“So why did you come, Nephthys?” he ignored the comments about marrying her or making her his wife (though he would readily do so if she agreed, he would collect them all if he could). “you do not strike me so cruel as to tease, to come and dangle in front of my nose what I cannot have?” Still he keeps his voice low, but there is a hint of sharpness to it now. He is annoyed, irritated by her own irritation, and frustrated that this is not going the way he had envisioned. He had brought a damn gift and still she acted this way, coy and innocent as if she did not yearn, too. But he sees it in the hitch of breath, he sees it in the way that her pupils widen and her body shudders. It is there, just beneath the surface, and he wants nothing more than to pull it from her and expose it for what it is. “You’re lying,” he purred, “to yourself more than anything. I can see it, you know.” she shuddered but did not run and he knew why — he knew desire and the smell of lust more than anything. “i will make you feel better than you could imagine,” another low purr as he sought to once more drag his rough tongue along her cheek to her neck.

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Nephthys stiffened (spirits, she would need one hell of a chiropractor after all of this) as he blocked her path and demanded to know her reasoning for coming. Truthfully? By accident. Her instincts or.. something had driven her back to the peak. On the very day she had said to meet him. Awkward.

"You don't know me very well at all, then. You like my wit, now you've seen the real me. I am cruel and callous, hardly the type you want to bed." She wasn't entirely wrong, either. Nephthys was cruel and callous even on her best of days, but she had a feeling he wasn't exactly Prince Charming himself.

Her gaze was like ice as he proclaimed she was lying to herself. Perhaps she was, but what did that matter? Nephthys stood her ground as he approached, perhaps eager to feel his tongue rasping against her fur again. The reaction to his touch was undeniable, a shudder that made her want to simply be taken then and there.

Instead, she reacted like every Tollaire did -- poorly.

"I said no!" she hissed, attempting to swat at his face with barely sheathed claws. "Fuck off, you old bastard." Nephthys snarled at him, flashing her teeth in a clever threat. Perhaps she wasn't the brightest bulb, but she was angry and, worse than that --

She was horny.

code by shelby | art by irish

Oh but perhaps he had played his game a little too well, if she thought that would dissuade him. Cruel and callous was right up his alley, and all she had done was make him more keen to pursue her. “ah but I like my women spicy,” he responded with a smirk, a glimmer of his darker nature in those venomous eyes. And then she made the biggest mistake. If she meant to turn him off it was the worst hand she could have played, though it was unlikely there was anything that could turn him off of her now. He had her scent, her taste, and he was addicted. Alaric almost expects the attack, leans in to it even, and he feels the delicious rake of claws across his face. Not deep enough to maim but they well instantly with blood, and the smile on his face is anything but charming, now, “Old? Experienced.” A wicked grin as he stalked closer, clearly not afraid of her and her puny claws. “I will not leave you alone until you admit that you want me,” and not even then, but she didn’t need to know that. A long tongue emerges to clean the blood from his face, followed by a rumbling sound that could only be described as pleasurable. When he flashes his teeth at her next they are strained crimson, and he is every bit the monster he was raised to be.

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Nephthys didn't hide it this time around -- she rolled her eyes so deeply that she thought she spotted her brain. "Spicy? Give me a break. Why don't you go find someone else to bother?" Literally anyone. Maybe he could accidentally stumble off a cliff in pursuit of some other ~spicy~ lady, because it certainly wasn't her.

"Old and experienced? You're an old fossil that's gonna rot soon." Hah. Bhaskar would be proud, wouldn't he?

He might also be concerned by her absence by now.

The scarlet lioness groaned in annoyance as he stalked towards her, running his tongue along his bloodied muzzle. "You have no idea who you're fucking with, do you? One word and I could bring down an army to annihilate you. Fuck off and save your saggy nutsack while you still can." She stepped towards him defiantly, snarling in his face.

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He laughed, because he couldn't help it anymore. "Oh, do it again," he purred, as if he wanted nothing more than for her to insult him. And maybe he didn't want anything else -- maybe he was just that kind of fucked up. Whatever the case he was obviously not bothered by the words, nor was he so easily dissuaded. "An army, hmm? I'd like to call that bluff." He didn't particularly care if it wasn't a bluff, anyway -- he had no intention of backing off. They couldn't get much closer or he would have done so, but now his claws flexed and his muscles twitched and he barely resisted the urge to attack. He would put her in her place one way or another. But first... "Maybe you won't admit it yet. But you'll be coming back to the oasis with me, until you stop lying to the both of us." He grinned as he made his claim, all sharp teeth and glistening gums, and there was no sign of the old man she touted him to be. Alaric was in his prime, and he would not hesitate to prove that to her. He closed that last little gap, taking another slight step before he struck, snapping those teeth and attempting to taste more than just flesh and fur. His aim was the side of her face, the one she dared to shove towards his so brazenly.

image by moogle, code by koi

Do it again? She would gladly do it again. She would do it over and over and over, chipping away at his exterior until he broke. If he ever would. Nephthys glowered at him, undeterred by his obvious enjoyment of the situation. What a fucking psychopath.

He was determined to call her bluff, yet he claimed her into the very pride which her family inhabited. Where she would be protected against fuckers like him. Had Alaric realized that? Had he realized he had claimed her into the safety of her family?

She grinned.

"Thank you for claiming me into the pride where my family lives. I'm certain my mother and father will be delighted to meet you and learn how an old sack of shit has tried to prey on their daughter." It was a wicked grin now, twisted into something far more sinister than she had ever flashed before.

Alaric stepped towards her, sank his teeth into her cheek. She hissed, attempting to swing her paw -- claws extended all the way this time -- and rake down over his eye. "Fuck off, asshole."

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He realized, then, that he had likely made a mistake. A vague remembrance of what she had said the first time they had met -- when she had all but melted at his feet -- burst back to the front of his mind when she spoke. That... may be a problem. For a moment he considered dragging her off to some cave and trapping her inside, keeping her as a nice little prisoner until she saw the light. Without a place in mind, though, he quickly scrapped that notion. The oasis seemed a bad idea, though, and a dark frown crossed his face. "prey on you?" a laugh, then, as if the notion was ridiculous. "My dear, I flirted with you. We had a date, I brought a gift." He rolled his shoulders in a shrug, as if he had been the innocent here. "You wanted me, don't act like you didn't. You still do," he tipped his head back to scent the air, a charming smirk on his handsome face. As he caught a grip on her face she retaliated, as he knew she would, and he jerked his head back to avoid the swing of her paw. This, of course, meant he would relinquish her face to avoid the strike of claws -- much as he relished a good fight he didn't fancy losing an eye. "Admit it," he goaded with a purr as he moved to circle her. He aimed to slink beside her and around her rump before he sought to slide up the other side, bulk pressing firmly against her.

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"You knew I was distressed when you found me and you took advantage of it," she countered, a low snarl in her throat as she stared the man down. He was quick to try and cut her down, put her in her place -- and she had to admit, she knew the battle was going to end up with her on the losing side. Nephthys understood what she had done was wrong, but what did it matter? Her heart belonged to Bhaskar. She loved him. She didn't want to sleep with this man even if okay, yes, she did. But it was different! It was primal and lusty, nothing compared to what she wanted to experience with her future husband.

She did want to experience this, though, no matter how she clawed against it.

He circled her and once again she was reminded of being preyed on. Neph snorted and glanced at him, rolling her eyes. "Fine, I admit it that I want it. Are you satisfied now? Because I'm very happy to leave it at wanting and nothing more. Don't touch me," she snapped, attempting to shove herself against his side to knock him off balance -- however slight.

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“Heavens, were you?” a paw pressed briefly to his chest, as if horrified by the notion. Acting much as though he had not seen the tears, as if she had seemed just fine to him. A rumbling purr, taunting and sensual, “if so then I did you a favour. You seemed fine when you teased me, making me wait so long for what we both wanted.” he imagined he could feel the pull even now, and it was all he could do to not force his way. He was a monster but he was not that much of a monster - even if things had been vastly different in his homeland. “you should be thanking me, neph. There’s more to this world than froo froo lovey dovey shit — you’ll see.” one day she’d come crawling back and he would be more than happy to oblige. “lust, passion, they don’t leave you broken hearted on a mountain top.” A wicked grin as he came alongside her — “they only make you feel good.” was he so bad for chasing the finer pleasures in life? Ah but she does admit it, with a shove that is as effective as… well, let’s just say it’s ineffective (because I can’t think of any metaphors right now). “Oh, but you do want me to,” he was relentless, salacious, “you just said so yourself.” he reached to nip at the nape of her neck, a scrape of teeth along her flesh in a last ditch attempt to stir her desire and pull it back to the surface.

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Nephthys groaned in exasperation. All she wanted was for the man to go away and leave her alone, but he was like a bloody parasite trying to worm its way into her very essence. "Pretending to be dumb doesn't suit you, Alaric. Own up to your manipulations, it's the least you can do." She clacked her teeth together, warning him away. "You had every intention of finding someone to fuck up on that mountain, and if you had found another, you wouldn't even look at me twice. I was a convenience." Her eyes followed him as he moved, never daring to drift too far.

"You think a night with you would be passionate?" she laughed, scoffing at the mere idea. "I don't think you know the meaning of the word." But what did she know? Nephthys was but an innocent girl in his eyes, wasn't she? Inexperienced.

Of course her body reacted to the brush of his teeth against her nape. It was an instinctual urge to simply lay down then and there, but she clenched her teeth and closed her eyes to ward off the temptation. "Alaric," she murmured lowly, her skin quivering beneath his touch. She wanted to melt below him.

But she wanted Bhaskar more.

"No means no, love," she said, attempting to swing her head and headbutt him somewhere, anywhere. As long as he was away from her, gave her enough room to grab the hare and attempt to bolt away into the dark.

At least now she had dinner, hopefully.

exit unless stopped

code by shelby | art by irish