It had been some time since Stolas had seen Widow around. The leopard-spotted young woman who was usually practically stalking him at his pack's borders had been strangely absent for the past few days. At first, it hadn't worried the young Ashen wolf. But when those days pushed towards a week, he began to wonder and worry if his friend was okay. He had been spending so much time with her recently that her sudden absence felt like a vacuum in his life he didn't know how to fill. Heading for Habari, Stolas had gotten waylaid as he neared the borders when he picked up the scent of Widow. But something was off about it. He didn't know quite how to place it yet, but something in her scent was... different.

Curiouser and curiouser, Stolas averted his paws away and began to follow Widow's trail instead. It was still fresh and easy enough to follow halfway across Boreas, which was good because that's how far it took him. The young male wandered through forests and past the hot springs, following the base of the mountains until he arrived at a desolate crypt seemingly in the middle of nowhere. Widow's scent was stronger here, and it was making his stomach clench and churn in ways he hadn't felt before. What was that he smelled? Swallowing thickly, the wolf approached the entrance to the crypt. Inside was dark and musty, but reeked of Widow. Was she just out here gathering herbs for her potions or something? That possibility helped calm him, and realizing this could be a menial herb gathering trip, the dark-furred brute descended the stone steps into the darkness of the crypt.

Paws padded and claws echoed clicks off the stone walls when he reached the base of the stairs. Widow's scent filled this place more than fresh air did. Every breath drew her into his senses, making his head swirl and his core tighten like he was hungry, but he didn't feel the need to eat. "Widow?" he called out into the branching paths of the crypt, picking one direction and beginning to wander past the rows of interred dead. "Widow, it's Stolas. Are you down here?"

"Stolas"

A lot had been on Widows mind since she over reacted at the river. Since then, things started to happen that left the now-woman more confused than anything. This wasn't supposed to be happening yet, not for another few months at least. Was this part of the curse of being so large? Or was this because of that potion she drank the other day? It hardly mattered now.

While staying within the safety of Harbari was probably the safest choice, the last thing she wanted was attention. She knew she was too young to be going into season, but it was happening anyway and combined with the eruption of emotion she'd been having lately, it was really no surprise. Despite knowing it was risky leaving the pack, Widow went for it anyway in search of some place private. With a satchel on her hip filled to the brim with various bottles and edibles she'd made over the last week, she set off towards the foot of the western mountains.

She hadn't known about the neat crypt until she arrived, spotting the small entrance and pushing herself through it. Bones littered the dusty ground, but as she squinted her eyes to make out the shapes in the dark, she decided after a few minutes that this was probably about as private as she was going to get. Settling herself against the farthest wall, Widow picked up one of her potions and took a heavy swig. Most of them this had been made with liquor in an effort to numb some of the new thoughts that came with her heat, though it was hardly working in that way.

His voice called out suddenly, startling the girl. Had he followed her? "..I'm here." She finally said, though softly. Part of her wanted him to leave, but other parts wanted him to stay...

"Speech!"

Art © LadyAmaris & Code © Skelle 2022

Silence was all that greeted Stolas for a while. Silent as the grave the crypt was. Squinting in the dark and low light until his eyesight began to adjust to where he could see comfortably, the young dire brute wandered down the long corridors and burial chambers one by one. He could no longer follow Widow's scent down here, since it was absolutely everywhere by now. Every breath took through his nose tingled his senses, made his skin feel electric, like something was affecting him at a much baser level. "Widow?" he called out again, his voice echoing off the old stone walls. This time, her voice called back to him from the next room over. Alert and relieved, Stolas picked up the pace and trotted quickly through the stone archways into the farthest burial chamber. There he found his friend, pressed up against the farthest wall with her satchel and a bottle of something in her paws.

"There you are!" exclaimed the relieved lordling with a heavy sigh and thankful smile. He approached her, paws moving slowly across the smooth stone floor, graphite eyes looking her over for any signs of injury. "Is everything all right? I hadn't seen you for a few days, so I went to come check on you, but you weren't home," he explained, her scent pouring off of her stronger than ever and making his head swim in a heady sensation. He hadn't realized his gaze had been lingering on her rump when he was looking her over, but a quick shake of his head snapped him out of his stupor enough to return his eyes back to her face. Her beautiful face, adorned in gold markings. "What are you doing out here?" He stopped a few paces away from her, glancing down at the bottle in her paws. "What have you got there? Is that one of your witch's potions?"

"Stolas"

Listening to him tread carefully through the crypt was almost torturous. She hadn't even been certain a moment ago that she wanted him here, but now that he was getting closer, he couldn't get there fast enough. Widow didn't even try to consider why she wanted him here suddenly. Part of her wondered if it was the potion, but part of her also knew that the sudden onset of her heat probably had something to do with it. She might be smart, but her brain was fogged over before she even started drinking the potions she'd brought.

There was some hope that the potions would quell her feelings, but she knew as Stolas approached that they had done anything but that. Instead, the way his eyes trailed over her body and lingered on her rear ignited something within her. Sterling eyes watched every move he made as she hesitated in answering his worried questions. Wasn't it obvious what she was doing out here?

Widow frowned, but it lasted only a moment before she grabbed the bottle and took another swig. While it was only half full at this point, there was certainly more where that came from. She avoided answering his questions about her well-being, unsure of where to begin considering she felt that it was quite obvious. Thankfully, he moved on to her potions. "Well, sort of. Try it, would you and tell me what you think?"

"Speech!"

Art © LadyAmaris & Code © Skelle 2022

Widow was uncharacteristically quiet all the while he approached her, just looking up at him and ignoring his questions. Stolas, who had never smelled a fae in heat before, did not consciously recognize what he was smelling coming off of her. But his body did. The pheromone-laced perfume Widow was emitting was causing all sorts of reactions in the young male. His blood felt like lava in his veins, burning him up from the inside out. That gnawing hunger deep in the pit of his gut continued to churn, insatiable and ravenous, but not the same kind of hunger he felt when he was called to dinner. It was a physical sort of hunger, the kind that demanded something other than sustenance for its relief. Widow was triggering all sorts of primal reactions hardcoded into Stolas' DNA from millennia of biological needs. He might not recognize what he was feeling... but his body and instincts certainly did.

Moving as if on autopilot, the young dire brute approached the leopard-spotted fae with a curious quirk to his brow when she offered him some of her potion. He had just watched her consume some of it, so he knew it at least had to be safe, but not knowing what was in it was one hell of a gamble. He trusted Widow though, and as she offered him her home brew, he came closer until he was right upon her. A large dark paw lifted to scoop up the bottle and gave it a tentative sniff. It smelled sharp, of chemicals he couldn't identify. Throwing caution to the wind, he lifted the bottle to his lips and downed a long gulp. The alcohol immediately burned across his palate and down his throat, making the young wolf cough and sputter some as his body lurched in response to his first taste of liquor. "Oh, by the stars, that's strong! What's in that?" he asked, scrutinizing the bottle in his paws before taking a much more conservative sip of the liquid.

After a few moments, Stolas began to feel that warmth the alcohol had left in his throat spread outward from his belly, heating him from within. He blinked rapidly, reeling from the new sensations overcoming him. He set the bottle back down between them—then let his gaze linger on Widow, following her pattern of dark spots from her shoulders down to her hips. He swallowed hard, his breathing turning shallow while he shifted to sit a little closer to her. "You smell really good," he mumbled after a moment, lifting a curious paw and moving to rest his paw along Widow's back, suddenly feeling the uncontrollable urge to be touching her. He wanted to rub her back, stroke his digits through her fur, feel her skin against his. It was like a desire to cuddle with her—only much more intense, a yearning to be one with her deep within his core.

"Stolas"

The potions she had made were from her book, though she barely understood what most of the wording and phrasing meant. The words 'for a night of fun' scratched alongside the recipe made it seem innocent enough, but the longer the liquid absorbed inside her the more she started to understand.

Widow giggled as Stolas took a hearty drink and suffered the consequences. "Oh, it's a recipe from my book! Some fermented grapes, some poppy seeds, and a few other fun things," her giggling continued, only half aware of what some of the ingredients did. She watched as he took another, slower drink, her gaze wandering over his body as he did. She wasn't completely ignorant to what being in heat meant, but logic again wasn't at the forefront of her mind. Instead, the surge of hormones doubled with the effects of the potion had control over her thoughts and actions.

Reaching for the bottle to finish off the last of its contents, Widow quickly downed the last of it and returned the bottle to the bag. She was almost tempted to grab another, but instead he spoke and she shivered in response. Good?! Widow turned back to catch his eyes only to freeze when he placed a paw on her back. The simple contact alone nearly forced a moan from her lips, the surge of desire pumping through her radiating not only from his paw but also on a personal level.

She turned her gaze to lock eyes with the man as her skin tingled pleasantly where he touched. "Come and have a taste, then," she said suddenly, hesitating only a moment before closing the distance between them and trapping Stolas in a deep kiss.

-- fade for spooky crypt baby making --

"Speech!"

Art © LadyAmaris & Code © Skelle 2022

The effects of Widow's drink were beginning to become more and more apparent to Stolas the more time slipped by between them. Between the tingling in his nose whenever he breathed in her scent that scrambled his brain and made his thoughts foggy to the warmth in his core that had now spread to every inch of his skin—though it seemed to pool considerably between his thighs in an unusual and foreign way—Stolas was feeling all sorts of sensations he'd never experienced before! Not a single one of them was bad, however, just new and unknown. It was a primitive desire, something innate within him yearning and aching to be closer to Widow, as if he could never be close enough to her to be satisfied. He felt an urge to touch her, feel her all over, taste her and breathe her in. Widow was his drug, and tonight he wanted to get high off of her until he overwhelmed himself in her. That would be an overdose he was willing to dive headfirst into.

Widow giggled, the sound of her laughter making the butterflies in his belly flutter. She told him what was in the drink, and though he didn't know what half of those ingredients did either, none of them sounded outright sinister. They were making him feel extremely odd though, hot all over, and hungry in ways that he didn't know how to sate. Stolas wasn't an idiot, however. He knew all about how wolves reproduced, what sex and mating were. He was however inexperienced, and the conflict between his dazed mind and lusting body was dizzying. Fortunately, Widow didn't seem to mind taking the lead and showing him where to begin. The moment he touched her back, he saw the lovely woman's eyes snap back to him, something wild and ravenous in those argent jewels when she looked at him. The way she was staring him down, it made him feel powerful, manly, wanted. He liked the way Widow made him feel in that moment.

Graphite gray eyes met and held her gaze, feeling the electricity in the air between them, the way the air felt right before a lightning strike. Between their physical and emotional connections, Stolas felt some sort of bond with Widow. Something deep and personal that was uniquely theirs. The two had begun their journey as strangers at a fair when they were lanky pups, unsure of themselves. Now here they were... and she was perfect. All of a sudden, Widow was moving, bidding him to come have a taste of her. Before Stolas could blink, Widow's mouth was on his, kissing him deeply and passionately. The young man groaned softly, large paws lifting to wrap around Widow's waist and hold her to him while he did as she asked and tasted her, kissing her back with all the heated and fervent passion she had stoked within him. Their first time would likely be clumsy, awkward, full of learning the motions and one another's bodies. But it was perfect for Stolas. Perfect, just like her.

- fade for spoopy Halloween baby making -

"Stolas"