sunburst field

"It's this way," said M'Jakuna, glancing back at Aika trailing behind him, a line of tall, wide trees still obscuring the field he so sought as the sunlight began ever so slightly to rise above the ends of the earth. "Okay, close your eyes—I'll lead you from here."

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Nomad

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"It's this way," M'Jakuna said, and Aika drew forwards eagerly. Maybe this could be the place where her family could reside, even if only for a few moons before finding somewhere even better. His dark eyes casted over her pale pelt as she observed the place around them; all memory of being here before had fleeted.

Her gaze was drawn back to the man as he spoke again, and Aika's heart fluttered; "Okay, close your eyes—I'll lead you from here." With a chuckle and a nod, she screwed her eyes shut, trying to find her place leaning against the man. Her heart beat loudly, almost pounding out of her chest. She breathed quietly, trying to picture what it would look like.

“Lead the way,” She stopped speaking, clicking her tongue thoughtfully. “MJ? Can I call you that? As a nickname, I mean.”

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When she pressed close, he knew it was then he could further advance, only once using his teeth ever so gently to tug at her shoulder when she wandered a little too far right. He flicked his ear at her use of a name he knew wasn't his. "That's fine by me, I can be whatever you'd like," he said, leading her a bit further ways on before the field met them, and he slowed to a stop, still not encouraging her to look quite yet. "My people, we have two names—the one we're given at birth, the second when we're older, when we are who we are, or there's a certain way we look that's all our own; my mother called me Red Jaw..." After a beat, he flicked the tip of his tail. "...If I'm to be your MJ, I say you're to be my Snow-Kissed, if you'll take to it."

It was then that he sighed, nudging her lightly. "You can open your eyes now." He said, letting his eyes fall on her—the field, rich with shades of purple and golden lit by the sun rising high, it was just as he said. A sea of wildflowers, stretching wide and far, nothing unlike the shade of her eyes he could imagine as clear as he could feel the breeze ruffling his fur.

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He seemed to be fine with the nickname she'd offered, proposing one of his own soon after; Snow-Kissed. She hummed, as if deep in thought, and then nodded a few moments later. “I'll be your Snow-Kissed,” She promised, a light giggle exiting her maw as she spoke the epithet; it was cute, she liked it. “It sounds cute.” Like you, she had to resist saying; she didn't want to be overly obvious. Aika mentally sighed.

"You can open your eyes now." MJ said, giving her a small nudge forwards as his teeth left her shoulder. Blinking rapidly, Aika felt as if she was going to tear up; he was right, oceans of violet and lavender decorated this part of the forest, reminding her all too much of home. She'd forgotten she'd been here before. It was a beautiful sight. Though his eyes fell upon her, the lady herself was just . . . amazed, before her face lit up and she looked over to the man. “I love it,” She breathed quietly, almost erupting with joy at the sight.

“It's beautiful . . .” Her eyes flicked from the man, to the field, though Aika couldn't help but examine M'Jakuna's own pelt as she said 'beautiful'. Without the rain or clouds covering his pelt, Aika realised just how pretty he truly was; a stunner, to be sure. Aika grinned. “Like you.” A hook; a test; goodness gracious, Aika, you've known this man for a few hours. But it was just a compliment, it's not like it meant anything. The two halves of her brain argued while she turned her head away from MJ, looking back over the flowers.

They truly were pretty.

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It sounds cute.

"Very fitting," said M'Jakuna, eyes flitting to her for only a moment before he looked away, tail offering a timid wag before she took to the field—once her eyes of near-lilac met his. While he was a wolf who rarely doubted himself or questioned his actions, always putting so much thought into his decisions, nothing was done lightly or for the sake of doing it but even he couldn't prevent the way he hoped he hadn't been too bold as to bring her here. A wound as fresh as hers, he'd loathe to think he rubbed it wrong.

A relieved breath left his lips. "I'm glad. We didn't have sights like this where I lived, the valleys would grow flowers during the summers for a short time but never something as lush and gorgeous as this," he said, thoughts stilling until—his ears pricked up like exclamations, eyes widening just a little. Well, he sure hadn't thought her mind had been wandering near such comparisons.

It was odd, really, only Jah'tihn had been one so bold as to whisper things of the sort. It made him ache a little, thinking of the red wolf so far, friends as they were now, but the oddest thing to M'Jakuna was simply how he found himself taking a fancy for the way she spoke—subtle, but he fancied it. "You're bold as the sun is bright," he said, soft smile bleeding into his tone as he looked to her. "Though I'm one to think you're far more beautiful than I am, the flowers deserve you for comparison—make them a little jealous."

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She worried for a moment that the compliment would be poorly received, and that the air would grow thick with tension and awkwardness, but fortunately, it did not; she smiled at his words as he spoke once more, ever the humble man, though Aika wanted to make him see what she saw. Someone gorgeous, and worthy of love, definitely. "You're bold as the sun is bright," A smile decorated his features, which caused Aika to smile, as well. Her grin was probably wider in comparison. "Though I'm one to think you're far more beautiful than I am, the flowers deserve you for comparison—make them a little jealous."

The woman batted her lashes in a shy manner – as she had with @Osamu, but this time in a more purposeful manner – as she turned her head away. Occasionally she'd look back at him, taking a breath before speaking again; “You really shouldn't say such a thing, MJ,” She insisted, though she put a little more emphasis – followed by a short chuckle – into the nickname she held for him. She turned once more, trying to meet his eyes with her own. “You see how your pelt is like that of the trees?” She asked, gesturing vaguely amongst his pelt. “You're like one, too; standing tall no matter what. I think you're bringing me up with you,”

Aika smiled. “You make me happy, M'Jakuna.” He wondered if she helped him to feel the same way; she hoped so, it would only be fair if she lent him her own natural jovial mannerisms. MJ deserved them, after all. Aika couldn't help but feel that with a soul as pure as his, he deserved the world. She breathed. “I hope I have the privilege to make you feel the same way; happy.”

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Aika was so reserved, not hiding away but careful with how she'd be taken to, almost as though she was new to another showing her the companionship he did as he did. Had M'Jakuna believed himself to be behaving in a manner that was so convicted in a certain way, he would've been far slower, gentler maybe; softer. Each things that truly wouldn't have altered how he treated her now, meeting her gaze the rest of the way. "You treat me far too kindly," he half-whispered, as if only wanting to allow the likes of the flowers and the deliverers of the birdsong above.

His mile wasn't hidden, enough to flash his fangs. "I'd be quite the fool if I didn't feel all the more in your presence," allowing his voice to flood warm as he went to nudge her, pulling ahead to again lead the way, tail wagging. "Come on, what's a field more fit for than a run?"

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"You treat me far too kindly," MJ said quietly, almost as if he truly couldn't believe it; Aika chuckled, shaking her head slowly as her warm – full of kindess and affection – took in his growing smile. “And you deserve the world, my dear MJ; your kindness is unbeaten by even the most compassionate of pacifists out there,” Damn, she was getting good, at least, in her opinion. Aika was most certainly going in with the compliments, but they were barely to win him over at this point; they were merely true. She just wanted him to understand how amazing he was!

His smile was so wide, it made Aika giggled as his fangs flashed in what could've been seen as an otherwise threatening gesture, though she saw his little smile-marks. "I'd be quite the fool if I didn't feel all the more in your presence," She gasped quietly, turning her head away in modesty. He nudged her, and Aika looked back to see his tail wagging wildly, as if he was but a small whelp; she chuckled, nudging herself back into him playfully. "Come on, what's a field more fit for than a run?" He pulled away, which made Aika feel . . . cold, but nonetheless, she nodded and followed after, preparing to sprint. Luckily for her, the lady's physique was made for this!

She came up to his side, occasionally glancing back at him, though she dipped down in a crouch as she grew ready to throw herself forwards into a sprint against the grass; “3 . . .” Aika began, a smirk crawling up her features as her paws begun to itch. She wanted to be off, and her tail begun to wag, as if it were a motor that needed to be started up before she ran. “2 . . .” She looked at MJ with a look on her face that seemed to ask the question; "you ready?" before looking forward again, parting her maw last one time before taking off. “1 . . . GO!”

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It was flattering, he thought, M'Jakuna had always favored being seen as a wolf who was more than what many took his nature and stature to mean; that mattered more than those who took him for a beast or some barbarian for the practices he performed and the beliefs he held—as if religion meant your morals were sound, or as if staying within the comforts and confines of total neutrality meant you were unjust and cruel; if what he and his people stood for made them brutes in the minds of others so be it, he'd go to the grave believing what he knew was true. How he looked though? That ailed him more. A wolf dedicated to neutrality and, always, kindness when it was possible... it was unbearable to think he was something most hesitated around, or submitted to simply because of his presumed nastiness and force. All the more did he see it in this land where the wolves were smaller than most in his homeland, where the women and the men and the in-between were matched pound for pound, and he was known for being the Hovua's boy... the heart mother's boy... Amvrulao's sensitive one.

The relieved breath that left his chest was unfathomable. He hadn't known he was carrying such concern for Aika, that she'd feared him somehow or thought him worth befriending because the alternative would be unkind.

It meant this was reciprocated... Aika wanted to be alongside him for the same reasons he desired her company.

When Aika found herself at his side (and what a pleasant sight that was, he thought, for he imagined himself at hers) he made the idle move to lick gently over her ears just once, their height difference making it easy; as if he thought she'd take it slowly and his proposition would become a stroll.

No, no, he'd find she was faster than him in most ways but he would try.

A woman like her was worth the trying.

When she burst forward, he went after, his maw cracking into a smile as he raced after; sunlight beams but thresholds they raced through, the flowers an aromatic blur as petals flew and the wind whirled around them. M'Jakuna, for once, thought little of his worries and the weight he carried like a need was left so temporarily at the entrance of the grove.

All there was in this field was him and her.

And he quite thought he didn't want it any other way.

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He seemed to be spinning cogs in his mind, a flurry of thoughts going on behind those attractive, dark eyes that seemed like they were staring into her soul, accompanied with a warmth so heavenly that she could of easily found herself collapsing into his fur. He gave her a brief lick over the ears, to which she found a grin plastered upon her face, before they were off.

The thundering of his massive paws was but white noise behind her as she sprinted, lithe body bounding and stretching across the grass with such speed — she was comparable to that of a frightened doe, really, speeding across the grass as her tail swayed eagerly behind her, giving him a view of what her sister, Hikari, probably called “all her glory.” She thought she’d be a few ways away from him, so when she turned to see how far he was, just to see him smiling, she faltered;

oops.

With a brief cry of shock, she was sent tumbling down the grass, giving small ‘oofs’ as she went along, brushing past flowers and shrubs as her oofs became silent. Finally, rolling over one final time, she found herself on her back, looking upwards at the starry sky as the sun rose. She smiled. It was beautiful. Wait, MJ! “I’m over here!” She called with a chuckle, craning her head upwards to try and catch a sight of the handsome man. “Come look at the stars with me, my dear MJ.” She invited as his scent drew closer.

“Aren’t they pretty?”

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While he'd been destined to lead since he was young, M'Jakuna had the childhood any pup deserved innately, and there were many times deep in the vale he and Vurlo—Jah'tihn, too, always Jah'tihn—would race through the waving grasses, careless and with only the objective of a win at the mouth of the vale where the tundra would lead them to boreal forests.

M'Jakuna didn't move with any intention of winning, today, though many would be able to say he couldn't beat the likes of Aika if he tried his hardest (nor would he deny this); he'd be a liar to say he didn't feel a little triumphant already, finding it at her side, in her presence... it'd make his thoughts wander beyond the likes of this race and to the manner that sunlight found her pelt and the eyes that turned to find him would make the flowers weep if they could know how she'd outshine them each time.

He'd choose her each—

—as quickly as those thoughts unfolded, they tucked themselves back away all neatly leaving him none the wiser as he watched Aika vanish with only a yelp. "Aika? Aika!" he hollered, breaking into a stride of haste, following alone the flowers that smelled of her, voice leading him the rest of the way until he was nearing her. "Are you alright?"

He'd wait briefly for an answer before moving to scent at her to reassure himself no blood was drawn before he looked up, blinking to the glittering specks in the inky black, slowly fading with the milky orange of dawn. For her troubles, M'Jakuna would oblige, lowering himself down beside her with a huff as he would then roll to his back, side pressed to hers and his paws neatly tucked near where his chest met his stomach. A little chuckle left his lips at the term. "They're quite pretty, darling," he said, offering a side glance to her, lips forming a soft smile. "Still aren't you." Then back to the stars, sighing out, voice a mutter now. "They're still not you."

When he knew the sun was rising at its own leisure, he would break their silence with a gentle, "Would you stay a little longer with me? This is... nice."

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MJ’s swift arrival made Aika’s heart pound, her face growing warm and her stomach coming alive with butterflies at the sight of his eye-catching face. She smiled childishly, her gaze only full of affection and love for the man before her, though a crease of sadness took place near her tear-ducts; how could she be sure that he loved her the same way? What if they were but platonic friends in his eyes? It was something she found herself all too anxious about. Nonetheless, she’d focus on the time they got to spend with one another, instead of whatever road that may lie ahead.

"They're quite pretty, darling," M’Jakuna said as he laid beside her, looking up at the stars. He called her darling. Aika smiled, her cheeks only growing warmer as the sound of his charming chuckled reached her ears; goodness, she thought— no, she knew— she was in love. MJ spoke once more; "Still aren't you." He met her gaze, and Aika felt herself pulling forwards to deliver a sweet kiss upon his cheek. Oh how she wished to share more acts of affection in such a way. He turned, murmuring; "They're still not you."

“They aren’t you, either, dearest,” She hummed, trying to find something that matched his title of darling. Aika felt quite giddy inside; oh how she enjoyed his pet names for hew, she wished he’d call him his Snow-Kissed once more. "Would you stay a little longer with me? This is... nice." Aika giggled. “Of course, MJ. You really think I’d choose not to? Time spent with you is all the more time well spent.” She gave him a grin, trying to roll close and pull him into a wolf-like hug, aiming to rest a foreleg over his chest. Her tail would seek his own, and hope that he’d allow her advances.

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It would be with a rather content yawn that M'Jakuna would chuckle next, a certain amusement in his tone; he'd remain wordless as he leaned into Aika as she leaned into him. An acceptance of sort as he settled into the comforts of the grass and the flowers.

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