the late fall sun had burned away the clouds, leaving a chill in the air. despite the clear skies it felt more frigid than in prior days, enough so that louve welcomed the reprieve from the towering bluffs.

it had been months... years?... since she had seen him. or, at least, with any kind of proper interaction. ages since they had agreed to a cease-fire only to have it blow up in their faces the very next time their families had met. at first she had been livid. made a fool, as she had been, for agreeing to a truce that ended so abruptly (and with such a show!)

now... well, there were more pressing concerns, and louve had never wanted to think of the savante as enemies in the first place. surely apollinaire would be less than pleased but she supposed that was, perhaps, the only perk to having a dead husband -- she had nobody else to think of but herself and her direct blood.

the family she wished to keep safe; the ones threatened, no doubt, by the looming presence of the white beast in the mire.

some distance from the border she comes to a stop and calls for him, quiet chuffs that send her breath purling around her nose, yellow eyes burning bright in the dark of the night.

@Alexander ♔

art

To say he was surprised to hear her call, even as quiet as it was, would be an understatement. Alexander's ears sweep forward immediately, his blue eyes searching the immediate area outside the Hollows entrance. When he found nothing, the colossal beast would usher forward with heavy steps to find her. It didn't take long, within the darkness of the night she stood. The moon shone down brightly upon her darkened hide.

He had heard about the death of her husband and while he had done wrong to many of his kin, he knew that pain all too well. A desire to console her swells up, but Alexander knows she isn't the sort of woman to primp and preen while a man dotes over her. No, she is power - and he knows that all too well.

A low rumbling chuff is offered in response to her calls; the distance between them becomes less and less as his paws carry him along the earth. Senses are heightened, nostrils flaring to take in any scents on the wind; her scent. Dark lips purse softly before he hums, "Louve, long time no see." A tilt of his head, inquisitive eyes - his attention was all hers.

code + art

it doesn't take him long to come. there is a strange satisfaction in this, in knowing that he had perhaps hastened his steps for her, and he might catch a glimpse of it in the upturn of her lips. a pleased sort of expression as he finds her, bathing in the moonlight, waiting so patiently outside of his home. looking so innocent despite her gruesome scarring, no matter how she had been torn to shreds.

by a family she scarcely thought of, now. a feud long laid to rest (in her mind) and replaced by others.

he approaches and she watches him, that faint smile disappearing as she studies the beast of the hollows. there is that strange flicker of attraction she could not deny, the magnetism strung between them that makes her think of a time so long passed. to acknowledge it would feel unfaithful (even with her husband long dead and consumed) but there is a heat in her eyes all the same.

"very long," she murmured in assent, her muscles tensed despite herself. "a meeting long overdue per'aps, hmm?" they had not spoken since their attempts to forge an agreement, a cease-fire; had not bothered to find eachother when it lay shattered in ruins so soon after. louve had burned with anger, at first, and then had found other problems to capture her focus.

"are you friends of 'is, of the white king in ze mire?" abrupt and to the point; par for the course when it came to dealings with the cannibal queen.

@Alexander ♔

art

Despite the years that had passed and the scars that now marred her features, Alexander still felt that undeniable pull toward her. The Mother was a force to never be questioned - and while he would never deny such a pull, the Savante felt it out of his control in this situation. It's there, clear in the depths of his pale gaze; his attraction to her. His admiration. It was only because the Dieudonne devote themselves to one and one only that Alexander had not pursued her - even then - his heart knew he would have never won.

With a sigh, he focused on her words; the curve of her tongue around each syllable. Her accent, like his own, was foreign and beautiful. Another thing to entice him. Clenching his jaw, pushing aside such thoughts, the King takes note of who she mentions. The Mire King. It had been a long time since Alaric ruled there, and the name of his son had been whispered on the winds. "I have no allegiances with him, I do not know him. What has he done?" And how can I help. Those unspoken words would be clear between them, his form moving a bit closer to her own.

code + art

in another lifetime...

louve is unable to deny the desire that flares to life between them, nearly forgotten as smoldering coals in the years they had been away from eachother. strange, that, considering they had lived and ruled in the same world, though she had admittedly been distracted by family... issues...

it sparks, now, as their eyes lock, louve finding herself unable to look away as he approached and settled in her vicinity. even that is enough to disrupt her previously calm mind, jumbling her thoughts as she grapples with rising feelings of disloyalty.

"do you know of z'e Rike, Alex?" oh and the way her tongue caresses his name is surely on purpose; she had always been a seductress, her fluttering lashes simply another tool at her disposal. "of what z'ey believe?"


@Alexander ♔

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Alexander can't help it anymore. That pull, the look in her eyes - the heat that dwelled between them. Almost alive with it's own fervor. He hears her, but for a moment he's distracted and steps forward - his throat dry and his mind whirling with thoughts. The King is stuck on the way she says his name. Like a lover's caress fanning a flame.

Another step closer. Until their breaths could mingle, but he doesn't touch her, no. Alexander stares down at her intently, his heart thudding rapidly in his chest. "I have heard the name, but do not know anything about them." He rumbles finally, pupils dilating as his gaze lowers briefly to her lips, them back to her eyes in a swift, yet fluid motion.

"Care to elucidate?" He drawls, his voice purposely raspy. Hungry. Inviting.

code + art

It is a dangerous game they play. Louve grapples with a dozen different thoughts and emotions, unable to completely fend off the shame that clutches at her throat. Only barely is it smothered by the heat the burns beneath her skin, lighting her veins on fire and reminding her of the appeal of desire.

Alex moves closer and she shifts beneath the intensity of his stare, drawing herself up in an almost defiant way. As if she dared him to bridge that distance, to close the gap in a more permanent way. While at the same time she seemed ready to bite his head off if he did so, warring with mind and body and heart, each pulling her in a different direction. "Z'ey think z'e women are..." she paused, her tongue curling across her lips, her voice pitched low, "beneath z'em." Oh and she says it in such a way that it could most certainly bring other ideas to mind.

"Lesser than," she murmured, yellow eyes riveted on his own, "so to speak." That was only the beginning, only the surface, but politics suddenly seem far less interesting than whatever it was that brewed between them.

@Alexander ♔

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I am every dream
you lost and never found

Alexander was, if anything, a gentleman. His body ached to move forward, to touch and please. To give @Louve whatever she wanted. Blue eyes travel along her form, scarred and torn from war, from battle. It is something that only intrigues him, drives him to want her more. It had always been there, this attraction. Since before she'd spoken words of devotion to her husband, but Alexander had been too late.

Or perhaps he'd never stood a chance at all.
But now?

Not only would it make their families stronger...

His mind clears as he focuses, trying to listen to her words. Pupils dilate and constrict once more at that play on words. Not at all missing it. She is the epitome of temptation. Of something forbidden. Making her all the more delicious.

"Then their beliefs do not align with the Savante," He breaths, closing the distance between them until he could practically press his lips against her own, but he doesn't. He hovers there, eyes meeting - locking - with her own. "We worship our women like Goddesses." If she were against this Rike, it seemed to be for good reason. And he wouldn't doubt her, despite everything. She had no reason to lie to him.

There is a rational part of her that holds on for dear life, fingers loosened from the edge of the cliff by the simple proximity of his body. It is hard to remember the whys and the whats when his breath mingles with hers, when the heat of his body is so close and pronounced she feels as if she might ignite in to flames.

Yearning builds, desire clouds her senses, and Louve cannot stop herself from taking an almost imperceptible step closer. They are touching, now, but barely. A brush of fur against fur, her nose nearly pressed to his as they speak. Her eyes do not shy away, holding contact with his in a bold and brash manner.

It is foolish, stupid -- she knows (vaguely) of his family ways, of their way of taking many wives, of giving in to the appeal of flesh -- yet she cannot seem to break away. "We should make our alliance more..." she pauses, wetting her lips, "official." Another pause, this one more purposeful and heavy with intention, before she continues. "The 'ollows and the bluffs..." their prides and not them... right?

@Alexander ♔

art

I am every dream
you lost and never found

She moves forward and Alexander's heart jumps in his chest. For so long he'd wanted this. Her. Since the day they'd met, since their chemistry had made this connection undeniable. He did have other wives, husbands - and he loved them so dearly. Never would he dimmish their worth; on the same token nor he ever expect or want to replace Apollinaire.

A paw lifts tentatively at first, then more confidentially as the curve of his palm touches her cheek, talons pricking her flesh ever so softly. Daringly, Alexander leans forward to close that miniscule distance between their noses. A touch, a breath - they mingled together hotly and the King couldn't help but inhale deeply, eyes closing slowly.

As if he'd finally achieved a lifelong goal.

His mind was a foggy whirl, though her words made enough sense. Of course...in his current mindset, he may have taken her suggestion wrong. Perhaps that had been the point? A low growl vibrates his chest; his form presses against hers nose fully, so she'd feel that vibration, feel the flutter of his heart. "What did you have in mind?" He murmurs, moving to lower hungry lips along her neck, just barely touching - hovering as he speaks, letting that warmth spread over her.