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open for anyone! come and play :D

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Trying to divide his time between Chief duties, fatherly duties, partner duties and every other duty had been proving to be something that Tiberius was wrangling with. There was something pulling him in the depths of his chest to never leave the sides of his daughters and Olive yet he knew the world outside of their den continued on. He had a duty to the collection of creatures who had chosen Duskguard as their home and he would not falter, even if he found himself out of his depth with new fatherhood. 

There were times where he could not help but wonder about @River, wondering if she was thriving and happy. He thought about much, in reality yet he did well to bury whatever wonders he had when they would not work out in the favour of his productivity. The titan would venture from the Vale if only for a little while, going out on what he would suppose was a fatherly mission -- he knew that the girls were too young to really do much but he thought if he brought home little decorations for the den then they might be favourable to the differences. What the fuck did you bring home to new born girls, though?

He huffed a breath, a cloudy puff flourishing in the tundra air. He wondered if like him, the tundra would call to them or if they would hear of green rolling hills and think that their greenery was not enough. They had grass and land untouched by snow but for some it might not be enough. Perhaps he might convince them that the world past the Vale was utterly shit and that it would be in their best interest to remain at home with their parents, because really, could he trust the world with them?

With his girls, their minds, their hearts?

These were the thoughts that came to him then as he skulked through the snow, wondering if now this was an aimless venture for he knew not what to bring home than another snack for Olive to indulge herself on. His tail lashed behind him as he forced his way through a particularly thick and deep patch of snow, clumps clutching to his fur as he moved. ^^

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"You doing 'aight there mate?",  rumbled the cat doing his best to mimic the baritone voice of his friend.  Approaching across the open rolling grass, the tiger slowly collided with the dark man with a light bump of the shoulder.  Not typically the best at reading detailed expressions or ques, the cat did figure that Tiberius was deep in one of his worrisome, serious episodes. The usual chaotic tendency of the cat aimed to distract the man from his worries, if not just for a moment.  

Chuffing already, the cat aimed to rub the back of his head into the man's side, in the most obnoxious way possible, pressing into him with a fair bit of weight. The motion would be hard to ignore, one way or another the man would have to think about something else for a moment.   In the midst of pressing the crown of his head into the man, a bit of his fangs peeked out in a small pleased expression, it had been awhile since he checked in on the titian.
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Constant vigilance had been forgotten in favour of his worried mind. He hadn't heard nor seen the cat coming, his voice touching against his senses and Tiberius looked up in time to see the frame of Kuhn loping over and bumping his shoulder to his own. Something lightened on the titans shoulders, his expression shifting to relief at seeing the tiger who went between Northfall and Duskguard regularly. "Aye," he greeted in a rumble, unable to process the mans question as Kuhn would press his crown into his side with, some of his weight thrown behind it.

His legs grew steady and stiff as he tried to hold himself against the weight of him, his own teeth peaking from war-torn lips as he grinned lightly, "yer righ' annoyin'," the titan grunted though the chuckle that followed told Kuhn all he needed to know: he wasn't telling the truth. Tiberius would lean to grip Kuhn's rounded ear with an arched neck, trying to give a tug as he shouldered the felines pressing weight. ^^

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Hearing the dark scarred man chuckle, let the cat know he was getting what he intended.  Knowing his friend, there had to be someone around that helped him keep his feet on the ground.  Kuhn could have guessed that the man would have said he was alright, this guy liked keeping all the burden for himself.  Being called 'annoying' in that way made the cat smirk, revealing more ivory from under his own scarred lip.  

The mildly painful sensation of the wolf's teeth gripping him by the ear, caused the cat to emit a halfhearted snarl, his face showing a bit of shock.  The tiger's large head was lead around for a moment by the wolf's teeth on his ear.  Showing his fangs without a wrinkling in the face, the big cat didn't try to pull from his grip, instead hunching over and backpedaling into the man.
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There was never fear when he was in Kuhn's presence. Tiberius had long since felt like that the feline wouldn't ever seriously intend to harm him just the same as Tiberius would never seek to harm him, either. They had some crazy respect and relationships, the feline being one of the first to break through Tiberius' guard and make him realise he was young and allowed to have friends, despite it all.

The feline was his greatest friend.

It was often that Kuhn started their wrestles and their fun yet it was today after a sudden change of thought process that Tiberius sought to start it. He tugged gently on his ear, laughing into the thin flesh as the feline backpeddled into him and the titan could do nothing else than fall into step, his body moving behind the pressure as he staggered to the side. He rumbled his laugh as he released his ear, intending to curl his toes where he could into the snow and tuck his head down towards the felines chest and hope to force him up or to make another move against his playful attack.

The thoughts and worries of his girls were put to the back burner for the moment, focusing on starting a play fight with the feline he so favoured. ^^

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Likewise for the cat, there was a short list of others who he would trust, and even though the solitary cat put up a resistance of befriending anyone, the Titian's patience eventually broke though the cat's reserved nature.  initially when they had met it was on adversarial terms.  Tiberius was a severely undervalued goon for an empire of thinly veiled evil, and now here he was, a father and a leader.  As the wolf matched his step, and in the midst of his snarling, Kuhn couldn't help but think of how proud he was of the man.   

It wasn't their first sparring match, and the moment the dark man let go of his ear the great cat reared up, attempting to bear down on the man.  Though, Tiberius was no pushover and had seemingly already thought of that, the wolf lowered his own center of gravity and tucked into the cat's chest.  As the cat came up, the dark man had the striped beast of balance.  One way or another, the cat would fall.  Though rather than let his friend have the win, Kuhn wrapped his forearms around the wolf, using the momentum of his own fall to try to pull the man down with him.
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Kuhn had already had something brewing. He reared up where Tiberius had opted to try and go under to lift, so the two opposing moves had come together in Tiberius' favour as his feline companion fell but not without quick thinking on Kuhn's side. He grabbed Tiberius with his forearms, wrapping around him where he could on his descent and with the way he was bowed initially, the titan had no way of stabilising himself against the change in momentum.

The canine and the feline fell together, Tiberius being cushioned mostly by the feline and it was his body that saved him, though not a hip as it touched down on the ground, an "oof!" coming from the titan. Not soon after did a rumbling chuckle emit from him as he popped his head up, attempting to playfully swat at the feline, "fucker." Tiberius released a puff of air as he surrendered his body to the ground, huffing and puffing as he relaxed. "If yer wanted ta be closer ta me, mate, yer coulda jus' told me," the titan drawled, referencing the way the man had all but hugged him to bring him down with him.

Lowly, he snickered. ^^

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Together, they fell to the tundra ground in a heap of large limbs and snarls. The big cat pulled the dark man down with him, momentarily binding the wolf to his chest, pressing the flat of his teeth into the man's pelt.

When impact with the ground came, it was only jarring for a moment, as the large feline's back thudded into the ground, taking a bit of air from both men as their dense frames knocked together. As Tiberius chuckled, the big cat returned a pleased smirk and a sonorous chuff, looking up at the man who was perched up on the cat's chest. Kuhn was already relaxed when the dark man reached out, the wolf's paw, harmlessly connecting with the tiger's face. With his ears splaying apart only his whiskers reached out to intercept the attack as the cat closed his eyes, emitting a small rumble.

The tiger seemingly didn't realize that he was still holding the man in a hug until the titian made a passing joke about it. Obviously, the relaxation in the cats face drained away, replaced by a flustered expression that would turn the skin below his fur red.

Relaxing his hold on the man, any bits of his claws that many have been griping him retuned to their hiding place, and whiskers that where a moment ago probing the Titian shot back to keep to themselves.

"I - uh...", The striped beast stammered quietly. The cat looked up at the dark man's scared face. Feeling the heartbeat of the wolf, pressed against his chest, Kuhn figured Tiberius would be able to detect Kuhn's reaction. He didn't know what to say.
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It wasn't often that Tiberius felt like the little spoon. It was... pretty much impossible with nearly everyone, especially given how petite his @Olive was in comparison to him yet here he found himself, flush against Kuhn's chest, the felines arms clasped around him. The sharp of Kuhn's claws bit at his flesh but it was not a feeling so foreign to him nor was it intended as harm so the sensation died quickly, numbed out by the beat of two hearts.

He hadn't intended to... to fluster him. Tiberius blinked, rolling his tongue along his marred lips as he peered down at Kuhn, tilting his head as he gave him a boyish, youthful grin. Similar but differently shown, Kuhn stammered. The titan shifted, still seemingly atop the feline as it didn't come to his mind to simply get off.

"Yer good, mate?" it was said low and thick, seemingly going somewhere but completely unknown to him as he grinned. A grin so young that it made him look his age aside from his graphically marred features and not the age he sometimes came across. Tiberius' blood burned in his veins. Kuhn had been the exception of many things, showing him what it meant to have a friend and what it meant to have physical contact not mean battle or pain. It seemed that getting used to Kuhn (who really, was quite the physical being, if his shoulder bumps and head rubs were of any indication) made him less inclined to think strangely about being seated atop him.

^^

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It wasn't a common occurrence for the tiger to find himself on his back to a wolf. But here they where. For all the instinctual discomfort that the position provided the feline's mind, there was an equal amount of comfort that he did find in his friend, feeling the heat between their pelts contrast from the cold air. Maybe he could have tried a little harder in the scuffle and not ended up here, and if the wolf wasn't someone he trusted so much the outcome might be different. But this was Tiberius. His friend. His best friend.

Feline eyes tracked from the edges of the dark man's maw as his tongue traced his tattered lip. As if the cat was going to take action, his tail twitched not unlike how it might while observing a potential kill. Even so, there was no way to hide his beating heart, betraying his nervousness. The great apex predator was practically frozen under the wolf's weight.

The titian, knew the cat well enough to register his nervousness. Tiberius seemed to calm the cat somewhat with his soothing rumble. The comment caused the cat's whiskers to reach back toward the man probing up at his chest and neck, revealing the titian's pulse and the motions of the muscles rolling beneith his pelt.

Not breaking eye contact with the man's volcanic gaze, the cat subtly licked at his own upper lip, venting off a bit more of his nerves. Tiberius's uncommon boyish smile lit the cat's eyes, as the cat cracked his own canine filled smile. It wasn't a smirk laden with amusement, but rather a genuine display of satisfaction.

Taking a moment of silence, Kuhn watched the wolf rise and fall on his chest, as he breathed in and out. Though most of his nerves had been quelled there was still a burning in his core. Whatever it was, there was some sort of love for this man.

With most of his courage restored, the tiger reached back up to the wolf on his chest. With a large paw, lightly griping the titian's well built shoulder; the tips of long claws teasing at his skin, the cat somewhat pulled the man into him and tilted his own head closer. Releasing a broad tongue from behind his lips, Kuhn ran it upward through the man's dark pelt, starting from his chest to the his collar bone.

Still, the big cat's heart drummed from within his chest.
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He hadn't been this close with someone aside from Olive, bodies flush to the point they could feel each others heart beats through their rib cages. Granted, his chest had been to her back but -- well, that was different, okay, and this was chest to chest, the titan resting atop the feline who made no move to push him off. Tiberius didn't cringe away from the contact, finding that they had always been touching in one way or another when in each others company and truthfully, the Chief trusted Kuhn with his life, so it wasn't as if he was some stranger that Tiberius would seek to scramble off of as quickly as he could.

Back in the Valley, the titan hadn't had a friendship like this. He hadn't really had... friendships. Vala had been an almost, something else entirely, Lana was... she had been a part of his heart, certainly, someone who had been under his wing but like everything in the valley, that had come to an end, too. Kuhn was entirely his own category, someone who wasn't supposed to be part of his life but had been, his soul finding something familiar within the feline and his misunderstood nature. Tiberius was able to tell the cat when he was being a right twat, their mutual understanding coming into play when their species differences came to rear its head. Kuhn was trying and had been trying, even with his mistakes and Tiberius tried to understand him, too.

That was the thing, he supposed. They tried to understand each other and that was the very least of what someone could do. They were tied together in a way that was unexplainable but not in a way that Tiberius would complain to. Life had been complicated and his path had not been in a straight line since the feline had arrived to the tundra but that was not solely on his shoulders, his life having been difficult before he himself had arrived here, too.

Life was made better, easier, by the ones you surrounded yourself with, he had learned.

Tiberius was drawn from his thoughts by the movement below him, the touch of claws tightening against his skin making his fur stand on edge. It didn't hurt, not really, the pinch was not done with malice and it made his spine twitch. Molten eyes watched the feline below him, a curious glint in their depths as the feline leaned forward, tongue coming to draw a line from his chest to his collarbone. Tiberius stared, mind loud but not saying much at all, unintelligable garble that made him wonder.

It wasn't the same sort of touch that Olive often kissed him with but it wasn't... it wasn't nothing, either, he felt. Tiberius blinked, swapping places with Kuhn as his own lips stumbled his nerves. He didn't understand his own reaction and a part of him felt as if he should move away, wondering what Olive might think (then again, Tiberius didn't know what he was thinking, either) but there he remained, running his tongue along his disfigured lips. "I..." he fumbled for words, wondering what words he could say, really, that portrayed what he felt when he didn't know what he felt in the first place.

So the titan didn't speak. He swallowed thickly as he would lean down to run his nose along Kuhn's exposed shoulder, working through his fur slowly and gently as he worked through in his head what all this was. He knew that he felt safe here, exposed but not endangered atop the feline. ^^

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For a moment the cats nerves where calming under the weight of the dark man.  Though the heavy taste of the Titian's coat shook the cat once again.  It was something that sort of, just happened, instinct driving him to share his affections.  Looking up at the man with the taste of the wolf in his mouth, he felt as if he might get sucked into the earth, the whole world spinning around him, lashing his tail against the ground. What had he done?

For what seemed like an eternity, the Tiger wondered if he had crossed the line.  At any moment, Tiberius would jump from him and recoil in disgust.  Suddenly the fear of loosing his friendship with the man put into perspective how much he really valued the dark wolf which was more than he could ever have guessed. Worse than the fact that he was internally forced to admit his love for someone again, was the fact that the realization looped around and around with the threat of offending the dark man. It seemed like forever in his mind, thoughts simultaneously loud and intangible, screeching like a dying boar.

When the eternity came to an end, Kuhn was all at once spared from his torment at the sensation of Tiberius running his muzzle across his shoulder.  Counterintuitively, the Titian's molten touch sent chills through his large frame, causing the tiger's body to react, with the fur around his neck fluffing and standing on end.   A long drawn out rumble escaped the cat unwillingly, each note rattling in his chest.

The cats paws that where once apprehensively holding the titian, slowly tightened their hold, wrapping the wolf closer into the big cat's chest. After gently pulling the wolf a bit closer to himself, the feline slid the side of his face across the cheek of the wolf, weaving his muzzle across the man's  marred features until his maw gently took in the wolf's pointed ear. 

Purring deeply, into the man's chest and ear, while grooming trapped ear he too wasn't sure how to explain how he was feeling besides content.
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As evolved as he was slowly but surely coming with his emotions, Tiberius was content to not question these ones. To not question the energy that surrounded the wolf and feline duo, thinking that it would break whatever spell had enchanted them and like glass, the peace would shatter. Another time, maybe, Tiberius would address the confusion of knowing but not knowing what the tiger truly meant to him. It was easy to know that aside from Olive, the tiger was one of the closest beasts to the titan's heart. Wasn't that explanation enough?

Whatever worries that may have clung to the titans mind seemed to bleed away with the rumbling sounds that rolled from Kuhn's chest. The feline held no complaints and made no effort to pull away from the man's touch, so Tiberius supposed his returned ministrations were okay. Approved. He could feel the vibrations of the rumble against his chest, the sound deep and warm to Tiberius' mangled ears. He was brought closer, tighter by the feline and Tiberius slid ever so slightly at the pressure, his thick forepaws coming to dangle each side where the felines shoulders met his neck. Subconsciously he would come to hold the man in return, resting his paws upon orange and black striped fur.

It was new, the sensation of being the one held. Tiberius had always been bigger than anyone whom might earn closeness with him, though the list small, it was filled with wolves smaller than he. Lana had always been smaller, as had Zeph and Olive most certainly was -- yet he was, atop the feline, being held tightly, closely. It... it struggled in his brain to begin with, feeling out of sorts and out of place until he had come to the realisation that he didn't hate it. You wouldn't find him in such a position with anyone else, vulnerable and open, strewn across their belly and chest. It was reserved for the feline only, it seemed.

Something akin to a purr left his own chest, the humming sound of approval, not one he realised he was doing as Kuhn's face came to rub his muzzle along Tiberius' own cheeks. Another unperturbed by the mangled skin, touching him as if it was pure. His heart beat in his ears, his blood warm in his veins. Kuhn's mouth came to chew at the ear that was not half missing and Tiberius bowed his head down as to allow easier access, the nibbling of the man's teeth, coupled with the vibration of his purring had Tiberius' brain fuzzy. His tail thumped once, showing he was content. Tiberius moved his head so that his nose would come to rest upon the crest of the felines chest and idly, his tongue snaked out from behind his teeth to draw languidly across the tufts of fur, pressing for pressure to his skin.

He felt safe within the Vale, certainly, because he worked to keep it safe alongside the canine Genghis yet this sense of safety was one not touched upon before. It wasn't a safety of his own making, his own hard work but one brought forth by the encircled legs of the feline. His feline, he oft referred to him as in his head. His tongue made fine work across his breastbone, drawing towards where his shoulder met his neck where then his teeth would nibble, seeking to pull out gently any knots he came across.

If he nibbled the skin, well, it hasn't been intentional. ^^

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The Drumming tempo of the striped beast's heart stabilized itself once more, realizing that they where intertwined in their feeling.  Washing up and down his spine chills traded places with warm waves that cascaded to the tip of his tail.  Gently chewing at the man's lupine ear, he could feel the wolf's own paws encircle his shoulders, causing another warm rumble.

Feeling the weight of the dark chieftain sprawled upon his chest and the warmth trapped under the wolf's paws only furthered the bliss of the moment,  building more and more warmth in his core.  Releasing the man's ear, the moisture of the fur made the man's scent linger.  Any time that scent was on the wind, it was always a reassurance the Titian was nearby, but here it was more potent, calming in its aura. 

Feeling the man's tail brush into his sensitive underside, Kuhn took a moment release one paw from the man fully extending his claws at the sensation, before returning it softly back to the man's well built shoulder. 

The wet sensation of the wolf's tongue cascading across the bone of his breast caused his ears to ring, and his breath to hitch. When the man's affections reached the base of his neck, he had to close his eyes.  Instinctually the big cat's large hind legs curled in on the man, to momentarily grip him with all fours, triggered by the touch to that sensitive area. Though only a moment later, his hind legs where slowly relaxing back to the floor in their vulnerable position. 

Making a conscious choice to disobey his instinct to protect his neck from a wolf, the tiger arched his head back, exposing the throat on his well maned neck, surrendering to his friend's affection
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It wasn't only his vulnerability that was open and in the space around them. It was Kuhn's, too, and like his own it wasn't easily shown. Yet... wolf and feline alike wore it like a second skin, one they were adjusting to yet in each others company, it was worn with quiet confidence. The feel of his teeth against his ear had Tiberius' spine warm, feeling settled to the touch. Kuhn's mouth was warm around the thin skin.

He hadn't noticed where his tail thumped but he noticed the moving touch as Kuhn pulled a paw from Tiberius' shoulder. The titan glanced up to the feline with questions in his molten depths, teeth brush his fur as he felt the man tense beneath him. The Chieftain was unknowing to his sudden change but before he could question in too much, the feline relaxed beneath him and returned his paw to its previous perch. The titan hummed, his skin warm once more beneath the thick paw of the cat.

He hadn't expected it. The sudden grip, the move, the way his body bustled in the cage of four legs as Kuhn tensed and held him. The titan pulled his head back to look to the feline as he were, his eyes closed. He didn't look to be in pain, Tiberius thought. Maybe he had been surprised, tickled by the touch to his neck. The placement was sensitive, the flesh delicate. Kuhn settled and Tiberius watched as he tilted his head back and exposed his neck to him fully.

The ultimate sign of trust.

Tiberius watched him, observing his features quietly. He had known Kuhn trusted him. To be shown so openly by the expense of his neck with him atop his chest, well -- it was... it was overwhelming. Another show of how far they would go for each other, how comfortable they were within each others company. Quietly the titan would tilt his head back down so he touched his nose to the crook of Kuhn's neck, breathing softly as he let Kuhn get used to the touch. Tiberius flicked his tongue out to sweep across his thick fur, once, twice and across the very center of his exposed neck. He hummed as he worked his teeth against a knot, nipping at the skin gently as he tugged Kuhn's fur free. Idly his tail would thump and sweep gently in time with the hum of his throat, hips shifting so that he might scoot just a little bit further up the felines longer body without breaking the touch of their chests.

He swept his tongue along the line of his jaw, the man's whiskers tickling against his marred brow and Tiberius cast his molten gaze to observe the differences of their features up close. He could see what has drawn Valmua to the tiger, structure powerful and bold. One of Tiberius' idle hind paws seemed to twitch, brushing along a striped flank in a caress as the titan's tongue came to draw along the man's cheek where fur met lip. Small puffs of air would leave his nose and ghosting along the fur of the feline as he breathed, deeply and quietly and hoping that his ministrations had not crossed a line once he came to the others man face.

His stomach stirred, his chest thumping with the rhythm of his heart and Tiberius realised he had paused, nose against Kuhn's cheek. ^^

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Only this morning Kuhn had held down a caribou in a similar position to the one Tiberius held him in now.  Vaguely he could remember the sensation of the beast's throat tearing in his jaws, moments like that where violent and bloody.  It was curious how now a few hours later, the big cat found himself on his back mesmerized by the gentle affections of his lupine friend. 

Relaxing into the floor the cat's well built frame relaxed, feeling the Titian's body draped over his chest.  Continuing to arch his head back, the large cat, could only purr feeling the man's hot breath seep into the fur on his neck.   Rhythmic rumbling approval continued to rattle from the tigers chest.

As the man's wet tongue traced its way up Kuhn's throat, he couldn't help but squirm both battling to escape and to soak up as much of the man's affection as he could.  The feline's musculature shifted beneath the dark man as his arched neck gave way to a subtle arched back with every passing stroke.  Some respite was given as the wolf tugged a few knots free form the lower section of his maned neck, the pinching and pulling providing some grounding.  

The idle hum of the dark man was soothing, almost synthesizing with the cats almost constant rumbles.  Leaving their hiding places the claws in the cat's hind paws extended to their limit as the wolf's tail swept back and forth over his sensitive underbelly and flanks.  Kuhn was compelled to gently kick at the air with the opposite hind leg as the Titian's leg further teased at that delicate region.

Never had a creature like him been designed to be so vulnerable, and yet for Tiberius this all felt ok.  Just when he felt like he was settling into the man's affection, the warm breath of the chieftain teased at the edges of his lip, followed by the warm cascade of his tongue.  He could have sworn that his heat had skipped a beat feeling the wet sensation, and then again the warm breath whisping across his cheek.  His heart was beating fast but this time, blood seemed to flush to his face and to the rest of his body, it would be hard to deny how he felt.

With his eyes open, he took only a moment to stare up at the sky, feeling the man's nose on his cheek and the taste of his breath on his lips.   Reaching up to the back of the wolf's skull, the cat moved the man's head away so they would be eye to eye. 

Kuhn let the moment linger letting his nose curl upward to show his ivory teeth, a small threatening rumble escaping his chest.  

In the very next moment and in the same motion: leaning upward toward the man, his expression softened and the tiger's large tongue flooded over the man's lips starting at his canine, dragging along his lips towards his cheek, making contact parts of the man's teeth and blanketing over a good portion his marred face.
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He mostly understood, okay.

Or well...

He thought he did.

In reality, he knew barely anything whilst he was atop the feline. He knew that in the back of his mind, he thought that Kuhn beneath anyone else was -- it wasn't right. Certainly he had seen the dynamic between him and Valmua. He had seen it when they fought the awful fucking prick that hold stolen his heart from him. Kuhn and Valmua had balanced themselves upon the bulbous beasts back and at some point, he swore he saw the feline cage the wolf between his legs in safety. In protection. Kuhn had been on top, protecting -- yet had he seen him below anyone before?

Before him?

Tiberius wasn't... he wasn't entirely sure. He could guess to himself and say no but would he be confident enough to say it outloud? His throat felt dry as he thought on it because in reality, he was safe here, wasn't he? He was safe atop the beast as Valmua was below him yet he --

It was different, in a way.

He knew that.

Did he?

Kuhn purred beneath him and it went straight to his blood stream, bursting with fire and confusion all at once. He supposed that meant the man approved, that he hadn't crossed a line. His breath left his nose, laboured but quiet, puffing against the short fur that covered Kuhn's face and he thought that matbe he had lost his mind. Maybe he was --- maybe.... maybe they knew better than this. What was this? -- Kuhn squirmed and Tiberius was lost, he had been before, uncertain as to whether he should stop but why should he, he reasoned, Kuhn was his best-friend and this was... this was fine, okay.

Tiberius shifted his hips as the man arched his neck further, giving more access to the shadowed man above him. Tiberius tilted his chin, casting his molten gaze to the side as he caught the motion of the cats hind legs, gently kicking the air. Before he could question, wonder, get some answers -- the feline shifted him, moving the titan's face so that molten met slate gray and he couldn't help but stutter a breath. Tiberius' paws tightened their hold upon the mans shoulders, his neck, as he leaned forward and drew his canine along his face. Along his lips, tugging at the darkened skin before it grazed along the marring of his face.

Once more the feline proved he wasn't put off by the way the titans face was mangled. Because that's what it was -- mangled. It wasn't -- it wasn't conventionally handsome, conventionally anything. It was marred, broken, damaged -- yet the feline touched it none the less, igniting a flame with the move of his canines and causing the touched skin to feel as if it were on fire. Something glutteral left his throat, low and slow as he shifted, leaning in the touch of him as his ears swung backwards and his hips shifted, "Kuhn," he rumbled, quietly and breathlessly.

He didn't understand. It had been a lie, earlier, to say he mostly understood.

He didn't.

That was fine. He didn't need to, not right now. All he knew was the feel of his best-friend, the company, the safety of him beneath and enclosed around him. Did he sound pained? He hoped not, it rasped from his tongue as he leaned into the mans touch, wondering when the spell would break and things would change. Tiberius suffered a sigh as he pulled back, slowly and unwillingly and his molten, golden depths observed the felines face. He searched him, far and wide yet all he saw was... or well, all he felt was warmth. Tiberius' stomach stirred, his chest tightened and he --

He should tell Olive.

He should.

Shouldn't he?

It wasn't quite the same as what he felt when she was around him, beneath him, looking at him as if he hung the sun, stars and moon --

But it was something.

He felt... safe. As if Kuhn would choose him, over and over, come to his aid and hold him like this again --

Fuck.

Tiberius' mind was clouded, shrouded in a fog.

His tongue flicked out, sliding along Kuhn's lip. ^^

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Only a few minutes prior Kuhn had intended to cheer up his friend; even if it was in his own annoying way.  He never expected to find himself here, or for it to be so natural to surrender to the dark wolf's touch.  Tiberius was one among the first to see him as anything besides a monster, this man gave him a chance.  Maybe it was unnatural for a cat to feel indebted to a wolf, or to allow for this position.  But the striped beast didn't care, he would come to the aide of this man a hundred more times if he had to.  Tiberius could have his claws and fangs for any battle without question, the Titian's heart was unquestionable, and so was the trust the tiger had in this wolf.

All confliction or instinct had washed away in the embrace of the man, all that was left was the warmth and weight of the great wolf. As the cat's large tongue traced the lips of the man's marred face, he could feel the wolf's grip on his shoulders feeling the man's blunted claws against his skin. The sensation could only cause the big cat to rumble warmly once more and tighten his own grip on the man.

It was true that the tiger had submitted to nobody before now. Even for the smallest of things the cat had held his ground, preferring to fight. Maybe it would have been pragmatic to submit to the wolves of shiroshika or the countless others who knew nothing of goodness, maybe they would not have seen him a threat and he could have gone about his life. But nobody deserved it, nobody was worthy of trust or respect like this. But Tiberius... he was.

As the dark man slowly pulled away the slate eyes of the cat fixed themselves into the molten pools of the man who held him like this. For a moment there was silence.

Hearing his own name uttered though the beautiful scarred lips of the man sent a heat down the spine, demanding more. There was something in the way it was said that broke much of what the cat thought he knew. He felt valued by another. It was something that his species was never meant to learn, but this lesson was just for him, and here they where.

Not wanting to speak or unable to find words the cat's eyes said everything that needed to be said looking up at the man's tattered and proud features in pure admiration.

He almost thought that their affection might part ways as they stared into each other's eyes. Though when the wolf's muzzle came for him once more, Kuhn was prepared. As lupines tongue found its way across the blackened lips of the striped panther, Kuhn in the same moment gently latched on to the man's muzzle hooking his canine behind the wolf's own, their jaws for the moment locked together.

Without thought, and in utter silence, the cat navigated his feline tongue across the man's teeth and into the warriors maw, exploring it's contours as much as his friend would allow.
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^^

Whatever emotion lay within those slate gray depths it was... it was strong, intense and it made him squirm. He understood intensity, he knew that he was an intense creature and he was intense with Olive in a way that felt... felt similar to this. Tiberius swallwed, throat dry and tongue feeling thicker in his mouth, against his teeth. He wasn't expecting the tigers next mooth, linking a sharpened canine around his own, mouth to mouth and Tiberius wasn't prepared for the way his tongue moved.

It was new and it was... it made him sigh lightly, softly, chest rising and falling against the felines own. He parted his mouth ever so slightly, without realising it, desiring the way the sensation of the felines exploring tongue made his spine shiver. Tiberius hadn't ever explored the way someone made him feel aside from when his body touched Olive's, she had been new, different and otherworldly and before her, no one had ever made him want to explore their body. Never had he wanted to be explored. Never before had he wanted to possess, love and hold someone with the intensity that he had wanted when Olive had come into his life that day along the frozen ice banks.

Yet...

Kuhn made him want to be explored. By him. What did that mean --

Tiberius' eyelids slid shut as he fell quiet, his breathing ragged against the felines tongue. He didn't understand, his stomach stirred and his heart quick within his chest. He was looking for the answers to questions he didn't know yet they sat on the tip of his tongue and they itched his brain. He stilled if only for a moment as the realisation of his hips jilting wasn't in his head, jolting against the feline in a way that reminded him of...

He swallowed.

He whined slightly, shortly, the sound more of a whisper on his tongue.

Tiberius opened his eyes, half-lidded and hazy.

He looked at Kuhn, confused, warm, affectionate and -- emotion unknown.

He needed to tell Olive. He needed to talk to her -- this felt, it was -- he wondered if she would approve.

Approve of what?

He blinked as he realised his cheeks were burning. They were aflame like a forest fire, lit up to the nines in orange flames. Would Kuhn notice his jolt, his shiver, his criminal whine? Tiberius wanted to talk, he did, to make up an excuse for the why, the how yet he couldn't, remaining where he was at the mercy of Kuhn's ministrations.

He knew he needed to unpack this interaction.

He needed to understand.

When? ... Well, he didn't know.

Tiberius quaked, ever so slightly. ^^

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With their muzzled locked together, the cat gently pulled the man down, interlocked by their teeth. As he pulled the man into himself with a gentle purr, the tiger explored the dark chieftain's mouth further, running over the hardened shapes of his teeth, dancing with his tongue. As he did, he could feel the man on his underside, his hips jolting into the loose fur of his abdomen.

At the sensation, Kuhn's rumble did not stop, nor did he cease his exploration of the man's lips. The combination of senses caused the warm electric sensation to amplify, sending waves to the sensitive regions of his body. Once again the claws on his hind legs griped and twisted at the air, while his tail swayed against the ground whipping rythmicly in tune with the unexpected motion.

Never would he have thought that he would react in such a way to a man, but this felt ok. Alluring, perhaps because it also felt wrong in a way, forbidden, but passionate.

When the Titian whined into his mouth, the cat unhitched his Jaws from the wolf slowly separating with a single clear strand. Neither of them had expected this, but now Kuhn could detect the tremors of the unshakable man with the tips of his whiskers. "It's ok...", he breathed, loosening his grip on the dark wolf. After all, Tiberius was a father, and there was Olive, and... Valmua.

Moving his large paw from the back of the wolf's neck, the cat instead placed it back on the shoulder of the man. With one run of the muzzle across the side of the wolf's face, the tiger relaxed his head back onto the ground, to stare up at the Titian, giving him the space he needed. Holding him gently, he could once again focus in of the beat of his heart and his warmth between their coats.
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^^

As much as he were thinking that this might be wrong, that it wasn't fair to the feline nor to the High Priestess, he could feel the way it felt right. Before Olive, he hadn't ever turned an eye to a woman, hadn't ever looked at a girl and thought she was attractive. Hadn't had his blood ignited into fiery bubbles. In the same breath the titan was realising that before Kuhn, he hadn't... hadn't really felt comfortable with another man, let alone a tiger and hadn't been... drawn in by them. It was fucked, confusing and strange and he had no idea what it meant, what to feel, what he was fucking feeling --

Only that if he withdrew the thoughts of Olive and wondering if he should talk to her, he was more than happy to be engulfed by the felines arms. Happy to feel their flesh flush against each other. Happy to feel as if he didn't need to be... in control. His mind body was both ignited and calm if one looked past his inner panic, the feeling like he was smudging his mateship with Olive and Kuhn's relationship with Valmua.

Kuhn's words of reassurance was quiet and his hold loosened and Tiberius felt the loss. He held him still, lowering his head lowering back to the ground beneath him. Compelx molten depths looked to him and once more he felt it, the affection, the awe, the -- he swallowed as he lowered his head down to rest his chin atop the crest of Kuhn's breastbone. He breathed softly, letting himself be engulfed more effectively by the scent of him. The titan would be lying if he said he didn't feel tired after this, that he didn't feel as if he had things to unpack and understand.

He settled, body getting a little slack atop the feline as he wondered what Kuhn was thinking, if he was -- if he was annoyed with him but then here he was, not telling Tiberius to fuck off and instead still held him. He was brave, wasn't he? He tried to be, tried to not shy away nor cower yet he was doing that now. He licked his lips nervously, tracing where he felt the ghost touch of Kuhn's tongue and idly, he tasted him on his skin. "Thank yer," he rasped, voice rough on his tongue and really, he didn't know what he was saying thank you for -- for not being turned away, let go, attacked?

Tiberius drew his tongue quietly, slowly, along the fur of the mans chest in one last savouring touch before he settled his head back, falling quiet. He felt tired. He still felt the buzz in his veins, the rush of Kuhn's touch and of the unknown but ultimately, the titan wasn't able to explore what that meant. Not... not with Olive's forested gaze haunting him in the back of his mind. Whatever it meant, he only knew that Kuhn was as much of his heart as Olive, as his daughters -- he breathed in, eyes fluttering as he fought the tiredness. Tiberius wasn't ready to see Kuhn go quite yet, flittering between the Tundra and the Mountains.

Selfishly, he would hold on to this moment for as long as Kuhn allowed him. ^^

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PcUhbAZ...drim-Topic

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Selfishly, Kuhn felt the loss by watering their fire.  But when he first saw the dark wolf today, he aimed to help the man forget his worries, and not add more to his plate.  It was hard to not wonder where it all could have gone, but it was comforting to know that he wouldn't add any more guilt to the Titian, or to himself.  

Watching the rise and fall of the wolf on his chest, a paw remained on the man as a sort of comfort.   It wasn't hard to see how drained the wolf looked, and it was hard to not feel bad for being a cause in it.  Maybe it was a line that they should not have crossed, but in the moment the line was so blurry.  Tempting.   

'Thank you' , the man said after one more cascade of the tongue.   Returning a warm but melancholy smile, he too lingered in the aura the man.  Hoping that Tiberius would know that he didn't think any less of him for anything that happened today, it didn't seem like the right time to tell him they both needed to process.  All he could do was pet the man's back in a soft comfort.

Just as selfish, Kuhn held his scarred wolf, taking in his scent, watching him rise and fall, and feeling his soft breath in his pelt.  As the time passed, he to wondered what he might tell @Valmúa, and the intrusion of tiny torturous thoughts began to invade his mind, both for himself and for his friends.  Still, the cat would hold the wolf that he held so dear, until the reality of time would demand that they part, until they would meet again.
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