"Come ooon," Lillianna whined, her eyes sparkling as she stared defiantly and eagerly at the more than reluctant Lark. At first he refused her idea of heading to the Firefly Lake, but she wasn't letting go of the idea. Both of them, and Lark couldn't deny it, were just sitting around, drifting without purpose, not doing... anything. Hanging out with one another, occasionally wandering the pack lands. They needed to go do something. Anything? And the first thing in Lillie's head, with this season, was the Firefly Lake. It was almost summer - thank goodness, she was tired of being in heat again - but it almost being summer meant the fireflies were just starting to emerge, and she wanted to go see them reflected on the lake.

And damnit, she would use everything she had to try to convince him. Like the puppy eyes she'd so convincingly was using right this second. And then a softer thought, a softer look - "Please? It'll be better than anything else happening lately." That seemed to make him hesitate, although she wasn't sure if it was her use of please, or the overly true statement after that. That did the trick, too - he agreed. Internally, Lillianna breathed a sigh of relief. She was glad. She needed this, and she was pretty sure he did too. Something to smile about, anyway.

It was good, too, that she went to his den just a bit early. She'd thought he'd protest, so she made sure that if she arrived a bit early... well, then they'd still get to the Firefly Lake when night was just falling. She predicted accurately, and her steps picked up as she stepped over the border. A sigh of relief left her as she passed that invisible wall. Her increased speed only lasted a few seconds, though, for when she got far enough, she stopped, gazing around her. "It's been a long time since I left the pack lands." And really, it had been. The last time had been when she'd gotten injured. She glanced back at Lark, before walking forward again; she knew it wouldn't be too long until they hit the lake, and, well, she was impatient to get there.


""

art by birmapus

Lark couldn't help but roll his eyes at Lillie's insistence, though he wasn't exactly arguing with her, either. Her company was one of the few things he found he could tolerate lately, and that list of things seemed to be growing shorter by year. This year in particular had knocked quite a few things off it, too. He furrowed his brows a bit as he grumbled something incoherent and trudged after her. He wasn't protesting, and if he was, well - Lillie wasn't listening to him anyway. The truth was that leaving Abaven lands, even if just for the afternoon, was a relief. 'It'll be better than anything else happening lately,' she pleaded with him, and he let out a slow sigh. "I guess so," Lark conceded after thinking on it for a moment. He wasn't totally sure where she was leading him, but he felt restless as it was, and he felt some of his anxiety drifting away as they started to travel together. A long time ago he would've been nervous at the thought of being alone with her, but as time went on his feelings became much more clear. He cared about her, a lot, more than he cared about most wolves; and she'd stuck with him through more than most of his family even had. Now he found he could walk with her easily, occasionally slowing as they talked and checked out their surroundings. He nodded in agreement to it being awhile since she'd left the packlands. It was probably for good reason, because Lark was quite sure he'd go insane if she left him again like she had before, and it was hard to stop the protectiveness he suddenly felt over her. By the time they were close to the lake.. only a short trek away, he glanced up, noting the sun's position in the sky. It had begun its descent below the horizon, casting a brilliant array of soft colors - purples and pinks and oranges - across the skyline. A slight grin played at his lips as he leaned to nudge her before continuing on.

She wasn't quite sure when she accepted his presence. When she stopped despising him. When the reluctant respect turned into a genuine care. One day, they were at each other's throats about Finch. When he believed her stupid, and she believed him intolerant. Even when he called her stupid about Evangeline, which was true, she had even respected that. And eventually, they just had... an understanding about Finch, an understanding about each other. Just small times that they'd run into each other and reluctantly gotten to know one another. Now, she just wanted his presence, his touch, his comfort in the form of using him as a pillow. And at first it was weird. She felt awkward. Pretended she was asleep in order to snuggle up. He went with it. And then she grew bolder, and then they just... accepted it.

She was lost in thought when the gentle nudge distracted her, and automatically, she leaned back into the touch, as brief as it was, her eyes sparkling as she glanced to look up at the one who had nudged her. Affection was clear in those eyes, and a smile was on her face, too - that is, until it turned mischievous. She suddenly halted, lunging forward to nip hard at his shoulder, a playful light dancing in her eyes. The last rays of light, and then the fireflies would come - what's the harm in a play fight before then?

""

art by birmapus

Once upon a time, Lark was pretty sure he'd had his future entirely figured out. It was only as he grew older than he realized life was far from predictable, and he'd grown tired of trying to figure it out. It was simpler, and far less painful, to simply go along with things as they happened. It'd been working out so far, at least in terms of whatever he shared with Lillianna. Not that he thought about it much, but he supposed she was his girlfriend now, right? They hadn't really discussed the wording or anything but it seemed clear enough that they had something special between them, something they didn't share with anyone else in their lives. He grinned as she leaned back against him, something that he expected but still sent a rush of warmth through his chest. She did surprise him though with the sudden playful nip; it was harder than he expected, though elicited a chuckle from him at the same time. "You picking a fight with me?" Lark teased, his tail waving invitingly behind him. They'd nearly reached the edge of the lake now, and the colors that danced over the horizon grew more vibrant while the skies darkened. He quickly leaned in to nip at her in retaliation, aiming for the soft fleshy area between her side and front leg, before pulling away. His pace quickened, as though intending to run from her, toward the lake.

Even just the previous season, they'd struggled with what was between them. Now, it was just so normal. It had been, honestly, for quite some time. Had they actually shared these thoughts aloud, she would have agreed with him. In a way, it went more than that, deeper than that. I mean, at what point do you really go from girlfriend or boyfriend, just casual being with each other, to something more serious, more permanent? How long do you have to love someone for that? (apparently like three years, for them)

Her grin grew at his teasing, challenging words, and she smirked. "Of course I am. And I'll win." How could she not? That was simply a given. However, it was equally a given that she get distracted, once she saw the lake's edge, and the beautiful colors over the sky... and that, of course, when when Lark made his strike. Yelping, jumping back, and narrowing her eyes, she watched as he danced away. "Oh nuh-uh, no running for you!" He wasn't getting away - not at all. Calculations in her eyes - okay, sorta, as she wasn't a fighter - she took a couple of running steps, before launching herself into the air, her gaze set on her goal: Lark's hindquarters and back. If everything went well, she'd just... straight tackle him to the ground, the weight of her sending them tumbling. If she hit him.

""

art by birmapus

Why he'd struggled for so long to label things - Lark had no idea. Now, if someone asked him if he was with Lillie, he'd probably say yes. Well, no, he would, just a bit hesitantly and definitely awkwardly. Now, it wasn't like he'd come right out and call her that, but he wasn't going to deny what they had, either. 'Of course I am. And I'll win.' Lark's gaze danced with amusement, his brow quirking as he eyed her. "Oh, will you now?" Lark retorted incredulously, clearly not believing her. And it seemed he caught her a bit by surprise by his playful attack, and he snorted at her yelp as he turned to run away from her. He wasn't really trying to outrun, but he didn't expect her to tackle him, either. Suddenly he felt the pressure of her colliding with his back end, sending him tumbling down into the grass. It was hard to keep himself from laughing, a loud chuckle emitting from his mouth. He aimed to flip onto his side, jaws parting as he reached out to grab hold of one of her forelimbs and send her tumbling down with him.

She wasn't sure when she made the decision to openly admit what they were, and to not deny it. It just... sorta happened at the last meeting. Meeting before last, rather. One of the last meetings with Bass of the leader, and not Vali. Now that was pretty awkward. But now, now that it happened? Eh, big deal. They were adults. Everyone else could deal, although the whole parent-as-alpha thing that Lark had going on had been pretty intimidating.

Her eyes flashed with the challenge that Lark delivered, and she responded with a cocky grin. "Damn straight." He clearly didn't think she was capable of it, but she'd prove him wrong. Most definitely she would - he'd challeneged her now, and now she was in the game.

What she wasn't expecting when she talked him was him to also grabbing her legs, jerking her down with him. Squeaking - a most indignified, high-pitched and embarrassing sound - she tumbled down. She couldn't stop her own laughter, and she tried to lean over, hoping to bite down gently on his muzzle in yet another playful attack.

Part of him wondered if it was simply easier to accept Lillie as his.. girlfriend thing now that most of his family was gone from Abaven. Only Sparrow and Sandpiper were left here, and though he knew that Sparrow and Lillie had some weird tension between them - something he'd yet to figure out, and almost hoped he never had to - he didn't have to worry anymore about fulfilling anyone's expectations. He did want Sparrow and Sandpiper to be happy, and part of him craved Lillie's approval to, but beyond that he didn't really care what people thought of him or his relationships. Amusement flashed in his eyes, coupled with a hint of unabashed playfulness, at her retort. She was serious about this, wasn't sure? Now, he wasn't that interested in an actual fight, but some rough playing definitely sounded interesting today. A soft growl left his lips as he took her down, flipping over onto his side to lean against her as she reached out to grab his muzzle. The contact sent a rush of heat through his core, and his smile grew a bit wider. He was happy to lean into her grip, wriggling slightly out of her jaws to nuzzle into the thick fur of her neck.  "Hey," he murmured after a moment, pawing at her absently.  "Can I tell you something?" He wasn't quite sure what he was inspired by, but he was overwhelmed with affection suddenly and wanted to share it.

An inner part of her felt absolutely relieved at his openness, at his willingness to relax. She knew he hadn't since that meeting, and the fact he was doing so now made her completely happy; she hated seeing the quiet... darkness? that had hovered over him. Upset-ness? Ha, five years old and she still couldn't completely understand how to word things in her very own mind.

She kept the relief off her face, and even most of the tenderness - instead, the playfulness, cheerfulness, and contentment was in full force, glittering in her eyes and, of course, her actions as she was able to bite his muzzle gently. Of course, she didn't expect Lark to lean into the contact, something that both made her breath catch and her heartbeat race. It was a position of complete vulnerability, and he was alright with it. She didn't, of course, mind when he wiggled away to bury his head in her neck fur. If anything, she couldn't hide the sigh of contentment at the physical contact.

When he murmured and pawed at her, she slapped her own paw on top of his, a slight smile on her face at the silliness. She pulled her head away slightly, twisting and scooting a little - all while stubbornly refusing to move her paw - so she could look at him, curiosity in her gaze. Her head tipped to the side ever so slightly. "Hmm? Of course."

While he tended to dwell on things that happened in the past, it was growing far easier to just push it all aside. Sulking over things that were entirely out of his control had never been productive for him - why would it help now? After all, Lillie had taken him here to get his mind off things, not to continuously dredge up the same repeating story of abandonment and loss that he seemed to struggle with. For now, he would do just that. Tomorrow, though, was a different story. For now, the distraction was welcome. He stretched out gladly against her, happy to breath in her intoxicating scent and nuzzle his nose into her fur. Almost as soon as he spoke, though, he wondered if he'd made a mistake - if he wasn't simple being caught in the moment and letting words fly before he realized what he was doing. He didn't move as she set a paw down on his, instead shifting slightly to watch her. His expression was one of comical bewilderment, just for a moment, even though he was the one who had started speaking. "I.." Lark paused, furrowing his brow slightly. "Ti amo," He'd never been very good with words, and while not the most fluent in Italian he had grown accustomed to speaking it with his family, here and there, and words of affection often came more easily to him using that tongue. He wrinkled his nose slightly, though leaned to place a kiss on her outstretched paw. "That means I love you. I guess it probably didn't need the dramatic question before, though, but.." He shrugged a bit absently Lark had never been all that articulate, and had never really had a way with words, but it had seemed suddenly important to say to her and he hoped she wouldn't laugh at him for it.

Slowly, as his expression morphed, so did hers - into amused confusion. He was the one who asked the question; why does he look so surprised and confused? And conflicted? Was that conflicted? He looked at a loss for words, but said he wanted to say something - oh, there it was! And this time, the amusement from her confusion faded into true curiosity. she had no idea what that italian meant. It didn't seem harsh at all for sure, especially with the tone of voice he said it... nothing like the last time he spoke italian to her, several years ago, when he told her to fuck off.

That curiosity still remained, even though a tender, soft smile appeared at the gesture of affection, one that she immediately directed his way. Said smile dropped - and not in a bad way - when he spoke again, explaining his words.

... Oh was that her heartbeat that she could hear pounding in her ears? What was that pressure building up in her chest? Oh - right. Breathing. She expelled the breath she was holding. And then - her whiskers twitched, and then, a grin broke out along with a small, overly-happy sounding laugh. Not one bit of what he just said was even a little bit eloquent or articulate, but that, in a nutshell, was absolutely Lark and she couldn't at all be surprised.

She grinned, keeping it cheerful - although, of course, something in her was still pounding away at her chest. She scooted forward a bit, just enough to snuggle her face into his fur. "Well, good, because I love you too." Okay, maybe she wasn't so eloquent either, especially when the words come muffled through fur. But hey - it works, right?

Why it took so long for him to say those words to her, Lark really wasn't sure. It seemed such an obvious thing now. Ever since she'd come back from her time away, however long ago that had been, they'd been almost inseparable. It didn't hurt that most of the other wolves he cared for had disappeared; it made it that much easier to spend so much time with her. It made any of the strangeness, any of the 'I'm not really sure what we are', all sort of.. fade away. Maybe not completely, but it certainly was no longer in the forefront of his mind like it used to be. He was briefly unsure if he'd said the right thing. Lark had never exactly been good with girls. Actually, the only girl he'd ever had anything more than a friendship with was Lillie, so he didn't quite know how to gauge if he was any good at this. But he could tell he hadn't totally fucked up by the way she started to smile and laugh. Not like she was laughing at him, but just laughing out of pure joy. He joined in on the smiling, feeling heat rise to his face as she replied that she loved him too. Her words were only slightly more eloquent than his, and he laughed softly. "Good, then we're on the same page." Lark had never worried that she couldn't reciprocate his feelings, but he felt a strange touch of relief at her words. As well as relief, he found a rush of warmth in his belly. God - he loved her. It felt right to say to himself, as well to admit out loud. Lark felt strangely giddy at the admission, and shifted to lean into her and nip a bit harder at the paw he'd kissed so gently before.