~*~ Gargoyle was perched upon the cold bare stone of the mountain slopes. With his high shoulders arched over his brooding head he looked lie a bird of prey surveying the snowy fields below. Those yellow eyes could've been a hawks for as much emotion as they showed. Yet it wasn't that the northern drake didn't feel as much as others. Far from it. He'd felt with an intensity that rivaled the flames of hell - in more ways than one. But that was just it. When it came to feelings, those that seemed to always have the most sway over him were the darker passions. Voilence. Bloodlust. All else paled in comparison to such things. Except where his family was concerned. No matter how far he'd fallen, on some level, their memory, burning in his chest, had always managed to reach him. In the end it had torn him away from those dark days, and put him once more on the path he was meant to travel. But his face staid stoney, now. He was loathe to twist it into any sort of shape be it snarl or smile, because it reminded him of the hellish grins he'd bared while ripping out throats. A shudder ran across the male's shoulders. Odd. For, though it was cold as a Polar Bear's butt, he'd never noticed it before. The shudder wasn't at the wind outside, but the storm within. And yet.... yet there was one who'd somehow found a way to quell those currents. Ocena. It was possible for Gargoyle to get the sight of those blue and red eyes out of his head. How they calmed him - and yet excited him - all at once! He'd never been in love before. In the realm of such feelings he was still only a boy. While his siblings Arcane and Collision had already found mates and had pups, he....well he had Frisk? That was about it. And the mink had been making himself rather scarce since he discovered the lady mink population inside Glaciem's borders. Come the season of thawing there were no doubt going to be hundreds of the little baby vermin running about. And what of Gargoyle? Was he to have no pups? For so long he hadn't dared hope for such a thing. He was tarnished. Tainted. Dangerous. He didn't deserve to have a family. It wasn't right for him to put them in the shadow of such a danger as himself. But then he'd reunited with Crusdae. He'd found his family. He'd... he'd told Ocena. Not everything - but certainly enough to have warned her off... And then on top of that she'd seen it! A glismpe of his former self when he'd gone hunting in the Souless Forest. ...and yet she staid. She believed in him. She loved him. "And I love her..." Garogyle drew himself up to his full height. Ocena had been able to calm him. The sight of her in the woods that day... it had shaken him to the core. Shamed him. Hurt him and yet given him hope. Because no matter how many times he might falter, he was still able to pull himself back up onto the right path. In no small part - thanks to Ocena. He had to tell her. He had to! Gargoyle leapt from his seat of stone and went careening off through the trees. He knew her scent as well as he knew his own and the minutes of his all out sprint flew by as if nothing. He tracked the little Glaciem huntress towards one of the expanses of timberwoods. Ducking his head under snow sugared boughs, he came at a high lope into a stream severed clearing. She was close. He knew it. "Ocena!" the male called out in, his eyes peircings the woods. "Ocena! I must speak with you..." ~*~ ~Don't want to let you down, but I am H.e.l.l.b.o.u.n.d.~

The woods of this land were thick, an easy place for Ocena to catch a cat nap in. Well, perhaps more like a wolf nap, but the thought was the same. The female had ended up out here during the earlier part of the day, planning on just taking a quick nap before heading off to go hunting. Or perhaps, perhaps, to seek out Gargole. The male was never far from her thoughts, in all honesty. He was always there; his musky scent was always evident in the territory if you sniffed enough. It belonged to him, after all. She wasn't sure how to describe this feeling. The way he made her feel. The way her heart leaped in her chest when she smelled his scent and heard his rumbling voice. He had chased away her fears with barely a word. And she would always support him, whatever he chose. Was that love? It certainly felt like it. It was hard to explain though. It was hard to put words to this amazing feeling. Ocena just hoped that it never left. That he never left. The voice that had haunted her thoughts startled her out of a light doze. Ocena! Ocena! I must speak with you... Her head lifted slowly, and mismatched eyes slowly blinked open. Black ears twitched in the direction of the call as Ocena struggled to process what was going on. Gargoyle. Was calling for her. As soon as she figured this out, the female stretched slowly, rising slowly to dainty paws as she began to pad in the direction of the call. After a few steps, she found herself bounding forward, excitement rushing at the thought of seeing Gargoyle. It didn't take her long to pad into the clearing, smiling up at the significantly larger male. "Yes, Gargoyle?" Her tail wagged a little as she padded closer, waiting until the distance separating them seemed negligible before she stopped, tilting her head up to look the much larger male in the eyes. "What is it?" What had drawn him out here in such a rush, in such a panic? She was curious and distinctly eager to know what had happened. Speech,

~*~ She came so quickly to his call. And so calmly. Did she know how happy it made Gargoyle to watch those little white paws of her's picked their way through the snow? Did she know how his heartbeat swelled she she tilted her head up at him like that? Did she know how absolutely beautiful she was in his eyes? How worthy of praise and protection? "Ocena..." he began - and then stopped, for he was surprised at his own voice. He'd meant it to come out in a steady, strong rumble, but instead it was...softer. It held emotion in the notes it struck. It was how wolves normally talked, but it was strange for this northern beast. Gathering his thoughts as best he could in light of this new found freedom, Gargoyle spoke, and as he did so he gazed into those captivating eyes. With her craning upwards and he looking down, their noses almost touched. "I told you Ocena, that I have feelings for you...but at that time I told you I did not trust myself enough - I couldn't act on those feelings." The male drew in a breath. "But the simple truth is that now I believe I can. I'm always going to have my faults and my past, but you - and Glaciem as a whole-" he added lifting his eyes to the ring of pine spires that hid them from the outside world. "-made me believe that I can have a future. More than that - that I can guard and guide the futures of others." The heart within the beast stirred and beat all the stronger. The drake leaned forward and touched the rubber tip of the damsel's nose with his own. Such a tiny gesture. Yet his whole face became aflame and atingle with sensation from the little wolf's kiss he'd given. It was the first time he'd been so bold as to make such a gesture, and however small it might seem to those who were long used to the passion between mates - for this new lover it was huge. Enough to have made his head spin, yet somehow he kept it. His words continued, rumbling out so grave and so heartfelt. "And now... now those futures are looking up. I've reconnected with my brother - Crusade is gaining the goodwill of other packs - our packland is slowly swelling with members. For once life is as it truly should be." With the feeling of his words the male had lifted his head. His chin high, his stance spread, he truly looked the part of the king that he was by birth and by ability. In his life, goodtimes, had been the exception rather than the rule, and he knew better than to waste such precious periods as this with a lazy eye and assumptions of forever."Only one thing remains to make this world perfect..." It wasn't in Gargoyles to be lazy. He was a dark, quiet figure but he was a wolf of action. He'd made up his mind, and now, though love's shy shivers made his belly do a flip-flop, he struck on couragously. "Be mine Ocena. The love between a male and fae is something utterly foreign to me and yet I know it is that love which I feel for you. Will you be the Queen to my kingdom and the mate to my soul?" And as those words left his muzzle the world seemed to hush. The blanket of snow which still smothered the ground, snuffed out all sound but the subtle suggestions of the wind... and the roar of Gargoyle's blood in his ears as he trained them on the little huntress who now held his heart in her paws. ~*~ ~Don't want to let you down, but I am H.e.l.l.b.o.u.n.d.~

The way that his voice seemed to soften when he spoke her name had a shiver tracing its way up her spine. The normally cold voice almost seemed to curl around her name. And okay, she was probably reading way too much into this but it was nice. Nice to hear an emotion that she knew he felt filling this normally emotionless voice. And to some it might not have seemed to be a big deal, but Ocena had known Gargoyle for a while now and he had never seemed so . . . emotional. It certainly made her more curious than ever about what was going on. They were close, close enough that her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, echoing loudly enough that she was sure Gargoyle heard it. The strength filling his voice made her fill with pride until she was ready to burst with it. Listening to him speak about something with confidence that he had doubted not so long ago made her want to jump around in pure joy. She had always believed in him. Things might have seemed dark to him, but she had always been able to see the strength. And now it seemed that he could as well. She was opening her maw, half ready to reply when his nose touched hers. Her thoughts skidded to a half at the sudden display of affection and the female stood there, dumb and frozen for a moment as her heart raced in her chest. She was frozen, her head spinning and it was a struggle"Gargoyle." She tested the name out, trying it in her maw, "Was there every any question of my answer?" There was amusement in those mismatched eyes, but more than that there was joy racing in her mind. She knew what she was going to say. She had known what she was going to say since the day they confessed their feelings for each other. There was no point in waiting any longer. Almost as soon as those previous words spilled from her mouth, Ocena was stretching up to lick the larger male's cheek, tail wagging joyously in the air. "Of course, Gargie, of course. I love you." It was thrilling to say those words out loud, to hear them tumble out and fill the frosty air. "It sounds so . . . official." There was a pause, and then Ocena said the most daring thing of her life. "But we could make it more official, you know. With pups." Her heart was thudding as she spoke, racing in her chest as she gazed up at Gargoyle. Pups. They would be a sign of Glaciem's prosperity and health. And more than that, they would show the world that he was hers and she was his. And yet, he might not want a family. He might not be interested at all. And Ocena would accept that, if that was how she felt. All there was left to do know was to wait, her heart racing, questions dancing in her head. Speech,

~*~ Ocena's words brought a glorious shattering to the silence. She would! She would have him! Gargoyle had a mate! Better than that - he had Ocena for a mate! He hadn't thought a greater swell to his emotions possible, yet the wave of them crashed over them with the utterance of Ocena's first words. He barely heard the next. The male rocked on his hind legs and swung suddenly forward. For a moment his jaws latched harmlessly about the girl's scruff and in that moment he swept her off her feet. The male was massive compared to Ocena and his brute strength was more than what was needed to give his love a tackle. He rushed forward, falling as he did so and the movement drew Ocena back off her paws - and into his soft belly fur as he landed with a thump on his back. They made a crater in the snowbank and Gargoyle wrapped his forelegs around the fae, keeping her close and away from any prying eyes in the world above. And in the privacy of those close snowy walls he gave her a second kiss. His cheek still burned where she'd touched him but now he ran his tongue caressingly over her skull - licking delicately over her right eye. Ocena. His Ocena. And then, as if only just hearing the word for the first time, the male started. "Pups?" Yes. He was certain he'd heard her! Gargoyle was also certain he could feel Ocena's heart skipping just above his own. Their closeness was a thing unheard of to the male... and so perfect. Pups? Yes, he wanted pups. But the bliss at the thought of Ocena baring his children was too much to allow him room to speak. At least at first. Gargoyle's chest seemed about to explode. But now there was no shyness. They were eachother's now and no viel need curtain one off from the other. From now on their hearts, their souls, their minds were two in one. It was such a bizarre feeling, and yet so natural at the same time. Why had Gargoyle not admitted all this before. And in the sentiment, there was an element of the physical too. The callings of spirit and body blended now as they were meant to. They were so close now... Gargoyle had known her to be in her fertile season for some time, but he was no beast unable to control himself in the presence of females. Many of the other faes in Glaciem were in heat too, but that fact only turned his thoughts towards better security against other, untrustworthy males. Ocena though... that was different. Gargoyle stared up at her, his usually cold eyes seeming to glow. "You mean that, my heart?" He rolled over slightly, leaning a bit more on his side, but still keeping Ocena close, his legs entwined about her piebald form. The difference in their size was rather glaring, but Gargoyle, though a bull of a wolf - as demonstrated by his earlier tackle - he knew exactly what he was doing and he'd bite off his own paw before he'd be anything other gentle with his angel. He buried his nose in her cheek fur, chuckling softly. "A family of our very own. I'd like that." ~*~ ~Don't want to let you down, but I am H.e.l.l.b.o.u.n.d.~

Her reaction to Gargoyle's sudden movements was a slow blink of mis-matched eyes before Gargoyle had her swept forward, tumbling to land with a soft thump upon the sold bulk of the male that she had come to love. She was hidden from the world, perfectly shielded by massive limbs, and the sudden rush of blood to the spots that his tongue touched had her wriggling slightly, tail wagging as pure joy rushed through her body. Maybe this wasn't paradise, but it sure was close. "Yes, pups." Ocena flicked her tail, leaning down to nuzzle lightly at the significantly larger male beneath her. It was her fertile season, something that was a simple fact of life for the female. It meant that she was more lusty, more irritable, but that was not something that she simply bowed to. She had done her best to stay in control and it wasn't like she was some simple animal, reduced to mounting every male in the area. She had not always been sure that she wanted pups, even during times like this. But the thought of bringing a family into a world with this male was enough to make her certain that she wanted pups. A smile stretched across her features as she nudged the male lightly, "I mean it. I want your pups, Gargoyle." She wanted children that looked like them running around, causing trouble in Glaciem and exploring the world beyond, finding their own path in this world. Some might be warriors, some healers. And perhaps one would grow to claim the mantle of Chief in time. But that excited her less than the thought of creatures who were half-Gargoyle walking the earth. Snuggling closer to the bulky male, Ocena's tongue rubbed against his face, flicking along his cheek. "They'll be perfect." Mostly because they were half Gargoyle. She was far from perfect. But Gargoyle, well, he was perfect to her, and that was what mattered. She had felt something for the male from the moment that she met the hulking, mysterious behemoth with a haunted past that he had only recently let her have a glimpse of. And now, everything was going to come together. This, right here, was paradise. (FADE TO BLACK o3o unless clash wants to get another post in xD) Speech,