It'd taken a good few days for her to get back to feeling like normal. Though she'd felt alright initially upon joining, as soon as she'd found herself a quiet place to sleep she felt the heavy weight of her brother's death weighing down on her shoulders. The pain was more easily contained when within Kyarst's embrace, but when she found herself alone she felt sadness creep into her heart and refuse to relinquish its grasp on her. It was all so fucking unfair. Only in the darkness did she allow herself to cry again; quiet sobs that she had struggled to contain when in her brother's presence now seemed to wrack her body. Crying quickly became exhausting and soon after arriving in Imperium she found herself succumbing to sleep. As the days went on, her emotional strength returned to her. Perhaps in this pack, with Kyarst at her side, she could find some stability at least. She had never had such security in her life, and while wary about growing too comfortable here, she was willing to try at the prospect of knowing Drashiel's children eventually. Slowly her mind wandered as she padded through these new lands, finding them strangely barren, finding difficulty in hiding from the summer heat in such a flat terrain. Tongue lolled from her mouth as she traveled through her new home, searching silently for her brother, wondering where he'd been off to. They were often close to one another and she hadn't seem him since the previous day, which made her quite curious as to where he'd been. Head dipped to the ground as she trailed after his scent, tail swishing behind her as she looked for him.

Warning. This thread WILL be mature. Deal or get out.

His heart was still beating, lungs were still burning, and he was dappled here and there with droplets of blood. Her perfume was thick upon him, and yet he hadn't been conscious enough about it to bathe. Not yet, anyway. He had every intention of going to the lake in the range and cleaning up, but there was the matter of getting there in his current state. He was still incredibly hot and bothered, though his obvious signs of arousal had diminished somewhat. He no longer felt as if he were carrying a log between his legs, it was more like an annoying branch now. He smirked at the thought, and winced as his adrenaline and arousal began to wear off - leaving nothing but the dull pain. Emerald eyes fixated upon her figure in the distance, and he diverted his path from the lake to her. Angst ebbed deep in his loins as he neared her, his head lifting slightly. “It's good to see you out and about. I was heading to the lake, care to join me?” His voice was casual, though labored, and although there were obvious signs of his tryst he truthfully didn't think anything of it and didn't bother mentioning it to her directly. Instead, he would seek to bump his shoulder into her own if she chose to join him in his journey. His tail wavered lazily behind him as he set his eyes upon the water, intent upon getting a bath and soaking away the ebbing pain in his neck and the searing heat in his groin. “speak,”

It wasn't surprising that he was not too far away. A slight smile tugged at the corners of her lips as he approached, her eyes visibly lighting at the sight of him. Perhaps today might be the day that they finally met the members of their family that were left here. With ease she stepped closer to him, letting her nose bump his shoulder as he began to speak. It took a moment for her to notice that his scent was different and she wrinkled her nose, reading the story that his stench told without much effort. "You smell like a whore," she commented dryly, pulling away slightly to examine him. It was difficult to not sneer at him. They'd just barely reunited, and they'd joined Imperium even more recently, and already he reeked of blood and of a woman "Fucking idiot." There was a growl that lingered on her voice. Somewhat roughly she leaned to nudge beneath his neck, lapping at his fur to taste the blood that had soaked into his fur, confirming he'd suffered some minor injuries... though apparently he was quite pleased with himself. "Go wash yourself off and make sure your dick is put away, before our new alpha finds you preying upon his members." There was a tightness in her chest at the realization of what he had done -- or had almost done, she wasn't quite sure -- though she would staunchly deny that she was jealous. Still she walked with him, eyes narrowing as she stared at him, as though expecting some sort of explanation or apology. Honestly though, was he really so stupid?

He had been rather ignorant to the fact that his scent might piss her off, after all - it wasn't as if they had ever spoken of not doing what he had just nearly done. However, he wasn't ignorant for long as she wrinkled her nose and chastised him for 'smelling like a whore'. He snorted, lip curling in defense. 'Fucking idiot' came her biting words as she nosed the blood that still stained his dark figure. She gave him orders, and rather defiantly he would plant his paws, neck snapping his head in her direction. “Watch it, Lysis. Not that it's any of your business, but I didn't do anything wrong, and I was on my way to get cleaned up when I ran into you.” His words were biting and defensive, and his lip continued to quiver even after he was through speaking. His tail whipped once behind him as he picked up his pace again, deliberately moving toward the lake with intent to wash himself of the girls' scent and blood. “And she wasn't my prey,” he tossed the words over his shoulder at her like a projectile. He'd had such a fantastically exciting encounter, and now this. Some part of him resented her for ruining this for him, and yet there was a tiny nagging part of him that told him he should have been smart enough to know she wouldn't like what he had done. “speak,”

There was a sudden surge of protectiveness that washed over her at the sight of him like this. Kyarst was her brother, one of the only siblings she felt she had left -- she knew she had many more, though who knew where the hell they were these days. Instantly he bristled at her harsh words and she returned the anger, letting it wash over her without effort and not bothering to contain it. Since when had they ever hid their feelings from one another, however extreme they might be? "It is my fucking business who you mess around with," she argued matter-of-factly. If he'd been in any other state, she wouldn't have hesitated to physically lash out at him, as she had before; but the stench of blood on his coat was enough to keep her from striking him. "Because you are the one who brought me here and you will be the one responsible if we end up getting kicked out because you can't control yourself." Still she sneered, visibly distraught over finding him like this, though she would walk briskly beside him still, unwilling to let him get away so easily. She was grateful at least that he was on his way to clean himself properly and she eyed him with something like disgust in her gaze, nose wrinkling in his direction. 'And she wasn't my prey,' he commented and she snorted audibly in response. 'Sure," she retorted sharply, not fully believing him. He was the type to take what he wanted, regardless of the consequences, and she was the same way -- which is perhaps why she reacted so strongly when she ran into him like this. "Let me clean your neck after you wash yourself," she snapped quickly. Though she was irritated at him, the last thing she wanted to see was him succumb to infection, even if the wound wasn't terribly deep.

The part of him that knew he was in the wrong was growing stronger by the minute, emphasized by the growing pain in his neck. Perhaps this hadn't been the smartest move after all. The spitfire of a girl had sure packed a whollup. A sigh drifted from his lips as he felt the sting of each of her words, as if they were darts and he was the target. “We won't get kicked out,” he argued, though there was a dullness and lack of strength to his argument. He knew he was on the losing end of this battle. “We just messed around, that's it. I ended it before it became anything more.” Yes, he had ended it, and boy - had that been hard. He was used to her reacting like this, though it still hurt to feel her anger be directed at him. He received a bit of a reprieve as she commented about cleaning him up, and he would nod in agreement. “Okay,” he obliged, knowing if he had half a lick of sense he wouldn't argue with her about keeping his wound clean. There came another sigh as he allowed his body to slide into the lake, the water stinging for a moment before ebbing away his pain. The dried blood on his fur pooled around him before dissolving into the water, leaving him clean - albeit mildly injured. He swam in a  tight circle and dipped the entirety of his frame underneath the water before retracting from the lake's depths and returning to where she waited. “Your patient is clean now,” he jested, though it was obvious he didn't put much effort into it for fear of being shot down regardless of it's cleverness. He rocked onto his haunches and subsequently onto his stomach, head falling upon his outstretched front paws. “speak,”

Though he seemed to know exactly how to piss her off, her love for him outweighed almost anything other emotion he could make her feel -- even if she wasn't the best at expressing her affections to him. Her lip curled into a sneer that seemed like it might never fade, eyes flashing almost dangerously as they made their way to the stream. They could argue and they could fight about it, but she was grateful that he seemed to calm slightly, his words lacking their previous ferocity. "We better not," she warned sharply, though her own tone had softened a bit, though there was an annoyance that likely would not fade for some time. His explanation did little to ease her worries. "Just tell me she wasn't ugly," she commented dryly as she watched him slip into the lake to cleanse the wounds that this woman had likely inflicted upon him. "I expect nothing but the best from you, brother," she exhaled, half-snorting at her own commentary. There was still a tugging envy in her chest, though she couldn't quite place the uncomfortable feeling. As he bathed, she let herself recline briefly, head resting on her forepaws. Only when he left the depths of the water would she shift herself upward again, moving her head to nudge him downward, though he had moved quite willingly to a lying position upon the ground. Though she knew little about healing, she knew an injury when she saw one and gingerly she would nudge the fur beneath his throat to inspect it. "She got you good," she commented, a bit of laughter rising in her throat. "You're lucky she didn't rip your throat out." Tenderly she would move to clean his wounds, only slightly more rough than necessary, knowing he had gladly taken the teeth of a strange girl to his throat... he could put up with a fierce cleaning too, for his own good.

He lay placidly upon the earth, at peace now that he was with her. There was something to the excitement of Mercy, but nothing compared to being with someone who knew every facet of his being and still cared enough about him to clean his wounds. A smile creased his features, but he ushered it aside - unwilling to stoke the fire raging in his half-sister's being. His tail tapped the earth lazily as he let her see to him, nudging aside the stuck together fur and examining every inch of the wound Mercy had left him. She had bitten down multiple times in this one area, and so the wound had grown each time she took hold. It stung just a bit, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle. He was confident it would heal in just a few days - he hoped Mercy fared the same way. His eyes crept up to gaze at her rather innocently, hoping to observe her as she fussed and fretted over him. She was rather cute when she was ticked off, and it amused him that despite her obvious rage at his 'idiocy' she still took her time to care for him. Why was that? Anyone else might've stormed off in a huff. Lysis never had, even when he'd left her for nearly a season. “She was pretty, might've gotten a little too much blood on her though..” perhaps that shouldn't have been a joke, but in so many ways it was. He chuckled idly, glancing up at her - a boyish grin on his face. He winced as she lapped furiously at his tender flesh, but not a sound would escape him. If this was her form of punishment, he could take it. His tongue flickered out over his lips, as if he might still taste some droplet of her blood on his skin. None was left, though, as he'd bathed every inch of himself in the lake. Pity, he'd have liked something to remember her by. “speak,”

Though he elicited such intense emotions from her, it was only around Kyarst that she could feel truly at peace. A sigh escaped her throat as she examined his wound. Though it wasn't really a bad one, if one was unlucky enough almost anything could get infected. She didn't want to risk his safety, no matter how ticked off she might be. Her annoyance was shone in every one of her rough movements, though she was mostly concerned with cleaning his wounds. "Hopefully she doesn't have a father around these parts, or you'll be lucky to not get your throat actually ripped out," she scoffed. She could only imagine such a scene, and though she'd defend Kyarst until her dying breath, part of her wouldn't be surprised if he got himself into such a scenario. "And you won't like it so much then." The woman didn't fully understand whatever they'd done; Kyarst and she had never really talked about things like this, and she was mostly naive in terms of the opposite sex. Still she groomed his wound carefully, her motions growing more gentle before she pulled away from him. Finally, she placed a gentle nuzzle on the side of his neck as she moved to assess his wounds. They were clean now and would likely be fine, assuming he didn't go opening his wounds again or rolling around in muck. "All clean," Lysis said finally, smirking a bit at the job she'd done.

He lay still as she cleaned him, resentment growing within his chest as he realized how much he was being treated like a child. This is precisely what his mother would have done, yelled at him and then licked his wounds for him. Kyarst wasn't a child anymore, and he hated being chastised like one. He bit down on his tongue, hard, as she commented about the girls' father coming after him and ripping his throat out. “He might succeed in the end, but I would damn sure give him a run for his money. I'm not the teenager from across the river, Lysis.” His masculinity and pride wouldn't be overlooked just because he was cooperating with her at this particular moment. He knew he'd screwed up in some ways, but in others he was completely justified in what he had done. A sigh slipped forth from clenched teeth as she nuzzled against his neck and told him he was clean. “Great,” he murmured with little enthusiasm, standing abruptly to his paws and striding toward the lake, his back to her. He didn't say anything for quite some time, just sat and stared out at the water as it rippled and swirled. Finally, when the question had banged around every inch of his brain, he finally spoke in a slightly more biting tone than he'd intended. “Do you just think I'm horrible? Do you spend your days waiting around for me to screw something up?” Teeth clattered shut as he continued to stare out at the water, his tail lashing behind him. “speak,”

Kyarst seemed just as restless as she was, rarely content to just stay calm for long. His initial anger had faded, and so had hers, but suddenly he seemed to grow irritated again and he pulled away from her when she moved to nuzzle him.  "Really?" she would react quickly, her brows furrowing as he pulled away from her. Only days ago, he had held her as she cried, had groomed her and had calmed her -- and now this? And only when she finally calmed would he react so drastically again, though she shouldn't have expected anything but from him. A low growl left her lips, her ears flattening subconsciously against her skull. "Do you think I'm horrible?" Because it sure sounds like it, she thought bitterly. feeling agitation build in her own chest.  "Of course I don't do that. You're my brother. You're my world, Kyarst." Perhaps that was why she grew so emotional around him -- why she reacted so dramatically to his actions, even when they didn't concern her. It truly felt as if he was all she had left. Logically it would seem she ought to treasure him, to ensure she didn't lose him, and yet all she felt was passion, love mixed with rage and with torment alike. Behind her, her tail smacked at the ground as she rose to a sitting position. A selfish part of her found no reason to worry about him leaving her, because why would he, when it was so obvious he loved her?  "Don't be like that."

He didn't fully comprehend why it was so easy to get frustrated with her. Perhaps it was because she was the only being in the world that he cared about, the only wolf who's opinion mattered to him at all. Why was that? He'd met countless other wolves, was it just because she was his flesh and blood? He shook his head, of course he didn't think she was horrible, how could he? Granted, she was temperamental and testy, but who wasn't? He found himself whirling around as she declared he was her world, a look of genuine disbelief and sudden confirmation upon his face. “And you're mine,” he breathed. He took a step forward, his head dropping a few inches as he attempted to meet her gaze. “Dammit, I just don't know how to do this.” A growl tapered off with his words. “We weren't taught how to love, you know? How were we ever expected to learn?” His tail whipped behind him, though it was now obvious his anger was directed elsewhere - to those who might never be able to give him the answers he wanted. “Do you think they didn't want us to know?” It was a genuine question. Perhaps the Armadas didn't believe in love, or perhaps they had had it all along and hadn't bothered to share it. He took another step forward, head still declined earnestly. “I love you, dammit. I just don't know what that means..” he trailed off, his head twisting away to avoid the look on her face. He couldn't imagine what it might be, but regardless of what emotion he elicited, he was almost certain he didn't want to see it. “speak,”

Kyarst was the only one who'd ever honestly stuck around. Even though he'd left for awhile, he'd come back to her, and she knew he would return to her if he ended up leaving... though she deeply hoped he wouldn't abandon her again. Quickly he turned to her, and she found herself almost snarling at the sudden look of anger on his features.   "Then let me worry about you, and take care of you," Lysis spat right back at him. Perhaps he didn't like her doting on him like a child, but she didn't give a damn. She was the only brother she had now -- all of the others were gone, to gods knew where -- and she was going to protect him, even if it meant pissing him off. His words about love were unexpected, but knew he was right. She'd only really known love from a distance. Love had always been implied, but rarely shown, even when she was a child.   "As if I know how to do it any better," she grumbled, letting their gazes lock, her own hazel stare uncertain but fiery still. "Maybe this is all we need to know." And yet hurting one another, growing angry with eachother... it didn't seem ideal, and yet it was all she knew how to do. Lysis had never been taught anything but.   "Or maybe there is no such thing as love," she mused more seriously then, her posture slackening slightly, some of the tension fading from her voice. "I mean.. do you think our father really loved us? Or did he simply have us because he wanted us? As possessions, to show his worth and his power?" Lysis had never thought badly of him, and yet... he'd never been particularly warm or nurturing to her, or to any of his children, not that she'd seen. A sigh would escape her lips at the thoughts that dared enter her mind. There was a bit of hurt in her eyes as she watched him. Though she'd been angry with him for whatever he'd done, she'd calmed down, and yet he had only grown more agitated when she'd begun to show him compassion again.

He knew he shouldn't be yelling at her, and venting his frustrations, but who else did he have in the world? At one time he'd had a brother, but Jig had never been the best sounding board. His mother had listened to him, but she was gone - probably dead, though he didn't like to think about it. His father was gone, and even when he had been here he hadn't been the best at doting on his son. 'Then let me worry about you, and take care of you.' He breathed a sigh, defeated. Why didn't he let her do those things? Why did it bother him when she did? She seemed just as uncertain about love as he was, and on some level it made him feel better that he wasn't the only one sitting in the dark with no clue what to do or where to go. At least they were in this together, whatever this was. “Maybe there isn't,” he pondered when she mentioned that there might not even be such a thing as love. Others seemed to have it, though. She inquired about Isardis' intentions on having them. He'd always assumed his father had wanted them, but he hadn't been great about showing it. Maybe he had never wanted them at all. Maybe they were just possessions, trophies. He breathed another sigh, slinking toward her. “Let's not fight anymore, I don't want it to be this way between us. We know what we are to each other, and nothing else matters. We can do what we want, but in the end it'll always be us.” He knew she wouldn't always approve of his antics, and he wouldn't approve of hers - but in the end they would always be there, side by side, against the world. “speak,”

Lysis didn't know why her brother, in this state, made her feel so uncomfortable. There was a burning jealous that had begun to grow in her heart, though she couldn't quite place it and certainly couldn't come to terms with it quite yet. Though she knew the thought of another woman taking up her brother's attention made her deeply worried and uncertain. Lysis had never been overly possessive... but now, Kyarst was all she had left, her closest companion and ally, and the thought of losing him was unbearable. A sigh left her lips as she moved to press into him, trying to ignore the scent of the other woman that coated his pelt.  "Whatever," she said, only half-heartedly irritated this time rather than fully annoyed.  "I know I love you, whatever that means." What it meant, she didn't know. The only love she'd ever been shown had never been ideal, and even her relationship with Kyarst was dysfunctional, she knew she was deeply loyal to him and cared for him more than she had for anyone. "Sorry I'm a bitch sometimes," she'd mumble somewhat warily, too stubborn to admit she was wrong -- though she didn't feel great for arguing with him. The last thing she wanted to do was to genuine hurt him, though it was hard to contain the ferocity that he elicited from her sometimes. With ease she would move closer, wanting to embrace him and to forget the argument that had just taken place between them.

She moved to press into him, and in natural response he would allow her, pressing back into her with gentle pressure. A smile creased his features, because no matter how odd their relationship was, it was perfect in its own way. His ears laid back as he listened to her halfheartedly claim she loved him - but he knew she meant it despite her tone. “Don't sound so thrilled about it,” he jested, his voice coming out hushed and delicate. He didn't want to piss her off again, but the thought of not joking with her was impossible to imagine. 'Sorry I'm a bitch sometimes,' she apologized. A chuckle fell from his lips as he craned his head down closer to her, nipping lightly at her ear. “Sorry I'm a dick sometimes,” he crooned before taking her ear back into his jaws. Their bodies intertwined, and it felt good. It was different than with Mercy. There was more there in this embrace than just raw sexual desire. There was something more, and he could only assume that that something was love. He liked to think that it was, anyway. “You know,” he started, in efforts to change the subject and move past their most recent disagreement. “...we never got around to meeting our newest kin.” He was, of course, referring to the children fathered by her littermate: Drashiel. “Perhaps we can teach them about love so they don't end up like us,” he noted half in jest and half in absolute seriousness. He only hoped the children would end up better than they had - even if he thought they were pretty well off to begin with. “speak,”

All she knew was that she would stay with him, through everything, despite whatever pain he might cause her or whatever arguments might come up between them. Responding to the smile that lit up his face, she felt one tug at the corners of her own lips, her tail batting gently behind her. "You know I mean it," she said matter-of-factly, letting her nose lower to press against the side of his neck, inhaling his scent quietly for a long moment. "Do I really have to tell you?" It wasn't always easy to profess her feelings, for she had cared for so few in her lifetime, but with Kyarst she was able to. Her grin grew a bit wider as he nipped at her ear, though she found herself leaning into his touch rather than retracting from it as she might have just minutes before. He changed the subject, stating that he wanted to meet their nieces and nephews. She couldn't imagine what sort of creatures they were; and what they would have to deal with, having lost both parents, was hard to consider. They would need family members to help guide them, even if they didn't realize or accept it. "We will have to meet them very soon," she agreed, a sudden hint of sadness touching her soft voice as she leaned into him, nuzzling into the thick fur of his neck. "I can already tell they will remind me so much of Drashiel." Seeing them might be painful, but they needed to get to know them and to be part of their lives.

She would inhale his scent, sending his senses into overdrive. Her touch electrified him, and for a moment he realized she felt different than Mercy, different than any woman he'd been with before. There was something more there, something stronger. He smiled harder around her ear in the clutches of his jaws. Carefully he kneaded his jaws against it, back and forth. “It's nice to hear every now and then,” he breathed through closed teeth. She wanted to meet them soon, and he knew that when she said they would remind her of Drashiel that she was fighting her emotions back. He couldn't imagine losing his direct littermate. Even if he hadn't seen Jig in gods knew when, he would certainly be crushed to know his only living full blooded brother was dead. He released her ear, laying an affectionate kiss across the flesh he'd munched on. It was a simple swipe of the tongue, but something that he only did when with her. Granted, his tongue had touched the flesh of others, but in a different way. “It'll be hard,” he started, laying another kiss upon her ear. “But I'll be there. I wouldn't let you down - not on purpose anyway.” There was no truer statement than this. “speak,”