Azalea lay sprawled like a jungle goddess at the base of towering Kapok. Her fur was wild, under kept. She had been running though she was no longer panting. The jungle climate was different than she was used to. This new home was so moist and and yet stole the moisture from her body faster than she had ever thought possible. Luck for her, water was never too hard to find in this place of perpetual rain. In the dim jungle she found herself in a random patch of light. It was about midday. Amber eyes were narrowed as she edged toward a nap. Momentarily she wondered where he children were. Likely causing trouble. They were always up to no good, in her mind. Azalea had broke them of nursing and was nearly departed from her grotesque body. She was amazed with how her body had managed to mend itself. With a sigh Azalea flopped over onto her side. She broke into a yawn, jaws stretching wide, before rolling over onto her back to look up through the trees. The limbs she saw above her were not of Kapok but of smaller trees which were dwarfed in comparison to the mighty Kapok. It had to be at least sixty feet high and yet was not quite the tallest she had seen around here. Tree that reached the clouds. Her mind wandered to thoughts of climbing trees to the sun.

Sarak

His fur was dappled by the light filtering through the canopy of exotic island trees, lungs full of her scent. Moss green eyes swept the jungle as he made his silent passage through the new environment that was Valhalla?s new home. He had not been present as of late, the wound in his scruff having taken an infection. He?d followed the Glaciem fighters to see where they would take their prisoners. And, for a while, he?d lurked well out of noticing range, watching. Cormalin was well enough, keeping to the shadows. Bronze had escaped, and Themisto had surprised Sarak by winning his freedom. Cormalin would find his way free eventually. The old wolf was smart, and strong. So Sarak had turned to home. However, the infection had taken hold in the days during his travel home, and he?d wandered, sick from infection, until his body had managed to defeat it. The wound in his scruff was healing now, a large scar where flesh and fur once lay. Azalea?s scent strengthened, and he slowed, stopping just within eyesight. He took her in, drank her form in. Then finally, he stepped from the shadows of the jungle. ?Azalea.? So much love and longing in her name.

The jungle was a place a of secrets. Shadows clung to everything and life was everywhere. Even now as she lay staring skyward she could see the trees above rustle as a pair of small monkeys ran through the trees as easily as she ran on land. A sound came, kissing her left ear gently. Something moving on the side of her that was not sheltered by the Kapok. ?Azalea.? Her jaws parted, eyes widening and rolled over and onto her belly. Paws drew under her and she rose all in one clean movement. It was a level of agility and grace that she would have never reached in old Valhalla. Here everything challenged her, told her to become better. The jungle made her feel alive, despite her original discomfort with the move. She attributed any doubt to the puppies that had been barely beginning to wean when they had moved. Her eyes found him with a hunger, sometime rising within her that she thought had died. "Sarak?" Was it really him? Her voice was hardly more than a whisper as she gawked at the sight before her. Ears were drawn back, eyes looking over the darkly mottled male. "Is it... is it really you?" She took slow steps forward, nose sniffing longing to pick up the scent of him and hold onto it tightly. She needed to get a closer look. She needed to feel him, to take in his every little detail. And if this was a dream then what a sweet dream it was. Shuffling over to him the she-wolf smiled broadly, tail raising to wave slowly. This was not dream, no dream could master his looks so perfectly. She glanced away a big slyly, realizing she had done maybe just way too much staring. "I would like to be the first to tell you that...damn you make the jungle look good." Her words were spoken as her mind wandered, body recalling how it felt to have their bodies mesh together as if one. She exhaled slowly, not ready for the fire that was burning up her legs and towards her core. With that she would spring at him, jumping about him and yipping and yelping like an excited puppy. Her eyes latched onto the ugly scar that adorned his neck and she stopped, snapping into a tense stand. "You're hurt!" Her nose hovered over it, sniffing it for infection. It seemed healthy though from the way it was healing she guessed it had been infected before. At least it was closing up now, though she was certain the look of it would be enough to make Erani cringe. And scold him... "Where have you been? Did Glaciem take you? Why didn't you have that looked at, if you had it wouldn't look so... gross." Her words fell like a waterfall and she stopped herself with huff, then gathered herself. She took a couple steps back. She had yet to actually touch him. "I had children... have children. They are sired by Isardis... Are you... okay with that?"

Sarak

She rose, movements far more graceful than anything he had ever seen her do in the time he?d known her, her eyes searching and finding him, roving over him with a hunger that told him a great deal. His tail gave a lazy wag, this being the first time it had wagged in a long time. Since the night she had left on a fools errand. Her voice reached him, questioning, and his ears curved forward to take in every syllable. Every note. Was he the first Blackmoon descendant to ever feel love? He smiled, then answered in a softly purring reply. ?Of course, my star. In the flesh, though missing a piece.? He flashed a cavalier grin. He let her approach, wanting to watch her move, the lithe grace given to her by the jungle. She was wagging too, as though she wasn?t quite sure if she was awake or not, staring at him. He grinned again, tongue falling over ivory canines. The grin only grew wider as her eyes glanced away, as he knew she?d realized that she was staring at him. Her next words brought a short chuckle of amusement. ?So do you, Azalea. You move like a big cat in here. Beautiful, graceful.? Honest flattery, as his emerald gaze roved her form in much the same way as her amber eyes had eaten him up. And like that, she sprang at him, breaking down into a wolf?s joyous dance, bouncing around him, until she stopped suddenly, stiffening, her eyes on his neck. He nodded, eyes serious. ?Courtesy of your dear friend, the grey skeleton boy. He had a great deal to say, and that led to his death by your father?s jaws. And a good several blows by mine.? Her nose probed the air above the wound, and he could imagine what she was thinking. Erani was going to flay him alive with her frightening side. Azalea?s small tidal wave of questions washed over his ears, and he tried to keep up with them. ?I wasn?t taken prisoner. I have Syrinx to thank for that. However, I wanted to see where they took Cormalin and the other two, so I followed at a distance, downwind. Themisto fought his way free. I believe Bronze has escaped. Cormalin alone remains, and he seems to be biding his time. Perhaps waiting for most of the pack to became lax. Or to gather information. As for the wound, it became infected around the time I started home, and I ended up wandering around with a muzzy head and a fever until my body fought off the infection.? Her last words were met with a calm gaze. ?Mister skeleton boy said, that you begged him to ?fuck? you, before Isardis could. That he had. That maybe most of Glaciem had, as well as Isardis. Your daddy overheard.? Emeralds bore into her amber gaze. ?I told him I couldn?t imagine you allowing such a whelp as him to lay with you, and insulted his gender, since most of Glaciem are female. As for the pups. I will help you raise them, and be a father to them, if your da will even let me be with you. I?m pretty sure he wants to rip my throat out, too.? Sarak stared into her eyes, deep and hard. ?But you need to promise me this: Don?t you ever leave me hanging like that. Not ever. I love you with every fiber of my being. Without you, I may as well find a bear and piss him off.?

We Need A Couple Table, Dammit!

?Of course, my star. In the flesh, though missing a piece.? His tail swayed, his attention all for her. A ghost of smile found her lips, her mind taking his words into consideration. "I wonder what he means," She would question internally. Was he physically missing a piece of himself or was he being figurative? "He has to mean figuratively... does he realize I am missing a piece too?" Or maybe she was missing multiple. Or maybe not at all? She felt like any and all missing pieces had suddenly come together, found her again. Her compliment to him made him smile. Her eyes kept to his. Oh how she had missed those green eyes watching her. ?So do you, Azalea. You move like a big cat in here. Beautiful, graceful.? Azalea shrugged, trying to mask how he flustered her mind to give her compliments like that. As Azalea examined his neck, he gave a grim nod before speaking. ?Courtesy of your dear friend, the grey skeleton boy. He had a great deal to say, and that led to his death by your father?s jaws. And a good several blows by mine.? Azalea's face dropped, eyes clouding and ears pulling back. She still hadn't the slightest idea why her father had chosen to go so far as killing him. Had he deserved it? She had avoided the question but maybe now was the time to ask. "Why? Sarak, why did my father do it? He is no cold blooded killer, he had to have a reason." Vixe was a touchy subject altogether, a threat to Sarak's relationship with Azalea. Now that he was departed, perhaps it would not be pushing things to bring him up. No longer could the steel grey brute tempt her. Her dark male went into an explanation of his journey, why his wound had been left to fester. When he went back to Vixe she didn't know what to expect. Her brow spots shot up and her mouth dropped open. She couldn't speak. How did you find words to explain how you feel to know that a "friend" decided to call you a harlot? A small strangled noise found its way out. ?I told him I couldn?t imagine you allowing such a whelp as him to lay with you, and insulted his gender, since most of Glaciem are female. As for the pups. I will help you raise them, and be a father to them, if your da will even let me be with you. I?m pretty sure he wants to rip my throat out, too.? Azalea seemed to gather herself now, a smirk coming on her face and she sat down and a wiggle of her shoulders. Proud, foolishly so, that Sarak and Collision had protected her honor. He said too that he would act as the father to her children and she didn't know how she felt about it. Mainly she couldn't picture Sarak as being a father, not that he wouldn't make a good one, but he too was too young to be tied down to a family. Azalea could have gone her whole life and still been too young to be tied down. The thought of Collision trying to keep them apart made her physically shake her head, defensive. "No. I wont let him!" Azalea shifted where she sat, trying to stifle her indignity. "Besides... you wouldn't let him." Her words were pointed, eyes on the ground but then lifting to his suddenly. "Would you?" ?But you need to promise me this: Don?t you ever leave me hanging like that. Not ever. I love you with every fiber of my being. Without you, I may as well find a bear and piss him off.? Hanging like what? Like how he had left her? To go follow wolves that were not even part of Valhalla? Who had left who here? She pushed that aside though, realizing what exactly had had said and was saying. He loved her and he would rather be dead without her. She felt cruel, knowing her first emotion was fear. Fear of disappointing him and leading to his demise. Why did he want to push such a crazy ultimatum onto her when she had only just embraced being a mother. Azalea stood up silently, moving toward him until there less than a foot between their noses. A half smile took hold of her face, a paw lifting to place it on his face, trying to hide his eyes that always watched her so well. "I don't want anyone else. If I could have you for the rest of forever then I won't need anyone else."

Sarak

Sarak flashed a small grin at her shrug, knowing exactly how flustered she was. Settling onto his haunches, he curled his tail against them, watching her; the way she moved, the way her face fell as he mentioned the dead male. To her words, he agreed silently. Her father was no cold blooded wolf. But a father enraged had no mercy when defending his child. Around here, at least. In BlackMoon Pack, a pup had to defend himself or die. He watched her reaction to his answer, the way shock made her brows shoot high and her jaw drop. The strangled noise she made confirmed that she?d never expected the grey and white male to say such things about her, and also told him what he?d instinctively known all a long: That she hadn?t been bred by any male but Isardis while in Glaciem. His next words had given her time to gather herself again, and that customary smirk returned to her face as she settled on her haunches, shoulders wiggling faintly. Sarak gave a soft chuckle as she vehemently shook her head, speaking out against the possibility of her father trying to keep them apart. To her next words he cocked his head slightly. ?No, I wouldn?t, but I wouldn?t mind at least having your parents? blessing. A reluctant father can make a lot of problems, I?d imagine, and I would love to be able to walk past him, or have a chat with him without worrying about getting glared at.? Or worse? was the silent continuation of that statement, unspoken, but known. At his last words, his begging of a promise, she rose, eyes showing a mixture of emotions. He knew she was afraid; that small puff of fear told a great deal of the workings in her mind. But he would help her face that fear. He would stand by her side in all that would come in the future. Nothing would ever stop that. She moved toward him, smiled, and then planted a paw in his face. Ahuh? Just like always. One eye remained uncovered, large and green, taking in her face as her next words came. It was good enough for him. Gently dislodging his face from under her paw, he leaned in and placed a lick on her nose. ?And you have me for that and longer. That I promise. No matter where I am, by your side, or miles away, I am always with you. You need only to call for me.? It was a promise he would keep, no matter what it took to keep it.

?No, I wouldn?t, but I wouldn?t mind at least having your parents? blessing. A reluctant father can make a lot of problems, I?d imagine, and I would love to be able to walk past him, or have a chat with him without worrying about getting glared at.? Azalea was thought when he spoke, her eyes on the ground. Amber eyes distant, not focusing, as she considered her father and how he might behave.

"My father is a good man. If he sees you intentions are not misguided then he cannot hate you." There was a feeling blooming in her chest. It was a strange thing that brought her a moment of discomfort as she squirmed a bit to try and relieve it. It would not go away though. Like a weight it pressed on her heart and made her breathing a bit rough.

His next words provoked reaction until she was standing and planting her paw in his face and making her own pledges in return. He slipped out from under her paw and she placed it back on the ground where it belonged. "And you have me for that and longer. That I promise. No matter where I am, by your side, or miles away, I am always with you. You need only to call for me.? He kissed her on the nose and she knew she was grinning like a man wolf. She couldn't find words for how she felt but then there wasn't just one feeling. Her life was complicated and she knew that weight on her heart wasn't just overwhelming joy to know that Sarak would be faithful to her.

Time held many horrors and Azalea knew that one day, Isardis would come knocking. She didn't want him to be mixed up with that but she knew that even if they hadn't said what they had that he would still involve himself. If as nothing more than a concerned friend.

She pushed aside, realizing that she had zoned out. Happiness overcame her again and with a yip she flung herself onto him, paws spread to encompass his neck and hold his face to her neck.