Love of Mine [Rikez] [Mature]

[Calantha]

Winter had claimed Anikira for its own at last; it had crept upon the continent slowly, until at last the trees were barren and the ground was hard and solid beneath dainty paws. Hunting had become more difficult, but it seemed as if Airila’s hunters were beyond capable – no one in the pack had gone hungry. With the days seeming shorter and the nights far longer, Calantha found herself spending as much time as she could outside while the sun still hung above their heads, often nestled behind gray clouds. When it began to grow dark she would always retreat to the dens, where she would seek out Rikez and tuck her small frame against his side. She no longer explored in the darkness; she knew that the brute Rikez had spared her from several moons ago was gone, and yet still she could not bring herself to take the risk.

On this particular morning, Calantha had risen earlier than usual, stretching and slipping from the dens to find water. It was only when she was darting across the beach, her muscles loosening as she shook off the lingering tendrils of sleepiness, that she realized something was different. She was different. For days now, she’d known that the time for femmes seasons was near, the she-wolves of Airila not spared from this. Calantha was young, and while she knew very well how the ways of her own body worked, she had not been sure that her own time would arrive as the wolves did – she was a coyote, after all. It seemed as if she was not quite as different as she’d thought, however. Winter had undoubtedly signified a change for her own body, too.

Thoughts whirling in her head, Calantha cut through the forest, tiny paws carrying her swiftly in the direction of the caverns, slipping inside with ease. She’d come here only once before, but already she found she enjoyed it; it was warm in the winter, but not stifling, and secluded. As she navigated the tunnels, her footsteps echoed softly behind her, fading away once she darted into the widening expanse of the cave, coming to halt at the base of the water. It was exceptionally clear today, and she found it was cool as well, her head dipping as she drank deeply. When she’d finished she stepped back, a soft sigh slipping from her muzzle as she sat, wrapping her thick tail around her haunches as she fell into her thoughts.

Eventually, Rikez would notice that her scent was different – perhaps even today, since they’d taken to sleeping together. The thought sent a nervous jolt through Calantha, her paws shifting absently along the stone. They’d become closer than ever before after the night he’d saved her, and if Calantha had thought that she could not fall harder for the dark brute, she’d been wrong. Everything about Rikez was a breath of fresh air, a blessed relief when she’d previously thought there was none. Even now, as she sat along beneath the sprawling rock walls, her maw pulled into a small smile at the thought of him…and whatever future they had together.

TAG: Rikez
WORDS: 525
NOTES: eeee <3 

[Rikez]

As the seasons had changed, so had they. The days seemed bleaker, with clouds overhead and leaves absent from the trees in their forest home. At night, Calantha pressed closer to his side to share in his warmth. She was so small to him that she almost seemed to be disappearing into his dark pelt. He loved her in these soft moments, and yet... something was tugging at his heart. It wasn't as if they're love was any weaker. In fact, their bond seemed as strong as ever since he had come to her aid several moons ago. There had been stirrings in him, however, stirrings he had never had a name for before. And he could sense those same feelings in Calantha as well.

Something was missing.

He paced the forest, less patrolling as was his duty and more simply letting himself be trapped in his mind. A wolf of few words and deep thought, Rikez found himself circling mentally, returning to the same thoughts again and again. Even Huginn had grown tired of his mental conflict, and had left him to be alone. She would be hunting for the rest of the afternoon, he was sure. Though she always returned to him at night, in the den. Their distance also worried him, but he assured himself it must just be the nature of his changing mood. There was something primal about this need. Something all to instinctual. At nearly five years old, the black brute wasn't a stranger to winter stirrings in his gut. But this time was all too different. He had a mate now, a beautiful coyote at his side every night. It was beginning to drive him mad, the thoughts he'd been having of her.

The problem was, he was afraid. It gripped his throat every time he had inhaled her sweet sent the past few nights together. He could tell she had noticed, but he had no words to explain the sudden need growing within him. And he had been too scared to act on it. She was so different. Yes, it was those differences in her that he loved and cherished, but he had no answers to the moral question of things. Could a coyote and a wolf really be together? Or was his love for her too foolish and naive?

Maybe it was doomed to fail from the start.

Rikez sighed, his great chest heaving with the effort of his emotions. He needed someone's advice, but he had been afraid to voice his concerns to his friend and ally, Arche. Surely the temporary leader of Airila would think Rikez's love life was trivial in the grand scheme of things. No, he was on his own.

But... was he?

Amber eyes snapped up as it dawned on him: He wasn't truly alone, not with Calantha as his voice of reason. Yes, he would go to her and tell her the truth of his fears. After all, her calm and calculated thoughts nearly always calmed him when his mind was racing. Without hesitation, Rikez turned around, letting his paws carry him to where he knew in his heart she would be. Waiting for him.

---

Count | 537
Tagged | Calantha
Muse | Decent
Notes |Sorry if this post is a little jumbled. I had a hard time collecting my thoughts. And I swear things will get less depressing once they talk. Rikez is just having some issues rn. You can assume he just entered the cavern.<3  

[Calantha]

Calantha was not sure for how long she’d sat waiting before there was a stirring in the shadows, the sound of footsteps, and then, blessedly, a pair of familiar amber eyes flashing in the dimness of the cave of Rikez stepped forward. As always, her heart jolted at the sight of him, a smile spreading swiftly across her muzzle as he drew nearer. But a moment later she was pausing, her head tilting just slightly to one side as she studied him. There was something shining in his gaze, something uncertain and troubled; immediately she began to fret, and it was only with all of the will contained in her small body that she did not allow the worry to show upon her features.

Instead Calantha stood, the gentle smile still upon her features as she crept forward, her tiny paws making no noise upon the cavern floor. She did not stop until she stood just before him, craning her neck and lifting herself to her full height to brush her muzzle along his. He was so much larger than she was, but it had always made her feel safe, like nothing could ever harm her with him by her side. Laying nestled alongside his sizeable form was the only thing that comforted her when she slept now, the only thing that brought a smile to her features when she awoke to find him slumbering beside her. And though she was downright diminutive compared to him, her head fit just beneath his muzzle so neatly when they stood together, the contrast between their coats striking and somehow beautiful. It was as if she’d been made for him, crafted to dart along at his side for as long as she would be allowed. Truly, Calantha believed as if she had found her heart’s other half in Rikez, who had been nothing but wonderful since the day they’d first met so long ago, drenched and alone in the mouth of a foreign cavern.

”Rikez.” The word was spoken softly, practically breathed, as her gaze flitted upwards to meet his. She did not bother to hide the open adoration that shone from her features like a beacon in the night. Never before had she felt anything like what she did for Rikez, and while it had terrified her at first, gone were her reservations. Life was too short to pretend as if she did not love him with her entire heart.

”What troubles you?” She asked him, her voice echoing dimly around them. While she’d originally been nervous to see him due to the telltale smell of her heat, but now Calantha had swiftly forgotten those concerns, instead wholly focused on him. If something was bothering him, then Calantha wished to know; he had been there for her on many nights when she’d woken from dreams, terrified and confused, after their unwelcome meeting with Auron’s murderer. And so now she would be here for him, no matter the cost.

TAG: Rikez
WORDS: 496
NOTES: ugh my heart

[Rikez]

She was waiting for him. He knew before he even dipped his head and stepped into the cavern than she would be there, his nose having already picked out her scent outside. He wouldn't have misplaced her scent anywhere. It was like a taste of spring even though winter had reared its ugly head and blown its cold breath over Shyia. Fresh. Green. Warm like sunshine.

Padding into the cave reminded him of the first time they had met, although back then he had scared her half to death. He had stalked into the dark cave like a beast, dark as oil and dripping wet from the storm outside. It was a wonder she hadn't fled at the sight of him. He must have looked like a monster.

I was a monster, he thought. But now I am different. Now I am saved.

She looked at him in a way only she could, and he melted, the tension in his limbs draining out the pads of his paws. And then she was pressed against him, her body warmth and sweet aroma wafting off of her like perfume, reminding him of the ache inside his heart. They were both dry, and this cavern was larger, large enough for Rikez to stand at his full height. This was nothing like their first encounter had been. Now, she was fearless in his presence, as was evident in the way she had tucked herself under his chin. He loved when she did that, when she fit beneath him like a missing piece of a puzzle. It solidified his purpose in some ways—his existence made solid by the fact that he was her protector. The coyote femme wasn't helpless by any means, but she was all he had to hold dear to him. Yes, it was his job to protect his pack, to serve his alpha. But most of the time, he just wanted to be her alpha.

She whispered his name, as if speaking too loudly would taint the air around him. He could feel her love for him coming off in waves, and he was swept along in the tide. She held nothing back in her gaze as she peered up into his eyes. Yellow met orange, and together, their eyes were a sunset.

But she knew there was something troubling him. Lately, she had been so attuned to him that he was not surprised at all when she questioned him. Relaxing into a sigh, the black brute tried to gather his thoughts. A task that was nearly impossible, what with her incredible closeness, and their scents together... permeating the air around them.

"Are we destined to be together, Calantha? Or are our differences too great?"

Never before had the brute been so open about his fears. They were something he never spoke about out loud to the world, let alone another lupine. But this was something that could not fester in his mind. He was not worried about their attraction to one another per say... it was something more materialistic than that. He feared that saying it aloud would break the magic stirring between them, but their physical differences couldn't go unquestioned. His need to be with her was something far greater than just companionship now. They were mates.

"Is it even possible... for us to have a family someday? Or does our lineage end here?" He could not keep a hint of pain from slipping into his voice. Burying his muzzle into her scruff, he lost himself in her for a moment, willing the thoughts running rampant in his mind to cease their worrying.

---

Count | 608
Tagged | Calantha
Muse | Decent
Notes |Weeee poor babe <3  

[Calantha]

"Are we destined to be together, Calantha? Or are our differences too great? Is it even possible... for us to have a family someday? Or does our lineage end here?"

For a moment, Calantha stood still, gazing absently at the cavern food as Rikez bent his head, burying his face in her fur. There was nothing false about the anguish that tinged his tone at the very thought of being unable to truly be with her, and the coyote felt her heart ache in response. Had she known that these concerns tugged at Rikez’s mind, she would have spoken sooner; the thought of his pain, whether physical or emotional, made her breath catch in her lungs.

Gently she extracted herself from him, taking a single step back to tilt her head upwards, her tongue darting out to smooth the fur between his vivid amber eyes lovingly. ”I don’t think we have anything to worry about,” she told him softly, a smile meant to comfort him, to ease his sorrows, springing to her muzzle. ”My entire tribe was coyotes, but it was not unknown for others to share their lives with wolves. It was very different from here.” For a moment she trailed off, memories of her youth flickering through her mind, before once more she brought her full attention to Rikez. ”It was not entirely uncommon for wolves and coyotes to mate, and they had healthy pups. We can, too.”

As the last words left her muzzle she glanced away, feeling her skin warm beneath her gold-streaked pelt. Embarrassment was not a feeling she was accustomed to experiencing with Rikez, and yet now as the admission hung between them, she found her heart thrumming in response. He was her first love, the first one to find a place in her heart, and now she could not imagine a life without him firmly by her side.

Slowly her gaze flitted upwards to meet his once more, the smile gone from her features but still lingering in her eyes despite the nervous set of her ears. ”I want a family,” she said quietly, ”with you.” In that moment, it felt as if she was offering him the final piece of her that she had not yet given, as if she were a puzzle that he’d slowly pieced together. She was more aware of their close proximity than ever, though she did not step away, instead holding her ground as she gazed up at him.

TAG: Rikez
WORDS: 412
NOTES: THIS IS CRAP I'M SO SORRY. I just wanted to get something up though, so we can post for stats <3