Walk | Talk | Think

The news that Ebony had retaken the Stone Steppe had been just about musical to Callisto because of how much she had preferred it over all of the pack's territories. It had been such a disappointment to realize it was no longer theirs when she had returned from her imprisonment, and it had taken her some time to find a new den that could replace the one she could no longer claim. And it seemed that just the moment she had begun to settle into her new accommodations, the old ones were theirs again.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone so happy and irritated all at once," the dry, teasing voice of the black cat spoke as she traveled ahead of the wolf on their way to Ebony's newest acquisition. Uncharacteristically, Callisto laughed, a quick, short sound of momentary amusement. If she seemed off to the cat, it was nothing compared to how she felt. With her heat in full swing and an awkward new complacent rhythm being given to her life as she readjusted to everything again, she felt entirely out of sorts. And strangely in a positive mood.

"Don't get your hopes up, the happy has nothing to do with you," she promised. If the cat wanted to run off, she still would have been happy to see her go. "And here I thought we were almost friends," the feline stated, feigning hurt, as they at last reached their destination. Callisto's silvery blue eyes rose to admire the tumbled down structure that gave the Steppe its name, listening closely to the world around her. Silence. Just how she liked it.

"So you're moving back to this empty thing?" As if on cue, the black cat interrupted the quiet to satisfy her curiosity with a question, and Callisto fest her irritation flare almost like normal. "I haven't decided yet." There was a strong part of her that wanted to. After all, this place had given her comfort and solace more times than she could count. Moving everything from her newest den to her old one would be a chore though, undoubtedly. Still indecisive, Callisto followed along behind the cat toward the piece of the Steppe that housed her old den, hoping a quick inspection would help her make up her mind.

As per usual, the man was able to find her with ease, only this time he was reluctant to go close enough to her for her to realize he was there. The last time they had been here in the stepp, Callisto had spent the entire time hiding from him within her den. This was also where he basically promised she wouldnt have to have anything to do with him. But for now he was going to have to break that promise.

Sadly, he would also have a harder yime keeping his distance from her. She was in heat. He could smell it from here and his feelings towards her were going to make behaving himself harder. But he would for two reasons one was that Kassander would probably have him killed. The second and more important to him was that he did truely lover her and would never try to force her to do anything like what her heat cycle tried to cloud his mind with.

No, infact he came here to give her a plant that would prevent pregnancy but it wasnt permanent and would taste harrible once it was prepared. Finally a sigh would escape him and Max would make his way to her and her cat. "Callisto, I brought you something. he would speek through a mouth full of prickly thistles. His voice had been weary and tired but it fit the way he looked. He had spent several days looking for the damnd plant and the thing was, he handt done it for her. Well he had but he had mostly done it for the pack. Enony needed her to be able to leave the boarders without being paranoid. He had done this for the same reason he had moved his den....so she wouldnt have to be paranoid to do her job.

Walk | Talk | Think

The black and grey wolf had not yet realized there was someone else entering the Steppe along with them, though if she had she would have been alarmed. She wanted this to be a quiet trip, just her and the damnable little companion who refused to leave her, and so she allowed herself to let her guard down and forget to be watchful. In fact, it was only the motion from the cat - who stopped, ears twitching, and then turned her head - that alerted her to anything amiss, and following the gaze of the feline Callisto turned her head to see.

Her stomach lurched a little when she noticed who it was that approached her, and the whole of her tensed uneasily. Shit. Did it have to be him? Was this fate playing another cruel joke on her, sending him to her now, especially when she was in this condition? And what was worse was he had actually been looking for her. Their run in was not even by chance! What did I ever do? Seriously?

She had already seen him so it was not like she could simply pretend to un-see him and keep going on her way to her old den. But neither was she ready to speak to him, let alone come closer to see whatever it was that he carried in his jaws. Callisto remained frozen, her hardened stare fixed on him, and with a little unnecessary bite to her words she responded, "I don't need anything."

The cat, however, was less convinced. She turned her head to look upward at the wolf that she had taken to following, a brow raised over her calculating golden eyes, and without being asked and without offering she turned and strolled over to the male wolf that had interrupted their Stone Steppe inspection. "What is it?" she asked, her own curiosity more open minded than that of her wolf companion. Callisto might not have wanted anything to do with Maximous, but that did not mean that she had to ignore him too.

Maximous would watch her as she would turn and tence up. Oh this was going to be perfect. Once again he was trying to help her, only this time it wasnt just her he was trying to help, and she was going to be a butt. He just knew it. If he hadnt seen her turn and look at him he was sure she would pretend she hadnt. Though the bite in her words made him lay his ears back in frustration.

"Yes you do, not only do..." he would start to say but would stop short as the small cat would walk right up to him and ask what it was he had for Callisto. "At least one of you will listen. he would mumble before actually answering the felines question. "Its birth control...or a form of it anyway. Its called thistle but in order for it to work it would have to be soaked in hot water to mix the juices with the water."

He would think for a moment before continuing. "The mix of the plants juice and water is what will need to be consumed but it will taste harrible. It will be faster in hot water but cold will work too just takes longer for the liquid in the plant to mix with the water."

The first part of his words would be said loud enough for both of them to hear but the next part would be said specifically to the cat. He was sure he was still loud enough for Calli to hear him but if she wasnt going to talk to him then he was done trying to speek to her. After all he had promised she wouldnt have to have anything to do with her.

Walk | Talk | Think

He almost answered her, and Callisto was near positive she heard a bit of frustration in his voice. It was uncharacteristic of him - every other time he had spoken with her it was always with the utmost patience, as if she was innocent of any misdeeds. But now that vision of her that he had once clung to seemed to have shattered, and with it his opinion of her too. Good, she thought, maybe if he gets tired of me I won't have to worry about him anymore. And she could fall further back into some semblance of normalcy with her life, even if it would not be anywhere near the one she had lived before.

She never thought she would have been grateful to have the little black cat around, but when she waltzed forward to intercept the once-healer of Ebony she felt almost fond of the thing. At least with the cat talking to him she herself did not have to interact with him directly, which made her life easier. Though only just. Callisto fidgeted, wanting to be away from him, wanting not to be in her current condition when she was around him. It made her feel even more awkward than any of their previous conversations had.

Maximous spoke to the cat, who gave him her full attention, while Callisto pointedly ignored him, looking away and refusing to acknowledge him though she heard every word. And there was no denying a little voice in the back of her mind that wanted to try this new herbal concoction he spoke of in order to render her temporarily infertile. At least if she was there would be no more surprises, no more reason for anyone - or at least a particular someone - to steal her away for a second time. No more pups to abandon.

The cat seemed to think it was a good idea too. Her brows rose above her large gold eyes, and, keeping with her unbiased position, she turned to Callisto and admitted, "I think you could do with taking these." The Ebony healer, however, was still sticking to her stubborn silent game. Sighing, the feline turned again to the wolf and offered him an exaggeratedly wide grin. "You can leave them with me. I'll make sure she keeps them." Being what she was, and so unfamiliar to everyone here, she hardly knew if the wolf would agree to give her the thistle, but it was worth a shot. She had already wheedled out the story, and she was pretty sure Callisto was against becoming reacquainted with it.

Though he could plainly see that Callisto was trying to ingnore him behind the cat, he tried not to look at her. Tried not to think about her. It was damnd near impossible though, her scent was currently intoxicating and quite frankly dristracting. It was taking all of his consentration not to stare at her, his repeated thought was that she had to take these if she wouldnt let him protect her.

Finally the cat would turn to Callisto in agreement with him and Max couldnt help wanting to hug the damnd thing. He didnt like cats very much, but this one was an exception for the time being. Then she would turn, seeing the same stubbornness in Calli that he hat to request that he leave the thistles with her and she would at the vry least make sure the woman kept them.

The black man did not hesitate in setting down the four frigile plants. "Have her take only one at a time once a week until her heat cycle is over." with the cats cooperation a bit of tention would ease away from him and a small smile of gratitude would find his maw, but it wouldnt stay there long as he looked up to Callisto.

Damn it, why did he have to love her so much. A sigh would escape him once more before he looked to the cat again.  "If she runs out I have more. I would say come to my den but to get it but she wouldnt be able to find it because my den isnt in Firefly lake anymore. So just call for me or send someone to get it." for the part he had specifically for the cat, he would not care if Calli heard him or not. "She probably hates me more than you but look after her would you. I dont know what id do if I lost her again and she wont let me help her so maybe she will let you."

Walk | Talk | Think

The cat, still with her wide grin intact, watched as the wolf almost immediately complied with her direction of leaving the thistles in her care. It was a happy surprise; no one ever did things because she asked, especially not wolves. If it was possible, her smile would have widened further. Instructions were given as soon as the plant was settled on the ground, and curious as the creature she was, the cat crept forward a step, nose forward, to investigate as she listened. One plant, once a week, until it was over. That sounded easy enough, assuming she could talk Callisto into taking them. But she had a strong assumption that once Maximous was out of the picture, Callisto would warm up to them very quickly.

Behind the feline, the Ebony healer continued to feign inattention though, having heard everything, she was already beginning to wonder about this plant. It was perfect, almost too perfect, for her given everything that she had been through. Was there no catch? Were there any side effects she should have looked out for? And where was it found, in case she wished to harvest more for herself without needing to return to him? There were so many questions she wanted to ask, so much extra information that she would have liked to know, but her desire not to interact with the male who harbored such strong feelings for her was stronger than her need to know. I'll figure it out on my own, she thought stubbornly, wishing he would already leave.

Finishing her inspection of the plant, the cat sat down there before it and lifted her bright eyes upward to once again look at the wolf as he spoke softly as if for her alone. He was awfully helpful for someone whose help had been refused already, but in this instance the cat was glad of it. She knew Callisto was worried almost sick about potentially having another unwanted litter of pups, and just having that peace of mind knowing it would not be possible was going to make both of their lives easier after this. He seemed to be entrusting the healer's care to her, and though it seemed a ridiculous notion, the cat kept her chuckling to a quiet minimum. "I can't make her do anything," she admittedly frankly, "but don't worry, she'll like this eventually." She lifted a tiny paw and placed it atop the thistles, extending her claws just enough so that she could draw the prickly plant a little closer to signify she would hang on to it.

He would watch the cat as it investigated the plant's scent and ineffectively tried to ignore Callisto in the background. Her scent kept drawing his attention to her yet no matter how tempting she smelled he nevver once moved towards her. He hadnt touched her once in the time he had known her and wasnt about to start now. Especially withought her permission to.

When the feline spoke again, Max was able to focus on it again. "I dont think anyone, who cant physically force her, can make her do anything." he admired that about her but it didnt matter and probably never would "Which is why I brought this to her. I know she wont willingly admit it, not while im here anyway, but I know she wants it because she doesnt want children."

His eyes would wonder to the black and grey woman who was sitting in the background looking as if she didnt care and Max would let out a sigh and shake his head. "I just wish she would talk to me. Guess I missed my chance to explain myself so all I can do is hope shell forgive me one day" blue optics would travel back to the cat and he would shrug. "Thank you for helping me, or rather, thank you for helping her. I should get going, the sooner the plant is in her system the better." he would then stand and turn to leave.

Walk | Talk | Think

To his credit, the male wolf seemed to know at least a little bit about the wolf who the cat had taken to following around. It was true, Callisto was as stubborn as they came, and the cat had to wonder just how much Maximous had gleaned about her just from simple observations and the past interactions they had had. She knew her mistress was completely against the man, knew she was completely against the notion of trusting others after everything that had happened to her, but the cat was not entirely convinced she was right in turning this one away. There seemed to be something here worth looking into; it was just a shame Callisto did not feel the same.

Though she could see that it pained him, the ex-healer was smart enough to excuse himself as a means of getting the woman he had feelings for to come closer, and the cat admired his perceptiveness. He really did know the girl very well. "That's right," she answered with a firm nod of her head, her claws once again flexing upon the plants he had left in her care, "and don't worry so much. She'll be fine." Of course, she had no way of knowing anything of the sort, but she supposed it was just the type of thing he would have wanted to hear in order to ease his troubled mind.

Maximous left, giving the cat and Callisto space, and it was only after she was sure he was well enough away that the Ebony healer finally turned to regard her feline companion through a narrow-eyed stare. "Why did you need to get all chummy with him?" she snapped. If the cat was going to be following her around, then she needed to act according to Calli's wishes, not her own. Pinning her ears, the cat spat back, "I get you a plant that's going to make the rest of your season easier on you, and this is the thanks I get?" "How do we even know it's going to work?" Callisto countered testily, and the cat only laughed. "Did you even see the way he looked at you? He wouldn't give you something that wouldn't work. If anything, I think he would have been willing to test it out right here if you asked."

Callisto growled warningly, not at all amused by what the cat was insinuating. Those were Max's feelings, not hers, and nothing of the sort was going to happen. But what he had given her was still a small treasure, something that was not easy to ignore and overlook. She did not want to feel indebted to him, for any reason, and yet the notion was there. It made her frustrations worse than they were already. "Take the damn things, then," she muttered darkly, turning and resolutely walking away, "I'm not staying here."

With their inspection of the Steppe prematurely over, the cat sat a moment and watched after her wolf companion as she walked away. She was such a horribly stubborn creature. Maybe that was why the feline had been compelled to stick around in the end. The cat sighed exaggeratedly and rose languidly to her paws, and, after a few false starts, gathered up the thistle plants precariously within her tiny mouth and followed awkwardly after Callisto.

-Exit Callisto-