The children were growing, and the mother needed more food. He needed to hunt. As disgruntled as he was in their moving it also came with a few perks. He could wander off on a hunting trip without telling them. Well, he told Lailah of course. While Gany was out hunting for herbs Ultyr slunk away to investigate the stream.

The Auster Spring was alive with activity. Beavers, that had previously burrowed until the hard freeze was over, were slipping in and out of the water and scurrying along the bank. He pressed his belly into the earth as he slowly crept forward along the soggy ground. The beaver scent was downwind from him. It would never see him coming as he simply looked like a mud puddle creeping closer and closer to the stream.

She had been keeping close tabs on Ultyr since he had arrived, watching him closely - perhaps a bit too closely. He hadn't offered any true ill-will yet, but Atreyu couldn't fully trust him just yet; if ever. While he may not be his father, Atreyu knew he was just as responsible for her family's murder and her pack's downfall. Today saw her following him through the woods, not truly bothering to hide her presence behind him. The purpose of her pursuit today was actually to talk to Ultyr and to find out what his intentions truly were, what his connection to her brother and Lailah was, and if she could fit him into a place within the band. She stayed back in the trees as soon as Ultyr slunk to his belly and slithered like a snake through the grass.

Atreyu wouldn't blow his hunt, she would wait. The band needed food and he was one of the wolves who was better at getting it. Like it or not, the mud colored man made himself valuable to her and the band as a whole. Perhaps she was being to harsh on him, Gany and Lailah seemed to think he was worth more than just a throw rug. She waited for him to commit to his hunt and maybe catch something before she decided to move forward and greet him, not wanting to blow his chances at a meal for Lailah. That had to be the reason he was hunting beavers, surely he kept himself fed on bigger meals than that.

OOC: Sorry, crap post, I feel out of practice XDD
"Talk." || Think || 'Hear.'

code by bird, art by alo

He had cursed silently to himself when he figured out he was being followed. So much for slipping away, though he had to admit he was a hard sell and he didn't blame them for their caution.

His mudpuddle pelt slithered along the ground and waited for the next unsuspecting beaver to pull itself up onto the bank. He wriggled silently in between the fresh growing reeds, hoping to cull the beaver silently and not alert any of the other beavers to its missing member.

He drew in a slow steady breath, his muscles braced for a quick kill. The ripple along the surface of the water was his signal that his patience would be rewarded. He watched as the beaver scrambled onto the bank and began cleaning its whiskers. Just as it lifted its head as if to scent him he struck with lightning speed. His jaws cinched around its throat before it could let out an alarming call.

He pulled back from the reeds with the kill limp in his jaws while he slunk back to the high ground.

He froze as he saw the bright rose pelt of the Crown Judilan Prnicess, watching him with her holographic eyes. He narrowed his eyes with a predatory pleasure, she had witnessed his prowess in action.

He found a dry spot to lay his kill and waited for the woman to approach him. Perhaps while they sized each other up he could skin and harvest the resources from the beaver.

Keen eyes never left the form of Ultyr, watching as he struck and snagged a beaver as soon as it's head breached the water. Not liking it one bit, Atreyu did have to give him props on his hunting ability. He caught sight of her, freezing in place before a pleasured expression crossed his face that could only be described as predatory. Her own expression remained...tense. "You're good at that, surprise attacks." She remarked, a back-handed compliment if there ever was one. His father had been the one to lead the ambush attack on Judila, and he had been part of it. Gany and Lailah believed he was different, she had to keep reminding herself that she had taken him in with them. He was under her protection now, and what kind of example would she set if she attacked him - physically or verbally.

"That was rude, excuse me." Licking her lips to get the bitter taste of that apology out of her mouth, Atreyu sat before Ultyr and the beaver. She curled her spotted tail around her, the natural regality of her on full display as she tried to reign in her hatred for the very sight of him and what he reminded her of. Looking down between them and then back to Ultyr, those holographic eyes burning with conflicting emotions, Atreyu spoke carefully, her tone measured as she tried to hold back her ill feelings for him. "I could skin it, if you wish." She offered help, reaching into her satchel for her hawksbill blade and revealing to Ultyr that she never went anywhere unarmed. Atreyu was not the helpless princess he might have remembered.

"Talk." || Think || 'Hear.'

code by bird, art by alo

Her remark did nothing to dissuade or offend him, only lit an amused gleam in his ember eyes. Yes, he was good at surprise attacks, he took the praise as a compliment and laid the beaver down between them as she came closer.

A smirk would play on his lips as he heard her terse half apology. His gaze slowly raked over her regal elegant form. Nigh fully grown she was certainly a vision, an old promise his father had given him that night echoed through his mind like a shimmering leaf of silk on the wind.

He gave her no verbal accounting of it, yet, he simply bent down to his work. He eyed the hawksbill blade with further amusement as she offered to assist him and reveal her armed status. He would expect nothing less in this land of bands and packs. For a leader to traipse around unarmed was asking for trouble.

"No need." He rumbled and proceeded to take the beaver by its tail, hook a claw into its nether regions, and peel the fur, skin and all in one forceful motion. Separating the meat from the skin was easy enough with his practiced skills. Now he would section off the pieces and slice the beaver down its belly to split the fur open and put its right side out again.

"How did you escape that night?" He asked casually, licking one of his claws and giving her a cool side-eye.

Atreyu watched closely as Ultyr skinned the beaver, taking her own lessons in as he did so. Her eyes never wavering off of his deft paws as he cleaned and dressed the rodent. His denial of her help was not taken to heart, as she trusted he actually had skills once she saw him working. If he could be trusted, there would be a huge benefit for the band and valuable member to help keep up resources. They did need to build up their stores, and fast with the little ones growing up. They would need meat soon enough as well, and Atreyu wanted to ensure the band was well cared for. Ultyr was included in that now, and she was trying to get out of hating him, but his next words turned her blood cold and hot at the same time. He wanted to know how she escaped with her life.

Atreyu simply stared at him, those holographic eyes seeming far away and locked on simultaneously as she looked him over. She would seem frozen in place as memory after memory came tumbling into her mind. So many screams filled her head, the smell of burning flesh and fur still fresh in her nose as she thought back to her first birthday. With her heart pounding in her chest she watched again as her mother and father fall to the wicked demons that had raided and pillaged her home. She wouldn't blink for a long while, remembering being chased through the forest and through the river of Judila - adrenaline pumping in her veins as her breath quickened and her heart raced. She swallowed hard, blinking slowly - finally - trying to snap herself out of the flashback. No, she didn't care to relive those memories. Shaking her head she gave a small growl.

"Barely." Atreyu answered him vaguely at first, "Two of your wolves chased me until I couldn't run anymore and was forced to face them...I am not quite sure how I defeated them, but I managed to get away and came here." She had run, in her mind she felt like a coward, but she was the Crowned Princess of Judila and had to remain alive to keep her family's vast history alive. "Did you get your scars in the fight for Judila?" It was her turn to ask hard questions, paying him back for the awakened horrors of their shared past. She did hope that one of her family gave him those shiny scars on his face. Atreyu hoped they made their mark in some way.

"Talk." || Think || 'Hear.'

code by bird, art by alo

The tit-for-tat landed deep enough for him to notice her sudden stillness. Ah damn... Gany would probably smack him for that one, he wasn't doing himself any favors as he let his eyes rove over the princess's delightful fur again. Her eyes were distant and caught in the space between waking memories and nightmares.

He could almost hear the hammering against her chest as her memories bombarded her mind's eye. His gruesome work with the beaver began to still as he caught the blinking of her eyes. He leaned back and watched with a detached mask as she growled but answered him. He nodded, it seemed to fit more or less of what he had previously gathered from his soldiers that night. She had knocked them both out and slipped away, they hardly knew what had happened.

He wanted to know if she had gone down a secret route or something. But alas, it was simply idiots who let a child barely out of puppyhood get the better of them. He went back into his task and flayed the beaver under its chin. Loosening the skin and began peeling it away from the skull.

He smirked as she lobbed a hard question back at him but he continued to wrench the skin away from the skull until it was free, seemingly undisturbed by the digging query.

When the skin was free he scooped out an eyeball and held it aloft before him. Peering inquisitively into the gruesome fading depths of the foggy
pupil.

"Touche." He remarked with a glance her way, placing the eyeball with the other meats.

"No. I received this from my father on the eve he -" His voice suddenly cracked and stopped as the memory suddenly came flooding HIS senses. He had ignored it. He had discarded it. He had pretended for this long that it hadn't happened. But it did. He could no longer deny it, and the news would devastate the princess before him and the rest of her family. Not even Lailah knew, not even Gany knew how he had come across this scar exactly, not yet.

The untouchable god prince suddenly dropped the amused, self-important, and self-righteous facade. Ultyr grew somber, a glassy look even cast over his gaze as he was finally faced with the truth. His shoulders dropped and his paws became heavy.

His lover was not here, his lover was not with them. Because his father had not resold the last Judilan Prince into slavery. The Demon King Aryn had killed him before Ultyr's very eyes.

She had a right to know. As one heir to another, equal in every way of the old lands, she had a right to know.

"We were to be betrothed you know. You and I." He said instead with a glistening half-assed predatory smile. Fuck. That wasn't what he wanted to tell her just then. And just like that the masks were clumsily back in place. The mist in his eyes remained still as he grabbed the beaver and freed the last of its skin from its carcass.

At first, Atreyu thought maybe he was ignoring her question. The way he continued to work almost annoying her before he popped the eye out of the beaver and put it with the growing pile of usable meats. Perhaps one day she should try to trust him enough to send him hunting with Fairytale, no doubt the two of them could bring home something nice to eat. 'Touché.' He rumbled, returning Atreyu's attention from the now skinned beaver, they looked so strange without fur. Ultyr then revealed that he had gotten his scars from his very own father, a fact that absolutely horrified Atreyu. A parent attacking their child was unheard of in Judila, though she supposed some places were much harsher than her old home had been. Ultyr's voice cracked, halting in the middle of his sentence, and he got a distant look in his eyes that said he was chasing his own ghosts.

She nearly felt bad for dredging up what had to be a horrible memory, but there was a small part of her that took a morsel of pride that she had slipped through his armor. The spotted woman watched as Ultyr all but crumbled before her, guilt outweighing the pride as her holographic eyes roamed over his now slouching form. He seemed almost disheartened, and Atreyu was about to take pity on him and show him a bit of kindness before his vocals rumbled out of his throat once more. 'We were to be betrothed, you know. You and I.' For a moment, Atreyu didn't speak, just gawked at Ultyr as if he had grown a second head. No, her parents would never, would they? She had been betrothed to Azriel, and she doubted her mother would have changed her mind on that willingly.

"My mother would have never agreed to that." She said flatly, wondering if he was even telling the truth. Maybe he just wanted to hurt her for making him relive his bad memories. If that was the case, she could very well make things up that would equally horrify him. She was repulsed, but she did want to know how he thought they were going to be betrothed. "Who made the plan to betroth us? Your father?" She asked him, skepticism and maybe a bit of venom coloring her voice. Curiosity was getting the better of her, but she didn't want it to, completely repulsed by the idea of being tied to Ultyr. Hoping it was a lie, Atreyu reclined as she watched him continue his work.

"Talk." || Think || 'Hear.'

code by bird, art by alo

No, he could not reveal himself so quickly. He was the God Prince Ultyr, he showed no weakness in the face of... His father would have said prey... He didn't need his father's thoughts anymore, he could make his own.

He ran his tongue over his teeth as she flatly replied, his lips parting into a wicked grin. He leaned a little closer to her, delight swept away the earlier grief in his eyes as he leaned closer.

"Why would a conqueror need the mother's approval?" He practically purred, "What better way to rule a people than to take their crown princess as a bride? We would have united our families and ruled the empire together." He mused lightly, his voice low and enticing.

"We still could." He said as he attempted to reach out and brush a claw under her delicate chin. "If you were mine I could show you a passion and pleasure you've never known, no harm would ever mark your beautiful figure and elegant face." He promised.

Atreyu could feel her nose curl the more he spoke, not enough to fully show her teeth, but enough to show her disgust with his words and tone. Conqueror, was that how he viewed himself? Was that what he was here to do? She felt her mistrust of him grow as if it were a living thing, stirring up old anger and grief that she had thought gone. What was left of Judila had escaped the hellish creatures that had taken dominion in their old home, they had gotten away. Yes, they bore the scars of their survival in some way or another, be it physical or otherwise. Ultyr's words echoed in her mind as if he were a distance away, but she recognized what he was saying all the same. Was he hitting on her!? Atreyu watched in utter revulsion as Ultyr reached across the short distance between them to try and stroke her chin, unable to stop the instant reaction to his attempt. Before she could stop herself, Atreyu snapped her teeth at his paw to try and prevent him touching her, growling low in her chest before she regained her senses - her pupils dilating dangerously.

As she withdrew, Atreyu took a step back and cleared her throat, returning her haunches to the ground and pretending her moment of savagery hadn't just happened. "I would never. Besides, if your face is anything to go by, I believe I am doing better on my own." There was a ghost of a smirk on her regal features, her spotted tail flicking to wrap around her paws. The very nerve of Ultyr seemed to know no bounds, but Atreyu was not afraid to keep that ego in check around her. He was lucky Azriel had not been around to hear him, luckier still that Atreyu didn't want to hurt Lailah, Ganymede or the pups by tearing him to shreds for the daring he showed. Did she feel disrespected? Perhaps, but if it came down to it, Atreyu would not shy away from showing him just how much she had learned since the last time they saw each other.

OOC: Sorry for the shortness, I'm a bit rusty after a couple days XDD
"Talk." || Think || 'Hear.'

code by bird, art by alo