Basileus rolled to his paws with a groan and shook out his coat. He'd spent the last several weeks at the lake and at some point he'd migrated from a bush to a den and that den had some point had shifted from temporary shelter to base of operations. It was a decent place. If he paused to think about it, it was the closest to being home that he'd been in a long time. The weather was very similar to what he was used to and a den by the water was what he would have gone back to had he finished his job. Had there been anything to go back to, that is. Taking several steps away from the entrance of his den brought Basileus to the side of a young, dead fawn. Pure luck had enabled him to get such a meal. At some point its mother had left it in the weeds and wandered off in the hopes of luring a predator away. While she was off doing that, Basileus had stumbled upon the baby. By coincidence he'd suddenly found himself nose to nose with the fawn and, not one to pass up such an opportunity, had quickly run off with it. The man of honor settled down beside the carcass to stare across the water. On the far side of the lake the sun was rising. It painted the waters in shades of orange and purple. Homesickness struck him suddenly and Basileus found himself awash with longing. Just as suddenly the feeling of loss hit him. There was nothing to go back to. That knowledge worked at his gut like teeth. Basileus shook his head dismissively. He wasn't a child, he didn't get to sulk. Someday he would seek revenge for the lives his brotherhood had lost. That knowledge gave him some amount of solace. With a dismissive sigh the brute got to his paws and padded to the water's edge for a drink.

This was the closest Luck had gotten to the den she and Bacc had shared, somehow she had managed the courage to get this close at least. But that was as far as it would let her go, now she found herself quite far from Celestial and the last of her boldness flagging... and an empty stomach to boot. So it was that she plodded along side the lake, she had considered briefly walking in it's waters, that might at least help sooth her heat but in the end she'd just end up with mud on her paws and probably a long, cold, wet journey back to the pack lands.

And lo! Here came something that was unlikely to do anything but worsen her mood. Luck had found herself rather suddenly near another wolf. A russet male whom she didn't know. (Though despite herself images of Regulus flashed through her mind and she felt her stomach twist in a strangely pleasant way.) Luck suddenly pulled up, a whimper slipping from her lips despite her best efforts to not make a sound. She found herself scrambling back and slight to the side, stopping just a few inches from the lake's waters.


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It was possible that the woman would have gone unnoticed if not for the whimper that had escaped her lips upon laying eyes on him. As it were, the sound reached Basileus' ears and immediately drew him out of his reverie. The mafioso's gaze snapped to the side and he found her immediately. His nose twitched as he tried to find her scent, but the breeze was in her favor, not his. She was a tiny thing and there was something familiar about her he couldn't immediately place. He was certain he'd seen her before. Her reaction, unmistakable fearful, had him wondering for a moment if perhaps she was from his lands and at some point had been on the receiving end of his abilities. But no, it clicked suddenly. She had been at Bacchus' side during the challenge. His ears flicked. Hadn't she? That didn't explain her fearfulness, although if he remembered correctly she had looked rather meek then too. If he was right and this was the right woman, perhaps Bacchus was nearby. The man had disappeared after the challenge and Basileus was rather curious about whether or not he was willing to overcome whatever suffering his ego had incurred that day and try again. "You were with Bacchus the day he challenged for a pack, yes?" "Talk" "You" Think

As his gaze snapped to her Luck had to stifle another whimper, instinct driving her back a few more steps so that her back paws were now firmly in the water. Damn. She hated this, hated it so much. Her fear felt so stifling, she had no control over it though and as she had learned it might not totally be unwarranted... she knew well enough from her family, now, that it wasn't totally unthinkable that an unknown male might take advantage of a woman in heat... certainly those thoughts flashed through her mind.

Still as the man spoke Luck felt some of the fear slip away and despite herself she took a single tentative step towards him. “I- Uh... yes.” Her voice wavered, the surprise of hearing Bacchus' name uttered by the stranger plain upon her face. She tried in vain to try place the russet male but just couldn't, she had been too focused on the fighting to care much about anyone else who had shown up... except for... well... Shaking her head Luck drove images of the purple demon from her mind.

“You don't happen to know where he is do you? I mean- Have you seen him at all recently?” It was a long shot but Luck couldn't keep the hope and desperation from her voice as she peered at the male, bright blues seeking to meet his gaze for the first time.  



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The woman's fearful demeanor had set off alarm bells the moment he became aware of it, but at first glance he'd chalked it up to the fragile temperament of women. His reasoning had been that his presence had caught her by surprise and some small touch of a plant or something around her had given her a fright, but the way she shrank away from his gaze greatly undermined that theory. There was a real reason for her fear. He felt sure of it. She looked hunted. Casually Basileus cast a careful glance around their surroundings. If someone was pursuing her, he had no intention of being caught off guard. From their behavior the day of the fight the mafioso was certain this woman meant something to his friend and for that reason he was ready and willing to rise to her defense if necessary. A moment after she voiced her question Basil's gaze flicked back to the woman. He shook his head slowly, his expression regretful. "I have not." He had been going to ask her the same question. His gaze flicked around again. Her behavior was setting his nerves on edge. He had too little information to go off of and with nothing substantial to work with he couldn't tell if he was the cause of the woman's unease or if she really was being chased. "I must ask. Are you alright? Any friend of Bacchus' is a friend of mine. If something is wrong," he studied her face carefully for signs of distress, "I can help." "Talk" "You" Think

Luck was much, much, too focused on her own feelings of anxiety to notice the way it was affecting the russet man; and she visibly shrunk some as the man denied having seen her shining knight, drawing in upon herself, taking the previous step back. More than anything Luck wanted to retreat, her brief hope dashed and her mood once more fouling. A part of her wanted to cry, another part of her really just wanted run into a rock for allowing herself to feel hopeful. She was angry and she was spiralling into depression.

Still the man spoke, bringing her attention back from her self pity. Her previous feelings were quickly washed away in a tide of embarrassment, the blood rushing to colour her face; a light pink visible beneath her fur.

“I uh-” She stumbled over her tongue. “No I just- I've never been good around strangers.” She dropped her gaze, focusing on her paws as she shifted nervously. “They make me nervous and you kinda snuck up on me- I mean I wasn't paying attention- and I was surprised- and it threw me off especially because I'm on edge right now- I mean it's my season and-”

Shit! If he hadn't noticed yet, Luck had pretty much just laid it out bare for him. The man claimed to be a friend of Bacchus but that didn't exactly set her fears to rest; as much as she may have tried to deny it she knew her shining knight wasn't exactly the a model gentleman and it made sense, at least in her head, that his friends might not be either.


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