Iridescent Lagoon [M]Bad news like a sucker punch

Morganna, you slip on a patch of ice and hit your "funny bone".

baby I'm back now, feelin' how I used to feel

Morganna Archer

And so it begun, as it always had. The tightening coil in her stomach and an unreachable itch beneath her skin. It was the second time in her life she had been uncertain what this signaled. While she was the leader and it was her right to produce more heirs, if it wasn't with @Renier, then she wasn't particularly interested. It would also be Celandine's first season as a leader, and so the pressure was off, as far as she was concerned. The scowle would have pups one way or another, or they wouldn't, but if life had taught her anything it was that not baring your own didn't exclude you from inheriting others as the year progressed.

She all but stomped from the scowle, tail waving from side to side, more a warning than an invitation. Given the large number of relatives among the ranks she hardly thought they would take it any other way, but she wasn't in a mood to pity the foolish. She continued her walk towards the eastern banks of the Lagoon, hardly expecting her trip to be any more productive than a burning of excess energy... until she slipped, the same elbow connecting with concealed ice that had suffered on her journey from the willows. "Fuckin'sonofawhore!"

She almost thought she caught a flash of brown and white in the corner of her vision.

It's in the eyes I can tell you will always be danger

Celandine had risen to leadership, changing the dynamic of the pack. It was different for sure, but he didn't mind that. Cel had it in her to lead after all, and maybe Morganna wouldn't have to carry so much. Something he could always for the first time wasn't the first time he questioned his own position. If it was worth moving up, or if his desires had changed. If for once it wasn't about staying afloat. 

Still the season brought an unrest as it always did. How easily he found himself trailing the peach eyed Archer. Wondering if she was seeking the lagoon for some form of comfort. Like Morganna he was certain pups would be part of the Scowle. But, he wasn't certain if they would be theirs. After a litter of five did she want more? Or would she look at him like he had gone mad?

A faint smirk, his paws picked up the pace. It was her cursing that made them push even faster. He would see her own the ground, on her bad elbow. Lips tight in a frown, he went to her side, where he nudged her shoulder. Letting her know he was here. "Want help up or need a moment?"

There is a moose carcass that has been scavenged by coyotes nearby. +15 Health

baby i'm back now, feeling how i used to feel

Morganna Archer

At least this time it hadn't been Adeltra to find her cursing but Renier and she managed a smirk through her grimace, a self-depreciating chuckle offered as she allowed her back end to fall to the ground behind her, "Nah, I was jus' so desperate fer a break I had ter stop right 'ere." It was clear from the crinkling around her eyes and the grin that tugged at the corner of her mouth that she was teasing as she pressed the throbbing limb into the snow for just a moment longer.

Reaching up to press her muzzle under his chin Morganna managed to find her feet again, and her tail swept quietly at her back. She moved to rest her flank alongside his for just a moment before testing her weight on the limb, and it seemed to be holding up okay, "I must be gettin' old, tha's the second time I've slipped." She followed her statement up with a dramatic huff and a roll of her eyes to cover the funny little flip-flop her heart was doing at the base of her throat.

It's in the eyes I can tell you will always be danger

"Right," he murmured, with a flick of his brows and small smile. But, he didn't move. He kept his eyes upon her face, away from the limb. Letting her keep what might be left of her pride. He'd already gotten ahead of himself, and shouldn't be making it into a big deal. They weren't that old...not yet.

 Though how did all those days turn into years?

Just like it wasn't the first time she'd been along side him, it didn't cease to please him nor taunt. With or without or "stink". But, her words brought out a hearty chuckle.  "You? I'm the one going on six." Something he was still trying to embrace, for he didn't exactly feel it. Not on a day like this. Playfully, he nosed under her throat. "Maybe I just need to wrap you up for your protection. In cattails and reeds?" There was a hint of mischief to his golden eyes, that he was mostly teasing. Waiting for what she'd throw back at him.

(This post was last modified: Mar 22, 2018, 10:18 PM by Renier.)

baby i'm back now, feeling how i used to feel

Morganna Archer

He humored her, he always did, and that was probably while he was still here after all this time where others had fled. She knew she wasn't always the easiest wolf to be around, but he never held it against her. Morganna chuckled when he pointed out his age, "In yer prime darlin'!" She quickly countered, knowing that meant the same for her but when Renier offered to wrap her up in cattails and reeds her smirk took on a whole other dimension, her head turning to groom the fur along his neck and throat while a low familiar growl rumbled in her chest. "Tha' doesn' sound too bad, yer wouldn' leave me alone would yer?"

It's in the eyes I can tell you will always be danger

He couldn't hold back a crooked smile at her comment. It was a better way to look at it. This was already a better year of his life. Where he still didn't know the answer to everything, but what he did know was all he needed. They were together, through thick and thin.  

As she pruned him, it almost felt like all his hair was standing on end. But not with tension or fear. It was a mixture of suspense, and thrill. He briefly looked upon himself, seeing not a piece of it was out of place as her growl tugged on a familiar cord. "Of course not," he murmured against her ear. "I wouldn't take my eyes off you." He licked her cheek, before playfully nibbling on it. Swiftly, pulling away to try to taunt the Archer.

baby i'm back now, feeling how i used to feel

Morganna Archer

Things were finally settling down. They didn't have problematic neighbours (yet), they had no intention of taking any long journeys, north, to Torbine or otherwise. For the first time in what felt like a very long time, she was settled, and content. This was the first year that she hadn't been plagued by worries and what ifs. It seemed like a shame to forego the natural pull of the season when their other children had done so well.

Her face lit up when he said he wouldn't take his eyes off her, and she stepped to fill the space he had vacated, keeping close as though some magnetic force was driving her. "Say, yer've stuck around this long..." It wasn't like Morganna to lose her words, a familiar anxiety bubbling in the pit of her stomach as she considered whether she wanted to say the words at all, whether they needed to be said. "Should'n we think about makin' things official? I mean... with us?" Her face was burning hot beneath her fur, and while she was inclined to focus on his feet, instead she forced herself to keep her head up, to look him in the eye and prove this wasn't a joke. Hadn't they been through enough?

It's in the eyes I can tell you will always be danger

He was surprised but in a good way as she didn't keep her distance. He shouldn't have been. A lot had changed in the course of a year. Growing them closer together. It was just...he wasn't use to things coming too easily. Couldn't quite silence the dreadful, small voice that liked to question how long things would last. Still, he paused, eyes paying notice to the change in her expression. She looked pleased, and yet he was hearing the hint of anxiety. Uncertain what was behind it, where this was going, his expression sombered for a second. He thought he would have to coax her worry out. But what she said next wasn't at all what he had thought. A smile suddenly warmed his features, changing into a smirk. "It's probably about damn time." There was an obvious tease ringing in his words as he approached her, nose smoothing hair a top her crown. "I wouldn't have it any other way," he murmured, meeting her bright peach toned gaze wanting to convey everything he felt words could not. Given the time, maybe he could. Instead of darting away, he merely took a step forward knowing she would follow.

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