I am the hungry shark, fast and merciless

He lingered. Waited. He hadn't yet gone to the Little Bird's pack yet. Hadn't met Reiko yet. He had promised her, he would show up — and he would — but not tonight. Not tonight. He could not leave Ekaterina wholly unprotected. At the moment, he lingered near enough to her that he wasn't terribly concerned — he would hear her if something happened; she knew to call for him.

But he lingered in the Vale all the same, pacing. Hunting? Killing time, more like. Why? What was holding him back, other than the Queen that basically despised him anyway? A frown cut across his mouth then, a pause in his step. For the first time in his life, the Iron Maw wavered.

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When she stepped out, the light of the vale made her white-cream fur blonde and golden. It caught the wind mostly at her cheeks and neck, whipped up in a flurry most when she graced the top of the hills. Eventually she made her way down to a pool of water where she would dip her paws. She didn't mind them wet, they dried rather quickly anyway.

The water was still and glass-like, her reflection panned off it's surface perfectly. She would glance down at it and examine her own features, finding that she was quite fond of her own face. When she was done ogling at herself, she would finally dip her tongue into the water and take in the cool liquid. A deep and relaxing breath punctuating when she was done.

She stood there for a moment, paws wet and cold, but heart alight with a fire. This place was rather beautiful. The way she stood in the lake made her appear as though a crystalline white deer from a distance, her limbs long and slender when she stood with a noble and royal air. 

She could do it, she thought to herself. She could make a home for herself here. Not in this territory in particular, of course, it was much too close to the ground- she preferred someplace more elevated. But here, in this place so new to her, this land unknown to her. It had started sinking in weeks ago how futile it was becoming to keep looking for home, and much more reasonable to build a new one.

The queen wondered how Aleksei would feel about the idea. Would he hate her for wanting to abandon their old kingdom in pursuit of a new one.

What would her husband think?

Suddenly her head was filled with thoughts of that cretin, spoiling her positive mood. She frowned and looked back down at the water. She felt like he didn't deserve her, that she was much too great (haha) to be tied down by someone who was more child than man. Her thoughts spiraled further on all the times he had taken her without her blessing. His want for a child greater than his respect for her.

The woman bit her lip. She mustn't think this way. That was her husband, after all, if was her duty to bring an heir. She tried to cope but, the more she thought of it the more that nasty taste lingered on her tongue. All she could feel was disgust, and her face showed it.

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His patience was thin today, it seemed. There was a pull in him, one that sang deep in his chest where few, if any, things had ever reached. The only thing stronger was his sense of duty, and honor. Aleksei Vasiliev was no traitor to the crown. He would not abandon his post, nor his charge, aggravating at times though she was.

His paving ceased, burning ember eyes watching her as she bathed herself. Ekaterina had always been the time to take the time to clean her fur in a thorough manner, something Aleksei had never paid any mind to. And yet now, it was the first thing that sprung to his mind. When she didn’t speak, Aleksei forgot whose beauty he was staring at. His eyes lingered on her curves, on the slope of her back and the arch of her neck. There was no denying that she was alluring, but Aleksei rarely so easily was drawn in by it.

And yet now…

Now he watched, quiet even as a faintly aggressive air surrounded him.
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The woman shook out her pale coat, flinging water trickling across the clear lake. It sent ripples, subtle and quickly dissipating, upon it's surface. She sat for a moment still, letting the cold wind brush upon her. When she finally quit and turned to leave the water, however, her blue eyes flashed wide when met with his golden. Her pink nose flushed slightly more red, as did the pink insides of her ears.

"A-... Aleksei." She managed to squeak out. 

Her fur, now wet and rather soaked- especially around her legs and belly- stuck close to her figure. She attempted to shield herself with her tail but it made nearly no difference. She, sure was covered in fur and sure, they technically were always naked but, for some reason now she felt rather vulnerable and exposed.

She quickly sensed that 'embarrassed' was not an emotion that suited her royal visage, so quickly corrected her posture into one that feigned pride and nobility. She tried her best to ignore the way his eyes felt on her body, with every nook and cranny of her normally plush and fluffy legs exposed, as she lengthened her stance. The flushed look on her face would fail to cease, however, so hints of her bashfulness still remained. 

"Do you have an update for me or something?" The woman was clearly excited to move on from the moment with the eagerness to switch to a more appropriate topic. Hopefully he would take the bait and talk about something else other than her embarrassment but, knowing Aleksei.... 

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Even with wet fur clinging to her body, there was a beauty about her that couldn’t be denied, by any man. Or at least the ones he knew. The men of the Royal Guard had always been on about her, how the King was lucky, how she was miles better looking than the Dynasty’s leader. Aleksei, — of course being one of the lads — had joined in, even if he hadn’t meant it. But over time, he had meant it.

That same attraction lingered even now, though there was something… different about it. Where he once might have flirted with her, what came out of his mouth then was decidedly not flirting. “Nothing new. However we’ve been out here for months. We haven’t found the King, or any of the others. With the season as it is, I think we should join a pack. There’s one close. A bit South of here.”
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