Like a Black Widow { Captain/Open }

[Natasha]

The night was cool and the moon was full. Light filtered into the large cavern, making it fairly easy to see, but the light of the glow worms on the ceiling was more than enough to see anything that you needed to, especially if you had wonderful night vision like most wolves... Which seemed to be the only creature in the cavern for the time being. The young female was positioned on her back, front legs relaxed and resting lightly on her chest. She hadn't been there long -or at least it hadn't felt like long- but she was already drowned in her thoughts. Memories from her past filled her mind, but she tried to push them away. She didn't want to remember the terrible way her parents had died... And she didn't want to remember her other brother and Ivan whom she had been forced to leave behind once she was put into the training program to be a spy. Natasha had known that secrecy was a large part of being a spy, but it was like they didn't even want their own pack members to know about or even have contact with the spies that they were raising. The young wolf couldn't help but to wonder if that was because many of the spies went on missions that they would never return from... Better to never get attached than to have a bunch of depressed wolves at their paws.

It was strange, though, moving from a military pack to this one. Really, she hadn't expected to join a new pack so soon after losing her old one, but everything had just fallen into place so nicely for her... It would have been foolish to pass up the opportunity to join Ultoris. She had been one of the first members, had seen it through one of its worst times and some of its best times, and she still found it strange sometimes to look back on her past life. Going from near total isolation to freely moving about and talking to whoever she wanted whenever she wanted was an exhilarating feeling for the poor wolf. It was almost like going from being a prisoner to being free once more. Natasha couldn't deny that she loved it. And yet, without the constant training and assignments, she found that time could pass more slowly than she could have ever imagined, and life could get a little boring. Just being a hunter for the pack meant less responsibilities than many of the others, but it also meant she had more down time. Especially at night. While she sometimes went for night hunts, she preferred to hunt around dawn and dusk, so during the day and at night, she found herself bored. That was the reason she was at the mouth of Aleru. She wasn't sure where else to go, and she liked to look up at the glowworms at night. Letting out a small sigh, Natasha rolled over onto her stomach and rested her head on her front paws, looking out the mouth of the cavern over the land around her.

[Captain]

Though it was late into the night, the huge full moon overhead laminated the land as if it was daytime. The air was dry and still, no humidity and no wind. The temperature was maybe around thirty five degrees, which was average for a late fall night. As he walked through the caverns his mind was on Mythril, the female who he had met only a day or two before but who he was already determined to get to know and to see if she would be a candidate for his future mate. He would love to be sitting under the full moon with her, enjoying each other’s company and howling in glorious harmony. However, he had yet to see her again and he knew she wouldn’t come in the middle of the night. The next time he saw, the full moon would be over and daylight would fill the lands.

It was the scent of female that brought him out of his thoughts and back to reality. At first, his ears perked in excitement, thinking that maybe Myth had been thinking about him under the moon too and had come to turn her thoughts into reality. However, that was not the case as he realized it was not her scent he had found. His ears fell back in disappointment as he huffed, shaking his head. The scent was that of Natasha, a hunter for the pack, and while Captain didn’t dislike her, she certainly wasn’t the female he was hoping for. Still though, he made his way over to her, smirking when he found her lying at the mouth of Aleru.

“Enjoying the night are we?” he asked looking over her. “Don’t you think it’s dangerous for a lone female to be so close to the edge of her territory?” he asked, his tone clearly joking. He knew she had what it took to defend herself and more, she had proven that to be true and he wouldn’t underestimate her. However, it just wouldn’t be like him not to joke around with his pack members. He meant nothing by it, and the majority of his pack knew that, but still it was fun to poke fun and tease, it was just who he was.

[Mythril]

The pale gleam of soft yellow peered from the darkness, the silent careful steps were unheard. Had any saw her passing effortlessly through the darkness they may have thought the brief glimpse was a ghost, nothing more nothing less. For that had been a name she once bore, Ghost, an ethereal creature that had never truly been there. The restlessness that had seized her heart and mind and been undeniable, to the point where she had finally given up on sleep and slipped from the dark recesses of her den out into the open night. Her paws knew where she wanted to be even if her head refused to admit it. Moving over a path that was fast becoming familiar in hopes of at least catching sight of a wolf he fast became more important to her then any other. What did it mean? She didn’t know, why did she feel this way, what did she feel? She had the words for it, but she was still in a state of shock over the whole thing. So she would bid her time and savor the time she had with him.

At the edge of the caverns entrance she would pause, the playful tone of Captains voice reaching out easily on the cool still evening. Retreating several paces she would lean into the shadows out of sight but not ear shot. From his words she knew he was with a pack mate. She knew she should go back, that it had been a foolish move to come when he was not expecting her. After all she did not belong to his pack, she did not belong on these lands. Ducking her head she would clench her jaws knowing what kept her rooted in this spot even when she knew it would be better if she turned and left before they discovered her presence. But it was something she refused to acknowledge. So that gaze would lift as she fought a battle within her, to make herself known, or slip away unnoticed.


Word count: 341
Muse: ^.^
Tag: Captain / Natasha / Open
Notes: Sneaky

[Natasha]

Natasha sighed as she looked south upon the loner lands that lay just out front of the expanse that was the entrance to Aleru. Her home was a beautiful one, and secure, indeed. The entire 'lands' were caverns, yet it was one of the most beautiful places that Natasha had ever seen. She had always loved caves and caverns, though, and underground water was even better. That was another thing that Aleru had, although Natasha was unsure that she would call it underground. However, the water source did run through the caverns which was quite convenient so the wolves did not have to travel far to a water source or wait for days for the rain to fall. It could be a hard life to live, living your entire life in a cave, but Aleru was unlike most caves. It was extensive, large and plentiful so that a very decently sized pack could happily live within. Natasha let her thoughts drift to her pack that she had come to know in these lands. While it was not like the pack she had been apart of across the ocean, she was beginning to settle in. She had been in the pack since the beginning, and yet it was only just recently that she felt as though she was able to maybe fit in. She was one of two adult females in the pack, and it felt as though there was quite some pressure on her to succeed.

Her mind wandered to the other female, Vixen, and her relationship with their alpha, Severus. Natasha couldn't help but to be a little jealous, if she was being completely honest. Not because their alpha was just drop dead gorgeously handsome or because she had won the alpha's heart... But because she had won anyone's heart... More so, that she could love. After all of Natasha's training, she wasn't sure that she could ever love another. That had been drilled out of her since the beginning. You could not get attached to another being because what would happen to them when you were gone? That didn't mean that Natasha wasn't caring... Because she was. Pups and others in need saw a little of the caring side that Natasha held within her, but mostly that was weakness, and she kept it to herself.

Suddenly, Natasha was startled from her thoughts as the sound of approaching footsteps reached her ears followed closely by a familiar voice. Turning her head, the multicolored female caught sight of the source of the voice and couldn't help but to roll her eyes. The pack's beta, Captain, had found his way to her, and now he was teasing her about being alone. "Ah, dear Beta... Do I need to teach you a lesson about underestimating the lone female?" She mused, pushing herself up onto her paws. Looking over him, she smirked lightly and slowly started walking towards him, a dainty walk that was more flirtatious than dangerous. Naturally a flirt, she found fun in teasing males, flirting with them and making them wonder her true feelings. In all honesty, though, Natasha had yet to find the male that would just make her heart soar. Even Captain, handsome as he was, was not for her. In fact, he more closely resembled a brother than a possible mate. "Surely, Beta, you understand the... Power that such a lone female holds just within reach."

[Captain]

Even though his thoughts never strayed far from the female his heart was missing, he was completely unaware that she was closer than he thought. With his mind preoccupied by his pack mate in front of him, it never crossed his mind that he could be being watched. Even if he had caught scent of her, he likely would have thought that it was just the lingering scent on his fur and brush it off as not being important. But, he still wished she would show up, that she would seek him out and come offer him her company.



The Beta chuckled as he could see that he had startled her, “If your own beta can startle you, maybe you shouldn’t be out here all by yourself after all,” he laughed though he kept up the same tone that would let her know he was only joking. It was rare that the male would actually say something to purposely hurt another but still, he was careful to make the point he was only joking clearly known. “Ah dear hunter,” he smirked mocking her, “I don’t think you have it in you to teach me a lesson,” he growled with mock challenge. He had no doubt in his mind that if this particular female wanted to teach him a lesson that she very well could. But, that certainly didn’t mean he had to let on to that fact. He watched as she got up and looked over him, putting up a charming smile for show. Even as she walked towards him, not a single muscle moved as he stood perfectly still, watching her closely. “Surely hunter,” he mocked her again, using the same form of address as she kept using, “You understand the power that your beta holds,” he growled again. Even though he was usually against fighting females, the more Natasha poked fun at him, the more he wondered what a sparring session between the two of them would actually be like. She was the first female he met who would stand a chance of holding her own against him and he honestly wanted to see it happen.

[Mythril]

Mythril would lower her rump to the earth, one soldier and its broken twin cast forward watching. Had a wolf seen her at that very moment they would see nothing by the stony ice that was her customary expression. None would believe there was turmoil wrestling within the confines of the ghostly figures heart. Even in the shadows had the pair happened to glance in the direction where she watched the little amount of light would still catch the soft white of that coat, shielding the blacken tips from view, as if they did not even exist. The pale light of her eyes enhancing that ‘ghostly’ image she had been famous for while in captivity.

She knew she should go before they caught sight of her, at the very least she knew he would have to run her off because she was of another pack and he was not alone. At the very worst the part of her heart that he had thawed in such a short time would be shattered with how easily and quickly she could be replaced. Not that she could blame him. The darker female suited his position far better then she could, no matter how much she had hoped otherwise.

She was not aware the feeling she held was rooted in jealousy, as a pup she had played with her siblings, but such experiences had been cut short. Than as an adult in captivity she had never been part of her fellow wolves hierarchy, and so never experienced or even paid attention to ‘playful banter’. All she understood is the male who had wormed his way past her defenses now flirted with another as if she did not exist.

That gaze dropped away from the pair, unable to watch any longer, though it had only been a few minutes. Pressing her paws she turned silently away, moving deeper into the shadows away. She should never have come…

Word count: 322
Muse: ^.^
Tag: Captain / Natasha / Open
Notes:

[Natasha]

Natasha sat quietly as she watched her beta, looking over him in a way that was almost... uncaring. She didn't hold any affection for him. He was the beta of her pack and that was all. Just as Severus was the alpha of the pack. She held a great deal of respect for both of them, and, when the time came, she would follow any order that they gave her. Really, after all of the training that Natasha had gone through and the isolation from the wolves she had called family, she was unsure that she was even capable of feeling affection. She had been told for years upon years that affection was weakness and should never be shown. Caring was another thing. Natasha could be caring... She could care about the wellbeing of others and show a softer side with dependent young pups. But she didn't love. Or rather... She hadn't ever loved before, and she was almost positive that that would never change.

The young female simply rolled her eyes at the male's comment of her being startled. “Oh, dear beta, you did not startle me. You simply caused me to become more alert. I heard you approaching long before I 'startled' as you say,” she claimed, though really he had pulled her quite quickly from her thoughts back into the reality of the world around her. Still, if he had decided to attack, she would have had plenty of time to react to it. As the female stood and walked closer to the beta male, she listened to his words, hearing him mock the very address that she had used when speaking to him. A small smirk floated upon her lips as she tilted her head. “Dear beta, can you not come up with your own way to address such a lovely female as myself? Mocking how I have addressed you is not very... Creative of you. Surely you can find something better to call me than 'hunter,'” she chuckled.

It was then that the wind shifted, bringing the scent of another wolf to the young female. Immediately, her guard was raised, the fur on her back and neck standing on end. “We will have to finish this some other time, Beta. We have an intruder,” she growled as she looked to the shadows to find the source of the scent. Granted, outside the cavern's entrance was fair game for loners, but she still found that they were a little too close for comfort. Blue eyes closely examined the shadows of the trees just outside their territory, growling softly as she laid eyes on the faint sight of movement. Barely seen, the wolf looked as if it was moving away from them, but Natasha was not about to take any chances. Standing tall, she barked out to the stranger, “You there! Halt! You've been spotted!”

[Captain]

Captain knew of the walls the female in front kept up to guard herself. He knew her past had been difficult and that she kept a hard exterior in response to it. However, Captain still cared about her. It was true he cared about all of his pack wolves, he was the beta after all so it was his job to care for, protect, and look after all those in the pack. However, Natasha wasn’t like the average wolf in his pack, nor was she like Myth had been, least not yet though he didn’t think she ever would be there. She was like a sister to him, someone to banter with, to hang out with, to tease. She was like a younger sister to him, and he her older brother.

He chuckled as she worked to defend herself. “Of course that’s what happened,” he chuckled with an unbelieving nod. If she wanted to play it off like she knew he was there, he would let her. At least, for now. He would have chances to prove he was right later on. “I could come up with hundreds of things to address you by,” he said with a wink, “But when you are so determined to call me beta, it only fits to call you by your rank as well,” he laughed.

When the wind shifted, his ears instantly perked up as his head shot to the side. It was Mythril’s scent but had Natasha caught it too he would have thought it was on his own fur. “Finish it we will,” he chuckled before moving forward when she did. He waited patiently as she told the female to stop walking before moving forward again. “Easy Nat, she’s friendly,” he said gently looking over his shoulder before looking back into the shadows. “I wasn't expecting you back here so soon, Mythril” he said calmly. The next time he had expected to see her back at his territory was when she came to join.

[Mythril]

Her step did not pause, nor did it faultier when the darker female shouted out for her to stop, that she had been spotted. She was not of the Ultoris pack, nor was she trespassing upon their land. Granted she was right on the edge, but she had not yet crossed that invisible like. She owed the younger wolf no kind of obedience. One paw in front of the other, at least until another voice rose. It was his voice that caused the silent ghostly wolf to cast her pale yellow gaze over though scar twisted shoulder to rest upon him. He was not in the least happy to see her it appeared. The low honeyed tones rose while those words were carefully chosen. “Captain…” She spoke his name softly, a shade or two more warmly than she spoke the rest of her intent. “I was merely searching. As I was close I thought to stop and say hello. I meant not to interrupt.”

That gaze shifted away from his silvered figure, standing tall and proud to the female at his side, then back once more. Though her words were not exactly truth, since he was in fact her primary goal, she could not bring herself to say such, so it was her secondary reason for wandering the loner lands that had been given. She ruthlessly told the beat of her heart to cease its foolish impossible desire to greet him as she wished too, she would turn that muzzle once more to face away from them intending to continue her silent retreat.

“I will not intrude any-longer.” Her thoughts already drifted to the decision she had before her, at the fork in life’s path that she tread. Remain with Othala, and lose Captain completely. Or tread the rockier path of seeking acceptance within Ultoris and have a chance, however slim, to at least be around the beta. So deep in thought she was not aware she had yet to continue forward, instead she stood like a statue of ice and shadow. With a self-loathing sigh that would be silent upon all ears save her own she mentally berated herself. Only a fool who has no means of flight falls for a star.

Word count: 376
Muse: ^.^
Tag: Captain / Natasha / Open
Notes:

[Natasha]

Natasha was concerned that a lone wolf would dare to tread so closely to the pack's lands... Though she wondered if she was even a loner at all. Naturally, the young wolf's frame of mind was set in thinking the worst of everyone unknown to her. Coming from a program trained to produce the best spies in North America, it was easy for her to assume that any lone wolf who dared to come so close to any pack's lands to be a spy for another pack. It was a deeply rooted assumption... One that would probably have occurred if the other had even just been looking for a place within Ultoris. Perhaps that was a reason that Captain and Severus had taken the highest rankings in the pack. Natasha would attempt to run anyone and everyone off just because of a paranoia rooted deep within her pat. It wasn't even as though she was scared of the other wolves. She just knew the life of a spy, and she knew that a spy always remained loyal to its pack. No matter what... Unless, of course, they get shipwrecked off the coast of Africa and wash up on the shores of a strange island that is presumably uninhabited by the humans... Then you can probably forget about that old pack... But still never reveal their secrets.

Natasha found herself instinctively standing on guard as she set her blue eyes upon the wolf in the shadows, preparing for a fight. But it was not even a moment later that Captain quietly stepped forward, taking a position more forward than hers towards the female, clearly showing he ranked higher than she. She was most obviously the more ready to fight out of the two of them... But Captain seemed calm... Almost... Too calm. It was then that he told her -in a polite way- to stand down. The stranger was friendly. Curiosity drifted over Natasha as she slowly perked her ears forward, towards the male and his... Companion? Surely he knew that it was not alright to have relations with a female not of their pack. Though she was sure he must have a good explanation. The beta wouldn't risk his position just to advance in a relationship with a female... Whether she be a loner or of another pack. Then again, Natasha wondered if they even had a relationship at all. Perhaps she was looking to join Ultoris but needed some time to decide and Captain just so happened to be the only one of the pack that she had met. The sweet way that the lone female spoke the beta's name concerned Natasha, but she brushed it away for the time being, staying back and just observing the two.

[Captain]

Even though Captain had ordered her to do so, he had not expected Natasha to stand down so readily. She was by nature a defensive wolf that he knew didn’t take kindly to strangers and trespassers which was why he was both relieved and surprised to see how quickly she had listened to him. He would explain the situation to her but now was not the time. Now was the time to figure out why the she wolf he had met so long before had found her way back to his territory so soon. As much as he enjoyed her company, he knew it was not safe for her to keep showing up at their border. Sooner or later someone would see her, believe her to be a trespasser, and he wouldn’t be there to tell them to stand down.

“You are not interrupting,” he reassured her with a soft smile, “And I am glad you came to say hello,” he nodded, thankful for his chance to see her again. “But, I must warn you against venturing this close to these lands unless you know I will be here to greet you. Some may not realize you plan on joining and take you as an intruder,” he said calmly. He made sure he added the part of her looking to join so that Natasha would know how he knew her. When she said that she would be going, he found himself shaking his head. “Why not come in, take this chance to meet another member of the pack?” he suggested, unsure of how Nat would take his proposal.

As he waited for an answer, he found himself wondering what kind of relationship Nat and Myth would build once she joined the pack. He could only hope for one of friendship or a sisterly bond. Captain liked Myth, there was no doubting that. But, Natasha was also like a sister to him. The last thing he wanted was for the two wolves who were closest to him to hate each other.
He knew Natasha would not be fond of her as someone who was not yet a part of the pack and he was not expecting her to pretend like she was. But, he hoped that after Mythril joined, the two would be more willing to get to know one another.