It had come into a later evening before the sun was down and Onyx had recently woke to start her trip back north. She had taken a few weeks to explore the lands of Auster that were available to her but with no real satisfaction in doing so. She was hoping that maybe she'd find a place that called to her, but honestly everyday she would think of Cina. It didn't seem to be the places she was looking for, but who was in them. And with that she wasn't head over heels about to beg him to take her or anything like that, that wasn't like her at all. But of course, the new found emotions she was feeling weren't so strong that she would even consider wanting to join him here in Auster. She was still going back home.

She had made it into the canyon and realized the the pack Cina resided in had expanded into the farther lands, the one he had shown her. She had considered just calling it quits and moving back around the pack lands and head north but she really didn't want to do that. She didn't want to just leave and maybe never see him again. Or maybe, a silly thought, plan another trip down here some other time.

It took surprisingly a lot of effort and confidence before she actually lifted up her nose to call him and she felt like a complete fool and she knew it. It was so unlike her to feel this way, she was just feeling awfully dumb calling and waiting like he'd have something better to do or be on his way to settle down for the night or something. It wasn't emotionally easy for her to wash the feelings away, but physically she'd seem just as herself. She wasn't sure how long she'd wait for him though. Until that amount of irrational anxiety made it to the surface. Maybe it was her first heat season that was making her feel irritable and bringing up these new emotions, but really she'd never know.

"Onyx Destruction"
F2U base by Snowylaika

Ciná was having trouble getting his mind to settle, but that was nothing new these days. Over the last week or so since the run in with his father it had been hard to not get caught up in his own thoughts—whether that was about Ignis, the whole situation, his past, the future... It didn't really seem to matter. His brain would find something to think about and spiral around when he was alone regardless. It made him hate being alone which was a new development for him after being mostly independent for the majority of his life, but he didn't exactly have a solution for that either. He didn't want to make himself look clingy or desperate to anyone in the pack so he didn't go looking for them and as much as he'd want to see Satira again he didn't know exactly where to find her—nor did he want to come off as clingy to her either. So instead he found himself wandering around the Aspen Dam and Cedar Falls since it at least seemed to help if he kept himself moving and busy. If he was tired when he went to bed it was at least a little easier to get some sleep.

As the evening was starting to grow late, he was considering heading back so he could get one of the healers to change out the bandages on his tail before he went to attempt some sleep, but before he could do any of that he heard a surprising howl from the borders. He stopped and listened for a second, his golden gaze blinking with surprise at the sound that was directed at him of all wolves. It took him a second, but he recognized the voice and after a moment of hesitation he began to make his way toward the border to meet her. He was honestly shocked that she'd come seeking him out specifically like this and had kind of assumed that they had only hung out the way they had because of the fact that they had accidentally bumped into each other a few weeks ago. If it wasn't for the injury toward the base of his tail he probably wouldn't have hesitated to go and meet up with her, but he didn't necessarily want to have to explain how it had happened to her. Explaining how his psychotic father had attacked him and tried to rip off his tail wasn't exactly a fun point of conversation.

Still, he reached the border closest to the nearby canyon quickly enough and spotted Onyx waiting there for him. Despite his original reservations about seeing her again, he was actually pretty happy to have the company and to see her again so as he walked over to meet her a little grin tugged at his lips. "Not going to lie, I'm kind of shocked you're still in Auster. I figured the heat would have gotten to you by now," he commented with a soft chuckle as he reached her.

"Cináed"

As Cinaed came to view, she did feel a little bit of relief but it was easy to put that shell over herself. Cina would get maybe the smallest of smiles in return to his own, but Onyx was quick to put back her strong and serious face. Her tail tucked just slightly, maybe some kind of embarrassment due to her heat season. She'd notice immediately the bandages across his tail herself, and maybe not feel so self conscious herself. She wouldn't mention his new wounds, but her eyes directed towards them would be obvious. She wouldn't tell him that it did worry her a little, but it did. She knew he was capable of himself at least.

She let out a quiet chuckle as he mentioned the heat for her which he wasn't wrong. "Traveling at night, I'll have to get used to daylight again when I get home." She squinted a little as she looked up towards the evening sky. She held her breath for a moment, maybe or maybe not noticeable to him. "I haven't found what I'm looking for. But I didn't... wasn't going to leave without saying goodbye." She held up her composure well for a long while, but it would be easy to tell she was struggling. She was finding it hard to really look at him. She wasn't sad per say, she wasn't going to like cry or anything. But something just didn't feel right to her. A part of her just wanted to call it quits there, make it that short goodbye and turn off before he even said anything else. She wouldn't just yet though. She did hold the thought that it could be a goodbye forever, but honestly she saw herself overcoming it. Even if Cinaed was the only wolf outside her family that she had ever felt a familiarity to.

"Onyx Destruction"
F2U base by Snowylaika

Cináed chuckled a little when she mentioned how she was going to have to get used to daylight again when she got back home, easily falling back into their usual banter. Something felt a little different this time though and he wasn't really sure what. Something in the way she hesitated and looked at the sky before she said anything else made him wonder what was on her mind. She said how she didn't find what she was looking for and it just made him wonder more about what was on her mind or what it was she had even come looking for in the first place. She wasn't exactly one to be open with her feelings which was normally fine by him since he didn't exactly look for opportunities to share his emotions either, but Onyx was in the very short list of wolves that he actually gave a shit about. He didn't have many friends growing up—and still didn't really if he was being honest—so he did care about her whether he should or not.

When she admitted that she wouldn't leave without saying goodbye the little twinge of disappointment that hit him caught him off guard. He certainly didn't expect her to want to move to Auster, not when she was so comfortable and attached to the north, so why was he disappointed that she wasn't going to at least stick around longer? As much as he wanted to run from his past it was kind of nice to have a little bit of familiarity even if he didn't really want to admit it. "Well... I'm glad I got to see you again before you left," he told her with a little hint of a smile before he glanced away awkwardly trying to find a way to make it into some kind of joke and failing. He didn't know when he'd see her again, but he liked to think that maybe they might cross paths again at some point. The north of Boreas and Auster were pretty far from each other, but the trip was far from impossible. "Just uh... Be safe getting back, alright? I know you can handle yourself, but there's lunatics out there so... you never know."

"Cináed"

He made it easy to put a smile on her face, or at least the best smile Onyx could give. She wasn't very cheeky and cheery after all. But for those who knew her, it spoke in volumes. It wasn't really that she was uncomfortable around others, she was moreso just annoyed by them. She judged harshly, she didn't put anyone's needs before her own. She was selfish in most ways, of course to no evil extents. But seeing her bring out some sort of personality with Cina, one that wasn't just sighing and rolling her eyes and wishing to be anywhere but here, she could feel that change in her too. She hoped they had something set out for their future, even if it was just seeing each other again not too long from now.

Her lip pulled up slightly showing her teeth in a sarcastic grin as Cinaed seemed to be taking a more serious note on their goodbyes. Cutting it quick as Onyx had wanted while not wanting to embarrass herself. But she didn't run off as much as her mind had intended to. She wouldn't show weakness at least, that was clear. With a shift of her neck and raised eyebrow, she teased him as he would her, "Don't want one last go around? Think I might call it even before we never see each other again?" As if that was their biggest worry. It would... feel better to have that last tumble with him regardless of how it ended. And while she didn't intend to never see him again, they after all had their whole lives ahead of them, it was a large thought on her mind on the eve of leaving Auster. "Bet you need to make sure I can handle myself out there before letting me go." It was all in good fun.

"Onyx Destruction"
F2U base by Snowylaika

Ciná couldn't say that he was really all that surprised when Onyx challenged him to one last tussle before she left. Fighting and sparring had been the corner stone of their friendship for as long as he could remember and there wasn't really a reason why that would change now. The suggestion that they might call it even before they never saw each other again made him chuckle as he considered the prospect. He did hope that this wasn't really a goodbye forever, but if it was at least it went off on a good note—which was far more than he could say for anyone else from his past. He had burned a lot of bridges very much on purpose when he moved to Auster, but this bridge between himself and Onyx was one he was willing to rebuild. He didn't have many friends and he doubted that Onyx did either. Neither of them had ever really seemed like the types to need many wolves around them, but occasionally it was nice to have at least one that seemed to get it.

A grin tugged at her lips as she mentioned how he needed to make sure she could handle herself before she set off, enjoying the challenge she was laying out for him. He knew he probably shouldn't get into anything too rough and tumble when his tail was still healing, but considering this would be the last time he saw his friend for at least a while he felt like it would be wrong to just strike down the offer. He hummed as he considered it for a moment, subtly beginning to shift into a stance more ready for a fight as he pretended to ponder his options. "Hmmm... I suppose you have a point. Can't have you striking off on your own without testing your mettle one more time, can I?" With that he leapt forward with a grin, taking a bounding stride before rearing back to try and wrap his forelegs around her neck, aiming to throw his chest into her shoulder to try and knock her to the ground with his heavier weight leaning into her.

"Cináed"

Onyx was more than thrilled as Cina had agreed to the final offer, not that she would have seemed super excited to anyone other than himself. This was one of the only things she enjoyed doing, far from any usual girl which was just something that drove from her childhood and her upbringing. It was a part of her character from nearly the day she was born. He probably felt the same way about himself.

Her paws carefully found what traction they could on the stone ground just before Cina took his move, that more than content grin on her maw as they would move to collide. She too responded in just the same way, wrapping her legs around the more frontward part of his barrel and chest while he had the hold around her shoulders. It was a way they had been many times before but for her it just felt a little different this time. A little more intimate. It had to be the fact of her first heat and the deep internal change in her that she tried her best to drown out.

They stalemated for just a moment, it was probably just all fun and games between them. She guessed she wouldn't hold it against him too much had he taken the upper hand yet again. She had other things in mind though. She dropped back on her haunches to get him to lose his balance underneath himself with her being that big crutch he was holding onto, and she bounded back to push him forward and backwards flipping just slightly on his back. Though it wasn't gentle in the slightest, he should have expected that.

Throwing him down with a thud, Onyx trapped him under her in just a way to show a little revenge for their meeting when she first came down here to Auster. One paw above his shoulder and the other paw adjacent under his armpit just the fur on their chests met which was an all too familiar connection for her. Her breath not winded but there was a little tension in there from the quick wrestle they had done. Normally she'd jump off of him and take her victory but this time she stayed just where she was on top of him, her eyes in a new and still hard expression as she looked down onto his face and between them where they met. It was somehow an entirely new experience for her.

"Onyx Destruction"
F2U base by Snowylaika

Ciná grappled around Onyx as she did the same, feeling her forelegs around his chest and the two of them collided in a equal battle of will. He might have had the upper hand in strength and build, but Onyx was more nimble and admittedly probably more clever. A grin lingered on his own lips as they pushed and shoved back and forth a bit, both of them trying to get the upper hand, until he suddenly felt Onyx shift back a bit which threw off his balance and all at once the world flipped around him and he landed hard on his back with a solid thud, knocking the wind out of him a bit with a 'oof'. When he blinked his eyes open he found himself nose to nose with Onyx above him, feeling her chest against his own in a not unfamiliar way. How many times had they fought and sparred with one another over their life times only to end up in this position with one or the other on top? He had lost count. Still, as she stood over him it felt different this time. There was a tension that hadn't been there before, a new look in her eyes that made him pause.

They were both adults now and while he had never really been around a woman while she was in heat he knew about the change in their scents and more or less knew how it effected them from the very through lessons he got from Irilyth several seasons ago. He hadn't really noticed before, but in their current proximity it was hard to miss. It made him wonder if she even really knew what she wanted or what she was doing and he didn't know what direction he wanted this to go either. He had only ever viewed Onyx as a friend and a fighting partner and now with her scent heavily around him and the warmth of her body against his the instinctual interest in something else started lingering on his mind. "I guess you win," he rumbled quietly with a soft chuckle, his golden gaze searching hers. He didn't pull away, but he didn't press forward either. If this was what she wanted he was going to make her take the first move. "What is your prize going to be?"

"Cináed"

Onyx wasn't oblivious, she knew everything at least physical when it came to their age and the new rollercoaster emotions she was experiencing now that she was over top of Cina looking him up and down. There was a general knowledge of what her parents had taught her but not anything she had learned for herself. He could see the gentle fire in her eye, and when she looked back up at him she could see it too. If only subtle, only just a little bit of feelings from the respect she had of him as he was and the fighter he was. She wouldn't take it any further than that, they had some sort of deep connection but nothing so serious.

A part of her was a little scared getting inside of her head, it was at least expected in the natural terms. She hid those emotions easily through that amused grin as he spoke. The worries she had calling him here had been long washed away the moment they started what they did best. It was easy to put herself into her usual personality when she was like this with him.

Her head tilted a little with a testing glare, maybe a look that had suggested what the two of them had right on surface of their thoughts. "I think this is prize enough." She spoke in a familiar, lightly joking tone but there was a little tempting taunting flare both in her voice and her gaze. Maybe it was a way she was thinking of what she wanted to do next. There were a million possibilities, one even just leaving him there and now. Her paws shifted while she still remained over him, going to place a paw higher on his chest not quite close enough to his throat and one lower at his ribs, "Are you going to give me a reason to want to come back, Cinead?" She tilted her whole body back, still keeping them from touching right in the cores of each other, "Other than to get you down like this from time to time." She knew exactly what she was doing and maybe she wasn't giving him much of a choice. Maybe he was playing into it a little himself too.

"Onyx Destruction"
F2U base by Snowylaika

Cináed smirked and chuckled as Onyx said this was prize enough, but the tempting look in her eyes told him that there was still more she was interested in. With how she liked to tease and joke with him he wouldn't have even been surprised if she just got off of him now and walked away after putting all these thoughts of the opposite in his head. Her expression wasn't hard to read, but her intentions and desires were. When she shifted to press her paw to his chest and felt another on his side it became less ambiguous and made a slight grin pull at his lips. It was such a shift from what he ever would have expected his time with Onyx to be and he didn't know how much of it was purely just because she was in heat and how much of it was any real interest in him, but he also didn't know if he cared. Being with someone like this wasn't an experience he got very often so it was incredibly tempting to give in and humor this sudden shift in Onyx's interest.

When she questioned him over giving her a reason to come back besides just the occasional brawl a wider grin tugged at his lips. He knew he was playing with fire, he knew he was risking changing their relationship entirely, but after all of the stress and strife he had been through recently he very much could use the pleasure and release she was not so subtly offering. With a chuckle he hooked one foreleg around her back and then pushed her over as he rolled, taking advantage of the fact that her weight was centered on him without any of her own paws on the ground to keep him from moving her. He rolled over and pinned her onto her back under him, one paw on the ground beside her head and the other around her lower back and hold her against him. "I will if that's what you want," he rumbled quietly, his lips hovering just shy of touching hers. Everything moved too quickly for him to question the sudden change and with as much as he wanted an escape he was eager let himself give into it.

"Cináed"

It was more because she was in heat, but it was because it was Cina too. The more she was urging on the natural feelings of her desires, the more she was realizing she wouldn't have wanted to have this moment with anyone but him. It was sentimental to her, but she wasn't so naive to find herself head over heels for him. Maybe after she left and had time to think, but right now she was just moving in the moment.

She growled lowly as Cina took a hold of her and turned the tables, but she still had that tiny grin to show him everything was fine as he did. Maybe he wouldn't have cared if she objected. She had to admit she liked showing that sort of dominance over him while she could. It was easy to just move with the steps as they came.

Her paws retracted from him after they rolled, but they were still pressed so close together that it made little difference. The way she looked up at him was near admiring, a shine in her eye as she could feel the tension growing even more. "You should know I'm not a beggar." The way the evening had turned to night, it made her feel like they were the only ones not just in the canyon but all of Auster. Otherwise she may have been just a little more self conscious about moving forward, even if they were back in his den in Fenmyre or back home in the pines. Her paws carefully moved down along his sides and to his hips, helping show him without words exactly that this was what she wanted. It was then that she would initiate that first move, bringing her muzzle up to meet his in just that short distance they were apart.

She was gentle at first as if unsure, but that was just her thinking too hard about what she had never done before. She learned quickly, moved by instinct, and maybe he wouldn't even think that this would be her first time for anything of this nature. It wouldn't even cross her mind to think this may not have been his first time either, she didn't really care honestly. Her kisses would behave more roughly, deeper in a short amount of time. Maybe an anticipation he could have foreseen in all the other ways she acted through her life. Her paws helping to guide him as they became more heated, but just before that moment when she believed she was ready she broke their lips in a desperate breath for air, "Wait..." It wasn't a second thought, she knew exactly that this is just what she wanted with him. It was the physical aspect of their next actions that made her hold back for just a moment. She could feel before that last second she would no longer be a virgin, it wasn't as easy as it seemed. She took a couple breaths before she leaned back down on the ground and looked up at him, a paw carefully moving along his large and toned body, she was ready now. The grin he may have been so accustomed too was no longer there, but she looked at him with something much more longing.

"Onyx Destruction"
F2U base by Snowylaika

Ciná chuckled as Onyx told him that she was not a begger. No, he was certain that she wasn't. In fact, if he hadn't flipped them over he was pretty sure that she would have taken what she wanted—if this was indeed what she wanted. She gave ever indication that it was, but there was still that moment of hesitation between them as they hovered on the line between them staying childhood friends and becoming lovers. She began to take away any doubt he might have had about her intentions as her paws moved down over his torso and her lips came up to find his. He returned her kiss and matched her pace as she seemed to steadily get her bearings, finding the rhythm between the two of them as they sank into a deeper, more fervent kiss very quickly. He could taste the desire and the intent on her lips as he returned that kiss just as eagerly. The stretches of time between when he was able to get this kind of relief were long ones and now was no exception so that made his willpower to resist falling into this thin.

Still, as he kissed her heavily and leaned his body even more firmly into hers, he couldn't quite find that electric spark that he had felt before. It was fun and he liked kissing her fine, but it did feel a little odd laying like this with someone he had grown up sparing and teasing. He tried to block those memories out of his head and just focus on the feeling of having her in his embrace and against his body, but it still never felt the same as the other times he had gotten to bed someone. When her lips pulled away from his he blinked open his eyes to look down at her while he breathed more heavily, his gaze lingering on hers as she told him to wait. As she leaned back into the grass again and he held himself over her he really considered if this was a line he wanted to cross. He had so few wolves that actually mattered in his life and she was one he considered a close friend. He felt like if he changed that then he may never see her the same.

As her paw moved over his body and she looked up at him with a gaze that clearly told him she was ready for what she wanted from him, he hesitated and debated with himself for just a moment before he started to loosen his hold around her waist. "I'm sorry," he said with a guilty flick of his ears as he carefully climbed off of her and helped her back to her feet. "It's not you, I promise. You're great, I just... I don't think I'm the right one for this. For you." He sighed and gave a shake of his head, frowning and frustrated with himself. Shaking his head he started turning back toward Fenmyre's borders. "I'm sorry, Onyx. Be safe getting back home." He started walking away before he could make things even worse, feeling guilt over leaving her like this but knowing that if he said anything else he'd just dig himself into a deeper hole.

"Cináed"

It was like a flip of a switch when Cinaed backed off soon completely and all of the fire, the longing, everything inside her just snapped straight back into an Onyx he may have known before. "What?" It was a quiet bit of confusion at first but as she turned over and rose on her own without the help he offered was when she was fully hit with the sense of rejection and really near humiliation. It may have been a bit dramatic to that level but it wasn't to her. "No." She nearly fought back in a more hard, angered tone that would be much more labeled into her character. One that she was much more open with when she was with him. Not anymore.

He seemed to be over it, or wanted to just get out of the situation as quick as he could. Could she blame him? No. She wasn't much in an understanding mood right now. "You can't just fucking do that." She'd step after him as he moved to walk back to his own home in Fenmyre. "This is what I-" She paused for a moment, "I wouldn't want-" She stopped again. Her words were spitting, she was more than angry but she was hiding what was raw underneath. She wouldn't have wanted to share this with anyone else in her life. In fact there were little in her life to do so which may have made it such a bad idea. Cina wasn't wrong for the way he felt, but Onyx wouldn't step down to see just the problem she could create from this. "You know what, never fucking mind. I'm out of here." She'd leave without much more of a fight, because she was feeling almost the same as when she called him here. She just wanted to get the fuck out. And one thing was sure, if they ever met again it wouldn't be the same. Right this second she was hoping they never would. Only time would tell.

"Onyx Destruction"
F2U base by Snowylaika