"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
now don’t you understand…that I’m never changing who I am?
And so she had come here. With him. Wrapped around him. Entwined with him. He had declared himself hers, and that he would stay with her. His loyalty was hers, and she would return the world of politics, following Romek and Maribel into the fray, the beauty that would inevitably become her home, and her safe haven. This place was so different from where she was used to being, but she liked it. The icecicles dripped from the trees like diamonds casting light and rainbows through the expanse. There was a slight glowing about the forest, the ethereal casting of the warm light that gave of a mystical feeling to it. Almost as if you were being watched. It kept Reagan on her toes and she found that she liked it.
Clutching her rosary, she prayed to the great Virgin for peace, as she waited for her purple-spotted dalmation to join her. She was looking forward to seeing his thoughts on the place, and for them to find a corner of this land that they could call their own. But in her head, she wondered if he had what it took to stand beside her as he had said. She had been restored to her power, but what of him? What would his motivations be to stay with her once he could manipulate his ice? Would his heart freeze against her?
Reagan, the ever mistrustful, tried not to let the shadows of her past cloud her eyes as she turned back to him, forcing a smile upon her face. He had done no such thing as to have her believe ill of him.
His brow was creased as he faithfully trailed his... Reagan, thoughts elsewhere. He had not given himself time to fully mourn his losses; his sister, mother, and even the adopted family of valley wolves that had once again graced him with a sense of family when he needed it most. He was certain the pack had been wiped out with the rest of the lands. The sense of belonging he'd found in them was so effortlessly replaced by her magic, her beautiful spirit offered to him and clutched greedily within his own. But the wolves...
They were not the only thing missing.
Ruan stopped, head turned to look off in the distance, as if he could see through all the trees surrounding him. One little wolf was still alive somewhere, and he intended to find him. He'd search til he dropped. But how could he tell Reagan? Would she understand?
He'd fallen behind, and with downcast eyes he turned to follow her trail. When he found her again, he looked up to meet her gaze. Her smile warmed him and spread to his own face, sweeping away his concern. She was beautiful. How had he managed to stumble upon such a fae?
When she held her image of age, green-tipped strands of hair and moss wherever she pleased, she was a raw, wild magic. Irish and rich with lore. Power seemed to radiate from her in waves, washing over anyone near enough to feel it. Her emerald eyes glittered with a knowing stare and you felt as though she could see every detail about you, your past, future. And she could, of course. That, and more.
A glaring fire, becoming a familiar fiend of late, sparked to life in his eyes, but he held it in check. He felt full of pride and want every time he looked at her.
"Reagan," he called softly, stepping in a little closer and halting. She was wild and free, unchained. And somehow his.
"The girl is happy here with us?" he asked, reluctantly tearing his gaze from hers as he glanced around for the little sprite.
now don’t you understand…that I’m never changing who I am?
Hearing him, she stopped and turned her body towards him, leaning into his shoulder for comfort, for support—for the sheer sake of snuggling against him as a filly does with its mother. There was a beautifully quiet where the world held its breath, as if waiting for these two to make up their minds to actually acknowledge the other in the way that they already did in the very waking of their souls. Reagan’s heart was beating against her chest and her thoughts were quiet for the first time in an age. She had figured out inside of herself that she loved this man, and wanted a chance to make a life with him here in the conifers. All she needed to do was to tell him.
She looked around for her little fire lady—Jinju, who was off with Alivia and Arete enjoying the bountiful space that the forest had to offer, even if she was a little cold—and took advantage of the alone time, and the way the icicles clung to the branches like a beautifully decorated church. Only the trees were watching them, and only the snow was a witness to this exchange of minds and hearts. Reagan reached up, and nipped her lover’s ear, whispering just his name Ruan before a pail green myst took them both.
Replacing hooves with paws, their teeth for fangs, Reagan’s magic elongated both of their bodies into sleek predatory animals that were at home in the snow. Reagan’s fur grew out into a beautiful arctic white, and her eyes turned black, as she turned and examined her plush tail and her long, seductive body. Ruan’s purple spots were, for now, traded into a bluish-grey pelt, grown out with claws that could rend a man in twain if he so desired. Their sense of smell became heightened, as did their eyes, and as the sun set there in the Taiga, The she-wolf begged her mate to follow her into the thickets; for a night of Hunting. She had known, seen into his mind’s eye his love of the wolf. And, now for the time being, they were a mated pair, sharing in each other’s scents, becoming one with themselves and the world.
What the night would hold was only Reagan’s guess. She just wished to make him happy.
Warmth unfurled in his belly when she said his name and he stared lovingly into her eyes as a shroud of her magic took them.
A pang of unease lit through him. He well remembered the last time they'd shared her magic. It had changed them both profoundly, permanently joining them in a way he never would have believed possible if it hadn't happened to him. He could feel a part of her within him everywhere he went, no matter the distance, and it only intensified when she was near. His soul hummed to be with hers again, begging to be united, to circle and entwine as they had that day. To pair and know each other again so intimately was a powerful spiritual experience he could never forget.
Realizing this desire, he let his fear dissipate and relinquished all control to her. Mental barriers dropped, though she was strong enough to overcome them with ease, and he opened himself completely.
Her magic washed over them, shifting and changing. He felt no pain, only curiosity as his body melted lower to the ground as if shrinking. His eyes closed and he took a deep breath, letting the last changes settle over him. The cool breeze swept against his face, thriving with more scents he'd noted a moment ago, and when he opened his eyes he could see more clearly through patches of darkness within the forest like night-vision.
He looked down at his feet and saw the greyed paws they'd become. He knew them instantly, recognizing the familiarity from his time among the wolves. As family. A pained whine pulled from him before he could silence it, grieving the loss of his pack. His shoulders were slumped naturally, his tail held low, at ease. The dark nose at the end of his snout glittered with natural moisture.
His eyes blurred and a lone tear splattered to the dirt as he blinked away the intense emotions overwhelming him. She'd done this for him. She knew his heart, and brought him home again; in a way, more than he'd been even when the wolves were still alive and roaming free. And she'd done it all for him.
Deep blue eyes lifted to her, raw emotion held tightly in check. They seemed to say thank you more than any words ever could at this moment. He threw himself against her, battering her with furry affection before pulling away again. Her heady scent enveloped him, triggering more turbulent feelings racing through him. He wanted her. For the rest of his life. Unspoken love flowed through them, neither one putting it to words; neither one needing to.
He stepped into the lead, bounding into the woods, taking to his new form almost naturally. Paws gripped the earth beneath him as he sped through, letting loose with all he could. Curling and releasing his legs rhythmically, he burned off all the sorrow that finally caught up with him. Learning of his mother's end was painful, but it paled in comparison to how deeply he felt his sister's death, and then the valley wolves' deaths.
It felt as though he had run for hours, and he slowed when he came across a little creek. He lapped at the water eagerly, then plopped heavily onto the damp bank. Chest heaving with pants, he lay there spent but finally at peace, his mouth hanging open to display a pink tongue curled at the tip. His tail wagged lazily when his gaze fell on her glorious white pelt. Eyes glittering with mischief, he tilted his chin back and let out a howl.
now don’t you understand…that I’m never changing who I am?
There was nothing that said that within a world of magic, that Reagan was not allowed to enjoy her abilities. She had, for a time, been unable, or unwilling to share of herself. Magic was a power that was rare in these lands, and now, even as the Fairies hoarded it all for themselves, it was even rarer still. And yet she had made a new mark on a new world and had her magic bestowed upon her from the top of the mountain. God and the Fairies had given her the abilities of her birth, and Mary had smiled upon her all the goodness that said she was blessed.
Reagan twirled her body around, blue fire spurting up from between the toes on her icy paws, and she gave a playful yelp as she lept forward to keep up with her mate. Her blue-white tail bounced in the dark as the moon strobed off of the tree branches above—it was now spring time and the moon was full and in the air. The equinox was close and the blood in the she-wolf’s body began to race with the anticipation of the oncoming storm. She knew that there was a power coming this way that had not been seen in a millennia, and it charged her body to now end. Her hackles went up and the fur stood up on end as she breathed in the sweet smell of the forest, followed by the heady scent of Ruan as a wolf. His pheromones were intoxicating to her as she pushed up against him, pouncing up and nipping the space between his shoulder blades that he could not reach. “Mine” she says playfully, before loping off further into the Taiga, kicking up the dirt and the pinestraw, the scent of a family of voles nearby, the lust for the blood on her fangs and a full belly dying her eyes black with the need for a hunt.
She had just claimed Ruan as her own, and now she found she was starving.
His pulse thrilled as she brushed against him, sending ripples of euphoria through to his burning soul, lit so brightly near hers. She pounced at the scruff of his nape, claiming him with teeth and voice. He trembled, feeling the power in that simple word, and reveling in the truth of it. He was hers. All of him. He couldn't imagine it any other way. He sighed in contentment.
My Reagan.
She surged forward, taking charge, and something feral and frenzied suddenly rushed into him, a natural response. Predator giving chase to prey. He launched himself at her, reaching out to tug at her neck briefly with a short, high-pitched growl -alpha, then pressing into the lead. A warmth of strength and dominance filled his chest. Was it foreign, or most usually suppressed?
The hunt in her eyes spread to his, and he set the course, catching the scent of her intended targets. Sweet salivation slid across his tongue in anticipation of their little treat. As soon as he came upon a vole's burrow, he dove for it. His damp nose stuffed the edge of the rodents' home, dirt caking to the moisture on his snout. The thick fur around his neck fell forward with weight like a lion's mane as he focused on the little hole.
The wolf's belly protested the lack of reward for his efforts. A frustrated whine pinched his throat and his paws dug furiously at the place in the ground that smelled so wonderfully tempting.
A light distracted him; one he could sense more than see. His eyes lifted to its mate, his mate. Mate? Such a beautiful wolf. Glorious and fierce. He remembered how she'd claimed him, and he smiled a toothy grin at her. Mine. Then he remembered a warning growl as he'd pushed ahead of her. He did that? He hadn't meant to do it. They'd always been equal to each other despite her clear advantage in magic; he loyal to her and she to him.
As Ruan slowly pieced together his thoughts, he lay on his belly in submission to his mate. Confused and a little disoriented, previous bloodgames forgotten.
