Brutish Seduction

[Deleted]

Can you hear it, can you breathe?
REECE

Survival was a funny thing.

It did not mean what most thought, and his struggling mind played on the fact that he had been lost for what seemed the longest time in his head. His heart seemed stuck in his chest, no longer beating, but just trapped. As if it had dropped and plunged in between his ribs and became stuck. The mere thought was not enough for him to want to turn around. Somehow, he had not been able to bring himself to let the pretty little female keep on following him. There had been a thousand promises uttered on the fact he would try and look after himself a little better.

The only issue at stake was that he had little care for the outcome of his helpful friends he came across. There was a misery in his eyes that could not be denied. There was a grin in his eyes that proved that perhaps he was not fully there. No, not likely; not with the plants that the female had recommended. She seemed to be a bit of a special sort all on her own, so he had managed to keep himself walking responsibly.

Giggling, it seemed out of sorts for the miserable male. But the seizure that had raced across him that morning before. Zaphira had been a lovely companion, she had been witty and completely absurd. There had not been a single moment that he had given into her, but still he had been charmed. Now he was lost, heartbroken again. But the plants to ease his bodily pain was reassuring on his body.

His shoulders rolled as his ears swiveled on the top of his head. The sound of steps seemed almost more wonky than could have ever been considered to his ears, but he went skipping off in the direction of them. It didn't take long before he was seeing the one other female in the world he could tolerate. All right, it was the only one now. No thinking about Nocturne, that dumb dog! She had stomped on him, attempted to slit his throat in his sleep for heaven sakes.

"Kesle!" His voice crackled the air, growling with pleasure as he marched toward her. "Never before have I seen such a beautiful sight as a pretty woman decorated by ice." His rumbling was husky, his yellow eyes seemed to be shining intently as he waltzed up to her, nuzzled her happily. Ah! A female to miss. It was about time.

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[K]


"Reece?" Kesle jerked her head up. Sure enough, there he was, familiar yellow eyes gleaming as he strolled up to her. She smiled in spite of herself. "Reece!" she trotted to meet him, tail wagging just a little. "How are yo- ah!" she was promptly almost bowled over by the male's affectionate nuzzling.

"Ah- h-hey!" she leaped back to avoid being squashed. "Don't lean on me too much!" Kesle was grinning, though, her eyes light. He was nearly a stranger, but not quite. Kesle had met him the previous spring on the beach, and they had struck up a conversation. He was a bit of an oddball, but he was charming in his own way and in spite of herself she had warmed to him.  He had been all smooth talk and strange expressions then, and he seemed no different now. What was an ice-decorated woman anyway? She wondered vaugely.

"How have you bee..." a glance up into his face made her expression slide just a bit and she trailed off. He was grinning, oh yes, but there was something... different. His eyes were different. Kesle's ears pricked forward and she frowned a little.

"H-hey... are you all right?"


OOC: short post is short, sorry...

[Deleted]

Can you hear it, can you breathe?
REECE

The fuzziness was not about to go away anytime soon, but the male was content to fill the space of his friend. She was socially awkward, she was amusing. In his head he could still see her paranoia, the worry that she was doing something wrong. It was nothing to be concerned about, Reece was here! His yellow eyes studied her, finding no fault in her smooth complexion as he chuckled hoarsely on the thought that there might have been something wrong with him. Absolutely not!

"That's my name, angel on ice," His agreeable words were smooth, and his eyes rolled upward, not seeing the sky. It was cold - was it cold? He thought so, but it was hard to say. "You can say it a thousand times and it won't be changing anytime soon." Perhaps in his next life his name would change, but there bid the question. Was there a next life? Was there something so achievable on his tongue? And he found himself offering a hint of a smile with the question he had not answered.

"I'm peachy," His words were raw, soft on the air as he found himself not quite able to wrap his mind around the notion. Was he actually okay? Or was it a lie? Perhaps it was all a lie, and there was no way he could make sense of it. Flicking his tongue out of his mouth, he found himself nuzzling her again with the attachment he could not deny. "I-I've never been better, I've spit on the grave of the damned again! It's been over a year - but I broke my vow to leave and now I'm back on the mountain - and here you are!"

"Kesle," His body stiffened slightly, and he pulled his gaze to look at her. "Where have you been? Why haven't I been looking after you? Don't you know there's demons all over the place?"

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[K]


Kesle smiled at Reece's words and gave him a small nudge to the shoulder with her muzzle, but inside she felt her stomach drop slightly. There is was again, in his usual smooth voice and cheeky grin. Something about the way he finished assuring her, almost like he wasn't sure himself. About what? She didn't have a clue. But there is something profoundly worrying about having a friend- and he was a friend, Kesle realized, not just a firendly acquaintance or a familiar stranger- being not quite themselves.

Of course, she amended, she could be jumping at nothing. It was Reece she was talking about. He was a mystery of a character, wrapped in more layers and moods than she could count. In fact, the first time she had met him had been due to a mistake on her part, thinking him to be injured when he wasn't. When it came to Reece, who could know? She told herself to give it a rest. But that didn't quiet the little worm of worry in her stomach.

She was pulled back from her thoughts by a pair of yellow eyes snapping to her face, suddenly serious.

"Kesle, Where have you been? Why haven't I been looking after you? Don't you know there's demons all over the place?"

Demons? What on earth was he talking about? Demons were a thing of stories, used to frighten pups into behaving or young wolves to stay with their packs for another season. 'The frost demons' were a popluar way of personifying blizzards in the north. They weren't really demons, because demons didn't exist. Right? Kesle remembered Zaphira and her spirits on the Golden Plains. She wasn't so sure now.

"Um... Reece?" she ignored the prickle of alarm at the nape of her neck and turned back to him, tilting her head up to meet his yellow eyes with her yellow-green ones. "...what are you talking about?"

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Can you hear it, can you breathe?
REECE

The male stared at Kesle, confused why she was not responding to him more appropriately. The confusion laced her features, and his yellow cloudy gaze narrowed. What was this madness? Had they gotten to her, or was she really just not aware? Did she not know what was lurking? His shoulders tensed and he found his lip curling, determined to make sure that he stayed righted on his paws. It was madness.

The family in which he spoke of had no last name, but the desperation on his voice was not to be ignored. "Zarek's kin! The demons -" Thinking of his Nocturne - no, not his Nocturne. She would never be his again, she had been a liar and she had been beyond control. There was an anger running through her system that could not be denied, that was in her blood, and she was out of Reece's reach. He could never be with her again, lest she rip the last remainders of his soul.

"They're here! There's... multiple alive, four at last count! Four who would kill you without a blink, three who would take your body and violate you dear... Zarek took female slaves and used them, bred them mercilessly, beat them, locked them up in the mountain!" The quicker he spoke, the more panicked his words became. It was a chant that had lasted so long, he no longer was confident on the matter. His ears were plastered against his head, and he exhaled sharply.

"You'll understand, yes? You can't go near them, they'll trick you - they'll slaughter you!" His words ended on a whine as he pushed back into her personal space, smoothing his body alongside hers. His eyes snapped away from her, however, no longer so engrossed in staring at her. Instead, he went to looking out around him, almost waiting for some of the damned to appear.

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[K]


Confusion turned quickly to fear. Reece wasn't just serious- he was frantic. Kesle could feel her eyes go wide at the awful things he spoke of. 

"Four who would kill without a blink, three who would take your body and violate you..."


Kesle swallowed the awful-tasting lump rising in her throat, not breaking her stare into Reece's face. The prickle at the back of her neck became a slow burn of confusion-fueled panic, until she realized her hackles were raised and her fur bristling.

Kesle had never been brave. Her brother had always been the courageous one, the fighter, the strong one. Kesle, the middle child, the pup with the gangly limbs and big paws and homely looks, who tried so hard but always just missed the mark, she knew she wouldn't have a chance. Not against these- demons. 

She realized her legs were trembling and that Reece had asked her a question. He was pressed to her side, his ears flat against his head, whipping his neck around to level a wild-eyed gaze at the surrounding rocky land as if monsters were about to come screaming at him. He looked just as scared as she felt. She felt a small twinge of guilt run through her. While she had been so focused on her own fears, she had forgot to take  Reece's into consideration. The desperation that hung about him- she didn't want to think about how he knew these things. What he moght've seen.

She took several deep breaths to steady her breathing, pressing against his side to get his attention. She kept.her weight there, snuggled next to him, hoping that her warmth against his side might make him relax a little, remind him he wasn't alone in his fears.

"Y-yes, of course, Reece." she was pleased that her voice only shook a little. She gave him a wan smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'll t-try not to start up an-any chats with m-m-murderers."

[Deleted]

Can you hear it, can you breathe?
REECE

Reece knew he was frightening the girl, on some part of his mind. But the plant that had filled his system was not going to let him calm enough to embrace it and reassure her. It was frightening, no doubt about that; there was nothing he could do about the feelings tossing through his body. "The demon sleeps on the mountain, on the mountain, on the mountain." The quiet little song was accompanied with a gaze wandering deeper into the pits  of the mountain, his temptation whispering through him.

"The demon king murdered my family," His words were soft, a statement that was brought out of seemingly nowhere. "Nocturne is related to him - Zarek, the King of the Demons." His words were so soft, "Far be it for me to give him a label, the creature is dead. But he slaughtered my family, he threw my sister in the delta in three pieces, her head and two halves of the body I had just cuddled." His story seemed so far fetched, but as he sat down, he shuddered.

It was like a sickening memory, twisting and manifesting before his very eyes. There was nothing he could do to make sense of the state of mind he was in with it. His head tipped lightly and he found himself looking at his paws, "I'm a murderer, too." His words were soft, "I never killed him - I would have if I could! - but I know his resting place." His dancing topics were not too welcome, he presumed, but he could not focus on one thing.

"No one else knows where the King's bones lay, but I do. I piss on them all the time... well, not all the time. It's been a year and two months and four days past the lunar peak and four hours - but I used to." His grin was fleeting, and he leaned against her, "They won't defile you if you stay with me, and avoid the Black Coast. It's beautiful with its seals but that's where the cannibal lives, who wants to sire more demon spawn."

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[K]

It didn't really seem to help. Kesle bit her lip and tried simultaneously to not worry and to rack her brains for something to say or do that would get Reece to calm down. It also helped her- thinking about something other than the cold clutch of fear helped her to push it down, into the back of her mind, out lf sight. She still had a feeling that she would not be getting much sleep anytime soon. She wondered if she should ask Reece is she could continue travelling with him, but came up with nothing to say. Now was not the time, anyway.

When he began to speak, softly, urgently, almost like he was talking to himself, she leaned in closer to listen. His eyes still weren't on her and for a moment she wondered if he knew he was talking to someone else. But her thoughts were soon forgotten. 

"You know Nocturne?" she gasped. She had met the silver-eyed she-wolf. She even considered her a friend. She was so caught up with the fact that the two knew each other that she almost missed the end of Reece's scentence. She was glad she didn't.

Nocturne- related to Zarek, the King of Demons.


Kesle felt the breath stop in her chest for a moment. Oh, was all she could think. What had Reece said; "four who would kill you without a blink, three who would take your body and violate you..." 


She hadn't considered that any of the... demons... were female. And she certainly hadn't thought....

"Nocturne..." 


She had talked to her. Played in the salty ocean shallows with her, on the coast. Thought her a friend. Kesle felt herself begin to tremble again. So Reece had been right- they had tricked her after all. 

But Reece wasn't done. Kesle listened with wide eyes as Reece described what Zarek had done to his sister. Her throat felt very strange, tight and acidic. She swallowed.

"I'm sorry," the words were a whisper into her paws. "about your sister." 

It wasn't enough, wasn't nearly enough, but it was all she could think of to say. 

Finally, he sat down next to her. His words were still soft, but a bit stronger than they had been. Despite the part about being a murderer, which Kesle didn't quite belive- well, that was a lie, she could believe it, but she couldn't imagine him actually doing such things- she listened to his finishing words with an attentive ear. She couldn't blame him for the... things he did to the grave of Zarek, but was taken by surprise at his last statement.

"Wait, hang on-" she nearly jumped up. "You'd- you'd actually let me stay with you? Because I was going to ask you but I didn't really know what to stay, I couldn't just say 'oh, hello, nice to see you again, mind if I stick to your side like a burr? Okay, thanks!' Because, well you know, but I was kind of afraid of going off on my own again but if you don't want me to and are just saying that you shouldn't feel like you need to- not that I'd mind if you wanted to, I want to, I mean I want you to want to want me to... but if you don't...  uh..." 

She lost her train of though and trailed off. Her ears burned a little bit. She didn't know what on earth she had just said, only that she had managed to confuse herself in the process of saying it. It was like she couldn't get the words out fast enough. 

"Ah.. anyways, if you really would let me stick with you... thank you." She didn't feel she needed to say anything about not going to the coast. Her mind was fresh with the gruesomenimages Reece's words had painted, and even mentioning the word 'cannibal' made her stomach do a slow roll.

[Deleted]

Can you hear it, can you breathe?
REECE

Running his tongue over his lips, he found himself feeling a little lost on how to feel. It was an odd, hollow feeling that swept through him as he recalled the shameful outcome of his upbringing. Often, it was something he tried to hide. Reece was sat on by a bad luck monster, who was constantly taking away those he loved. The problem was, the yellow-eyed fool get throwing himself headlong into friendships, companions and more without considering the consequences. He was simply too social for the monster to stop him.

The male seemed so without it, and his ears pulled back against his head gently. Tail swished from one side to the other, and his nose reached out to touch his cheek softly; affectionate gesture shined in his eyes. "She lied to me too," His words were soft on his tongue, a hesitant sound was on his tongue. His ears swished on his head, and he exhaled faintly. "She tricked me, and I... I had adored her. She was fun, beautiful."

His voice was shaken with the reminder of Nocturne, but there was no solution at the forefront. Nothing that could be properly said that would make things better. His head dropped and he found himself lost on the moment, trying to find something that would make sense. Surely there would be a reasoning, and he could do nothing but keep his eyes forward. This was not the end of the world, but it still had felt like it for a while.

Still, he found himself going into silence when she apologized. It was not her fault, and he offered a heavy sigh of frustration with the reminder. What a pain in the behind, and his mouth twisted. "I adopted two sisters after that - both have been taken away by others." His words were careful, almost nervous to a point that could not be denied.

"I might be bad luck," Reece was finally speaking like he had a little bit of his head back. Pushing through the fog, bit by bit. There was still that spook in his eyes though, not quite at the point that would have been hoped for. His ears swished on his head and he studied Kesle, honesty hinting through the fog.

"You may, I will protect you." Could he really be that much protection? But he offered a hint of a lost smile to the female, and exhaled sharply. "We will do our best to stay out of trouble, and I will not let you come to harm." It was a promise he was not sure he could keep, but he would make it anyway on the principle. Kesle seemed too innocent to be a danger to him, Nocturne had been a risk from the start.

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[K]

Kesle's happiness faded a little at the mention of Nocturne. "Y-yeah... I... I really liked her," she murmured. That was an understatement. She hadn't just liked Nocturne. She had wanted to be like her. Nocturne was fun and pretty and smart. But everything she had liked about her now seemed... fake.

She looked up again when he continued speaking. Two other sisters? She didn't know what to think. What had happened to them? Maybe he really is bad luck. She felt a small shiver of fear, and with it came the selfish thoughts. She didn't want to be... taken. She didn't want to die. But Kesle only had to look at Reece's face, his yellow eyes unfocused, in a place far away from her, to know that she'd stay. She couldn't just abandon her friend. She shook herself of her selfish thoughts with a twinge of guilt. Of course she couldn't just leave him. He was so... rattled. She might not be much help, but she was someone outside of his own thoughts to talk to. That was something he probably needed. Besides, she liked his company. And it wasn't as if she hadn't ever felt like all she caused was trouble.

And so she turned her head and gave him a smile. "That's okay, Reece," her voice wasn't strong, but it was sure. She leaned back against him. "I think I can handle your bad luck." She realized another thing, as the words left her jaws. Reece had referred to her as a sister. She felt a warm glow in her chest. She was a sister. For the first time in nearly two years, she ws a sister again.

[Deleted]

Can you hear it, can you breathe?
REECE

Reece seemed to come a bit more lucid, just a bit with her acceptance. The smooth look of the charmer that was underneath the skin was not about to open his mouth and speak in a completely normal tone, but he was climbing back slowly from the abyss. His grin was a bit too free, a bit too joyous when she agreed. Almost like she had locked her life away with those words, but there was nothing to be done about that. There was just eagerness, and it showed.

“Good!” His paws twisted, and he nosed her shoulder. “We’ll go this way then — where would you like to den at? Do you have spots you’ve visited that you particularly enjoyed?” Getting down the mountain was going to be a traitorous trek, it was going to be a slippery slope. That was the way it always was though, that was why the dead could stay on the mountain. They were living, and they were going to keep going. That was what made sense to him, it was what should have been embraced by everyone around him.

“Tell me all about how you’ve been since I last saw you.” The eagerness in his voice was not to be mistaken, his body moving swiftly as he attempted to make himself seem more normal. There seemed to be a bit of a tilt to his walk though, almost a drunken swagger like he could not fully right himself. Reece noted it, but moved on thinking that it would be understood. So long as he was not about to acknowledge it, there was no reason for her to either.

“I really have missed you — The winter was long, the fall has been long.” His greedy smile was not to be denied, “A year last summer, heavens! I can’t believe it’s been that wrong my pretty owlet; you have grown, you have!” Shaking his head in disbelief, the male offered a husky chuckle. She looked like she was ready to be fully grown up, and there was no doubt that she was going to be at a risk.

There was those who would be in the mood to ruin lives of the good, sweet and innocent females of the land. Reece could not be bothered with such senseless things, instead he was forced to study the ground as he walked. “You’ve looked after yourself very well - not an easy thing to do for my little morning glory, not when I recall you being so shy.”

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[K]

Reece seemed to return somewhat to lucidity, and Kesle breathed a small inner sigh of relief. She hadn't realized she had been so worried until he calmed down a little. The little knot of terror of her own had been shoved to the farthest corner of her mind that she could reach and was being firmly ignored. It had been lessened considerably now that she knew she was not going to be alone.

Suddenly, Reece was on his feet, and with a scrambling of paws, she was too. He seemed eager to get going now, and frankly Kesle couldn't blame him. The top of the mountain was more than a little bit foreboding. And his eyes still seemed too bright, not quite focused. Perhaps it was best if they left quickly.

The conversation was abruptly turned to her, and she scrambled to keep up with his questions. "I, um- I don't really den anywhere- I keep moving, usually, so- wherever is fine..." The next question made her think a little bit. She hadn't really thought about where she was going to go next. "Actually-" she remembered the previous summer. "We could go west," she said thoughtfully. "I'd like to see the Shore Woods beaches; I've heard the water is warm this time of year." She glanced over at Reece. "That is- if you'd want to," she amended. She couldn't forget that Reece was doing her a favor by traveling with her, and the last thing she wanted was to ask him to go along with her to places he didn't want to go.

The questions continued.


"There's not much to tell," Kesle chuckled a little as she ran to match Reece's ferocious pace, even as she subconsciously reacted to his uneven, almost drunken, stride by moving to the side on which he was leaning, so she could cushion him if he slipped. "I mostly kept to the little meadows by Crowberry Lake, and I just started to travel again about a moon cycle ago... Actually-" her eyes lit up with the memory, and she chuckled again. "I ran into this wolf on the Golden Plains..." she explained the entire encounter with Zaphira, wind spirits, Mother Goddess, dandelion puffs, and all. "...And we ended up with dandelion puffs up our noses!" she laughed. "Her name was Zaphira. I hope maybe I could run into her again sometime..." she finished thoughtfully. She turned back to Reece. "What about you? How have you been doing? Surely you have more interesting stories to tell than me!"

Loose rocks sprayed as they began the downward descent on the treacherously rocky slopes. Not much grew up this high, Kesle noticed. The treeline was still a ways down. Up here, it was mostly lichen-covered rocks, and early spring ice. She stepped carefully around a patch of iceslicked rock jutting up from the gritty soil. "I missed you too," she said lightly, trying to match his infectious enthusiasm. And she really had- she quite liked Reece's smooth talking attitude and interesting colloquialisms. And it had gotten lonely on her own. She missed the sound of familiar voices besides her own. Her short list of friends seemed as if it was growing shorter- and it was hard to stay in contact. Kesle felt a wash of relief again that Reece was traveling with her.She trailed off after that, unsure of what to say in response to the rest of his comment. Had she really grown enough to be noticeable? Anything she could think of to say in response to the compliment either would be dismissive or make it sound like she was trying to fish for compliments, which was about the last thing she wanted.

As for looking after herself, well. "It's pretty easy to avoid people, Reece." she tried to adopt a teasing tone. "I only ran into a few others over the winter, which was surprising, since the the area I stayed around had a lot of winter game." She didn't tell him the rest- she had mostly slipped off when she heard an approaching stranger, rather than make blunders in conversation. You couldn't face all your fears in two seasons, it seemed.

[Deleted]

Can you hear it, can you breathe?
REECE

At least the male was not directionally challenged, easing her back in the proper direction. So long as he knew that things were on a point of safety, there was no need for the concern to boil up to a point where there would be needs to find them a fast hiding spot. While the male was still rather classically out of sorts, at least he was becoming stable enough to start forward. Of course, there was always something to bring him off the expected topic.

It was why he halted for a few moments, his gaze turned to the female with a thoughtful glow to his eyes. "You met Zaphira too then?" His words were a little bit more on track, his head bowed lightly. "She's quite the reason that I am in this state -" His words came with a bit of a laugh on his tongue. Trying to find the correct words to explain the situation at hand; "She found me just shy of one of my episodes - a seizure - and figured something ought to soothe the pain a bit." His words were a pointed explanation, even as he offered a faint hint of a smile.

"Not that I would blame her for wanting to fix me," His words continued on with a soft bit of thoughtful swelling on his tongue. Shoulders rolled casually and his eyes seemed to be a light with the concept that he had been nearly poisoned. Evidently something had gone wrong, so his head cocked to the side.

Shaking his head lightly, he considered the stories he had to tell. What was there honestly to bring up in conversation that would have made sense to explain? His head cocked to the side, and he bristled lightly. "Most of my winter was with Nocturne," The soft admission was a cold one. He was not about to explain it in anymore detail than that. It was a warning that it was a sensitive topic, but for now, they would have to pass by.

His shoulders relaxed faintly, and he found himself bobbing his head lightly. "However I did seem to be smart enough to winter with one of the packs - after some promises I would do my best not to slaughter anyone..." His words trailed off, almost thoughtfully. As if he was not sure he had managed to keep that promise. Evidently, there was something to be said about it.

"It's why we'll be jolly good partners, dear one, we both loathe others. I can halt myself from harming you without concern, it's strangers."  Laughter followed along with the words. He was honest enough, that could be counted on. Reaching over, he simply licked her cheek. It was supposed to be comforting. He wouldn't kill her.