and we don’t need saving

We’re hell raising

The swamp pride had kept her quite busy, so much so that Sláine had not been able to venture far from the territory before being pulled back in for one reason or other.
But a few days ago the clanswoman had made time for a little adventuring beyond the usual route. Her casual wanderings had taken her far in fact and the lioness had come across a world of ice and snow. She'd known brisk winters in her time but nothing quite like this.
This new world of white had taken Sláine away from Ecrosia for two full days whilst she'd hunted the strange white rabbits and even a few fish from an icy lake and then slept under a clear sky full of stars.

The spoils of her hunting trip were now lain over a wide flat rock, three rabbits and two fish (she'd eaten the rest). She'd been unusually lucky considering her paw still smarted a little from it's recent injury. Next to the rock was a heated pool and the woman slipped into it with a grateful sigh, paddling the water softly as the heat penetrated her speckled fur.

@Alaric

code by corvus / image by kim

as summer faded and the nights grew cool he remembered the springs tucked away in the mountains. with his body tired from recent events he felt himself pulled to the heat, drawn away from his pride one late afternoon. he climbed the icy mountain in the last remnants of day, reaching the springs just as evening settled over the lands.

her familiar form drew a smirk to his lips, for though he had not realized she had been gone so long he thought often of the saphire female. wondered, too, about the relationship between her and his second, and that between her and the russet boy. was she going to collect them all like jewels around her neck?

a spark of jealousy rose unexpectedly, and he found himself moving in to the water with a low chuff of greeting, pressing closer than she might have wanted him to be. "nice, isn't it?" and the huskiness of his voice had nothing to do with the temperature of the water.

the thunder of the drums, dictates

image by yumpy, code by corvus

and we don’t need saving

We’re hell raising

A lion of @Alaric's stature was not easily missed, the lioness had become aware of his presence early on and turned to watch his approach whilst letting the water creep up and across her nape like a comforting blanket.
Sláine was silent at first, interested (but not in the dark) by what her King wanted with her. They were alone for the first time since she'd fought (and failed) for the rank of noble and the hairs along her spine tingled in memories recalled.
Alaric is too close, perhaps dangerously so. Sláine felt the quick heat of desire rise up into her cheeks as she instinctively drew close to him, the water between them pushed away as she allowed her chest to briefly connect with his own. The rise and fall of her breathing shallow and filled with expectation.
"Mmhm." A wanton smile slipped about her features and it was not a difficult task to decipher that she wanted her King, again.

These moments were so easy for Sláine, she was familiar with the pull of her baser instincts and rarely denied herself release. She has little idea that Alaric may take these situations altogether more seriously than she.

But then a dark figure flashes in her mind. Freckled cheeks pulled her features into a frown. "Nae, we should not." Not until she knew. Her supple form withdrew from him a little, letting the water rush between them once more.

code by corvus / image by kim

He invaded her space, not showing any hesitation at pressing close and making his desires known. She was a jewel in his pride, smart and capable and able to hold her own, and Alaric was one of many in a line of suitors.

@Sláine meets him where he stands, her chest pressed to his, and Alaric drops his head in an attempt to nip at her neck. His teeth were sharp but he does not try to break skin, only seeking to remind her of what it is like to give in to a King.

Alaric is not a fool, he does not give in to emotion alongside passion, but he also did not deny that he would wife her in a second if she indicated it was something she wanted. She would be the perfect type to carry his cubs, to give him strong heirs and secure his bloodline.

This close he can scarcely understand her denial, stepping after her even as she retreats. "Oh but we should," he rumbled with the faintest furrow on his brow, "the night is young and we are alone." Who was there to tell? What was stopping them?

the thunder of the drums, dictates

image by yumpy, code by corvus

and we don’t need saving

We’re hell raising

His teeth are persuasive, sending an electrical current through her so that she scarcely has breath left in her to deny him. @Alaric is her cheiftain, she has sworn herself to his causes and felt the heat of his raging passion. It is a passion that she has shared, that a not insignificant part of her wants still.
But emotions were an altogether different beast. Alaric loved her no more than she loved him, they were only creatures of a similar ilk, drawn to eachother in thoughtless frenzy. If it were not for her now aching heart, she would reach once again for the King's passion.

"Nae, I would ken (know)." Her body shuddered, a protest against this unusual act of restraint. Sláine pulled away from him again, paddling to a shallow part of the pool where her toes touch ground and curving herself around to face him, because she was sure he'd attempt to chase her. The woman does not fear her lover, her expression was gentle, regretful but resolute. "Isnae anything ye've done." She explained. "But I must ken how he feels first."

code by corvus / image by kim

the ecrosian monarch does not understand -- he does not grasp, immediately, why she pulls from him -- but he is filled in rather quickly. he had followed her, as she had expected, but he stops short with the latter words.

"ah," a rumble, and he is torn between pressing his luck (because he knows how she respond to him) and respecting what might be. might being the key word, for he cannot say he has seen the things she speaks of. had so much happened in such a short span of time.

"and what of how i feel?" did that matter none to her? alaric is all the world a doe-eyed boy, then, staring at the girl in the steamy water. there was no denying his charm, and so far only erna knew the truth of what lay beneath the surface. now he looks innocent and eager, keen for the warrior that had once shared his passion, wanting nothing more than to rekindle it.

the thunder of the drums, dictates

image by yumpy, code by corvus

and we don’t need saving

We’re hell raising

As the distance between them grows, so too does her self control. In another life she might have been his wife, one of many, content to be shackled in monogamy to a man that she does not love. But as it was, Sláine has already lived her life. She'd had a husband and children, all lost to her now, of course. The freedoms given to her at birth were too much instilled for her to set them aside now for anything less than an all consuming love.

Sláine does not know that Alaric had ideas of a proposal and marriage (ownership?), but she's seen the same look in a powerful man's eyes before. Once they have all they desire, the hunger for more never quite goes away.

Ears slide back across the cool hue of her crown as she looked up at her King, a curious -almost comical- quirk of her brow. @Alaric's demeanour had changed and she's suddenly caught aback, had she been oblivious to his true feelings all along? "An' what is it that yer feeling, chieftain?"

Her tail snakes about her thigh under the surface of the steamy pool, droplets of water fall from her cheeks and chin.

code by corvus / image by kim

He can feel the heat dissipate and he hates it, wants nothing more than to push and pull and see if he can make her give in again. It is a dark thought and yet his claws flex beneath the surface, as if he is tempted. Alaric would never force his way (at least, not any more) but he knew well how to draw desire to the surface, as well as he knew how she responded to his touches.

They had never spoken of anything beyond desire, of future thoughts or wants. Alaric was a simple man -- he had no need for more than a warm body in his bed -- but something about her inspired him. Much like his friendship with the striped Oasis King, he found himself more intrigued by @Sláine than he was by most.

Unwilling to entirely stop himself he takes a step closer, the water sloshing against his chest, his eyes riveted upon hers. "Intrigue," he rumbled, and that was more than most woman could pull from him, "and...." A frown, then, because he did not know the word he wanted, he could not think of how to sum up all of what she made him feel. Desire, yes, and wanting, but something more. Instead he shrugged, lips pursed with the frustrating of not being able to name it, settling on simply... "more."

the thunder of the drums, dictates

image by yumpy, code by corvus

and we don’t need saving

We’re hell raising

Though he said so little, Sláine felt that she understood at least part of @Alaric's meaning. She did not think it was love he felt, but perhaps the possibility of something beyond their current casual relationship? Her sapphire eyes softened a little at that, because though she was battle hardened, she was not a lioness of hard feeling.

The larger male took a step forward and she did not retreat from him, instead tilting her skull to meet his closer gaze. There was still electricity between them, she could feel it running down her sides and through her hips. That was to be expected though, as she would not have slept with a male that she did not find deeply attractive. She was aware he might try to force the matter, though it would surprise her if he did and would most certainly spoil everything.
But what Alaric wanted from her wasn't enough, at least, not anymore. She'd found her interest, and feelings, drawn more keenly to another.

Sláine smiled, letting her gaze fall from his momentarily, her tail tightening around her leg as pale lips parted to reply. "Ye flatter me."
Eyes lifted back to meet his, boldness something that comes more easily to her than coyness. "Our lovemaking gives me pleasure, ye ken that it does. But I hae feelings for another, ye must let me find out if it is returned. I wouldnae want to sour it afore it hae begun."

code by corvus / image by kim

it was to be expected, wasn't it? after all, alaric had promised violarum that there would be women when he recruited him here, and surely ronin would have the same expectations. alaric couldn't hog all of the ones that came... even if he wanted to.

in his homeland there would have been no question; mind you, there also would have been no competition. the pride would have been his and his alone, and here.... here it was different.

for the new king to accept it was no small feat, and his sense of entitlement was not an easy thing to squash. the wheat monarch had claimed her as his from their first meeting, and it irked him to know that she was not satisfied.

he keeps his mask firmly in place, though, and shrugs, as if it means nothing. "have it your way," and he takes a step back, away, feeling the warm water rush to fill the space between them. almost casually he moves further, reclining in the shallows, resting his bulk in the embrace of the hot springs. hardly as appealing as the embrace of the sapphire woman, but it would have to do.

the thunder of the drums, dictates

image by yumpy, code by corvus