So this must be the orchard that Faite had talked about! Zuriel padded slowly through the trees with her head tipped up to look at the sprawling branches. Of course there wasn't a whole lot to see in the dead of winter, but she could imagine that it was quite the sight when the leaves were covering these branches. She caught an odd scent on the air and she looked down, seeing a apple that hadn't quite finished rotting. Ah, right, fruit from the trees. Most of the fallen fruit was gone by now and what was left was inedible. She was definitely going to have to come back here in the spring or perhaps in the summer. The sun was beginning to set as she padded through the natural corridor these trees formed. The trees blocked a lot of what little sunlight was left, casting fairly deep shadows around her. She started looking around for somewhere to stop for the night. Dens were few and far between, but a pile of leaves in the nook of some roots would do. She knew with the chill in the air she was either going to have to move further south soon or find a den and stay there till spring, but she was still too interested in traveling to do either of those just yet. Her wandering heart had been a late bloomer, but now that she had discovered it she didn't want to let it go. "Talk" "You" Think

He was just so.. pumped. After his fight with Mercy, he just could not get his heart to slow down or his adrenaline to stop soaring. He found himself running through the knolls, disturbing the order of the herds and scaring them half to death- at least, until the bulls got tired of him and started charging. He called it quits then, and continued exploring the South and flirting with the idea of returning to Auster.

Winter was beginning to become a threat, coating the grounds with fine layers of snow at night only so the sun could warm the ground up enough just to melt the snow and saturate the earth. He knew he couldn't run around careless in Boreas forever, but the girls in Boreas had certainly caught his attention and he was hesitant to leave just yet.

After all, he'd decided awhile ago that he was on a hunt, and he needed to find what he was hunting before the beast took control and finished the job for him. He spent his days sleeping and his nights searching, finding it easier to hide his mass under the cloak of night due to his darker blend of gray. With the coming of dusk, the fiend was freshly awake and on the prowl; his poise bent at the knees, his thick neck stretched out to let his square muzzle graze the ground as he moved. He did his best to avoid territory markers or any scents that resembled a masculine wolf, only getting distracted when the promise of a hardly rotted meal was in the air. He wasn't hunting prey, so scavenging would suffice until he'd found what he wanted.

He was moving with such energy, covering land as fast as he could before the winter made it impossible to pick up any scents beneath the ice. It seemed he struck a bit of luck finally when he came across the trail of Zuriel. The beast froze, his red eyes wide as his nostrils flared in their examination; he couldn't believe he'd finally found one, but he needed to change up his act if he had any shot at this. He took a moment to calm himself down, to stand himself up and look a little stronger, a little more.. put together- a little more sane.

He had such a strong hold on himself when he arrived to Boreas, what changed? Surely, it.. it must have been being without the pack. Without his family, only Eliana.. for awhile he thought it was all he needed, but she couldn't offer him what he was looking for. Eliana knew him, she cared for him and she would always be there. That was all he could ask for when it came to his need to be loved, really-- but, she was his sister. There were some things that Elias' dark little heart desired that she just couldn't give.

Elias had wanted to be good, he promised his sister that he would try. So he fixed his face, he dulled his thoughts and kept his senses attentive on the trail ahead of him as he waltzed in her echo. His muscles relaxed beneath the smoothness of his short fur, his ears fell forward effortlessly and his tail remained respectably placed just below his spine. He was almost ready when the scent of something strange appeared on the trail, stopping just for a moment to inspect the fallen apple. He wasn't far from her now.

When he finally set his eyes on her, he was pleased to find her dressed in color tones that resembled washed out black jeans, just like himself. He couldn't get a good look at her face, but the glint of color from her eyes that he did see hinted to him that they might have been blue. And that.. necklace, it was one similar to Faite's. He thought for a moment, standing silently beneath a pear tree. It's sweet scent intermixed with the delicate smell of a female, creating something that just.. absolutely drove his senses wild. Finally, he stepped forward. "Good evening," his voice was as gentle as he could accomplish, baritones hushed and meant only for the two of them.

The late evening was so quiet and peaceful. Zuriel's mind wandered as she padded through the trees, slipping past fruit tree after fruit tree. Her thoughts went back to her home with her family, the pack, her siblings. Of course she missed them. In all honesty, if Faite hadn't encouraged her to go and see the world she probably would have changed her mind and stayed. It had taken all of her will power just to leave the west. She still hadn't made it all that far, but the more distance she put between herself and Celestial the more sure she was that she could actually do this. An unknown voice broke through her haze of thoughts and her head whipped toward the sound as she stopped in her tracks. Her necklace swung gently against her chest in the momentum while her two-toned gaze looked for the male the voice had come from. It took her a moment to spot him in the shadows, but his red gaze gave him away. His dark gray coat hid him well in his lighting. "Oh, good evening," she replied, offering him a small smile while she tried to calm her heart. He had certainly startled her a bit. She chuckled softly and turned to face him, adding, "Sorry, I must have really been lost in my thoughts. I didn't notice you there." He was heavily scarred and of course her healer-minded self immediately started tracing the marks with her eyes curiously. A list of possible herbs she could have used to help bind wounds that deep ran through her head. She had a habit of doing that when she saw someone with an injury or a scar. "I'm Zuriel, by the way," she said when she realized she was getting distracted again. What had gotten into her tonight? She was usually much more on top of things than this. "Talk" "You" Think

He held his breath when she whipped around to look at him, hiding his nervousness under a blank mask of neutrality. His crimson eyes finally got a good view of her own, the two different shades of blue in her eyes captivating him nearly instantly. He barely heard her words, his attention on her dual-toned stare as it fluttered over his scars. Blue had an interesting meaning to him, but he'd never in his life seen eyes quite like hers. He wanted to get a closer look at him, his muscles tensing with the desire to walk up to her but he kept control of himself for now.

He knew he was a monster, he looked absolutely menacing with all of his scars and his colossal height; his awareness of this was the real reason he was holding his breath, waiting for reaction. Finally, he released it in a gentle sigh as she announced her name. He perked his ears and stepped out of the shadows, the faint markings that made up his gray coat coming to life. He stopped about four feet from her, "That's alright, it's late." He let the corner of his lips turn slightly, creating a friendly smirk alongside half his maw- but, inwardly he was trying to read her for any negative thoughts. So far, so good, he told himself.

Okay, he... he had her attention, but... but what did he do with it now? "Zuriel? You have such a.. beautiful name. I've never heard it before- it sounds so.. elegant and pure." He dipped his muzzle slightly, "It suits you."

He wasn't sure if she was approachable and he didn't want to ruin his chances, but he lowered his massive skull as he took a daring step toward her again. His eyes watched hers, paying attention to just how long she was staring at his scars. He hoped he wasn't scaring her with them and some part of him almost wished he had something that would cover them up just for this moment. He tried to hold his neck low enough to hide the one that made up his chest, it was the deepest of his collection and the one he usually wore with the most pride.. but for now, he kept it guarded.

He had been so absorbed in this strange woman that he nearly forgot to introduce himself, so he stopped his approach now about two feet away from her- if she'd allow- and cleared his throat, "My name is Elias, I caught your trail and thought.." he trailed off, uncertain of how to describe his intentions, "...that it'd be nice to meet someone new."

When he stepped out into the faint light that was still around them she saw that there was quite an interesting pattern of grays all over his form. His scars stood out more in the light as well, but she noticed that as he moved closer he tried to block her view of them. She couldn't really figure out why though and she was a bit sad that she couldn't inspect them closer. She blinked with surprise at his unexpected complement toward her name and it made her pull her gaze up from his chest and shoulder to his face. She felt her face warm a bit at the unexpected attention. "Oh, um... thank you. That's nice of you to say." At first his size hadn't phased her since he was the same height as Regulus, but as his head lowered a bit and she was able to look him more directly in the eye and he took another step toward her a bit of unease began to creep into the pit of her stomach. There wasn't anyone else around. He did finally stop again a couple of feet away, but she couldn't help but feel a bit uncertain. He finally introduced himself, mentioning that he thought it would be nice to meet someone new. Something in the hesitation of his words made her question the truthfulness of them, but she was so determined to see the good in everyone that she tried to ignore it. "Well it's nice to meet you then, Elias," she said in return, trying to keep a small smile planed on her face. Everything in her wanted to take a step back from him, but at this point she didn't really want to upset him. "Do you mind if I ask how you got your scars?" she asked, trying desperately to get the main attention off of herself for a moment. "I'm a healer and I'm fascinated by scars and how they form." "Talk" "You" Think

He was thankful for the change of subject; it was clear he wasn't capable of bringing up anything other than the woman he now found himself fixated on, but he tried his best to follow her direction in the conversation. His ears flicked back and forth, confused on where to place themselves as he thought. Did she really want to know about his scars? His mind trailed back to Faite and the necklace that these two carried. He couldn't really remember Faite's scent, it had been so drowned out by others that she carried... but something told him these two were related. Faite had been interested in his scars, as well.

After some internal struggle, he settled on his haunches and anchored himself down so he would be less likely to creep up closer to her like he wanted to. Now that he was sitting, his chest and the vales that traveled up to his shoulder were fully visible. On the opposite shoulder, more toward the blade, was another set of vales.. though smaller, they were still visible with how short his coat was. The rest of his large scars were on his face, long scratches across his snout and a sizable chunk of flesh missing from the top of his broad skull. His legs were littered with little nicks and scratches, though nothing sizable and worthy of being noted. Many more lingered beneath his coat, mainly from when he fell unconscious down a mountain.

He honestly felt quite.. relieved that she was interested in them rather than scared of them, a genuine smile crept across his lips as he thought. "Oh? The.. one across my chest I managed to get from a bear. I was young, and it hit me pretty hard." He wrinkled his nose, "This one here was from a cougar that my sister and I killed. My job was to distract it, I think I did that pretty well." He gave a single chuckle before continuing, "Mmm, the one on my forehead is from my mother. I got on her nerves quite a bit, I'm lucky she didn't do more than that." He grinned, "Anndd, this one.." He twisted his body slightly, showing off enough of his shoulder for her to see the last, "...was a lesson from my brother that I really shouldn't fall behind on my training."

He smiled, remaining quiet for a moment before his eyes fell down to her necklace once again. "May I ask where you managed to find that?" He had a feeling he already knew, though he wanted to hear her response.

She would be lying if she said that she wasn't a bit relieved when he sat back on his haunches and a smile reached his face. She felt like she could breathe a bit easier then, slightly less worried about the situation she had found herself in. Perhaps that was a naive way to feel, but it was the truth none of the less. She followed suit and settled back on her haunches as well while he began to speak. This was one of the very few encounters she had with someone outside her family or her former pack. She had surprisingly few run-ins with other wolves out here. Each major scar seemed to have a different story to tell and her gaze traveled over his form as he mentioned each one. A bear, a cougar, his mother, his brother. His body had gone through a lot it seemed. She almost wanted to reach out and feel the scars that the bear had caused across his chest, but she refrained from it. She supposed if she wanted to keep a bit of distance between herself and this stranger she shouldn't go and start closing distance herself. They were incredibly interesting though. It made her wonder what sort of environment he had grown up in. She couldn't imagine her mother or brother ever leaving scars like that on her or one of her other siblings and she had never encountered something like a bear or a cougar. It made her feel very sheltered all of the sudden. At his question she had to follow his gaze down to her chest where the pale blue stone rested against her fur to figure out what he was asking about. "Oh," she said when she realized it, her head tipping up again to find his face once more with a smile. "Well, I actually just happened across it while I was at a festival held by another pack with my family. It was half-buried in the dirt and I spotted the chain first. My brother had a necklace very similar to this one first so when I found this one I decided to take it with me. I wanted to match him when I was younger." She glanced down at her necklace fondly. "It's sort of become a family tradition somehow. All three wolves from my litter and one of our younger siblings all have necklaces in different colors and such." "Talk" "You" Think

There was something about her that was just so delicate, something that reminded him of falling snow in early winter. It was so slow and innocent, moving across the wind with a majestic grace as it descended to the earth in air barely cool enough to keep it alive. It danced and enticed right before one's eyes, but as soon as it lands.. it dissolves and it's gone forever.

He lowered his head, his ears twitching as he struggled to pay attention. He knew where that necklace came from and her dulled words only confirmed his suspicion, but something else was on his mind and if she had looked close enough.. it might have been evident on his features. His muzzle dipped downward slightly as his gaze traveled lower, as if he were looking at the ground though there was an estranged focus to them that made it clear he was looking to something in his mind's eye rather than something on the ground.

For a moment, he imagined the beautifully pale face of Katar on the blurry gray woman to his left. He kept Zuriel in his peripheral though didn't stare, allowing her definitions to be dulled and his imagination to play. Katar was delicate as well, much more so than Zuriel. She was so small, so gentle and so incredibly opposite of him. She should have never fallen in love with a beast like Elias, no.. she was far to fragile from the start both in mind and body.

He.. he didn't mean to kill her. She... she'd just been so.. easy to break. And so stubborn.

If she had only remained in his company that night, they would likely have been happy for the rest of their lives. At least, that's what he told himself. If she'd only stayed and not risked putting herself in danger and leaving the territory while in her season.. she wouldn't have ended up with her skull crushed against a standing pillar in the heart of the jungle, with no one around to mourn her save for her assailant himself.

An assailant.. that's what he was, wasn't it?

He let out a sigh, realizing now that he'd likely been quiet enough to make the whole thing awkward between himself and Zuriel. He narrowed his eyes, further distorting her image in the corner of his vision as he tried to smear Katar's portrait away from Zuriel's visage. When he looked up to the woman, the ghost was gone and he took in a breath. He stared in to Zuriel's two-toned blue pools, switching his focus from one to the other as he admired their color. He lifted his head finally, "You have the most beautiful eyes, more stunning than any I've ever seen before. Blue is the color of the virtuous and the morally strong, and you were born with not one but two shades of it."

He looked to the shimmering stone at the end of the silver necklace that clung to her and stepped forward again, this time not minding their personal space. He would attempt to slowly step up close enough that his nose could brush against the stone, nudging it to his right just to feel how it felt against the flesh of his nose. "It doesn't surprise me that the necklace you found is blue as well and not green like your sister's, it's your color."

Zuriel's words trailed off when she noticed his head turning and gaze drifting off to the side. Her ears flicked uncertainly as the silence settled in on them and stretched on for what felt like ages. It may have just been a few moments in all honesty, but as the night continued to darken around them and the unsettling feeling worked on her stomach she got more and more uneasy in this silence. She considered trying to back away from him and slip away while he was apparently distracted, but his head turned back toward her before she had the chance. Her ears folded back against her head as his red gaze stared into her own two-toned blue. Once again though he caught her off guard with a compliment, making her blink with surprise. His compliments were so unexpectedly deep in nature that it made her pause. "Thank you..." she replied softly, unsure of how to respond. She had never experienced flattery like this before. She really hadn't even had so much as a crush before so even the smallest compliments were enough to keep her there instead of trying to slip away from him. She didn't consciously realize it, but as he stepped toward her and dipped his head toward her her breath got caught in her throat. She could hear her blood pounding in her ears as he brushed the stone of her necklace with her nose, causing it to roll gently across her chest. It took her a moment to process what he said about her sister's necklace, everything in her mind feeling like it was at a stand still. She realized she was still holding her breath and let the air go in a soft sigh. "You know Faite?" she breathed, a bit curious how he knew Faite was her sister. Although with her story of how many of her siblings had these necklace she wasn't too surprised. "Talk" "You" Think

His ears were attentive, flicking lightly on either side of his head with her irregular breathing pattern. He was especially thoughtful of her reaction to him being so close to her, so close to her neck and her throat. A gentle sigh left his inky lips and brushed over the smooth surface of the stone he played with, an almost disappointed sigh. She was so trusting, it was a disease to be born so innocent-- he.. he could do anything that he wanted to her with just a quick turn of his skull and bite of his teeth.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he thought, though his nose flared as he took in the scent of her fur as it grabbed for the necklace he toyed with. It flew through his nostrils, glided down his square snout and swelled in his lungs, burning his chest and sinking into the deep pit of his stomach. From there it churned, brewing a desire to fuel his dark little heart and send his ruby gaze fluttering up to her own blue hues while he kept his head low and his nose on that gem. He watched her with interest, canting his head from side to side to gauge her reaction as she asked about her sister.

He paused, keeping still as he thought about her question much more than he needed to. He'd met Faite briefly, she'd guided him to water though he remembered the many scents she carried and his initial thought when he met her- that she would forget him. He'd introduced himself as a stranger with a forgetful face, and really they just.. didn't stick around each other long enough to truly get acquainted. He lifted his nose up from the necklace and brushed through her fur, providing she didn't move away from him, as his nostrils flared to billow hot air and send it rushing through her hide hard enough to reach the skin of her neck. "No, not really. Just enough to know that she is your sister.She wanted me to teach her to fight, but I wouldn't. We didn't talk much more than that. There's just something about the both of you that seems so.. delicate. You even more so. I couldn't risk hurting her."

He would begin to nibble if she didn't move away from him, his teeth combing through her fur on his way up the right side of her neck. He'd listen to her breathing and the gentle sound of her pounding heart when the beat began to become strong enough for him to hear- he focused on releasing his own breath down to her skin after every exhale she released. He hoped to do this long enough to reach the beginnings of her nape right behind her ear, close enough for him to release a tauntingly warm whisper, "You are something to be cherished, something to worship. You may not understand why, but everything that you are is a heavy weight on life's scale, necessary to accomplish a balance against the one's on the other side of the scale." He released a low but gentle growl, sending it rumbling up his throat just before he spoke a little louder. "The one's like me."

She couldn't quite see all of his expression as he played with her necklace, just the slight glow of red eyes peering up at her. The stone of her necklace rose and fell gently against her chest how that she could actually breathe again, but her breath was uneven and shallow. He seemed to pause a bit at the mention of Faite, but if his response was to be believed he didn't really know her sister that well. But he knew of her and that was still an interesting tidbit for her to mull on. His nose brushed through her fur and his breath was hot against her skin, making her muscles tense and sending a chill across her skin. Zuriel was frozen in place as his teeth lightly brushed against her skin and moved through her fur while he nibbled his way up her neck. Her heart was pounding hard against her chest and her breath had a slight, scared shudder to it. She was quickly realizing the error of her ways here. She liked to think that she was old enough to hold her own and smart enough to avoid troubles like this, but in reality she had seen very little of the world and didn't know there was real threats out there that weren't just attacks on packs and lack of food. Dread filled her as he moved even closer, his muzzle moving around her neck to just behind her ears, his breath leaving goosebumps on her skin in its wake. She knew she couldn't fight him. Even if she had been skilled in fighting he would be able to overpower her without even trying. If she tried to run she feared it would only make him angry. No, she was stuck here now. She had sealed her own fate the moment she greeted him with a smile instead of hurrying away in the first place. His words about her being a thing to be cherished and that she kept the scale balanced didn't do anything to ease her worries. Especially not when he added that he was kind on the other side of the scale. His growl made her ears flick back against her head again and she felt like she would never be able to catch her breath. Her gaze flicked across the area around them since he couldn't see her face from his place with his teeth at the nape of her neck. Not a soul in sight. His words made her seem so praised and so important. Why was it then that his heat against her chest terrified her? "Why... Why are you doing this? W-What do you want from me?" she asked, her whisper breathless and barely loud enough to get past her throat. "Talk" "You" Think

He could feel her fear, feel it radiating from her with a heat that warmed his body and made him whole. He didn't understand why it was that when women feared him it excited him so, but it was too late to turn back now. When her trembling question left her lips, he paused against as his own ears fell forward to listen. What he wanted was so unspeakable, even for him- he didn't give her an answer to think about outside of his touch.

With her frozen in fear, his jowls opened slowly, teeth parting from one another as the fiend stood up tall, no longer crouching. He flagged his tail high behind him as his well-muscled limbs moved quietly to bring his chest to her right shoulder. His teeth lowered to grab her nape, pinching a plentiful amount of her flesh before firmly pushing against the vertebrae of her neck. He wanted her head lower than her spine so she could accept him submissively. If she would attempt to run or fight, he had her nape gripped so tight that she wouldn't be able to leave him without injury- though if she complied and moved beneath his force the way he wanted, he would keep his grip gentle and his teeth at a prickling feeling in the shield of her flesh.

His own right forelimb would come up and place itself over her spine and press down on her slender back- he hoped to continue pushing until she was forced to buckle at the knees just slightly. If she did this without running, he knew she wasn't moving- and there was nothing stopping him from taking what he wanted. His senses dulled, all sounds and smells around him fading as he slipped into the depths of his imagination. Kat's voice rang in his ears, her coos fueling every one of his movements. Ever since the death of his mate, he'd never heard her and felt her so vividly, not even in his dreams. Something about Zuriel's supply of a warm body brought her to life inside his frail mind. Without a savior to come to her side, nothing could stop him at the peak of his madness.

Silence. Her question was met with silence and she felt panic start to bubble up in her chest, curling around her lungs and squeezing the air out of them. His form moved, his frame dwarfing her in an entirely different way now that he stood at his full height. She felt a subtle shift of his jaws moments before his teeth closed in on her scruff just as his chest pressed to her shoulder. A quiet whisper of a whimper escaped her as he shoved down on her neck, pushing her head down with the motion. She had never been the strong one out of her siblings. Her form was always more slender, always more frail. There was no way for her to resist him. He was easily twice her size after all and she had never been one to train her muscles at all. She tried to tug away from his touch once, but his teeth started to cut into her skin so she quickly stopped and held still once more. His limb was heavy on her back, easily making her knees bend under the weight. Leaving Celestial had been a mistake. What in the world had made her think that she could be out here on her own? All she knew was herbs. Healing was her entire life. A lot of good it was doing her now. She knew that she had two options. She could try to fight, but she knew she would just end up more hurt than she would be otherwise. She could just let him do what he wanted to do, but then... She closed her eyes tight tried to force a steady breath of air into her lungs, but it was no use. Her heart was still hammering wildly against her chest and her legs were trembling like leaves in the wind. All she could feel was the cold ground below her and the heat from his body above her. She had never been with anyone like this before and now somehow this moment would be her first time. She held still and kept her eyes closed, trying to focus on counting her breaths or her heart beats to the feeling of the soft snowflakes that had started to fall on them. Anything to keep her mind out of this moment. -fade- "Talk" "You" Think