Basilisk went looking for his little slave in the supply den, and found her there. He followed her scent to the selection of animal skins and found her stacking. “Little Bird.” He said, commanding her attention.

Once she turned to him, he nodded his head. Indicating for her to follow. She must surely be accustomed to him interrupting her now. But the news he had to share was important, and he had no qualms with dragging her away.

“A passing traveller had news on Charlie's whereabouts. I'm going to chase it down.” He explained. He had to, Charlie was his wolf. If there was any chance of finding him out there, Basilisk had to seize it. But there was something else… “Your coming with me, so pack a bag with a few days' supplies.” He wasn't ready to let her out of his sight just yet. He could too easily remember the tiger… who knew what trouble she would get into if he wasn't there to keep an eye on her?

The guys over at the drying hut really needed to start learning the system. She was starting to get too busy to keep picking up their lazy deliveries from the center of the storeroom! Bear Pelts go here, Dried fish here, deer jerky here, Deer pelts over here by the bear pelts, smaller pelts go- "Little Bird." Her heart instantly skipped a beat and her face grew warm. She liked this new nickname he gave her. She had been so engrossed in her task that she hadn't noticed him enter.

She didn't mind his interruptions, she did mind when others interrupted her work when they wanted to dump their wares all willy-nilly throughout the supply room! She followed him away from her work, ears perked to what he had to say.

Charlie! Oh good, there was news! She wasn't completely surprised by his command for her to join him. She loved to travel and explore, but was that so wise?

"A few days? He must have gone far! I wonder what he was looking for!" She quickly gathered the supplies and tried to nicely remind the workers on the drying and hunting runs to please keep in mind where everything went as she wouldn't be here to tidy up after them. She had a satchel full of jerky, a small art kit, and a thick Seal skin blanket, as well as the tiger hide vest and hood Wylan made her to keep her warm during the winter travels. Should be enough, oh, and a fire starter and a medical kit from Ollie. She told Idalia her possum to stay home and tend to whoever needed an extra pair of hands.

"That should do it! I'm ready!" She told him when she found Basilisk after packing.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

He shook his head at her question. He had no idea, but the distance might in part explain why his absence had taken so long. With a little bit of luck, they would be returning with the young Blacksmith. Certainly they couldn’t afford to be losing more wolves… he pushed down the pang that rattled across his heart.

She trotted off to fulfil his command, and he grabbed his own back, which he had already prepared. He had seen to what he needed to before going to fetch Ignita. So all he had to do was wait for her arrival. She trotted into view, her bag bulging across her tiny form. He wordlessly grabbed the edges of it and hooked it over her shoulder. Stuffing it into his larger bag. He clipped the handle of the bag around one leg so it would settle at his side. “Alright, we’re off’ He agreed. Taking only one companion with him - his falcon. The extra pair of eyes might come in handy.

The two trotted out of Armada territory, and skirted around the battlefield. Walking through the day until they reached a stream. It was getting late by then. Hmm… “You get a chill too easily. Climb on my back.” He ordered her. The cold bothered him a great deal less, and he was tall enough that he should manage to keep her dry if he didn’t splash too much.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

She was about to retort that she packed everything she needed when he took the bag off her, but instead of checking her work he simply put it in his satchel, leaving her unencumbered. Oh... Oh alright. She sighed, he had completely softened to her. A big old softie, just for her. And Spider too of course.

She loped easily beside him, her movements quick, and easier while she was without a pack. She could keep the steady pace he set for hours easily, hardly growing tired.

She was about to cross the stream when he suggested she get too chilled and climb on his back. She furrowed her brows at him not quite understanding at first until a flurry of snow was dislodged from a nearby drift. OH, right, her desert upbringing had not taught her the dangers of wet feet in the winter. And her already fine thin coat was not doing her any favors out here.

"Okay, you sure?" She asked, as she scrambled over his broad back. She easily felt secured by laying across his shoulders, held by the straps of the pack and the slope of his neck. She found her tail organically curled around his neck for security while he waded across the stream.

"Speech"

He gave her a look at her silly question. Of course he was. The last thing he needed was for her to get a chill. They would have to call off this hunt, and he would have to haul her a lot further than the little river crossing. He crouched down so it was easier for her to crawl up his back. He waited until he felt her grip the straps of his back, and stepped back up to his full height again.

The weight and warmth on his back was… distracting. To say the least. He gave himself a moment to adjust to it, and push down any feelings. Out in the open, in the chill of the wintery evening was not the moment to roll over and trap her beneath him.

When she curled her tail around his neck, that did him no favours either. He teasingly turned his head and nipped at it before pushing forward. He plunged into the water and found it freezing. His thick coat gave him some protection, and he wadded through its depths. Stepping carefully so he wouldn’t risk unbalancing his load.

Once they were on the other side, he helped her down before stepping to the side and vigorously shaking out his coat. He followed his falcons directions, which led them to an abandoned den dug out of a hill. He stepped inside, and pulled a blanket out of his bag. He placed it on the ground, and nodded his head to Ignita as he placed their pack on the ground beside it. “Want to get started on the fire?” Soon, they would be cuddled together. So far from the pack and their troubles. The idea that that might lead somewhere sent a sudden and blazing heat through him. Chasing away some of the chill left over from the water.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

She gripped with her short dull claws, dulled by the use of sketching, painting, smithing, crafting, and scuttling through the stone caverns of the Col. He gets up and she is suddenly filled with a fear of falling as the weight shifts and the ground falls so very far away. She gasps as he moves not used to the movement and feeling so helpless at his directions. No doubt he could feel her trembling on his shoulders. He breaks the water beneath her and forges the stream, she could feel the icy temperature as it sapped her warmth while he pressed on.

She barely waited for him to lean down once he got to the other side before she launched herself back to the ground. She shook her pale fur until the warmth returned to her ears and her legs stopped trembling from the fear. She nodded curtly as he led the way to an old den. The snow seemed to be deeper here and she hopped through the drifts behind him. Once inside she was already nosing her way into the pack to grab the firestarts when he asked her about it.

"Already on the way!" She replied, already frozen to her core from the snow and the travel. She set up a firepit and lit it, having had many opportunities to practice starting and tending fires at the Col. She added a lump of coal that she had brought as well to help chase away the chill and keep the fire going.

She stripped off her tiger pelt vest and laid it out to dry. Then grabbed a piece of jerky from the pack and passed it to him, then stuck one in her own mouth before she grabbed her small polar bear skin for bedding and spread it out.

"Speech"

He took the offered meat, chewing idly as he watched her spread out a little polar bear coat beside his own bedding. As if she was putting down boundaries. He frowned at it, and then at her shaking, chilled form. He picked her polar bear coat back up and tossed it lightly around her shoulders. He was still damp from the stream, so he refrained from dragging her towards him.


Instead, he put some stones half in the fire, before settling down beside him. He'd burned a few calories on the walk here and fished out another piece of meat. He munched quietly before speaking. “The traveller told me about a strange cavern with glowing lights that we'll reach tomorrow. Perhaps he sought to add the glow to his craft.” it was a possibility, and there was a chance he was reaching at straws. But he placed the words between them, watching her with an idle sort of hunger.

She was startled mildly at first, confused by the sudden weight on her form until she did the math in her head as she looked at the ground where she had put it before and nodded with a smile. Yeah, it probably would be better to wear the darn thing.

She sat across from him at the fire, finishing her meat, and perked her ears up to catch what he was saying.
"Glowling lights?" She exclaimed, an excited gleam sparking in her eyes as she shifted her gaze to his. "I'd love to see that! I wonder if we could harness it! Oh! And if we could harness it maybe it'll be the Armada's specialty! Glowing daggers and jewelry! Just like Carpathian Steel is The Hallows! I hope we find Charlie there." Maybe he got distracted or he was trying to get the glowing stuff properly before he made it back home. She finished her meal and already her eyes started drooping from tiredness.

"Speech"

Of course. He should have known the glowing lights would interest her. “We will be sure to investigate it thoroughly” he assured her, through his ear twitched at the mention of the Hallows steel. That boy had been wielding a sword, hadn't he? 


He watched her eyes droop, and shook out his paws. Willing them to dry faster. Meanwhile, He grabbed a stone out of the fire. Almost dropping it as the heat seared his paws. He managed to wrap it in a bit of material, binding it tightly before he leaned over and tucked it against Iggys chest, between her forepaws. 


He got to work on the second stone, wrapping that as well. This time he came around the fire, and nudged the hot rock gently under her stomach. He pressed a kiss between her eyes. She looked so tired. It had been a long walk for her. “Sleep, little bird.” He whispered, pushing down his desires in the face of her exhaustion.

She nodded at his assurance. Her golden eyes slits against the warmth of the fire, tiny reflections against her glimmering golds and through her ginger eyelashes. She watched him move hot stones and curiously pressed them against her. What genius! Life in the cold mountains required such ingenuity as hot stones to keep warm as ventilation holes in the desert kept one cool.

Despite her endurance, the snow had made the trek much harder than usual. Sometimes the drifts grow larger than even her. She smiled subtly at his new name for her, she liked it. Little Bird, flitting about from one project to another. Chirping away about one thing or another. The hot stones made it even harder to keep her eyes open. She would sleep until the morning.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

He pushed down his disappointment as sleep overcame her. The stones warmed her where his wet coat couldn't. He stayed awake longer into the night, watching her sleep and listening to the sounds of the night. An owl cried out nearby, sighting prey somewhere in the distance. At last, his paws and legs were dried by the heat of the flame.

He gently pulled the sleeping wolf into his arms, curling protectively around her. If any predators snuck in in the night, she would be safe. Safe in his arms. He kissed her brow, breathing in the scent of her. What he felt for her was… complicated, and messy. He leaned his forehead into hers and closed his eyes. Letting sleep take him at last.

-time skip-

Morning came like a cold breath against her leg. She brought her appendage closer to the warmth of her body and realized she was being cradled securely between his arms. His head laid protectively over her. If she didn't feel a cramp brewing in her arm she would have liked to remain in his grasp for longer. But alas, she stretched her arms out into the cold den. Reaching for a covered sky in the old abandoned den. No doubt rousing him from his slumber against her.

The sun was peaking gloriously through the trees and revealing newly fallen snow glittering across the landscape. She loved the ways the colors glittered and glimmered and reflected the sunrise off the pale blue drifts.

If she was not already voraciously hungry she would have tucked her paws back onto her chest and waited for him to gently wake. Instead, she gently kissed his head before clambering out of his grasp to grab at the morsels. The excitement to continue their journey grew with her hunger.

"Speech"

He woke to her stirring, and the brush of her muzzle against his coat. He opened his eyes, stretching slowly like a cat. Arching his back, extending his claws and yawning past his elongated fangs. He got slowly to his paws, watching her grab some dried meat for breakfast. He really ought to take some time for a short hunt, and fill her belly with something fresher than the jerky they had prepared. 


He could see the anticipation in her movements, and knew she was eager to find the cave with glowing lights. He banked the fire, grabbing a bite to eat before securing the bag across his shoulders again.


They left the cave to find his falcon waiting for them, the path to their destination already scouted. He sent her on a hunt for rabbit and led Ignita on. They arrived at the cavern with plenty of morning light left. He pulled Ignita close to his paws as he stepped inside, taking deep breaths as he sampled the air for any threats. It was dark at first, and he wondered if they had been led astray. His cat-like eyes adjusted easily to the dark and he led her through the cavern until a hint of light appeared ahead. Blue, and strange.

Her hunger was mostly satiated and they wasted no time gathering their things and making haste.

The morning went briskly by and they came upon the fated cavern. So far it didn't look all that strange to her. It was darker than dark inside though. She let him gather her close as he scented the air, she remembered the tiger in the depths behind her room. So frightening that it had lurked there for who knew how long! She peered with her golden eyes to see what he could but her eyes would not adjust as quickly as his. So she clung to his heel as they entered inside. She could barely catch a stalactite or pool in the deep darkness and found herself having a hard time keeping up with him until she gently clasped his tail in her mouth. She hoped he didn't mind. She just couldn't see!

Suddenly a glimmer of light showed up ahead. Blue and dim, gathering strength as they neared the source.

She dropped his tail as her mouth fell open, the reflections of glowing mushrooms glittering in her eyes. She pressed in close to a beautiful cluster, her nose gently scenting the fruiting body.
"What a marvel..." She whispered, her voice falling in close as the echoes were muffled among the fungi. The deep brilliant blue glowed and glowed and glowed deep within, the clusters growing more abundant. Littering the cavern walls like stars.

"Speech"

The cavern was unexpectedly colourful. Fulled with shimmering light from mushrooms that seemed to grow from every corner of the cavern. The smell was earthy and strange, and there was no scent or Charlie in the air. He immediately set about looking for signs of him. Footprints, campfires. Any sign that a wolf had been down here recently.


As he cast about, his eyes came time and time again to Ignita. Her fur came to life beneath the glow. Her fiery tones sparkled like fire in the unearthly blue. She was breathtaking. Her body was a mix of blue-gold flame. He returned to her side, and brushed a paw along her back, watching the light bounce from fur to paw. “I've never seen anything like it.” He murmured softly. “Do you think they're edible?” He quirked his lip in an amused smirk.

She noticed the strange scent and attributed it to the mushrooms. The glow was enchanting and... He nearly blended in with his dark inky black and brilliant blues. She cased the ground, looking for any trails that had disturbed the mushrooms recently, or not recently. She noticed a few clusters had withered near the ground, losing their light. Hm...

She could see why Charlie might have come here... But these... must be the bioluminescent mushrooms, they couldn't be phosphorescent like the glowing pigments in the book she had borrowed from the hallows. These would have been useless in crafting anything. There was a tang to the air, moist earth, and crazy fungi.

Suddenly she felt his paw stroke her back, starting something within her. He had never seen anything like this either? Incredible! She huffed a laugh through her nose and shook her head at his question, "From my knowledge, a lot of mushrooms in caves are best left alone. I wouldn't chance it, some of the most toxic poisons out there come from cave mushrooms. There's a few edible ones, but none of them looked like these." She mentioned looking up at him. The glow of the fungal stars reflected off his coat as if he were part of the cave itself. The sight of him made her draw her breath. They were... so far away from home.

"Speech"

-----End Skill Claims----

Hmmm… she’d probably know best, too. With her incredible knowledge of just about everything under the sun. He'd only been teasing, anyway. His attention now was on all the things the light was doing to her coat, and as his paw brushed across her again, he caught the subtle change in her scent.

He came closer, butting up against her side. He leaned his head down, and nipped at the fur beneath her ears with his teeth. It was just the two of them, alone in that cave. His hunger came to life, his hunger for her. There was no longer something stopping him. No trust he would be breaking. He wanted her, and he had turned back or been rebuffed at every turn. No more. He would have her. He pushed lightly against her, and her body moved so easily. So small, so light, so fragile. His little song bird who couldn’t protect herself. He pushed her until the wall was at her back, and the glowing blue light was dancing around her. He nipped at her ear, her neck, her throat. “Little bird.”He whispered, and there was want and hunger in those two little words. “Kiss me.” He ordered her.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

His paw brushed across her coat again, a shiver ran through every hair. She could feel her body respond, her mind trailing behind it, knowing, not knowing, knowing, and not knowing what was happening.

He entered her space, looming above her, butting into her side. She felt the subtle tugs of her fur behind her ears and her breath grew heavy. What was he doing... she knew... did she want it? She didn't know... but yes... Should they wait? Why... Nothing was stopping him now. He pushed against her, she couldn't rebuff him if she tried. This was new. He pushed again, her breath caught in her throat as she felt the wall behind her. Her head imperceptively heaving with every succulently laden breath. The blue light was lost amidst his fur, his eyes roved over him glowing with the reflections of the rooted stars as if he was the entity that owned this cave.

With every nip, a sound escaped her throat unbidden. A gasp as his teeth brushed her throat. She bloomed before him, a fire grew within her.

He ordered her, she would do as he bid. She grasped his bottom lip with her teeth, her breath heavy and chest heaving beneath him. She kissed him. She placed a golden paw against his chest. To push him, to brace against him.

"Are you sure..." She murmured, her gaze lidded. They had waited for so long.


"Speech"

The sound that escaped her undid him. He felt his body respond to her. Desiring, lusting after her. The scent of her told him she enjoyed his touch, and he moved along the edges of her muzzle. Nipping, licking, tasting her. She did more than kiss him. She nipped and pulled at his lip, and he gasped into her mouth. Groaning, and leaning into her embrace. She put a paw to his chest to give herself a little height and kissed him fully. He wrapped a paw around her back, pulling her towards him, pulling her chest against his. Everywhere they touched was fire. It burned through his veins, and his desire grew. A desperate serpent slithering through his body.

“Yes.” He gasped against her mouth. “Are you, Little Iggy? Do you want this?” He whispered, digging his claws lightly into her back, pulling her tighter, tighter against him. He did not know for sure if her response would change anything. But he wanted to know. Needed to know where they stood. If this was more than just her body's response to him.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Every sensation was electricity and flickering flames beneath her fur. The gasp he let out enthralled her, Oh! She could make him make the noises! Make him... Did she have some power here? Her mind drifted back once more as his arm encased her. Her body throbbed against him, without her will her hips shifted, her chest pressed deeper into his. She had never experienced any of this before. Her other paw ran through the fur of this chest, her hips moved again for some reason. Her dulled claws gripped a valley of his muscular ribs.

She was lost for a moment, her mouth over his, nipping, brushing over his lips. Her mind grappled with the question in a fog of need need need. Gasping against tiny electric pinpricks on her back, she moaned.

A breath as she pressed her cheek into his neck. He had pressed her into the cold cavern wall, the ethereal glow enrapturing all around them. "Will it hurt?" She whispered into his ear, a twang of fear of the unknown, her back arched, and pressed her belly against his. She felt the urge to grasp the meat of his shoulder with her teeth, not biting hard but enough to let him feel her teeth rake against his skin.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.