As soon as the season ticked into Auster's version of winter and he felt the cool breezes along with the seasonal rains he decided his stay in Fenmyre was officially over. He hoped he had at least made a positive impact in the pack and had provided the security Chimera had been seeking during his stay. If nothing else the assignment to the island pack had given him plenty of time to consider what he wanted out of his life, plenty of time to realize the limitations he had been putting on himself, and how maybe some rules were meant to be broken. With his goodbyes said to Chimera and the others he had met during his stay, he packed up his few belongings and made his way back to the castle—laying eyes on his home for the first time in what felt like ages.

Luckily the rains held off for the trip home, though the sky was slightly gray and clouded, the constant threat of rain always lingering on the horizon during the rainy season. A grin pulled across his lips as he crossed over the border of The Hallows, crossing the plains at a lope as he hurried to get back to the one wolf he had been dying to see for weeks and weeks. He threw his head back and howled as he went to let Artorias know he was back, but he was going to be quite occupied for some time if he had anything to say about it. He hardly stopped as he crossed through the castle gate and on through the main entrance to the castle. He was carrying his armor and a couple little things he had gathered while he was staying on the island in a fabric sack and as soon as he hurried through the door of the infirmary to find Syanna he dropped it off to the side. He'd come back for it later, but for now his attention was completely swept away by the vulpine-like woman that had been a frequent subject of his thoughts and dreams since he left.

A wide grin lingered on his lips as he ran over to her on the other side of the room, chuckling as he skidded to a stop and wrapped her up in a tight embrace. No words could possibly describe how much he had missed her so instead he spoke with actions. He hugged her tight against him as he sat back onto his haunches, practically lifting her slim frame off of the floor as he held her against his chest. One of his large paws cupped her cheek and he claimed her lips in a heated kiss, the relief of finally being able to feel her in his arms again like nothing else. For several long, savoring moments he continued to hold her like that against him and kiss her passionately, the smallest affection feeling like a spark on a pile of dry kindling that he had been only just barely endured in his time away. When he did finally pull away from her lips he was breathless and looking down at her with heated lust in his pale blue gaze, giving her another wide grin. "Gods, I missed you," he rumbled with a chuckle.

"Ezra Adravendi"

Syanna sat quietly off to the far side of the infirmary, counting under her breath to herself while she ran through an inventory check of the Hallows' medical supplies, running an audit on what they had following the raid. Their stores hadn't been hit very hard due to the lack of serious injuries any of their wolves had incurred, but they were running low on things like general painkillers and bandages. She'd need to venture out soon to retrieve more and ask some of the crafters to work on making more gauze and wraps for them. She'd been so engrossed in her work that Syanna didn't even acknowledge the howl calling from the border. She didn't pay attention to them on a good day, given that she had no reason to, so this time was no different. If she had been a little less distracted, perhaps she'd have noticed that the call was in the voice of Ezra, or would have heard the heavy footsteps of the dire brute as he came rushing into the infirmary. She did, however, hear the heavy thud of his armor and belongings when he dropped them to the floor, making her jump with a startle and turn to face him, expression surprised, and then ecstatic.

"Ezr-!" Syanna began to call out his name in jubilation, but was swiftly cut off when her massive boyfriend came and scooped her up in his arms and lifted her off the ground, erupting into a giggling fit while her bushy tail wagged wildly in midair. The vixen-like lady wrapped her slender forelegs around his neck, clinging tight to him while he held her to his chest. His warmth surrounded her, his familiar scent filled her nose, and their fur mingled together in their embrace, and then his taste was in her mouth when he claimed her lips in an intensely heated kiss. She murred happily into his mouth, her tongue welcoming his while they shared a long, passionate kiss to make up for the months they had been apart. By the gods, how she'd missed him! Though every lonely day and night got a little bit easier as time went on, it never truly stopped feeling like a part of Syanna had disappeared when he'd been sent away. Duty be damned, she just wanted her big, dopey dire wolf boyfriend back in her life—and now he was home!

Syanna felt the tension growing low in her belly, a heat rising up within her core the longer and more deeply he kissed her. Delicate claws played along the fur of his scruff, gripping to every part of him as if he might disappear again if she let go for even a second. She didn't know if it was because she cared for him so much, or if she was just that hopelessly addicted to him, or if absence had actually made her heart grow fonder, but the heated desire she felt for Ezra seemed stronger than ever. As he clutched her now tinier body to his, she reveled in everything, finally feeling truly blissfully happy again. Their lips parted, and emerald eyes slowly flickered open halfway to gaze at him through lidded bedroom eyes, holding his smoldering blue gaze while she ran her claws along the back of his neck again. "I missed you too, handsome," she replied, leaning her muzzle up to place a slow lick over the end of his nose. "Why do I get the feeling you're about to show me just how much you've missed me?"

"Syanna Allurain"

The feeling of her in his arms, her scent, how she ran her claws through his fur, the sound of her voice, the look of her eyes... He had missed every little thing about her so, so much and finally he felt like the world was right again. He was home with the wolf he adored against him and it felt like a big part of himself that he had been missing was back with him again. He hummed happily as her claws ran down the back of his neck, sending little sparks of electricity over his skin, and chuckled softly again when she licked his nose. Even though it had been a full season and they had no doubt both grown and changed in that time it almost felt like he had never left. He felt like he was back where he belonged when he was with Syanna. When she asked why she got the feeling that he was going to show her how much he just gave her a sly grin with a flash of teeth and chuckled, giving her a squeeze in his forelegs. "Because you know me."

He let her go just enough to adjust adjust his grip on her and then he slipped under her, scooping her small frame onto his back and picking her up as he stood. "Alright, you're coming with me!" he insisted with a laugh, grinning as he carried her out of the infirmary, grabbing his bag of armor and supplies along the way before carrying her up the stairs to their room. It was so nice to finally be walking these familiar halls again with his girlfriend in tow. He nudged open the door to their bedroom and tossed the bag of stuff to the side before kicking the door shut and bringing her over to the bed. He gently tossed her onto the mattress before climbing into the bed himself. He wasted no time in climbing over her, rolling her onto her back as he did so with a grin as she looked down at her with an admiring, lustful gaze. "I think you've gotten even more beautiful... if that's even possible," he commented with a low chuckle, leaning his head down to kiss and nibble along her throat.

Ezra settled his body down over top of hers, slipping his forelegs around her waist to hold her night while he nuzzled into the soft white fur on her chest, grinning with amusement at just how small she was in comparison. Her hind legs barely made it past his rib cage when he was laying with her like this. He felt like maybe he was imagining things, but she seemed even smaller than when he saw her last. In fact, the more he thought about it while his paws were feeling along her familiar body and his lips were leaving a savoring trail along her throat and jaw he began to feel even more sure that she really was smaller than he remembered even though that felt crazy. If anything wolves should get bigger—not smaller. "Did you... get smaller while I was gone?" he questioned after a few moments, finally deciding that he needed to know for sure even though it sounded so weird to ask.

"Ezra Adravendi"

A lighthearted giggle came from Syanna again when Ezra stated that she got that feeling because she knew him. Oh yes, she did know him, inside and out. That was why they meshed so well together. Even after all this time apart, coming together again felt like they'd never separated. Of course, she was eager to hear all about his time in Fenmyre and see how he'd changed and grown in the nearly two seasons since she'd seen him, but it seemed like they both had much more pressing matters in mind for one another. Before she could get another word in though, Ezra let her go just long enough to slip his massive body beneath hers and hoist her over his back, carrying her off while she squealed and giggled in delight, playfully kicking and flailing her limbs. "Help! Help! I'm being abducted by a big, horny wolf!" the vixen fae cried out in jest, a bright grin and lustful twinkle in her eyes while he swept her off her paws and carried her off to have his way with her.

Syanna clung to Ezra's neck while he carried them up the stairs, just enjoying and savoring the feeling of his fur in her paws, his body touching hers, his scent in her nose, everything about him that made him. It humored her to watch her boyfriend's frantic race to get her to bed, practically kicking down their bedroom door and tossing his things aside before kicking the door shut and tossing her onto the plus mattress and soft sheets and furs. Syanna landed on her side, and before she knew it, Ezra was on top of her, shifting her onto her back and manhandling her with ease. She loved every second of it! The vixen-furred fae couldn't stop the girly giggle fit she was having, too overjoyed at having him back and being with him like this again. It had been far, far too long, and already she could feel that desperate clench of desire in her belly for him.

For a moment, both wolves just gazed at each other, eating one another up with their eyes. Syanna couldn't stop grinning while she drank in Ezra's familiar handsome features. He'd fully grown up in the time he'd been gone, his body filled out in all the right ways, muscles toned and chiseled, every last remnant of puppy chub and juvenility melted away from his Adonis-like form. Syanna felt her face flush at his compliments and opened her mouth to reply—but only a gasping moan came from her the moment Ezra's lips made contact with her throat, kissing and nibbling over her sensitive skin. Petite paws reached up to stroke and caress his head and ears, encouraging him on with her body language. "Hmmm and you've gotten even more handsome... You really finished your glow up while you were gone, Speckles." Ezra had always been attractive in her eyes, but now he looked like the definition of masculine beauty; rugged, sexy, manly all over.

Ezra's weight settled over her as he lay his body across hers, surrounding her in all the right ways. Her hind legs squeezed his sides with her thighs, trying to wrap herself around him all the more while he nuzzled her chest and contented himself with just enjoying her. Syanna didn't stop him in any way, just grinning and stroking his head and ears while he did what he wanted with her and enjoyed himself. It made her feel attractive and she adored the attention he smothered her with. Those big dire paws began roaming her body, making her back arch to press tighter to him, and his lips found her throat once more, coaxing further gasps and hums of pleasure from her. The heat between her legs grew to an almost unbearable level. Gods, he knew how to work her and turn her on! And after having drunk that potion, he felt even more massive over her, emphasizing that petite feeling she loved when she was with him!

Speaking of, Ezra pulled back just a bit to ask if she had gotten smaller since he'd been gone, and a blush crept over Syanna's cheeks while orange ears folded flat to her head sheepishly. "Um... yeah, a bit," she admitted with a shy grin. "It's a long story, but I drank a potion, and the next morning, I'd shrunk a few inches." Syanna suddenly realized that she'd never considered what Ezra might think of the whole situation. Would he still like her this way? "Is... that okay?" she asked, peering up at him with anxiousness filling her deep green eyes, the grin slipping from her face momentarily while she searched his face for some sort of clues or hints.

"Syanna Allurain"

He had fully been prepared for her to call him silly and to just be told that he must have forgotten how small she actually was in his time away, but instead she seemed to get nervous as she replied that she had, in fact, gotten smaller. He blinked with surprise and listened as she told him how it had happened after drinking some kind of potion. He briefly attempted to guess how something like that was physically possible, but quickly made himself give it up. With all the strange things that happened during the long night he had kind of given up on making sense of all the things he didn't understand. What he hadn't been prepared for was how shy and anxious the revelation made Syanna and he very quickly wrapped his forelegs around her to hold her tighter to him, peppering her face with kisses where her smile had been just a moment ago. "Of course it is!" he insisted between tender kisses along her cheeks under each emerald green eye, giving her a grin. "I thought I was just going crazy imagining things so I had to ask. You're beautiful and perfect and even more easily scooped up than before," he told her, accenting each compliment with another kiss.

A more sly grin pulled across his face as he added, "You know, I better do a more through inspection though, just to make sure nothing else has changed." He left a quick kiss on her lips before trailing his lips down along her jaw and throat again, but he didn't stop there this time. He kept one foreleg around her slim waist while the other shifted to support his weight a bit better while he slowly worked his way down through the soft, fluffy, white fur on her chest. "I better check every single inch of you," he rumbled with a knowing glance up at her, grinning between each kiss and nibble. The paw wrapped around her lithe body traced down her back and side, savoring all of her as he steadily made his way down her body. He paused at her chest long enough to leave a trail of affections along the inside of one white-socked foreleg, following the limb back down before doing the same to the other. He had missed her so incredibly much and being back with her made him feel like the world was right again. His teeth combed through pale fur down the curve of her chest, along her torso, inching his way further down the bed as he went.

"Ezra Adravendi"

The incredulous look Ezra gave her while she explained her sudden shrink in size hadn't been unexpected, but it did make her worry while she waited for his reaction. It finally came when she nervously asked if that way okay with him, and suddenly her big dopey dire wolf boyfriend was wrapping her up in his embrace, squeezing her with strong forelimbs that she'd missed being enveloped in so, so much. He smothered her face in rapid kisses, bringing forth a giggling fit from Syanna, an uncharacteristically girly response from the tomboyish vixen, but she was too happy to be with her lover to give a damn. Syanna was smiling so much her cheeks hurt, beaming up at her amazing boyfriend while he kissed her orange-furred cheeks just beneath her shimmering emerald eyes. "Yes, yes, I'm more easily scoopable now, you silly, horny boy. Don't be getting any ideas now! I do still have duties around the pack, so you can't just be carrying me off willy nilly!" she remarked between giggled and returning his sweet kisses. Gods, how she'd missed this man!

Ezra's sly grin was met with a raised eyebrow from Syanna when he suggested doing a more thorough examination of her. "Oh really now?" she purred in response, her voice a vibrato of velvety seduction. Petite cream paws stroked over each of his cheeks while she spoke, kissing him back before relinquishing her hold on him to allow him to slip slowly down her body. "Hmm, better be extra thorough there, Speckles. Wouldn't wanna miss anything important." Syanna chuckled, her voice still that smooth purr for him while his lips kissed down her throat, then moved to nibble through the fluffy cream fur of her chest, one of his strong forelegs remaining wrapped around her slender waist to keep her held tight to him. She glanced down her body at him to meet his lecherous gaze with smoldering green eyes, silently pleading him to keep going. Ezra teased her mercilessly, making her squirm and whine with need while he kissed over one of her forelegs from shoulder to toes, then the next, before moving down her torso, down to her slim belly...

Syanna moaned softly between heated gasps and breaths, reaching her paws down to caress Ezra's ears and the top of his head. She gently pushed on his crown, ushering him further down her body, his own pace far too slow for her liking while he made his way towards the molten heat at her core. That was when her soft paw pads brushed over two hard little nubs on the top of Ezra's head. Blinking open her eyes through the haze of lust he was engulfing her in, Syanna peered down at Ezra once more, just able to spot the little nubs of brown looking bone protruding from atop his skull. "Ezra, what's going on with your head?" she asked, breaking their heated moment to address her sudden concerns over her boyfriend's health. Her paws grabbed at his cheeks, gently tugging him back up so she could inspect them closer. "Did you hurt yourself in Fenmyre or something? What's this?"

"Syanna Allurain"

He’d be lying if the idea of randomly scooping Syanna up at random points in the day to have his way with her wasn’t incredibly tempting. Now that the idea was in his head he knew he’d have to do just that just because he could. Being back with her felt like one long string of things that he wanted to do just because he could after not being able to for so long. He knew that top priority would be just loving her silly was often and as many times as he could—partially because she was so incredibly sexy and fun to play with and partially because he genuinely loved her so much and he couldn’t think of a better way to show that… even though he hadn’t yet managed to actually tell her how he felt.

His ear flicked at her nickname for him and he glanced up her body at her with a playful glare. No matter how much he fussed about the name at first, he secretly loved it because it came from her. It was uniquely Syanna and special to them so he loved it by default. “Don’t you worry, I’ll check everything—inside and out,” he insisted with a little growl to his voice, giving a particularly firm nibble to the tender skin on her stomach. The sound of her needy whines and moans and feeling her squirm under him lit a bonfire in his core that settled between his hind legs and he honestly didn’t know if he had ever wanted her as much as he did in this moment. Feeling her paws on his head, eagerly nudging him down toward his intended destination, was like the icing on the cake that pulled a soft, lustful growl from him as he continued on down her incredibly sexy body.

Her strange question made him stop though, glancing up at her with confusion when she asked him what was going on with his head. His advances were at least momentarily abandoned, much to his disappointment, as she grabbed his head between delicate paws and pulled him back up toward her so she could take a closer look. He moved back over her, keeping his head tipped down for her so she could examine him even though he had no idea what she was talking about.

“No, I didn’t hurt myself,” he replied, trying to figure out what she might have noticed that made her so concerned. “I mean… I’ve had some headaches on and off for like the last week or so, but…” he mentioned, not thinking there could be any connection. He thought it was just from stress or sleeplessness or something, but when he finally lifted a paw to feel over his forehead to see what she could possibly be talking about he felt the hard nubs poking from his skull and his pale gaze widened with more confusion. “What… What are those?” he questioned, tapping them uncertainty.

"Ezra Adravendi"

It took only a moment of difficult urging to get Ezra to relent on trying to go down on her before he caved and moved back up so she could inspect the weird lumps on top of his head. Ezra claimed he hadn't hurt himself, but that he had been having some headaches over the last week. With curious eyes, Syanna looked over the lumps on her boyfriend's head, using delicate paws to carefully move the thick fur on his crown around and see what was happening to him. What she saw was strange and defied everything she knew about medical science, but there could be no denying what she was looking at. On Ezra's head, positioned just in front of his ears, were two strange growths of bone protruding from the top of his skull. Dark brown in color and slightly tapered at the ends, Syanna gently ran her paw pads over the bone growths, studying them closely with a curious tilt to her head.

"Oh wow, that's bizarre... Can you feel that?" she asked while she slowly ran her paw pads in circles over the growths, wondering if they were sensitive to touch or completely desensitized. "You've got these bone growths sticking out of your head," Syanna explained when Ezra began to tap them as well with his own massive paw. "They look like... like..." Emerald green eyes slowly widened with realization at where she'd seen these before. Briar, Artorias' girlfriend, and her rack of antlers on top of her head. "Ezra, I think you might be growing antlers somehow!" The vixen-furred fae took a closer look at them, tapping them gently with her claws to test their rigidity. Yep, they had the same consistency as deer antlers she'd chewed on before.

"Syanna Allurain"

Ezra held still while Syanna continued to feel across the growths on his head, asking if he felt what she was doing. "Um... Kind of? It's kind of like if someone just brushes the end of your fur... Like I can tell your paws are there, but I can't feel it the same as if you were actually touching other parts of me." It was a weird sensation that was kind of hard to explain and that was the closest he thought he could get to some kind of explanation she'd understand. He raised a confused brow when she decided he was growing antlers and for some reason the memory of seeing the weird buck that was covered in crystals and mushrooms popped into his brain. He couldn't figure out how the two things could possibly be connected, but he couldn't really shake the feeling that they were—especially since the headaches had started pretty much the next day after seeing him... But all he did was look at that weird deer. How could that give him antlers?

"Well... I hope you like having a guy with antlers, I guess," he told her after a moment with a chuckle. He could think more about what that was going to be like and come to terms with his changing appearance later. For now it was easier to just ignore it and focus instead on this slender, sexy fae under him and get back to what he had wanted for what felt like ages. He pressed a kiss to her lower stomach, resting his head on her belly for a moment while his forelegs slipped around her slim waist, peering up at her with a happy grin. "I don't care what Artorias wants. From here on out I'm never leaving for that long ever again. I missed you so much." A sly grin pulled across his lips as he gave her waist a little squeeze, adding, "And not just because it's so much fun to be with you like this either." She was his best friend, the one wolf he always wanted to be with, on top of being his lover. He loved her. It felt overwhelming and scary to admit, but deep down he knew it was true. He had seen how love had torn his father apart more than once, but he had also seen it put him back together again too. Ezra didn't want to say anything unless he was really, really sure, but he was more sure with every passing second.

For now though he'd just fulfill all the physical needs they hadn't been able to satisfy for a whole season. He'd find a special way to tell her how he felt eventually, but he didn't want to just spring it on her either. Right now he just looked up at her with love and lust in equal measure, giving a soft, rumbling chuckle as he started kissing along her stomach, trailing down her body. He shifted further down the bed to get to where he wanted to be, looking up at her to watch her reactions eagerly while he took a taste of her with a groan, his large paws holding her hips while he savored every part of her, taking in every shiver and wriggle of her body while he pleasured her and showed her exactly how much he had missed her.

-fade-

"Ezra Adravendi"

Syanna cooed with quiet fascination while her paw pads swirled around Ezra's little nubs of antlers sprouting from the top of his skull. It was such a strange phenomenon and she was intrigued by what could have caused this spontaneous mutation in her boyfriend during his absence. There was a part of her that wanted to study him, start taking notes of his evolution, observe what happened and try to figure out why certain wolves like Ezra and Briar were able to grow antlers or horns well outside the normal parameters of their species. However, she wouldn't be given a chance to do so today, as Ezra merely brushed off his strange circumstances with an offhand quip about hoping she was into guys with antlers before he seamlessly resumed his teasing and loving on her. His lips on the soft downy fur of her lower stomach drew a breathy gasp from Syanna, emerald eyes going wide while her attention was pulled from Ezra's newest assets back down to his lust-filled blue eyes and lecherous grin.

"Ezra, you silly, horny boy! You've got antlers growing from your head and all you can think about is wrapping me around you?" she retorted with a grin and giggle of her own while he laid his large head on her warm belly. The response he gave her in the form of looping his strong, muscular forelegs around her waist and giving her a little squeeze was all the answer she needed. He said he had missed her so much, and the sentiment was shared. "I missed you too, my big, goofy boy." Ezra claimed that he didn't just miss her because he could fuck her, but Syanna didn't buy that for a second. She scoffed and made a dramatic roll of her eyes, but when she glanced back down her body at him again, Ezra was already resuming his slow trail of kisses down her stomach and over her waist, heading to his southernmost destination.

All the while Ezra slowly inched himself down the length of her body, Syanna watched him with barely contained excitement. Her breath left her in short, panting gasps, her verdant eyes half-lidded with a salacious grin on her lips. "You're so incorrigible, you know tha- aaaah..." Syanna didn't get to finish teasing him. Her words drifted off into a breathy, quivering moan as Ezra's lips and tongue found exactly what he'd been looking for. Syanna's toes curled, her legs flexed on either side of her lover, cream-gloved paws shooting down to stroke and caress his head encouragingly while he loved her and pleased her. "Ezra...!" Syanna half-moaned, half-gasped out as he took her to blissful heights of pleasure, eyes rolling back and closing while he showed her just how much he had truly missed her.

- fade -

"Syanna Allurain"