Another season, another year. Another... year that she was wondering what to do. She was beginning to get restless - she wanted a purpose. This quiet life... well, it was definitely enjoyable. It was relaxing. To just hunt, spend time with her mate, and have fun, while taking care of herself was very nice. Something was missing though, and she couldn't figure out what. Lack of interaction with packmates? Well, she had certainly been even more quiet since Sparrow had become alpha. And surprisingly, the... alpha hadn't confronted her.

Sighing as the new day's light started filtering into the den, she stretched, ignoring the tingles and all-too-familiar cravings that accompanied her heat. It was only the beginning, so she knew it would get much worse - she'd deal with it though. Like always. Sometimes with assistance, sometimes without.

Reaching over, she nosed Lark. She'd been a little more distant with him lately, more drift-y. Perhaps that was what was missing? Less time spent with him lately? Perhaps. Although, the something missing had started earlier than when she'd grown a little more distant. "Hey, Lark," she murmured, poking him again with her nose.

"Speech"

It was impossible to pretend that he wasn't in some kind of funk. A depression, maybe, not that he really liked thinking about it for long enough to really classify it. He'd been this way largely since his dad had left, since Abaven had been finally passed on to Sparrow, a shadow of what it had once been. It wasn't her fault - if he had to judge, she was doing a good a job as any, but so many wolves had left that it just felt different here. It was hard not to feel lonely, even as he crawled back into his den with Lillie most nights, curled against her wordlessly. Her companionship was appreciated, even when they were distant - but he always went back to her at the end of it all, her steady presence appreciated even if he didn't do a good job of showing it. Today, he wasn't even awake yet, and had no idea what sort of mood he might find himself in. If it was anything like how he'd been recently, he'd probably be sullen and moody, and decide to wander off somewhere on his own. He wasn't fully ready to wake up yet when he felt a nose prodding him, slowly rousing him from sleep. Slowly his jaws parted, a yawn leaving his throat as he rolled onto his side to face her better. It took a long moment for him to decide to open his eyes, watching as the blurry world slowly grew clearer. "Hey, what?" Came his soft question, his gaze affectionate despite everything, watching her curiously.

Truthfully, he didn't really do half-bad a job at showing it - it wasn't spoken out loud, sure, but it had always been loud and clear to the red canine through actions, and his actions more than showed his care. It was a thing she relied on as well; the always-counted-on presence of Lark was something that she had never lost - even if it was something she as a youngster never expected to have.

He woke up slowly, and it brought a smile to her face. In the past, he'd wake up much more quickly. Now, it was slower - she liked to believe that it was because of how comfortable they felt in each other's presence, not the fact that they were... five years of age. Bleh. He rolled over first, and that was when her nose-poking turned into an affectionate nuzzle, and she laid her head near his paws as she waited for him to actually open his eyes. When he did, she cracked a goofy grin, leaned foreward, and aimed a sloppy kiss all over his face. "We should do something. Something feels... off, y'know? And it's not just my heat, though you know all about that."

"Speech"

He'd told her that he loved her awhile ago - nearly three seasons ago, now. Lark wasn't really the most affectionate wolf, nor the most verbose one.. but with Lillianna all that stuff came more easily, more naturally. And she wasn't exactly needy in that regard, though he wasn't so naive that he knew he couldn't do more to show he cared. Those thoughts flooded his mind now as he slowly came to consciousness, flooding with affection for her that he never could've guessed, not in a hundred years, that he might feel. He'd hated her, once - truly and honestly - and it still amused him how drastically that had changed. A soft groan fell from his lips as she leaned closer to him, her mouth opening to lap at his face. It elicited a grin from him as he slowly rose to his belly to shuffle closer, happy to exchange another nuzzle. He'd gotten used to her heat scent from time to time, noticing it was stronger now than it had been just days ago. It had a similar effect as it had even the first time he'd noticed it on her, a slow warmth blossoming within his core as he inhaled her aroma and pressed his snout into her scruff. "Okay, let's do something then," Lark agreed sleepily, not fully sure what she was getting at. What he did know, even in his sleepy state, was that she was right. Something had felt off for awhile... he could probably come up with a long list, but he wasn't quite sure she was talking about the same thing, so he gently asked, "What d'you mean, though?" He peered at her, focus growing clearer as sleep slowly drained from him.

If Lark had mentioned it had been three seasons, Lillie would have been... quite shocked that it had been so long already. Time didn't seem to go by so fast - it had felt like barely a season, in her eyes. But perhaps, to her, that was because it didn't need to be said. She already knew - and he knew the reciprocation - and they just... shared moments that proved it. Perhaps she should say things more often; do more things? But on the other hand, it wasn't really necessary.

A smile formed on her face as well when he grinned at the sloppy kisses. When he leaned forward and pressed his muzzle against her neck, she leaned into his touch, content just for a minute to just... remain there, and not move. When he spoke, though, she leaned back, tail thumping on the ground a bit in excitement - of course, to be honest, she didn't even know what she was getting at. Actually, the thought of doing something less innocent hadn't even crossed her mind until just then; she had been thinking something along the lines of... exploring? Knocking him into a lake and splashing him with water until she couldn't anymore because she was laughing so hard?

"Weeeeell," she began, humming thoughtfully, before leaning forward and nipping at his muzzle. "There's really two options: we could do something innocent, or something not so innocent." In... all honesty she'd be okay with either one. Though she felt the heat in the core of her body, she'd grown more than accustomed to ignoring it, though it would take less than a second for her to fully embrace it, which seemed to be a large option in front of her with each passing second, particularly when she leaned forward once again and tried to nip (somewhat playfully) at Lark's neck.

"Speech"

It was odd how time did that. How so much seemed to pass in such a short time period, while at the same time it felt like it was nearly just last season that all his family had been together - that he'd told off Lillianna at the meeting, that Finch had been sick, that his mother had returned again and again. So many memories. It was strange to think of how much time had passed, and how little he had done in that time, in particular the last few years. Not that he was thinking of those things now. All he could focus on was Lillie at his side as he stirred awake and pressed his nose into her thick fur. Her humming, apparently carefully thinking before answering, made his lips turn up in a sleepy smirk.  "Okay, so innocent or not-innocent," Lark echoed, to show he'd been following along with her train of thought. It seemed she was leading toward the latter, though, judging by the way she leaned to nip at his neck. He let out an appreciative groan, followed by a chuckle as he arched his neck slightly. "What if I'm in the mood for both?" He asked after a moment, peering over at her with a curious glance.  "I mean.. probably not at the same time, but what if I want something not so innocent now and something more innocent later? Is that an option?" The same cheeky grin that she seemed to wrangle out of him so easily crossed his features again as he mirrored her actions, leaning to nip at her chest - just a bit rougher than she had.

She cuddled up against him, an appreciative murmur in her throat as she did so, the warmth flooding her body. Warm and consistent - always nice. Truthfully, she could almost go back to sleep like this. She wouldn't - she didn't want to - but she could, if she wanted to. Lark was a comfortable pillow.

Her own smirk formed at Lark's echo. "Mmmhm." she confirmed quietly, amusement sparking in her eyes as she lifted her head and eyed him, the smirk widening at his response to her nip. At his first answer, her brow raised, and she watched him with a speculative look, wondering what was going through his head. Moments later, he corrected himself. No, added on? Something to that nature, and it caused her to chuckle. "If I could trip you into a lake and mate with you at the same time I'd be rather impressed. And I'm pretty sure that if I tripped you into a lake first, you might not be so willing for the other type of fun later." This time, her own little grin appeared on her face, matching his cheekiness, even as he leaned forward and nipped her. Her neck arched a bit even as she made a soft murmuring sound of enjoyment. "To give you a short answer, yes, that is very much an option."

"Speech"

No matter how drastically his moods might fluctuate lately - some days he was irritable and snappy, while others he was sullen and downright silent - the presence of Lillie always made things a bit easier. If he had a choice, he would always wake up against her like this, temporarily forgetting whatever worries either of them might have. Of course, it wasn't always that easy, but for now.. he'd bask in the carefree affection, his playful smile growing. He let out his own chuckle at her answer. It seemed like she approved of his line of thinking - and while her frankness would've once caused him to be taken aback, now he merely snorted at the thought. "That sounds like it'd take a lot of work, but would probably be a lot of fun too," he jested lightly. "But I didn't say anything about mating. Seems you have a one-tracked mind this morning." Lark let out another low chuckle as he leaned further toward her, a paw lifting to move slightly over her back as he lay next to her.

It never was that easy, and there were always some sort of pressing worry, but it was definitely easy to forget it in the taller wolf's presence. Always had been. Even when they were after each other's throats, it had been easy to forget woes and worries. First because she grew angry enough in his presence, and then, eventually, because she grew comfortable enough in his presence that just sleeping next to him was calming. It was something she grasped on to eagerly, and something she had no intentions of letting go

Her lips twitched at his snort, before her tongue lolled out of her mouth in a cheesy, goofy grin. "I mean, at some point we could try if you really wanted to," she joked, only half-serious. Really, she was hoping he wouldn't want to try that... but then again, ti'd be a good laugh when it failed. She could see it in her mind, and it was already amusing her.

When Lark spoke again, she narrowed her eyes at him, glaring. And then, briefly, she stuck her tongue out at him, ears flat back, and eyes scrunched closed. As quickly as the expression appeared, it disappeared, especially when Lark moved that paw. She cocked her head at him, eyes sparkling. "Huh, I guess I do. Although, I don't think that you mind one bit. In fact...." she trailed off, twisting around to nip at him. "You should hurry up."

"Speech"

Slowly his sleepy, groggy demeanor faded away, giving way to something far more playful and alert. It was easy to find himself in a better mood in her presence; everything seemed somehow easier and he himself less troubled. The grin he wore grew twofold at her next comment, letting out another chuckle. "Alright, I'll get a rain check for that one, then," he jested, amused at the thought, however impractical it might be. His smile turned a bit more devious as her own expression changed once she realized his intent. "I should hurry up?" He scoffed almost incredulously as he moved to position himself over her. "Geeze, no time for foreplay or anything this morning. Someone means business." Another low chuckle left his lips, his snout burying into the back of her neck as he set out to do.. well, exactly what she'd requested. - fade to black -

"Pffft," she scoffed, tossing her head back. A rain check, huh? She wouldn't put it past him to be serious about that, and it caused a smile to tug at her lips once more. She shook her head slightly, absolutely amused by him.

Amusement remained at his incredulous, almost seemingly offended tone, a tone she knew wasn't true because he was already moving. Taking advantage of that, she tried to nip at him again, this time much harder. "Yes, you should," she growled lightly. He was obliging anyway, and snipping a comment too - one she reported to. "I mean, with the mood I'm in, your presence is more than enough to make me ready." She wasn't lying, and that was the last bit of conversation she spoke. She pressed herself up against him, sighing as he did exactly as she wanted.

-fade to black-