Sirius successfully pulled her to the ground, teeth in her scruff as he got his body over hers, holding her down. She squirmed beneath him, and got him a few more times with her thorn wrapping. He was bleeding from more places then he could count, but most of them insignificant. The only ones that really ached was his shoulder wound, reopened, and the fresh teeth markings that landed just below his eye. Her last, furious and wild attempt to win. He held himself over her, not doing anything, simply containing her, panting a little from their quick, but rough battle. A growl still working its way through his chest, his teeth still on her scruff. “Zee,” he whispered in her ear through his mouthful of fur, waiting for her to submit, to admit that he had won. Won the right to call her Wife… and something else. "Speech"

Zee wiggled beneath him, desperate to release herself from his pin but utterly unable to get the strength to shove him off of her. She growled some more as if the sounds might convince him that she was deadly and viscous and that if he didn't get off her that second that she was going to rip off his tail. He didn't budge, and she suddenly froze as he whispered in her ear. Her tense body began to slowly relax as she gave in to his strength. Submission did not come easy to her and she had fought as long and hard as her energy allowed her to - which wasn't very long, in reality. Even though he'd trained her, the smaller wolf was still extremely disadvantaged and much too new to fighting to have a chance at winning. One day might be different, and she held onto that knowledge with every loss so that she wouldn't give up on her training altogether. Zee lay her head flat upon the ground, abandoning her wild attacks and bites to lay beneath him and pant off the exertion. She knew what came next, but at the same time she didn't fully believe that he'd force himself upon her if she was unwilling. The woman's heart beat loud and firm inside her chest as she considered what it was she'd truly lost to him. Not only that, but the bastard was going to get to call her 'wife' for as long as he wished. She groaned loudly. Damn. "You suck." She complained in a foolish attempt to dull the passion she felt emanating from her titan. Her small head lifted from the ground and contorted around his grip on her scruff to place a kiss upon his cheek. "Speech"

She fought for longer than he would have expected, despite circumstances she could not defeat. She had always had a warrior's spirit, right from the start, and that had been part of the draw to her. He didn’t mind the way she fought him, gave him his all, because he knew in the end that he had won. He could hear the ferocious beat of her heart, like the hooves of a stampede racing through her chest. She smelled like sweet and defiance, and Zee. “Not the wedding ceremony you hoped for?” he teased her softly, articulating sentences now that she was agreeing to let him call her wife - if ‘agreeing’ was the right term. “Mine.” He reinforced, just in case she hadn’t gotten the memo in the entirety of their relationship. He nipped her scruff again, but then loosened his grip on her, giving her one last chance to shove him away, to leave if she was unwilling. If she chose to take it, he was… mostly certainly he would let her go. Maybe. "Speech"

He teased her, and Zee's lip twitched in the beginnings of a smile. "Not quite." She admitted softly, thinking back to when he'd proposed to her infront of Lucretia. Since then she'd shut him down again and again, though his tenacity never wore out. He took each rejection in stride - knowing she was rejecting his chosen title and not just himself - and worked to finally have her submit. She still didn't know what it was that brought him to her bruised and battered eyes swimming with possession and emotion but in that moment she didn't care. He'd challenged her for his right to her, and he'd won fair and square. "Yours." She confirmed firmly, moving to lean her head against the side of his own as his grip softened on her scruff. Zee knew what it was he wanted and deep down knew it would be unfair to deny him it. As much as she enjoyed forcing him to chase her and fight for what he desired, she feared that with enough rejection he may give up on her completely. After all, Deathbelle had given them her blessing and they'd talked of children - she'd already come to terms with staying with him forever "I love you." She told him sincerely, suddenly overcome with emotion. Deathbelle had lost her love, and Zee didn't ever want to lose hers. How she ever fell for such an obsessive and blunt man she didn't know - perhaps she had a brain tumor. After all, their courtship was as atypical as it came. "Speech"

She agreed, finally and without fight, through he would not deny her the right to fight him. It was still nice to hear her say it, the words running through his body like heat in his veins. He nuzzled against her head which she brought up towards him, and he tucked his head under her chin, holding her close. He nipped gently under her jaw line, the occasional, possessive growl she must have come to know so well would slip free. She said the words, the beautiful words that she had been the first to speak, when he had still been learning what she meant to him. “I love you also, WIfe” he said, a strong hint of satisfaction in the words as he uttered them. She would always be his, and he would protect her with every last breath in his body. She did not try to wriggle free of him, and he tightened his grip on her again, remaining gentle as he claimed her as his own, taking his time, and learning about her as he did so. He might be a possessive bastard, but her love for her was real. -fade-? "Speech"

She did not miss the satisfaction in his tone as Sirius repeated the words and her body shuddered beneath his. Zee didn't know exactly how she got here anymore, a servant of the Empress of Ashen laying beneath the Daimyo. His scent was overpowering and addictive and she breathed it in with each inhale. For a moment she was very sad that this was to happen in winter for she was in heat just the season prior. They could have had children of their own, children who'd come to love Sirius as very wholeheartedly as Zee did. She yearned to watch him interact with them, to teach them the skills they'd need to survive and to shower them with love and affection. Her inner thoughts were hastily discarded as his touch deepened, and Zee felt herself release a heavy contented sigh as he moved to her. The hopes she held for children were as distant to her as the volcano was in that moment, and all that existed was Sirius. He was perfect in every way and with each motion she fell deeper into love and contentment until her mind fogged with bliss. -fade- "Speech"

Some point after the fact, he held her in his arms, and was lulled into peace by the scent and warmth and comfort of her. He didn’t know when he dropped off, but had not intended to. He had not slept close to her since the night of the attack, and had not intended to now. However, the satisfaction and contentment had overridden his normal caution. All he knew was that he was suddenly coming to, and he would find a sleeping Zee curled up beside him, safe and sound. She smelled strongly of him, and she looked crazy peaceful lying there beside him. He regretted that they had not had time to grab their buffalo coat, and she slept beneath her leopard armour, and on the stones. “Good morning,” he whispered softly in her ear as he kissed her on the chin. He kept his movements gentle, so if she was deep enough asleep he would not wake her, but if she did stir, he tactfully add on one last word. “Wife.” "Speech"

Zee's peaceful slumbers were awakened gently by her looming husband, her eyes gradually blinking open to stare sleepily at his warm face. She lifted a paw to rub at her eyelids to try and shoo the heaviness from them. "Can you just tell Deathbelle that I'm sick today?" Zee mumbled, moving to press her forehead against him. Her eyes slid shut once more against his soft fur and she sounded a contented murmur. Her fogged mind recalled the events of the night prior and she smiled against him, nuzzling into his side with a sigh. She knew she had responsibilities but she desperately wanted to just stay at his side for the rest of the day and through the night. It occurred to her that they'd slept beside each other, and her head shot up. "Hey, look, I'm in one piece!" She announced teasingly. After a moment her smile fell and morphed into an accusatory stare. "You didn't stay up all night, did you?" One small paw lifted and she poked at his chest, willing him to admit to the answer. "Speech"

“Take a personal day” he agreed, content at the thought of keeping Zee all to himself for the day. Of course, he knew responsibilities were going to be sneaking up on them. The where short on food, and supplies, and the pups and Deathbelle herself where still in shock. He would need to be moving amongst them, ensuring they were all okay, and start the motion of resupplying the pack. He sighed at the thought. Her head shot up and Sirius reacted, growling and looking about them to see what had startled her, before realising that it was he himself. He fell silent, almost sheepishly, though he couldn’t quite manage it. “You are.” he agreed dryly, reminded for the second time this morning the dangers of falling asleep with his Wife. “I did not, I didn’t realise I would be so tired afterwards.” it was as close as he would come to admitting his ignorance in the area. "Speech"

Sirius agreed on her personal day and Zee's smile widened. She nuzzled in closer to him and sighed. "We should do something productive." Zee said after a moment. They were living in a new land, they needed supplies and scouting and patrols done. Deathbelle was broken inside, her children not much better off. They were short a Daimyo, Hannibal wasn't anywhere around. There were struggles that Ashen needed to overcome and Zee felt it would be very selfish to simply stay and lounge in her husband's arms all day long. It pleased her to hear that he slept peacefully beside her, especially considering the circumstances. There was still the unanswered question on where he got his 'scratches', as well as how he was feeling about the eruption of the volcano when considering his past history of disaster. "Are you okay?" She asked simply, hoping he'd be more willing to come out and talk to her now that he was somewhat more relaxed then the night previous. "Speech"

‘Something productive’ seemed to be his life's motto, but all he wanted in that moment was to stay there, with Zee in his arms. To know beyond a doubt that she was here, and safe. But she was right, and her words had echoed his earlier thoughts. With Archon gone, and Hannibal absent, that left him and Rosemary as the next highest ranking wolves. “We should hunt” he agreed, it would give him a chance to keep longer in Zee’s presence, and they could bring back both food, and coats to cure for warmth since such heavy supplies hadn’t been a priority. Her next question was even heavier, and he kissed her ear, sighing into it with reluctance, but he was still feeling mellowed, and Zee could have wrapped him around a paw at that point. “I can not defeat a volcano to keep you safe. I can not shield Deathbelle and her pups from the pain of losing Archon…” his eyes flicked to his wound. “All we can do is brace ourselves, and hope there is still habitable land to return to, once this is over” he said. Would The Ashen Empire survive another long relocation to another world? “If I could grab you, Deathbelle, and the puppies and stick you in a hole and stand guard at the entrance, I would” he admitted, not hinting if he would ever let them out of the rhetorical hole again. "Speech"

Zee murmured affirmatively as he mentioned hunting, her stomach grumbling softly at the thought of food. With all that had happened lately she hadn't been taking the best care of herself, more concerned with making sure the pups and Deathbelle were taken care of. She melted into him further as he kissed her ear, leaning her head into his touch. "No you cannot defeat a volcano." She confirmed, as if he might decide to go storming over to it any moment. "You're putting too much on yourself, Sirius. You are her sworn shield, but you cannot protect her heart. Nor her children's." Zee's own heart clenched as she spoke, remembering how much pain the two of them inflicted on their empress when they'd fallen in love. At his mention of locking his loved ones away in a hole, Zee laughed. "Good luck." She wished him sarcastically. [b]"I enjoy my freedom too much, I think you'd have a melee on your hands." Of course, Zee didn't think her and Deathbelle together could even take on their titan. His strength would take her many seasons of training to counter, she assumed. "Speech"

[/b]

She leaned against him, and his rumble was - surprise, surprise - possessive, and he nipped her appendage. Her words caused a sigh from him, as he went back to pressing his muzzle against the side of her head more gently. It’s like she knew him too well, a part of him definitely wished it could face down the volcano, if such an event could bring peace to those he considered his. “Doesn't mean I have to like it.” he said, as she pointed out how he could not defend the hearts of those he was sworn to protect. His chuckle turned a little dark as he pressed his muzzle into the point below her jawline. “You think you would win, all of you?” he asked her. “You, Deathbelle, and the kids? Because I would take my odds.” He teased her. Zee was getting there, but she couldn’t take on him yet, and Deathbelle only won against him when she got under his skin. He beat her more easily in their childhood, before his fangs came through, and he spent more time fighting, and she spent it learning the perks of nobility. “My wife ” - a cunning smile crossed his maw, for that battle won - “Would you join me on a hunt?” he asked, to distract them both from the words of battles between them and volcanos he could not win against. "Speech"