tisiphone wasn't. He was sure that Zanza'jin wouldn't be the only one to oppose their new union, but Heph would deal with them as they showed themselves. For now, he would enjoy this quiet moment with his new mate.
Adjusting himself so that he lay beside her, sides pressed together, he sighed heavily but contently. "Do you like it here?"
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:21 pm
The dark femme scowled after him, worried despite herself and all the more annoyed because of it. Well, there was no talking to him when he was like this, anyway. She would hunt him down when he had a chance to cool off.
Feeling the comforting weight of Heph's body by her side, she allowed herself to relax little by little until she leaned against him and heaved a sigh of her own. She nuzzled his thick ruff and smiled slightly.
"It reminds me of where I grew up," she replied. "That wasn't too far from here, really." And what bitter-sweet memories that place held.
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:26 pm
"It amuses me to think that you were so close before. If only I had been a more adventurous youth, like Phrixos, we might have met sooner." He smiled at her, amusement in his eyes. "Speaking of Phrixos, have you had a chance to really meet any of my pack? It seems I've kept you to myself a lot lately, and I'm sure they're curious about you."
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Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2011 12:42 pm
A small sadness flickered through her eyes. Yes. They might have met, but back then, she had eyes only for Cith. Somehow, she doubted that anything would have changed. But that was in the past.
"That you have been," she agreed, equally amused. "But you have not taken so much of my time that I have not spoken to any others. In fact, I had a most enlightening conversation with Ehrek." She glanced at him sidelong.
"You know, you might want to consider paying him a little more attention in an official capacity. He is a beta, after all. It would not do for him to be seen as shirking his responsibilities." There was more to it, of course, but it was not her place to break the blue wolf's confidence, or share his insecurities with the world. Of course, that did not mean that she could not give him a bit of help by pushing her thick-sculled mate in the right direction.
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