He raised a brow at her, surprised she was full of compliments after he had pulled her off the shelf. “A wonder, you say?” he remarked with mild amusement as he took a seat by her fire. The still-settling charm made a few tinkling sounds behind him, she stepped into him, and he wrapped a paw around her. Kissing her cheek, and letting her go when she pulled back. He knew, beyond a doubt, that she had his back. That she would support him, and help him, almost unquestionably. Well, somewhat almost. But her questions weren’t doubts, just exploration. Had he been a little afraid of Hazel’s demons? He dashed the thought away. And it had almost been a whole day since he’d thought about her, too.

He settled down, leaving a paw over Ignita as she curled up against him. Warm, and present against his coat. A constant companion to him these days. She mentioned Spider, and he sighed softly, resting his head against the back of hers. He had always supported and looked out for Spider. He would have thought he would manage to avoid hurting them, even through the messy raising he had done of the kid. But this… this was unavoidable. “I’m afraid. Afraid I’ll lose them, too. This is their home, what if it chases them away from it?”


"Basilisk Fatalis"

She felt his heavy head against hers, a comfort. She froze as he spoke his fear. His fear that Spider would leave too. Would they? Would they truly be so upset with her that they would abandon Bas? Her paws grew clammy and cold, stilled over his arm.

Her mind ran for solutions, weaving the cunundrum around her mind, looking at it from all angles. If she and Bas told Spider this way.... Maybe they'll react this way? What if they never told them? More heartbreak when her true title would be revealed. Every way she looked at it... It would cause them hurt. Maybe... If she told them by herself? No... If Bas told them with her there? No....

A gift? An acknowledgement of how they knew this would pain them... Maybe if they presented it in a fun way... No, they weren't a child.

"I'll make them something... They were thinking of getting a piercing... Maybe I can make them one and you can give it to them... With the news?" Bas didn't know of her own feelings for Spider and their promise they made at the bonfire. She didn't feel any less for Spider, she wished she could see their lovely laugh again and teasing nature.

"Speech"

Basilisk listened to her, running a paw absentmindedly through her fur and considered it softly, carefully. He knew what he thought, and he tried to keep his voice gentle. He didn’t want to hurt Ignita, either. “I think I need to do this myself, Ignita.” he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead again, trying to soften the blow. “Anything else might come across as you… interfering, trying to parent them. I think that would be worse right now.” He explained, though he would appreciate her support there, he just didn’t think it would go over well. He didn’t want to give the impression that he was replacing Hazel. How much and what level of acceptance Spider eventually gave Ignita would be entirely up to them, and no one else.

"Basilisk Fatalis"

The way he was running his paw over her fur, absently, tenderly, was moving something within her.

She sighed as he kissed her brow. Parent them? That hadn't even occured to her. They were friends! She was so naive.

The kettle was boiling, and she got up before the leaves within scalded and burned. She set it aside on the rocks by the fire. Parent them... She thought.
That was indeed the place she had been put. A place that she had... Mostly freely chosen, to be in Bas's life like she was ... But she couldn't be what Hazel was to them. Hazel found them. Bas raised them.

"I think you would know what was best for them than I would at this point." She conceded. She would have to let go of her crush on them in that case. It would be wrong. A social imbalance that wasn't proper.

Parenting. She poured a cup and set it aside to cool.
She licked her lips, raked her teeth over her bottom lip and turned back to the Warlord. Her Warlord. Would she know what was best for... Their children one day?

She moved back to him, softly, tenderly. Her golden eyes braving to lock on his. She pushed slowly toward him, a hunger in her eyes for him.

"Parenting... Did you learn more about our potential future on that front?" She asked, her voice lowered, her paws snaking forward to run over his arms. Touch...

"Speech"

He wasn't so sure about that, either. He'd gone into this whole parent thing knowing he was walking around deaf and blind in how to raise a kid. Were there manuals for this kind of thing? Maybe it was an instinct that some people had, and he just didn't have it.


He wasn't prepared for Ignita to turn back to him. To lock her eyes to his, and see the hunger there. His mind went blank, and he stared back, hungry and craving. He leaned forward, lifting a paw and inviting her in. She came and she spoke. It was like a bucket of cold water, and he growled. Barely soothed but the touch of her paw along his arm. “I told Ollie to talk to you. He came back with a lot of information, and I think you need to hear it from him. You need to talk it through with someone not me, this is your health and he's your doctor.” He explained, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

She dove into his fur again and nuzzled in, running her finger along his arm. His frustrated growl stilled her need within her and she pulled her face away to look up at him as he spoke. Concern flitting between her golden orbs as they shifted between his bright azure blues.

Ollie always seemed rather busy, he was rather brusque with her when she was worried about Bas. He had even ordered her around a little harshly, and she didn't want to bring it up with him. Though, with her change of rank, she had more of a leg to stand on, she still didn't like to bother him. However, if she ever did end up pregnant she would have no choice of healer if he was the one attending.

And from what she could gather from Bas's tone... She didn't want to hear it from the youth, she would want to hear it from... Her lover.

She lifted herself up and gently placed one paw on each side of his face, cradling it and looking into his eyes earnestly. "I don't think I'll want to hear it from him in that case. Tell me." A command? From Ignita's lips? Toward her Warlord? No, a plea from a woman looking in the face of her lover, her mate, her keeper.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

Basilisk sighed, and relented. Knowing he wouldn't do the retelling justice. He wanted her to have the full information, and to fully understand the information. He carefully assembled his thoughts, pulling her back into his side as he did so. He couldn't concentrate with her eyes on his. “Alright.” He said softly, “But I still want you to go to Ollie with any questions you might have” he gave her a moment to agree, and then put together what the healer had told him.


“He said there can be complications in any pregnancy, but with proper training a lot of them can be caught early.” That was the easy part. Like Ollie, he started there. “He also said that a large pup can get stuck, and cause life threatening issues, and if such a thing happens, future pregnancies will likely be off the table.” This was why she should have gone to Ollie. He wasn't going to tell her, he realised. He wasn't going to tell her that it might come down to a choice between mother and children. He had chosen for her.

He sighed, maybe she shouldn't have pushed it. Suddenly she was afraid as he pulled her down to his side. He wouldn't look at her as he told her.

She nodded, and she looked to the fire. It could be easier for them if they only watched the flames as he told her. She listened intently, the flames dancing before her. Weaving into a song she could not hear as her ears were tuned to his voice. Issues caught early are fine... A large pup though could be life threatening. Damn... her mind burst forth with her galaxy of questions. Her eyes danced back and forth, and her paw rubbed the floor with one pad. Birth was a hell of a lot more complicated than she thought.

She wanted to whine and say she didn't want to go see Ollie but she knew... She knew she had to if she had to have answers to all her damn questions.

There was an irking thought shoving its way forward. Did she want these questions answered? The thought shoved its way through the clouding spiraling weaving vines of questions. Like a large bubble of gas escaping from the depths of the deepest ocean. Rushing rushing rushing forth, through her lips before it was fully thought.

"I want them." Loud as a stage whisper. It was a knowing deep in her bones, nothing an answer to a question would sway. Her eyes were locked on the flames, like a trance, where her masks could fall away.

The way her heart leaped, and her stomach settled, and her bones stilled. The way her mind quieted as if she had entered the Col straight from the Market. A calm settled into her skin like never before. Maybe it came from the same urge that drove her to climb as high as she could when she could, or perhaps the same drive that held her captive when a new idea took hold.

"I want them. I want yours." She said again, stronger, turning slowly toward him, peeling her eyes away from the flames. The idea of them had driven her to her freedom, the idea of them as free members of the pack and not chattel. Her curiosity of what they might look like, would they have his eyes or hers? Black fur or white? Would they cry in the night and she could soothe them the way she had so desperately wanted to be soothed? Would they have a strong fighter? Would they have an artist? Those were the questions she wanted answered. And every child would be new and different!

"Speech"

Ignita’s voice broke through the silence that had fallen once he had said his piece, and he looked down at her forward. The backs of her ears, the parts of her he could see that weren’t facing the fire. He leaned forward, brushing his chin against the back of her head, his breath tickling her ears.

She turned back to him, and said it again. Stronger. He cupped his paw under her chin, turning her face towards him and leaning into a deep, passionate kiss. All his feelings for Ignita… the heat and fire that blazed through him. The desire that became immediately obvious as he pressed his lips to hers with desperate need.

When he finally released her, his eyes fell on hers. “I want that too. But we will be patient, and we’ll do it right.” but they would do it. Children would be in their future.


"Basilisk Fatalis"

She drew in a sharp breath as his paw cupped her dainty chin. She welcomed his passionate kiss willingly, returning the fervor. Shifting her pose to press into him, as hungry for him as he was for her. Her tongue caressed the roof of his mouth, she pulled his neck fur with her pads for more.

They broke away together, their eyes meeting. Patience, babies later, we'll do it right...

She tilted her head, a knowing and coy look in her eyes, "Why do you think I started the tea?" She asked rhetorically, grinning. She was awakened to the needs and hunger of the flesh. All his fault really, if he wasn't so damn handsome with his eyes deeper than the sky. She carefully ran a finger over one of his sabers, hooked her claw around it, and ever so gently pulled his face ever closer. Her other paw coiled into his neck fur to pull herself forward.

"I promise... to say... when it hurts..." She whispered, pressing her cheek against his.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

Her returned fervor took him by surprise. How it was still able to do so, he didn’t know. But when he felt her tongue across the soft skin in his mouth he moaned into her, leaning forward. Had it been long enough? Had she healed, would she be okay? Why do you think I started the tea? The minx. He hadn’t realised what she’d been preparing. Everything inside of him woke up, his body felt electrified as she tugged him forward.

She made her promise, systematically removing any doubts he could have as she seduced him. But he went willingly, pulling her to his chest as he reached behind her and tugged at her scruff, growling into her coat. He wanted her, and only her. “Top or bottom?” he whispered into her ear, tugging at the appendage with his teeth.


"Basilisk Fatalis"

She felt his moan originate from his barrel chest, it sent ripples of delight through her nerves. The way she could feel him warming and responding to her was enthralling. Was it a subtle shift in the air, a sudden focus of energy between them?

He pulled her in, she giggled into his deep thick fur. She could feel the shift within him, this time SHE had taken HIM by surprise! She writhed gently under the sensation of his teeth tugging the nape of her neck. She bloomed at his feral growl into her ginger gold fur.

"Start it like how you finished it before..." She asked sweetly into his ear. She wanted to feel it first, then let him have his way with her however he pleased.

"Ignita"

Basilisk may enter her threads without warning.

The possessive, obsessive Warlord tugged his teeth through her fur. Nipping and pulling as he made his way from her ear to her jawline, to her neck. He laughed, soft and husky at her words. “As my Lady demands.” He agreed. This freedom with her, to be with her, to explore her. He took his time, tugging her gently to the floor. His massive form above her as he leaned into her, kissing her neck, her chest, between her forepaws. He lingered there, digging his teeth into her coat.

He went low, finding her thighs, but he didn’t touch her there yet. No, he teased her first. Brushing past to nip at her knee. Brushing past again. He laughed softly, and finally found her spot. He remembered what had made her writhe and moan last time, and he took his time to build her up to it. Pressing other parts of his body down against her so he would feel every twitch she made.


"Basilisk Fatalis"

She was a Lady? Could she really believe she could ever be one of the decorated ladies of the balls and parties? She had dreamed of being so beautiful, of turning heads as she entered a room. She laughed and breathed at his every tease.

Her smile was genuine and comfortable, a gleaming within her eyes as he slowly tugged her down to the floor. She closed her eyes and swayed her head to the side giving him easy access to her neck and jaw. Each kiss makes her chest heave with a heavy breath. A raspy giggle escapes her throat as he lingers on her chest, digging into her fur. She drew in an expectant breath and let out a chuff as he teased her to nip her knee. She playfully whispered a whine as he brushed passed her again!

He landed, and she writhed with a moan. He pressed upon her to keep her still and she arched her back into the sensations, rippling through her being. That noise unbidden escaped her lips at his ministrations. The attention he took to slowly make her squirm allowed her to get lost within her body. Her mind was fully enraptured. She twitched and shuddered against him as he went on, her breath heaving. She braced her feet on his shoulders, her hips dared to escape him as the pleasure became more intense. More, more, she begged with each moan, every gasp. Her claws dug into his arm as she neared so close to release.

"Speech"

It was so easy to get lost in his Igg.y to forget his worries, and the world around her. When they were like this, it was just the two of them. No pack, no dramas. Her twitching and shuddering only spurred him on. She pulled her hips free, fueled by her need and he quickened his attentions. Her claws dug into his flesh, and the pain mixed with the pleasure he felt with her desire.

He felt the moment she reached her climax, and he laid a kiss there, before slowly climbing his body upwards again, moving gently over her, kissing her fur until he reached her muzzle. “My turn.” He whispered, pressing down against her, into her. His body trapping her gently against the floor. His need, driven by every sound and movement she had made was obvious. He groaned, and pressed his head into her neck. Lost in her.


"Basilisk Fatalis"

She moaned loudly, then gasped, her legs pushed then shuddered, relaxed then flexed. Then suddenly the purest pleasure erupted through her being, making her whole body tremble and her voice nearly howl, roaching her back and pressing into the furs as she braced herself in the climax. Throbbing and writhing it continued as he moved in for his own turn. Her skin was aflame under every tender kiss and she moaned eagerly still hungry for him.

He pressed down, then in. She gasped at the subtle ache but the pain was hardly there now. She was ready for him, much more than she had been before. Pleasure overtook the pain as he pressed his head into hers her paws reached up to grab his fur. Her voice echoed back at them both, matching with the rhythm.

"Speech"

He growled possessively in her ear, moving with her, claiming her. His clawless pads pressed into her shoulders. But, no matter how much he lost himself inside of her, he did not press too much of his weight down upon her, nor forget the promise he had made her take before this.

When he was close, he pressed his lips down to hers, and spoke around her muzzle. “Ignita.” He gasped. “I love you.” It was a good thing they had found a tea that worked for her, the two wolves were proving to be desperately hungry for each other. He plopped down gently beside her, gasping, sated, sleepy. He pulled her gently onto his chest, feeling his quickly thumping heart against her skin. He absentmindedly ran a paw down her cheek, even as he lay with his head back against the furs.


"Basilisk Fatalis"

His growl sent her head spinning, she tugged at his fur. Her noises grew again in volume until he silenced her with a kiss and she moaned into his muzzle. She sighed as she steadied her breathing and closed her eyes as he fell next to her.
"I love... you too." She responded breathlessly, her skin still tingling especially under his absent touch against her cheek. She coiled into his embrace, her dainty paws wrapped around one of his massive arms, and she squeezed it as hard as she could with both her arms. She was still throbbing but far more satisfied and pleased than their first time. She would sip her cooled tea in the morning. It would be just as potent then.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"

Ignita stayed curled up in his arms, and he rested his head lightly across her body, huffing a soft laugh as she squeezed one of her limbs as hard as she could. Which, admittedly, wasn’t that hard. They needed to work on her muscles. “We’ll start your self defence training in the morning.” He warned her. It would be their second attempt, but they understood each other a little better now. He had the mentality to be patient with her.

He nipped at her cheek fur, closing his eyes and breathing in the scent of her. Comfortable, happy. It was hard to realise just how happy he was, actually. He decided to push their boundaries just a little further. She had left slavery far behind her. They were a mated pair, now. “Spring isn’t too far off now. I need to encourage some of the complacent members to push their way out of the apprentice ranks.” He wanted to share the burden of leadership. He wanted to hear her thoughts.


"Basilisk Fatalis"

She hummed blissfully unto his fur with assent, and while she wrapped her paws around his arm she kissed it in quick succession. Hopefully, now that she had seen a few spars in the training arena and helped Ollie and Bas fight a polar bear she had a better idea of how her body might feel when the moment mattered. Hopefully, she could apply what she had learned to that self-defense training.

She breathed in as he nipped the fur on her cheek and leaned into his embrace. Breathing him in as much as he was her. Bliss.
Her ears perked again as he introduced a new topic.

"Hmm..." She started, opening her eyes into the growing darkness of the den, the coals were dying.
"Spring... Survived my first winter in the mountains. I finally get to see a true northern spring." She murmurs. "Ranks... Tethys is an... excellent hunter. She helped get the goats with me." She mentioned, somewhat dreamily. Hmm... "Maybe some of them don't know what rank best suits them and why they should apply for a rank. Why change something if they're comfortable where they are? What's the benefit to moving up for them?" She traced her claw over the intricate blues on his arm.

"Basilisk" || "Iggy"