The trail wound south then west. Ultyr followed the floral fragrance from the wall to these cliffs. The woodland was thick and the weather turned to autumn. A fog clung to the trunks of the trees as they neared a mighty waterfall. The scent was so close. So Close. The moist air and cool breeze were starting to obscure the scent.

He chuffed for his girl to keep close. Soon he would have to break the trail and find something to hunt. Her slowly growing gravid belly was just starting to show. It wasn't a surprise for her tiny frame.

The scent was so strong! The Morningstar princess had to be close! But where? The fog was not so thick as to lose themselves in it, but it certainly added a mysterious aura the place.

Her little paws followed diligently after Ultyr. He was a man on a mission now, having caught the scent of one of the Morningstar's. Not that she had a clue who they were really at this point. She was a little slower than him but was doing her best. Her stomach was already beginning to round noticeably but what was bothering her wasn't that. What bothered her most was the fact that some things she ate just weren't agreeing with her, she'd thrown up several of her meals recently, not that it was her fault.

She also had a need to piss almost too often. That didn't bother her, if it wasn't for Ultyr's quickened pace it wouldn't of been an issue. His chuff caught her attention easily as she had fallen slightly behind. Not that he likely worried knowing she wasn't about to run. Her paws quickened and she caught up to his heel, panting quietly. Her fur was ruffled against the northward winds here but she could smell something on the wind that did make her mouth water. A crisp scent of clean water and the sound of a waterfall in the distance, how exciting! Though her nose twitched at a different scent. The slaver from before, intermingling again with that of the tuft of fur that Ultyr claimed was from a Morningstar princess. Her tail curled under her as much as it could to protect herself and their unborn from the man. Her ears pressed and she made sure to keep close to Ultyr's right side. Last thing she needed was to get picked off in this fog.

"Things I Hear"

"Do Not Enter" is written on the doorway Why can't everyone just go away? The walled-in cliffs of slate had guided his path as he staggered away from where he had left the body, his own aching and battered from the earlier scrap. The time that beast ‘claimed’ him as his own had lasted far too long, long enough that Ganymede had finally been pushed to his limits and beyond them. He could only take being handled, beaten, and….touched…by that disgusting creature for so long. Now his grey and pink tinted fur had been dyed red, dipped, and streaked with blood from the fight ending with the slaver in a pool of blood. There was a giddiness settled in his stomach, the kind built up from a battle and the fear of what could have happened. Ganymede kicked a few stones out of his way as he approached a softly moving stream, the water thick and sluggish with the cold of northern lands, fog swirling around his legs as he stepped into that biting creek. 'Good, will soothe the bruises, will numb everything.’ And if he was honest, he would stay in this water till it did just that. He needed the cold that seeped into his fur to focus on, something to take his mind off of the world around him for a moment. There was a hiss from between his teeth as it touched his stomach and he stretched his long forelegs out ahead of him and shifted his hips to settle into a lounging pose. Ganymede could not help the grin that stretched his lips as he stared down at the water, able to see the golden and tan pelt that hung over his shoulders. "Oh, if only you could see me now. What would you all think of me and what I've done." The soft musing had him chuckling before he settled his chin onto his crossed paws to rest for a bit longer. The pain from the bruising began to numb from the waters at least. Walk, "Talk", Think Except you, you can stay.

Blood, sweat, water, and the delicate florals of his quarry. The God-Prince Ultyr stepped through the thick pines and underbrush, swathed in the mists of the towering waterfall.

He halted as a billow of fog swept over a huddled form in the water. Revealing the ragged freshly skinned wolf coat of someone perhaps familiar to the learned prince. Though his care for that someone was nil as the form beneath it held his attention. Stock still, his breath shallow as he measured the hidden body. It was her, he knew it. A Judilan Princess...out here... all alone. He could scent no others. Was that... a shade of pink in her coat? Could it be? The crown princess herself? Could he be so lucky?

Slowly, so as not to startle her, he crept forward. He heard the soft words from her mouth, the tone in her voice sparked a familiar cue that made him freeze.

He had a choice here...

"That you did what you had to do..." He rumbled neutrally. Daring to speak before she was in reach. Lailah perhaps just then catching up to him. She had become lazy of late.

He stood tall in the coiling fog, his eyes of fire readily drinking the Judilan royal he had finally found.

No sooner did she catch up to Ultyr than he was already moving again. She wasn't about to move from his heel though. Not with an Archnemes slaver nearby.

Her legs weren't as long as Ultyr's though so it put her at always falling behind, normally it wasn't an issue. She wasn't moving as Stealthily as Ultyr, just at a normal, quiet from her small stature and size, pace. Her hears stayed back until Ultyr stopped and a voice came from ahead. "Oh, if only you could see me now. What would you all think of me and what I've done." Her eye went to the form ahead from behind and between Ultyr's legs. A blink. The vocals were familiar, but the face of the one they came from new to her. A cock of her head. How could she know a voice she hadn't met before? She knew the name Morningstar from life before her, always thrown around the palace of Archnemes but she didn't know them. Paws brought her forward to stand between Ultyr's front legs as she heard him answer the female ahead. "That you did what you had to do..."

Her eye passed to the pelt over the other's back. Recognition of the fur pattern immediately settling there. A press of her ears and a dropping of her eye. Good riddance she figured. A light lean to let Ultyr know she had settled there, before her legs gathered and haunches sunk to the ground. She could use a nap but Ultyr probably had other plans for today so a nap would have to wait.

"Things I Hear"

"Do Not Enter" is written on the doorway Why can't everyone just go away? The water swirling around his chin was calming, and his eyes almost lulled close as he finally relaxed. It felt like he could lay there till the cold water made him numb to his very center. Numb was comfortable right now, numb meant not thinking so long about what he endured for these last seasons. A leaf fallen from the trees swirling past him caught his attention, lilac eyes following its tumbling patterns before it disappeared into the mist further down. His mind didn't have long to wander though, words shattering his small moment of peace. Idiot, he had let his guard down too long, as if others couldn't have been nearby. Then the vaguely familiar scent hit him, olives and thyme, with the vague underlay of another equally familiar scent of jasmine and vanilla. "What I had to do, huh? No, even I’ll admit I did this out of spite. He had it coming for a long time." The words have a wobble to them at the end, an almost laugh, but not one of joy or humor, he had hated that brute. And as Ganymede heaved himself out of the cold water, coat dripping and the taken pelt sliding into the creek in a wet heap, he turned to face another brute of a different kind. Pale eyes took in the towering form with scrutiny, the way the demon prince stood a good distance away from him, taking note of the fact that the other had blown his cover early. Enough time to run, if he wanted, or it could be a trap of sorts. Ganymede was sorry to say that there was some part of him that truly hoped this wasn't a trap, that there weren't others creeping closer, it was the part that often tried to see the best in others. It was the part that was likely the reason he didn't run for the hills. Taking a deep breath, shaking his shoulders slightly to try and force the tension from them, Ganymede stood up to his full height. Not a trace of fear in his posture as misty lavender met burning pyre eyes. "Now, I have nothing for you, so ill politely ask you why you’re here." Walk, "Talk", Think Except you, you can stay.

The femme stood up, revealing a svelte young frame. Younger than the main Morningstar siblings. Could he be mistaken? Her pelt seemed enough to make her stand out as Judilan. The flash of her eyes, pale... a hint of lavender... Enchanting... His gaze grew hungry as he felt the little one beneath him. Pressing against his leg with shy trembling. Silent like a good little slave.

Her face was stoic, no fear... A mask?

"A long time then?" He mused aloud, a step toward her taken, his nose swaying as if to catch the scents like he didn't know them already. "He had you for a while? Pity..." He aimed to take another step closer. "I could have shown him what I like to do when something of mine is kept from me." With the practiced reflexes of an accomplished hunter, he leaped over the shore toward her. His massive body aimed to overcome any viable attempt at running as his arms grasped at her shoulders and his maw opened to clasp over her neck and entrap her himself.

"What I had to do, huh? No, even I’ll admit I did this out of spite. He had it coming for a long time." The answer to Ultyr's statement had her blinking. Not too many spoke back to her master in such ways. But she did have to wonder what he had done to the lady before them to earn a death out of spite. Then the female was pulling herself from the water and Lailah chanced a glance up at the much larger spotted form. There wasn't fear on their face but the way they spoke, it was almost like they knew each other. A blink and she was dropping her gaze again. "A long time then?" Ultyr's voice. At least he didn't sound pissed.


"He had you for a while? Pity..." She was about to lean even more into him when Ultyr moved, her eyes widening as he seemed to forget she had been there and leaning into his leg. Her balance thrown and by the time the next words were out of Ultyr's mouth she was falling on her side. "I could have shown him what I like to do when something of mine is kept from me." Her side hit the ground and she saw as he leaped at the other. Shit. He was pissed wasn't he. Her ears pressed and she rolled to her feet, but dared not move from the spot.

"Things I Hear"

Ooc: lai may be skipped until the fight or whatever is resolved. <3

"Do Not Enter" is written on the doorway Why can't everyone just go away? "A long time, a few more seasons than I’m pleased with and it won't be happening again." The creek water still flowed around where Ganymede stood, proud and calm even against this would-be adversary. He was certainly an enemy to his family after everything that had been done. Valorin Beast if there ever was one, walking with the swagger of a king yet here he was, likely just as alone…no not entirely alone. Ganymede finally caught sight of the other he had scented. Little Lailah, coat like blue-grey mountain ash…face scared and scarred. Anger was an understatement, lighting up in the young wolf like a forest fire. Each step closer had lips slowly peeling back to show off glinting teeth, lips still split in a few areas from Ganymede’s last fight where tooth had glanced off tooth and caught the skin there. Running had quickly become not an option when he had spotted someone so dear to his family. He watched, slowly moving his paws in the water to better brace himself for whatever came. ’I could have shown him what I like to do when something of mine is kept from me.' Those words, those words hit a nerve in the worst way. Head jerking back a little and a snarl bubbled up from Gany’s throat in livid anger. The bracing was the only thing that stopped him from being knocked off balance as the demon prince slammed into him, his shoulders and legs staggering under the weight of being grabbed and held, there would be no running here. Not from him, not from this beast. Ganymede could feel hot breath near his neck and jerked back some, turning his head in the hopes of clashing tooth against tooth just like his last fight. The goal to rip at the other’s muzzle if he could, spitting out words angrily. "I belong to fucking no one." Walk, "Talk", Think Except you, you can stay.

He landed with the girl beneath him, her body limber and strong. Stronger than his little kitten. His paws splayed in an attempt to sink his dulled claws against the skin of her shoulders. His teeth went to sink into her fur but he was unprepared for her jerking motion as the back of her head bashed against his nose, stars blinked into his vision and danced over the water!

He felt the ivories of the girl's teeth brush his smarting lip and reflexively he snarled and snapped his maw attempting to grasp her muzzle closed and clamp it tight. His tail swished back and forth as he brought his right foreleg up and attempted to press deeply into her back to force her down into the water. He was counting on his size and weight to overpower her.

He was incensed! A bubbling heat rose within him from the energy, from the action. He was not some unskilled lackie slaver that had perhaps held her for too long. He was the God-Prince Ultyr and she would be his like she had meant to be!

"Do Not Enter" is written on the doorway Why can't everyone just go away? It was the dig of claws in his shoulders that had him snarling again, the pressure put there almost painful with how they dug in and gripped. It almost would've hurt less if they were sharp and slicing and not trying to break skin from sheer pressure alone. Heavy, heavy and crushing and Ganymede wasn't too sure he could keep his legs under him much longer, and the pushing on his back was increasing. Teeth scraped painfully against his muzzle, likely dragging lines there as Ganymede yanked his head to avoid having his jaws held shut. He certainly could feel the soft beading and welling up of blood there. To have his jaws held was to leave himself helpless in all of this, and he refused to be helpless to this beast. Ganymede’s shoulders ached, the bruising from before no longer numb but painful and throbbing, and now the place where this Valorin’s teeth had scraped and dragged against the more delicate skin of his muzzle hurt. If it wasn't for the rush of adrenaline and anger, mind caught in the swirl of this fight for his freedom, he would've been done for. He was a healer, a hunter, not typically a fighter. Instead he was spurred on by it, by the worry, the anger, and the pain. It was a heady mix, if he was honest. He let his legs drop out out from underneath him, winding himself in the process of dropping chest and belly against the creek bed, keen to use his smaller size to his own advantage in this fight. The moment his stomach touched the cold water, he rolled and lunged up with teeth bared, aiming for chest, neck, or even shoulder.. If he could latch his teeth into it, then he was going to attempt to aim for that area. Paws reaching to grapple at the demon prince’s legs or shoulders where he could reach. He had just earned this freedom, he would do anything to keep from losing it so soon after. Walk, "Talk", Think Except you, you can stay.

The girl's maw was wrenched from his teeth as he regrettably held her too tightly.
As he pushed down suddenly the girl dropped and rolled away, making him lash his tail and scramble to claw after her. He had not prepared for her to come right back at him with teeth and claws flayed to take him back on. Ultyr danced backward and away from her. He swiped his massive right arm into the water to cause a wave to overtake her and attempt to choke her onslaught.

"Hah! And which Judilan Princess has this fire in her soul?" He asked, relaunching into his attack as he leaped forward again, tucking his right paw to his chest and attempting to shoulder check her left shoulder and unbalance her into the water.

"Do Not Enter" is written on the doorway Why can't everyone just go away? He hadn't been expecting the other to dance backward away from him, teeth snapping closed on thin air with a belligerent snarl at the miss when the other was so close. He’d take a chunk out of this arrogant bastard yet, he was determined. Rolling to lunge again before the water caught him in the face, making him back up with a sputter and cough so he didn't accidentally inhale anything. Pale eyes narrowed at the other as he slid his legs down to brace himself where he stood, head lowered and body almost hunkered down. Running would put his back to the other, and he refused to go down without a fight or run like a coward from the situation. Pride and anger wouldn't let him at this point. ’Hah! And which Judilan Princess has this fire in her soul?’ The words had Ganymede stunned before his ears slowly pivoted to lay flat against his skull and his lips peeled back again to show off his teeth. "No princess, you pissant, I'm a prince!" He was so focused on the affront that he hadn't been expecting the other’s shoulder to slam into his own and unbalance him. Stumbling, his back half was knocked back into the water but braced front legs kept his upper half up in a half-sitting position. Anger surged again as he whipped his head to dig his teeth into the other’s face. Walk, "Talk", Think, ’Others Speaking’ Except you, you can stay.

The words echoed in his ears. "No princess, you pissant, I'm a prince!" as his body slammed against the youth into the water. He jerked back as the Prince surged to latch his teeth into Ultyr's face. A wicked smile creased his unmarred lips as he tilted his head and stilled his body from the fight. His luck could not be any better. If he could not find his Angel... Also a fighter... He narrowed his eyes as he stepped back again from the Judilan prince, the youth was growing tired, Ultyr fresh for the fight, large with reserves of energy, the soft storm shine boy with a hint of sunset to his fur was weakening.

"Come then, Prince of Judila. Tell me your name, I'm sure you know mine." Ultyr rumbled in his chest and turned partially back to the shore, his eyes still on the weakened lad as he tilted his head for the youth to join him on the shore. As if they were suddenly equals, or brothers that had a mild misunderstanding.

Their clash of teeth and fur had her wide-eyed and sitting up, twisting until her feet were under her. Her ears pressed as she looked on, uncertain of who would be the victor, but scared nonetheless. If Ultyr won, would she be forgotten? Left to rot and bare the burden of surviving without the aid of the father of her children, she knew she would die without him. But the thought of someone besting him, it meant anger, and anger had forever meant pain. Her tail clasped to her belly as she stayed as low and close to the ground as she could. This was stressful and scary for the dame. Long ago the fight had left her.

There were words angry and full of spite. Not from Ultyr but the other. She claimed her freedom and Lai knew what was up the moment it was happening, Ultyr was intent on taking her freedom. Lai knew better than to intervene, knew that prince was a slaver, and knew the other only stood a chance if they ran from him. The words kept coming but Lai had little concern for alot of the words spewed right now. As the two clashed she started looking for an out. Eye frantic in her search. Then she was slinking away, her destination a tree with a hollowed root den. The entrance was tiny, definitely not something Ultyr could fit in. And she had no intentions of coming out until he was calm again. Last time he was angry had ended with her on her back, semi-choked by the man. Violence was a language he knew well.

The worm she was, she was slinking in even faster as Ultyr sounded done with his fight. Hormones had her ready to cry if he touched her in anger at the moment and she would be damned if she let him harm the innocent lives within her. Soon as she was in the dark of the earth she was curling unto herself and pressing her head into her paws to drown out the noises around as much as possible. She needed a few minutes to herself. And definitely wanted the promise of no pain to her to come from Ultyr's own lips before she left this den. Drama queen it may feel like but she would be damned if she would take the punishment of some other.

"Things I Hear"

"Do Not Enter" is written on the doorway Why can't everyone just go away? Twice, his teeth clipped twice towards the face jerking back from his jaws but he didn't stand up, eyes narrowing as he watched the way the other seemed to back away fully from the fight. Lilac eyes judged the other to see if the onslaught would continue or if it was truly done for the moment. His body ached from over-exertion and if he was honest, he did hope the fight was over, he had no intention of losing his freedom again though, and would lash out if he felt it was being taken again. For the moment, he sat still in the water and let his sides heave as took a moment to catch his breath, gaze flickering across the shore for the shape of Lailah again only to see a little half-tail disappear into a hollow beneath a tree. Smart girl. ’Come then, Prince of Judila. Tell me your name, I'm sure you know mine.’ The way he willingly turned his back to Ganymede told him the fight was likely over in earnest for the moment, however, that same motion screamed hubris to the younger male. As if the other did not think him any danger to him, and it was irritating to some degree, as if he didn't just hold his own in this spat. He wouldn't be joining him on the shore, settling more in the water with a soft glare before giving his name in a curt, "Ganymede, my name is Ganymede. And yes, I know who you are, arrogant demon prince." Walk, "Talk", Think, ’Others Speaking’ Except you, you can stay.

His fiery gaze lingered over the lad's frame as he gave his name. Ganymede. Fitting, he thought, for a pretty boy to bear my cup one day. he mused to himself with an arrogant smile.

"Demon Prince?" He mused, walking away from the boy. The first time he heard the nickname. His eyes were on the shore and he couldn't immediately spot his girl. His tail swished with an irritated flick as he picked up his pace to reach the beach. He sniffed the ground for her and found her huddled in the tree roots.

"What of you Kitten?" He chuffed at her, "Come out. Do you think me a Demon?" He asked, barely holding himself back from digging her out.

The world outside her temporary sanctuary grew quiet once more. The voices a dull thrum as they spoke. "Ganymede, my name is Ganymede. And yes, I know who you are, arrogant demon prince." The name of Ultyr didn't leave their lips, but then again perhaps that's what they called him in places outside Archnemes. She knew him as Prince Ultyr and his father as King Aryn. "Demon Prince?" Ultyr seemed amused somewhat at least. Did he win? Was the other striped one now shackled as she was?

Fighting wasn't her friend. The sound of it having her mind elsewhere though she knew where her body was. She'd heard the screams again. She had used her best defense mechanism, hide where you couldn't be reached. Her eyes watered. And then the sound of approach and her nickname falling from his lips. "What of you Kitten?" As if he hadn't just attacked someone to take their freedom from them. As if he was innocent in this. Her body rose and spun on him quickly, chin already lifting to him and eye sealing shut as he looked in on her. Safety, she wanted safety. But if he was pissed was that really safety? What would he do this time? Last time a tantrum had happened he had choke slammed her. This time it was more than herself that she needed to think of. "Come out. Do you think me a Demon?" His words had her eye cutting to his orange ones. Did he ask her as a trick? Demons didn't exist. A shake of her head, but she wasn't coming out. But she did inch ever so slightly closer, just out of his reach. Her eye searching for his mood, was he pissed? Did the other under his thumb make him happy? He may of never left physical marks on her but as miss rose said, "Forgive, but never forget." and she wouldn't forget. She loved him yes but that didn't mean he was without flaw.

Her search didn't find tension in him, but the man was good at masking things. But she also knew he only had so much patience. Her ears pressed and she made her choice. She couldn't stay there forever. Another slow slink towards him, before another, as if watching for any sign he was about to snap. Aryn had ruined her trust of angry men for him. She kept slinking until she was at his feet, unless he snapped or sounded angry, if that happened she was going right back in and not coming out! She may be his slave but she was still a living being under it all. She did have feelings and right now her feelings were extreme versions of themselves.

"Things I Hear"

"Do Not Enter" is written on the doorway Why can't everyone just go away? Staying sitting with the current swirling around him, he kept his eyes on Ultyr’s back, a sight he could begrudgingly admit to admiring but not the Valorin himself. Once he deemed the other a decent distance away, he slowly sunk back into the water to let it soothe his aches and pains that had been renewed. Though he kept his eyes on the towering, earthen male who seemed to have lost where the smoky lady had slipped away to for the moment. "I imagine not many would call you that to your face while you flaunt your title and power around, ’god-prince’ Ultyr . However, out here, I'll do whatever I please." Ganymede hummed, stretching his legs out to grab the previously discarded skin of the slaver and splay his paw over it. Pulling it back to him, not keen to lose it yet as a petty revenge. He settled both his feet on the wet fur and rested for a bit, just watching the other two interact. Though the obvious fear seemed to color Lailah’s features when she exited the burrow had his hackles raising but his muscles protested the idea of him standing unless he needed to. Walk, "Talk", Think, ’Others Speaking’ Except you, you can stay.

He narrowed his eyes as he watched her trembling form hidden in the darkness. He could barely make out the reflection in her eyes as she looked up at him and then closed her eyes. What had caused this new reaction in his slave? She had not tried to hide from him since that day on the decrepit human island.

She at least shook her head, but it had not been visible for the other to see.
He tempered his impatience for her to come out. His ear was still on the prince in the water. He couldn't help his tail swish though as she lingered. He stepped back to allow her space to return to him, her shuffling, a reaction he had not witnessed in her before.

Something had scared her... and it made her scared of him. He tilted his head as he tried reading her. His heart rate had come back down from his fight, a spar really, it barely weakened him and he didn't even break a sweat. It was perhaps the first time he had raised a paw towards another with her near him. Had that been it?

He bent close to her as she finally slunk to his feet, her body braced as if to bolt.

"My Kitten, surely you don't think I'd leave you friendless and alone to raise these children, do you?" He asked her with a low purr in his chest, His nose gently reaching to brush her cheek, "I can't leave you and the little ones by yourselves while I hunt." He huffed. Perhaps he was testing Ganymede's mettle, perhaps he was testing how spicy he was. His true motives were his own.

"No, I suppose not." He replied to Ganymede, his voice growing in volume again to reach him. "Maybe I like this new title. Demon Prince. She doesn't think I am one. My father though..." He replied, trailing off and looking again at his girl's scars, perhaps with fresh eyes, "She'd probably call him a monster for sure." He said, taking his paw and tenderly caressing her blue-gray cheek.