She wanted to scream, kick, cry, roar, and in general pitch a fit. The being inside had not been able to fix her leg, which meant she would have to suffer through the worst pain she had ever experienced in her life. Well, maybe not the worst, but the ivory beast had never broken a bone before. Let alone her forelimb! Fuck! How was she going to teach Kichi how to hunt now? How was she going to train for when her family and pack came over? How was she supposed to even get home? Her brows furrowed as she looked over her shoulder, toward the now blackened cavern behind her, the thought had been to ask the robed figure why he couldn't heal her. He had been bold enough to threaten her but not powerful enough to heal? What kind of bullshit was that? Now, she looked down at the ugly mess that was her right forelimb, trying to study it in the dark and make sure she had set the bone correctly. The limb was straight now, but she could still see the faint outline of bone against the deep, dark red of her bleeding flesh. The blood flow had slowed, thankfully, so she didn't have to worry about that so much. The swelling was causing her limb to throb and burn, with each beat of her heart, the pain seemed to lance through to her spine. It made her dizzy, and angry.

Lurid sat for a moment, trying to keep her limb lifted but only making her shoulder ache and the leg feel worse. Gingerly she set it down, a soft and sad whimper leaving her. Closing her bright eyes, Lurid gave into softly sobbing against the pain. Her frustration had mounted and she couldn't hold back the tide any longer. "You fucking bug bastard! You could have fixed this!" She shouted in those duo-toned vocals, the sound echoing sharply off the cavern walls and down the various tunnels. Where the hell was she? How was she going to get home? Lurid made a silent vow to herself she would never, ever go into a mystical cavern ever again. What if she had died in there!? The thought of leaving Kichi without her made her sick and coupled with only having just reunited with Alastor and getting her focus on her pack back, well...

Lurid hopped away from her sitting spot as her stomach heaved, making her gag as bile rose into her mouth. Tucking her tail tightly against her abdomen and arching her back, Lurid did something so weak she was glad she was alone. Vomiting into the darkness, the demonic woman began to shake violently as shock took hold of her. A cold touch like death's came over her spine and head, making her teeth chatter together as she tried to calm herself. She had never been injured like this before, sure cuts and bite wounds, but never a broken limb. Finally, she could hold it back no longer. The sound started off quietly, deep in her chest, rumbling up her throat until she was forced to part her jaws and let it out. Rumbling, horrific, and frightening in its own right, the mad woman allowed herself to slip into her curse. She laughed in disturbed fashion, losing her mind to the pain as she sat hunched in the corner and cradling her foreleg. Between these dark peels of crazed laughter were pained cries and enraged shrieks, the sounds of something wicked suffering. The sounds of a beast unhinged by pain. Unrecognizable, even to those who knew her most intimately - even herself - Lurid sat in the dark enveloped by madness brought on by extreme pain.

|| Word count: 621 words. ||
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: O.o well...that was different in my head...

ART & TABLE by BIRD

Monster.

The single word buzzed about in Alastor's brain like an angry hornet. In the darkness of the cavern he found himself in after his ordeals, the dire wolf was left with only his thoughts, and his own thoughts were now a plague on his mind. Cold chills ran up the man's spine while that word repeated in that horrific booming voice over and over and over again. Monster... Monster... MONSTER... Razor sharp claws raked at the rock beneath his paws, the shrill scratching the only thing breaking the silence besides the ringing in his ears. No smile graced Alastor's face; the demon wolf was far too gone to find anything worth smiling about. What had he done? What had he just endured? Was it all a dream, some sort of horrible nightmare? With trepidation, he brought a large paw up to his left eye, feeling the torn skin where he had cut himself in his fall in the cave. Gods be damned, it had been real...

Alastor's body shuddered and heaved as his mind fought with reality. He wanted to scream and rage and kill and cry and burn the world to the ground. How dare some pompous, self-righteous asshole in a damp forsaken cave try to mess with him?! If it took him millennia, he would find a way to have his revenge, from this life or the next. His teeth grit together, his jaw clenched so hard he could hear his fangs clicking together. His fur bristled, his ears flat to his skull, and then he... just... laughed. A broken, maniacal laughter erupted from the beaten male, echoing like the cries of a demon throughout the darkened caverns. It was the same laughter a haunted and broken-hearted adolescent wolf made several years ago in the Mirovis caves, right after he buried his father alive. The same pain tore at his heart, the one thing he cherished in his life had now been tainted, cursed in some opaque and ambiguous way to torment him for the rest of his life or until...

The laughter ended in an abrupt, feral roar of wild rage. Alastor screamed his anger until his throat was sore and his lungs hurt. It was a cry of an irate animal, raw and primal. When he finally exhausted himself, Alastor slumped against the floor, heaving, breathing ragged. He had to get out of this hellhole and back home. He had to get up. He had to keep going.

The distant ringing of maddened laughter pricked the brute's ears up. Black eyes peered into the darkness, barely able to pick up the outlines of the walls ahead of him. Where was that coming from? Was someone else in here with him? Good. He needed a way to vent all this anger. Fangs bared, Alastor rose to his paws and slowly navigated the tunnels and caverns, following the laughter, intent on snuffing the life of whoever was making the sounds. On and on he crept silently, the noise getting louder and closer... until finally he rounded a corner into another cavern—and saw Lurid laughing, her leg maimed and covered in blood, traces of vomit still around her mouth. The anger burning like a wildfire inside him died all but instantly at the sight of her, eyes gone wide in horror. What was she doing here?!

"Lurid!" he called out to her, dashing over to her side and immediately moving to press his body against hers to prop her up on him. That injury looked grievous and painful; she shouldn't be putting any weight on it. "What the hell are you doing here? Your leg... Lean on me, don't move it too much." He winced as he looked down at her leg again, then back to the laughing face of his alpha. No smile adorned his face as he held her upright. "We need to get out of here. Put all your weight on me, don't move that leg. Follow my lead." He began to walk forward, using his nose to try and sniff out a trail of fresh air to follow back out of the caves. "What the fuck happened to you? Who did this?"

"Speech" — Thoughts

Somewhere in the darkness, a beast roared in misery, the sound enraged and just as tortured as she was. The dark queen, maddened by pain, answered the roaring bellow with a banshee-esque shriek of her own. Her injured forelimb throbbed again, adding to the sharp waves of agony that coursed up to her spine. Another peel of awful laughter bubbled up from her as tears blinded the mad devil, her body taken to rocking as she cried and laughed and tried to hum to herself. Her tail was wrapped firmly around her haunches as she sat rocking, holding her broken leg aloft as much as she could. Hysterical and confused, Lurid only halted her motions and laughter long enough to allow enraged, pained screams echo through the tunnels and caverns of the underworld. Stupid of her to run from the falling crystals, if she had gone toward the sound she would have been alright, things can't fall twice. "St-stupid girl...hmmmm...stupid, stupid girl..." Her speech was broken by short involuntary hums, laughs, hitching breaths, and forced exhalations that made her lungs burn and her throat clamp shut briefly, repeating words she had heard since puppyhood. Ouranos had not been a kind father, and now his words rang in her head over and over with startling and agonizing clarity. "Hmm...stupid, stupid, foolish girl..." The monster wanted to bite her leg for hurting her, and the sounds of clacking teeth snapping over and over could be heard echoing in the cavernous room she sat in. Unable to bring herself to truly clamp down on her leg, Lurid snapped her fangs every time it pained her. Then she heard it, an alarming call in a hauntingly familiar voice. 'Lurid!'

His voice was so clear over the screaming of her father but lost to her agony Lurid only repeated her tortured mantra. Until Alastor touched her. In her shocked, pain-riddled mind, she fought to recognize his voice. His voice had cut through the fog of her mind, but not far enough.  He knew her name, he was important, but as he moved to her injured side a rumbling of dual vocals rang in the dark. The eerie growling was punctuated by hissing, the sound not unlike a pit viper, and he kept talking! Questions. Questions, questions, questions! Lurid! It rang in her mind again, his voice saying her name, rolling over and over in her mind like a skipping record. He knew her, he was scared for her, but he moved wrong... With a ferocious snap of her jaws before he could touch her, Lurid screamed at him, her eyes gone dark in her madness. "Dooooooon't!" The word was drawn out over her screaming, pain-stricken roar as she turned to face him head-on, saliva dripping from her fangs with a wet drop in her crazed state. Rising up on her hind legs like a bear, the beast of a woman was careful even in her haze not to jostle her leg too much, she aimed to smack her broad forehead against the dark male's and push him back while she screamed at him. Then suddenly, she halted. Dropping to her good forelimb, the rest of his words finally sank through the fog.

The broken empress seemed frozen in her tracks, staring at Alastor with an unblinking gaze as his words sank into her head. "Alastor?" The broken way she said his name - part prayer, part crying question - would have told him everything he needed to know about her mental state. Intense pain had driven her from her mind and placed her unmercifully into a darkness that seemed inescapable. There was so much riding on her, and she could not do what was necessary for those who depended on her most. "Hmmm...stupid girl..." She whispered in answer to his question, unable to get much passed her choking sobs and broken fits of laughter. Lurid leaned on him then, relieved and horrified that he was here. "I'm sooorrryyyyy!" The apology was uttered into his chest with a wailing cry that would break even the hardest of hearts. She repeated the words, "I'm sorry, I'm so soorrryyy," over and over again as she cried. Even when they began to move, her apology was for all the work she wouldn't be able to do, it was for her pack waiting for her back home, it was for Kichi, for Alastor, and for herself. The string was only broken by the stressed humming, demented cackling, or another round of 'stupid girl'. She was lucky she knew Alastor had her even when she was weak, as she had him, but she still hated that he had to see her like this.

|| Word count: 780 words. ||
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: Poor Lu! Don't mind her, Al, she isn't really grounded to the ground at the moment!

ART & TABLE by BIRD

He was far too close to her when the ghost-like wolf reared back and brought her head down on his with a wicked smack of bone on bone. Alastor grunted in pain and recoiled back momentarily, bringing his paw up to the throbbing cut over his eye and finding her attack had reopened his wound, sticky red blood covering his pads. He grit his teeth, then fixed Lurid with dark, glaring eyes. He did not have the patience for this bullshit right now. Then she spoke his name in a pleading cry that sounded like she was being smothered from the inside out. She was having a psychotic episode. Normally, Alastor knew that the fix for this was to let her burn herself out, to let her get he anger out and weaken it so she could get it back under control and hide it behind that cracking facade she put on. However, they did not have the luxury of time to allow her to do that. They were lost in some dark caves, gods knew where in the world, and gods knew how far from home. She was gravely injured, and her thrashing about was only going to make it worse. He didn't relish it, but for their own sake, the brindled brute knew he was going to have to put Lurid in her place and take control.

"LURID, STOP!" he shouted at her as she whispered and laughed to herself. "Shut the fuck up and listen to me. I am getting you out of here and taking you to get your leg fixed, otherwise you might lose it. Pull another stunt like that or fight me and I will leave you in this cave to die. Am I crystal fucking clear?" He bared his fangs, growling low in his throat as he moved to support her body again, praying she would have the mental capacity to at least do nothing and let him help her. If she didn't resist, he would let her lean against him and continue supporting her through the tunnels, making each step carefully to make sure she didn't slip or her broken leg. He grunted with the strain of helping the injured dire wolf down the tunnels, using the scent of fresh air to guide him.

Alastor rolled his eyes with another growl as Lurid continued to cry and wail her apologies as they stumbled onward. "Lurid, shut up. Breathe, lean on me, and look at me. I'm getting you out of here if I have to carry you out on my back," he muttered. All of his dark thoughts about his trials in the underwater cave had been forgotten at this point, his mind solely focused on Lurid. Black eyes peered around, nose twitching with each sniff. A turn, a long tunnel, a turn, another turn... The air smelled cleaner. They had to be getting close. For most of their journey, Alastor remained silent, trying to only think about which way he was going so they didn't get lost. At long last, a final turn shone bright light into his eyes. Daylight! Making sure Lurid was still supported comfortably, he slowly limped them all the way up the final tunnel until they reemerged into Boreas, fresh air washing over them like a wave.

Blinking through the blinding light, Alastor was shocked to see where they were. They were somewhere in the northern territories again. But even more shocking was that it was still sunset, the same time he had ventured into the cave. Had any time passed at all? Was it even still the same day? How long had he been in that unearthly realm?! Taking a few deep breaths of the sweet, sweet air of freedom, Alastor permitted himself to turn his attention solely on Lurid now. "Sit. Let me look at that leg," he commanded Lurid, keeping himself stock still so she could use him as a crutch if she needed it. Out in the fading daylight, he could more easily see the damage that had been done to her leg, wincing as he inspected the clearly broken and bloody appendage. He was no healer and had no idea where to even begin with it. They'd need a trained healer to help her out, even if she was in no state to see other wolves right now.

Fuck, this is bad... he thought, trying to plan out his next steps. He had to get Lurid back into a state of mental stability before bringing her to a healer, lest she lash out when they tried to help her. Saddened black eyes looked up into her holographic eyes as Alastor slowly reached a paw out to touch Lurid's cheek. He didn't know if she would attack him again or not, but he had to try something to get her to calm down. "You're okay, Lurid... I'm here. It's me, your Alleycat. I'm right here... Look at me... Breathe..."

"Speech" — Thoughts

The impact stunned her, leaving a fierce ringing in her ears and a swirl of vile thoughts. It was almost enough to bring her out of her mental hell, almost. The impact had been jarring, and it distracted her enough from her pain for her to recognize the black, angry gaze that met her own holographic stare. Backing away from him, Lurid mumbled incoherently until he shouted at her to stop. The deep bellow of her name and the command made her jump, tensing muscles bringing a sharp pain snaking up her right forelimb, which made her suck in a breath between her teeth. Blinking at him and beginning to growl, Lurid snapped her agape maw shut with an audible click, and fixed him with an incredulous look. Threats, the deep, rumbling thunderstorm of a voice, that growl...She had known these things since she was little, and while they were directed at her, they did bring a tinge of comfort with them. She followed his orders, only defying his urging to keep going when she absolutely could not step any further. Lurid brewed internally, the wound causing colors and static to dance before her eyes.

It seemed to take forever, and the ivory demon did not greet the light well. Breaking from Alastor to turn back into the darkness with a shriek and her eyes shut tight. The moving air had washed her leg in searing, white-hot pain once again, and the light brought tears to her sensitive eyes. "Fuck!" She seethed but moved back out into the light alongside Alastor. Growling as he told her to sit, she obeyed, gingerly holding her leg up to him so he could study it in the light. At its widest point, the gash was an inch wide, and it tapered from just below her elbow joint all the way down to her metacarpals, on the same paw that had gotten cut on the crystal bridge. Her leg was horribly swollen, and the bone was nestled in the flesh but peeked through if moved the wrong way. If he looked carefully, he could even see the broken part of the bone where she had reset some of it. Luckily for her, it had been a clean break, but it made a right mess of her leg.  The pain began to numb itself, though Lurid suspected that was more from damaged nerves and swelling than actual healing. Her entire leg was bright crimson, a color that stained her neck and face as well. She visibly shook still, but being out of the dark helped with some of the residual shock.

She eyed the dark male as he came to touch her face, her brows furrowed with irritation, a look which slowly faded when she saw the sadness in his eyes. A series of jerking breaths came from her and she let fresh tears roll down her face, but leaned her head into his paw and tried to get herself together. The maddening, tornadic thoughts and memories that stemmed from pain were hard to get passed, panting and making awful, tortured sounds the whole time she struggled. Her nostrils flared, and she wore a stressed, lip twitching smile that broadcast how not okay she really was. She didn't blink, holding onto the onyx stare in front of her, trying to regain control. 'He looks so sad...' It was an echo from her memory, and while she heard him speaking, it was with the words from their young adolescence. 'You're okay, Lurid...' Maybe it was the pain clouding her thoughts or the way he was trying his best to be firm and gentle at the same time, hell, maybe it was the way the sun haloed him from behind, but she simply couldn't focus on what he was saying.

It was the way he cupped her cheek in the pad of his palm, the gentle drift of sandalwood and larkspur that hit her nose and made her mouth water. It was how he was looking at her. Blinking rapidly against tears and painfully sweet memories, Lurid cut off his speech as he admitted he was her Alleycat. 'Mine...' The thought came unbidden from her/ Without warning or hesitation, her good paw lifted so that she could reach out and touch his cheek then pulled him down to her, pressing her lips to his in a kiss that demanded an answer. She kissed him as if that could magically heal her and she could function again; as if he had a magical healing potion on his lips and that was the only way she could get it. It was searing, possessive, needy, and desperate, but it was genuine. Alastor wanted her calm, and this was the only way she could think of that didn't mean hurting herself even more.

|| Word count: 802 words. ||
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: That'll do, Dice, that'll do!

ART & TABLE by BIRD

Despite all of her protestation and struggling, once he had set Lurid down outside and started trying to calm her, Alastor saw a visual shift in the pale devil's behavior. Her usually refined posture had slumped and she was actually crying, a rare sight for her that he had only ever seen maybe once before. She must have been in excruciating pain and turmoil to have come this undone. Alastor's stomach twisted and his heart wrenched as he watched her fight with herself, offering what little comfort he could to her. He wanted to reach into her mind, to wrestle those ghosts out of her head and fight them to the death. He wanted to destroy everything that threatened to hurt her, to make her better and whole again. She was the only wolf who had ever cared about him—who had ever given a damn that he even existed, and he couldn't do jack shit to help her. It made him feel useless, helpless, all feelings the dire brute had never ever wanted to feel again. So he sat there, just letting her lean into his touch and letting her know he was there to keep her grounded while she fought herself, keeping his black eyes on her dazzling lavender-hued ones that seemed to be sparkling like champagne in the sunlight. He saw them shifting, focusing on him while hiding whatever her mind was thinking behind the glass. It was a look he was unfamiliar with, and all he could hope was that it didn't result in her biting his leg. They did both need to be able to walk, after all.

What came instead caught Alastor by surprise, as the moment her paw touched his cheek in return, he quickly scooted closer to make sure he could catch her in case she tumbled over. The instant he did, he felt her pull his head toward hers, the movement so sudden and insistent that he had no hope of resisting even if he'd wanted to. The next thing the red brindled wolf knew, he felt the soft pressure of Lurid's mouth against his, lips locked in a deeply passionate and urgent kiss. The sensations of need, of possession, of desire, all came spilling out at once. Butterscotch and rich rum greeted his nose as her scent surrounded him, and her taste against his lips sent a shiver down the man's spine. He leaned in closer to her, placing his other paw gently yet securely along her side to help keep her sitting upright as he replied in turn, black eyes slipping closed while he kissed her back with matching fervor. All the years of building tension, of connection, of reliance to this one wolf—the only other wolf who he had allowed into his life—exploded within him. A soft growl of delight rumbled in Alastor's throat, almost akin to a cat's purr. His heart was hammering against his ribcage, endorphins rushing through his veins in response to a stimulus far greater than any battle he'd fought.

Alastor only finally parted their muzzles when his lungs demanded a breath, taking a sharp gasp of fresh air to replenish his oxygen before gliding his paw from Lurid's cheek to the back of her head, holding her firmly, possessively, lovingly as he brought his lips back to hers for a second round. Mine... ran through his mind, unconsciously mirroring the thoughts she shared. He had always been hers, to have in any way she deigned, but now she had confirmed to him that she was his. Out of every other wolf in the pack—hell, the world!—she had chosen him. Thoughts of the curse and the cave were nonexistent. Nothing in the world existed beyond this moment.

Reluctantly breaking their kiss after several blissful moments, Alastor slowly opened his eyes again to catch hers. Slowly, his familiar smile began to appear on his face again, but his eyes no longer held that sorrow, the anger, or the darkness that they previously had. Light and life had sparked in them again as he searched her holographic irises for traces of his Lu Lu in there. "Are you back with me now...? I can go again, if you'd like..." he replied with a low chuckle, voice soft and ragged with his lack of breath.

"Speech" — Thoughts

The sensation was electrifying, addictive, and exhilarating. Alastor had been her lifeline more times than she could count. He had been there with her when she had been beaten senseless by her father and mother both. He had been there when she had discovered her half-siblings existence, and he'd been there for the aftermath of her crimes against them. The man had seen her cry before, had seen her in pain before, had been there when she was vulnerable, and he was with her now. Pain still fogged her mind, but the scent of him in her nose and the press of his lips against hers in return, it helped her touch her paws to the earth again. The sight of him kissing her back made her eyes roll shut as his eyes closed, a soft feminine sound escaping her as she felt something shift in her. It was like the earth moved beneath her paws, her head spun and she was dizzy again, euphoria washing away the tortured thoughts of her past and present. He'd been the only wolf she could be all of herself with, he matched her violence, he matched her desire, he matched her. Even now, as she so desperately clung to reality, he made it all better. Lurid knew she would have been lost to herself a long time ago if not for him, he probably wasn't even aware that she needed him like that. The thought probably never crossed his mind that she needed him just as much as he needed her.

Their kiss ended abruptly, making a soft whine of protest leave her, but she had no need to. Locking eyes with him, Lurid was almost frightened by the intensity of emotion in his gaze. The change in the way he held her was tangible, from gentle assistance to full possessive, loving embrace. Then, it was his turn. Dipping his head to capture her lips once again, Alastor practically devoured her. She let her own rumbling purr escape her, fighting herself not to push too far. Lurid had known he was a loyal wolf, he'd been a steadfast friend, and a faithful one. But, now, with a blistering passion, she understood the depth of his devotion. Alastor was probably the only wolf she had ever truly trusted enough to have at her back, even with such a grievous wound.  He'd been on the receiving end of her best and worst, had been with her while she grew up, and he had come looking for her when things got bad at home. She had loved him for a long time, as a friend and as something more, but had never understood exactly how much until this moment. Perhaps, it had always been so. They had always been drawn to another for a reason, perhaps the fates knew they needed one another to function. He pulled her from her own hell and had placed her on her own little heavenly pedestal.

It was too soon when he ended their kiss a second time, causing her to give a soft whimper as he withdrew from her. "Alastor..." His name was whispered softly, but the need for him was in her unique voice, and no less intense. When she met his gaze this time, Lurid could see the desirous flames in his eyes that burned for her, it was a look he had never given to any other, and she treasured the expression. Now he didn't look so sad or angry, now he looked like he could eat her alive in the best way. The dark woman knew what he looked for when he searched over her face and met her eyes, and she gave it to him. A smile formed as he spoke, teasing her gently, and she found herself giggling softly with delight. "I'm here. I'm me again, I'm okay..." She did her best to reassure him that she was back in her head, even though she wasn't physically okay. Her leg still throbbed fiercely with every sped up heartbeat, but she did want more of him. Instead of taking him up on his offer, Lurid only smiled and shook her aching head before leaning into him for him to hold her and laying her now bruised forehead on his chest. It wasn't often she was afforded the luxury of comfort, and if Alastor was willing to give it - however brief it had to be - she was willing to take it.

|| Word count: 746 words. ||
"Talk." || 'Think.' || 'Hear.'

Note: EEE! They are just the cutest pair of monsters <3! XDD

ART & TABLE by BIRD

The sounds that he was able to pull from his empress were astounding, soft feminine whines and whimpers swimming in his brain like a potent drug, suffocating his senses in an unfamiliar euphoria. Fire threatened to burn the brindled wolf from the inside out, smoldering in the remnants of whatever soul he had left and flaring up in his black eyes as he gazed upon Lurid's beautiful, angelic face. Her smile, the way she looked back at him through half-lidded prismatic eyes, the giggle that resonated in her melodious duo-toned voice, everything was enticing him, like the scent of fresh blood in the water to a ravenous shark. For all their lives, Alastor had always felt an unseen force pulling him to Lurid; whether it was destiny or something else didn't matter. From an early age, their paths had always seemed intertwined, like their very souls were cut from the same fabric of reality. She was the puzzle that he fit into, and he had been the lifejacket that kept her afloat whenever life tried to drown her. They needed each other mutually, but the extent to which that need ran was much, much deeper than even he had realized. The two wolves were a perfect equilibrium of unstable checks and balances, having known the darkness the other had inside of them and the horrors they had endured. They were each other's safety systems when they came crashing down. But now... now it was something much more powerful.

Alastor's heart still beat against his chest like it were trying to break free. A hunger he hadn't dared to even indulge with fantastical daydreams was now gnawing at his very being, and the dire brute suddenly felt starved for more of her. He had also always loved and desired her, for as much as his warped mind could allow. She had always been this perfect, beautiful creature just barely beyond his reach. That belief was well and truly shattered now. She was still as perfect and as beautiful as ever... but no longer was she outside his grasp. They had crossed a threshold together this evening—one that would change their relationship and their dynamic forever. He knew it, and deep down he wondered if this had always been an inevitable step they had to take together. The beast inside of him craved her, demanded needs be satisfied on the most primal of levels, but a glance down at her wounded leg allowed Alastor to remain in control of himself and reminded him of what was more important than his own selfish sex drive. There would be plenty of time to indulge in new pleasures and luxuries together when she was in a better state. What mattered now was getting Lurid healed.

When she confirmed that she was in control again, Alastor's smile widened a touch, lifting his head up out of the way so she could settle more comfortably on his broad chest. The paw on the back of her head ran delicate claws through her silken fur, just barely scratching along her scalp and down the back of her neck in slow, soothing strokes. Having her pressed this close, with his heart racing the way it was, Alastor was half convinced she'd be able to hear it. His other paw would go to wrap around her back, embracing her close to his body as she came back down from her maddened high. Now that she was calm again, they'd be able to get her the medical attention she direly needed.

"There you are... I've got you..." he spoke, muzzle close to her ears with a voice that was both calming and low. "We need to get your leg looked at. There's a new pack in east Boreas that has healers who can help. Are you going to let me carry you, or are you going to be stubborn and insist you can walk?" He chuckled softly after speaking, letting her know he was still teasing, but also genuinely concerned for her. If she wanted to walk, he would help her every step of the way. But with her leg the way it was, getting out of that cave had been a miracle. Traversing half of Boreas... that was another story.

"Speech" — Thoughts