O weary traveler

[:Crow:]

The air was fresh and clean, yet to a canine's leathery ally, one could tell that the terrain was far from untouched. The stench of humans and their booted paws was smeared on every blade of grass, every face of stone. The trees whispered of intruders and the birds gossiped of flashing lights and structures with hues that rivaled their own brilliant plumes. It seemed that the place that was supposed to be left to the hands of nature, was still corrupt with man's selfish pleasure. The beast picked up his pace, his legs spurring beneath him as he followed a well worn trail. His massive frame was built for the endurance of many miles, but it did not mean that he was immune to tiring. It had been some nights since he had rested in a full slumber, and not with one cold optic open. Carefully, he allowed himself to veer to the middle of the trail, his auditory senses atop his proud cranium swiveling and snapping towards the slightest hint of the presence of another; a rustle, a snap, a murmur. Yet there were only wood folk about, and none that would cause him harm. It seemed as if the lands were rather plentiful, if not bountiful, as he could smell human left overs scattered about a large field to the west. Nostrils flared as he took in a deep breath, sorting through what air he sifted. His long ebony tail, tipped white rose as he came to an abrupt halt, his muscles coiling and gathering in preparation. His breathing ceased, and his ice blue optics scanned the area, his brow low and serious, his lip curling instinctively. With a decisive snort, the large brute trotted onwards, assuring himself that no one would bother him, though his hackles still blistered with his temperament. His neck low and shoulders rolling rhythmically, he continued until he mounted the next hill and his gaze was met with the far vision of a city. He could hear faint sirens and roaring engines and a strange dullness of constant sound that was unidentifiable, even with his keen hearing. The beige tipped hairs along his mussel warped as the skin wrinkled with a low growl. He decided he would not allow his future planned family to venture down into such a place, at least not until they were older. Brier, his fair hearted and faced mate he would have no control over. She was as free as he, but he dreaded letting her set her grass familiar pads on that concrete down below and coming across ill intentioned street mutts without him to protect her. The male was like stone, staring down towards the forest of angular metal and concrete. As much as he hated to admit it, there would always be a source of easy food there, and as long as there was food for his future offspring and his beloved mate, he would stay close to this man-made place.

[``SUBdue™]

Who else would follow behind a fierce ebon king such as Crow? None other than the total polar opposite to this dominant beast, as the sweet natured but, the equally strong at heart, Brier. She would not chose any other path besides this one and she would never chose disloyalty to her mate that gave her the support and protection she needed, especially laden with their brood. From the moment she had laid eyes on the handsome brute, she had know he was to be hers and she would do what it took to make it so. Though, Brier was subtle about her approach, eventually she had nabbed her ebon prince and had been love struck since. Crow was her obsession and likewise Brier was his and the two found it impossible to drift apart. Even under such dire changes, Brier stayed by his side, knowing that he was choosing this life over the last through that wisdom within his mind. She knew not to doubt it and never would question him and so she silently obeyed him and easily agreed to his decision to break away from the dangers of the wild, where humans were starting to show themselves as well as an assortment of other dangers, and to come to the safety of the outskirts of a city where no peril would come to them nor much of anything would disturb them.

As she padded through that soft grass, she was reminded of the way the open wild had been--so quiet and so serene, untouched and undesired by man. There was not a soul to be found here in this large stretch of pristine land, and though she wondered why, she was more than pleased to not even detect a single scent of human upon it. It was almost as if they hadn't wanted this land; tossed it aside and left it to nature. She snorted lightly as she thought about those filthy creatures and how strange they were. With a new life on the horizon, she was relieved that this would become their home. She felt it in her bones and in her skin and within that heart that this was the place; that this would be where they would make their little claim and where she would birth their pups. She could imagine them running free through the lush grasses without fear, giggling happily as they chased butterflies for amusement or practiced their hunting skills on the field mice, which no doubt over ran this place.

She smiled, her lips stretching into her cheeks and making her hide tingle as she thought such sweet thoughts and felt life bubbling into her for the first time in a long time. She bumped her nose into Crow's hip as she followed behind him, reassuring her mate that she was still there and ready for whatever decision was next. She hoped in revered silence that he would slow his pace and stop to survey this land for that would mean this would be their territory. She had learned to read his body language long ago and though he might try and hide his decisions sometimes, she could always tell what he was thinking. She picked up pace a bit and came to fall as his side, matching him step for step and allowing her curved body to bump against his and her tail to slide along his underbelly. She was not intending to taunt him, and though she was sure it might, she just loved to be next to him.

They has shared rare moments like this in their pack so every minute she got to pay her affections to him and he returned them, she was more than delighted. Soon, they would have pups to tend to and their private time would be limited for they would need to be tended too every little second. Not that she minded in the least but, it was something she was mentally and physically preparing herself for every day so when the time came she could handle their brood. She knew Crow would often have to leave her with the pups alone to hunt for food to feed their family or to chase some intruder off their land or even to fight. The fighting part she did not stomach so well as if she lost Crow she would lose her world. She knew if it came to a dire situation and Crow was helpless, she would hide the pups and come running to aide him. She kept that to herself, knowing Crow wouldn't have such talk from her and would make sure she didn't dare do such a thing.

Her stomach felt tight and her pups rolled around as she thought such things, trying to push it back into her mind. She whimpered as she stopped short and tucked her nose underneath his chin, hoping to stop him as well. "Crow, I think we should stay here. Something about this place tells me it is right for us." She nuzzled into him, a soft chuffing sound coming from her vocal chords. Her eyes closed for a moment as she breathed in his scent, enjoying being able to be so close to him without another watching them. As much as she adored her old family, it was nice to not have to have eyes burning into you every time you shared a loving moment with your mate. She was most likely paranoid but, she couldn't help feel relieved that those days were gone. They would have their own family soon and that was what was important. The future looked promising and it started with them finding this place; this place she hoped they could call home.

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[:Crow:]

The ebon brute turned his ice blue gaze to his mate, whom, despite his instruction to stay behind so he could scope out the area without allowing any danger to be aware of her presence, had positioned herself as close to him as possible. While his scornful expression was still in place at her lack of self preservation skills, his deep optics softened and melted upon touching hers, and a tingle raced down his spine as he felt her warmth so very close to his body. The bridge of her mussel rubbed under his chin and he inhaled her sweet scent, the perfume that intoxicated his senses, and caused him to crumble and a tender smile, one only she would ever lay her sweet gaze upon, smoothed his features. He was handsome when he stared at his beloved, she always brought out the best in him. However, the male still gathered together his wits enough to answer her question, even though he would have be pleased to stay in the wake of her feathery voice rather than rumble the air with his deep baritone. "I too feel it. This is as close to a haven as we have ever seen. If we venture further, we threaten our safety from the two legged creatures, and if we step back, we only return to a hostile wilderness that I will not see our young grow up in." It was the inky beast's way of saying, this was his compromise, between the extremes of nature and the extremes of the urban life. It was a vegetated suburban area if anything. Resisting the urge to nuzzle her was killing him, so he craned his neck down at nuzzled her cheek before licking the end of her nose. He smiled with his adoration for her, and sighed contently before shifting his gaze back to the city. The dark, long fur along the ridge of his back caught in the breeze, and they danced merrily with the soft gale. "There is nothing more I long for, than for you to be the mother of our pups." He rubbed her neck with the side of his head and then pulled her closer as he draped his neck protectively over her, in a canine embrace. "I am so lucky to have you.." The brute stayed there for a while, feeling her pulse, her comforting breathing his lullaby. His tail gave a flick and he pulled away, bumping her softly to signify that they needed to construct some sort of a den before the sun departed from the sapphire skies and they were cast in darkness. His large alabaster paws padded him into the vegetation, away from the trail, across to a small clearing that lead to a hillside. Perfect to burrowing out a den in. He admired the sheltered place, free from the winds and the ground was dappled with the foliage-filtered sunlight, creating favourable conditions. He turned to Brier, looking down upon her, and tilted his cranium to the side, questioning her feelings of the place.

[``SUBdue™]

The ex-Gammaess could not help but steal glances at her ebony prince and pay him affections for she was in love with the brute who stole her heart at the first glance into those piercing blue eyes. Though, she was sure Crow was rolling his eyes from too much attention but, she also knew that he was a softie underneath all that rough and tough exterior and would soon appreciate her obsession with him. She smirked as he sighed a deep sigh as she nuzzled him, and felt her skin crawl and tingle when he leaned into her, finally giving into her. Her toes flexed into the long grass, loving the sensation of the cool soft turf caressing her tender fur and tickling between her pads. It felt so good to be here and not walking on that cold hard stuff the humans called pavement or that harsh bumpy stuff they called cement. After a moment of enjoying him and everything this land had to offer; after letting it all sink in, she gently moved away from her king, letting him have his space.

She was not one to over do it and she knew that even though they were mates, she would need to let him have his personal space and she would need hers as well. Without such intervals away from each other's space, they would soon grow annoyed or stressed by each other and so they had adopted a loving give and take relationship. No beings could be attached to each other all the time for they'd surely go mad. She sighed softly and moved her eyes to grace the landscape, taking it bountiful beauty in and instantly cherishing it. There would be much resources here but, the most important thing was that it was set away from everything else and would be a private sanctuary for the expecting pair. She tipped her head up to the soft breeze that swept by and closed her eyes, scenting the rich aromas of fresh running water, fruit bearing trees and even the remote scent trails of rabbit and deer coming from the forest. It was a canines paradise and on some level it surprised her no others had come to claim a spot in this vast plot of land. Yet, on an entirely other level, she was more happy and satisfied that none had come and that they might never come to stalk these grounds.

Her ears twisted to Crow's masculine voice; the very one that still made her shiver and those soft amber eyes rose to his, a smirk laced onto her lips. "Yes, I could not agree more my dear. This is the prefect spot for us and our coming brood. We will be safe here, I feel it in my bones." She gave her head a slight nod as if cementing the deal within Crow's mind that this was indeed the place she wanted to be, so badly she had wanted to say it when they first arrived but, she held her tongue until he voiced so first. She did not want to be needy nor did she want to be assertive with her love and so she found a comfortable place in between. She slowly moved from him, making a wider and wider circle around, so she could check out every corner and crevice for the best place to make their den. As if Crow had the same thoughts, him mentioning her being the mother of their pups, his words found her ears, causing them to perk with his soft tones.

She turned to him, giving the complete view of her eyes and the smile on her face. "I love you too Crow and I am thrilled to be carrying the pups you will be father of. I am so proud and feel like the luckiest female alive." With a soft lash of her tail in the air, she bounded off with an excited leap and began searching for the spot where she would make their den. She knew Crow would want to take on the duty of tracking down a meal and so she would dig the den and let him have the thrill of the hunt. With her nose to the ground and eyes lifting occasionally to her surroundings, she raced like an excited female that just came into heat around the edges of the their new residence, trying to pick out the best spot for their little treasures.

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[:Crow:]

OOC: I'm out of muse for this.. lol When will the puppies come? Then I will have some

[``SUBdue™]

This thread is now closed as Crow and I have decided to drop Crow and Brier (as we play them on another site and switching back and forth is getting too crazy xD!).