once upon a midnight dreary

post-fight with Nyra, he sports a wound on his back leg (mostly ankle) and a gash on his chest

Somewhere south of the Everfrost between the mountains.

---

He wandered, came away from Haldis. At least for now, he couldn't let that beautiful woman see him in such a state.
A prince in tatters, wounds still stinging. Avoiding too much pressure on the back foot, every time it pressed down it sending a surge of pain up his leg.

Damn that woman.

Damn her to hell.

Erebus would find her, he would. Make her see what a moon child can do when they finally get their footing. She was unfair, bastardly, and lacked any noble way in her fighting.

Only a true coward bites the back of their opponent, rather than face them head on.

He would make a sure example of her.

Her pelt would look much nicer painted red.

For now he brooded along, pride much more damaged than he. The moon on high, glaring from the sky like a disappointed mother. For a while he felt like he loathed her eye, feeling abandoned in his time of need.

But she did give him another chance. He died and she decided to let him try again, and have the chance to lead much sooner rather than having to wait for his father to die.
It was an opportunity. It gave the prince a goal, and even in his tarnished state, only the seething boiling guts of revenge and war pooled inside him.

He would make an example of them all.

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^^This entire motherhood thing was different; it was strange, and some part of her had really wished that she’d had a mate, or at least only a single pup; a single pup, she could carry around with her and not worry about the others. With a mate, she could leave often, and do things and not feel so guilty about leaving them.

And she could have taken one with her, she supposed, but she wanted some fresh air and something fresh to eat, and drink. She wanted to be around plants, and feel the wind on her face. She considered moving her brood outdoors for a few days.

She might do that; give them some air, too. Let their cousins see them without having to enter the den. It was a solid plan.

For tomorrow.

Today, Harper traveled north; just into their backyard, into the same forest that she’d met Kuhn in. Same forest that had once been home to the northern tiger, and the very same forest that he’d been attacked in. There were scents here now, of a pack.

And the scent of canine blood.

Hm, what’s this? Was someone injured?

“Hallo? Is you’s in need of assistance?”

Please, say yes; give her something to do.

^^
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There was a woman who approached him, speaking in a strange accent he couldn't place. When the fire-eyed man turned to look at her, he quickly examined her pelt.
It spoke of common-folk, nothing special. For the most part a decent color, brown was, and it gave him some ease. Though he eyeballed the silver ticking on her face and back. He wondered if he were to dunk her in the river if it would stay silver or if she was just dirty.

He realized after awhile that he wasn't speaking, and felt embarrassed by his silence and even more so by his sorry state.

"Nothing too terrible. I'll be fine, I'm sure." The man pulled his shoulder towards himself to hide the wound. Pride already damaged, his mind turned over what a commoner would think of their prince in tatters. He and his family were supposed to protect them, yet here he was. Getting his ass kicked by a giant white barbarian woman.

He was ashamed.

Mostly of himself.

Far too distracted with his broken ego to bark at this woman for her spots. The sun children abused many black women during their reign, so it was bound to be that they're disgusting genetics still lingered. Especially among the civilian class.

He felt sorry for her, and gave her a look that communicated such.
Sorry she had to carry around all that paleness.
And sorry the Tenebris family produced such a failure of a son.

"Just a little scratch."

He spoke to interrupt his descending mental state, and it seemed to do the trick. Erebus fixed his face so as to seem a bit more proper and becoming of his station.

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^^The mad scientist would come to agree that she was of nothing special, at all times. She would catch the way he looked at her, as though he were above her. This too, she would probably agree with; Harper had never held herself on any type of high horse; she was the high horse, and would stomp the piss out of him and his pride if it came down to it.

He moved to hide the wound that she could smell (and heal) and Harper smiled softly towards the smaller canine. Or maybe her size told him that she would give him more wounds, and she would — as needed, but she simply wasn’t that sort of gal.

Just a little scratch, he’d said and Harper smiled some more. “Are we talking about your wounded pride, or the injuries that you suffer from? I can try to heal both, but I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to do something about your ego.”

A bold move to say to someone who looked like he’d keep on fighting before admitting he was wrong, but Harper was larger than he was, and unwounded, and most importantly, she didn’t give a fuck for who he was, or the pride that he held.

If he continued holding onto that pride, and didn’t want to be healed, or wanted to keep fighting until he was dead from the blood loss he would likely suffer from, then that was on him; she wasn’t going to educate him.

^^
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He frowned with a grumpy furrow when she spoke.
"If you're just going to berate and bully, you can fuck off."He moved his head so as to not point his nose at her but, those fiery eyes would never leave her.

No, he likely wouldn't put his back to a stranger ever again.

Such wretched unlawful folk in this land.

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^^Alright, okay; she knew that was a little rude. So, too, was the way he looked at her coat as though he could judge her. He was not above her; hiding his wounds as though she couldn’t give him more to add to the list, as if she didn’t have a nose.

And then, of course, would come the sexy furrow of his facial expression and Harper became lost in his eyes. They looked like the sun, when it was setting for the evening, and his coat was dark as night..

She came to wonder what he would waste like.

“Fuck off, huh? Not each other? Such a shame.”

She licked her lips.

She stepped closer.

“I can heal you in exchange.”

^^
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Did she just-
...
What?

Erebus' eyes widened in visible surprise.
She was flirting with him now? After all that?

Women were confusing.

He indulged her, the look on his face softening. It was only normal that a common girl would want a piece of his royal ass.
Erebus chuckled to himself.
"Change of heart, huh?"

Eased, he would stop hiding himself. The gash in his chest, while not bleeding anymore, begged for dressing and to be cleaned.
A strike of red across a coat as black as pitch. It reminded him of his brother.

He always did like the brown of the common and lower class women. It was such a quaint and delicate color, it was nothing special to his family which made it almost special to him.
And in his thought he eyeballed her pelt again. This time with a much more provocative eye.

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^^Ah men, they were so cute, sometimes. Acting all big and bad, with their silly prides and egos, but the moment sex is on the table? All ears. The Prince of Darkness, and the Devil Wolf; what a pair they made, hm?

The Devil Wolf, who’s mantle would be handed down to her niece, had become a Divine Queen, and was at the top of her class, and pack — being one of the only wolves with a trade. It never occurred to Harper that he was prideful because he had labeled himself a prince; the king of a husband that Harper had was far more elegant and noble, giving cause to her reasoning behind this.

It was his eyes.

Not nearly as gorgeous and full of life and fire as the King of Event Horizon, but still beautiful. She pondered if she wanted to begin a collection. Would they lose their color, once removed from the skull? She would have to gather further information with her very young assistant.

His words caught her by surprise; she had never stated that she wouldn’t heal him. She simply asked if he wanted her to heal that stupid pride of his. Maybe he was hard of hearing, the poor dear. None the less, she would heal him with some yarrow and lavender; yarrow, for the blood and lavender to ease him. Not a complete sedative, but enough to make him feel relaxed.

“Here, this should help. I'm going to chew this yarrow up and apply it to your wounds.. which will stop the bleeding and heal quickly.” And once she had his approval, because he was the stubborn type, she would continue.

^^
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It was a vulnerable thing, to let someone tend your wounds. So he eyeballed her nervously for a moment, before lifting his chin to allow her better access.

"..Alright."

Even when pointed away from her, his eyes wouldn't leave her. He was watching for any funny business.
Then again, would he even notice any funny business if it occurred?
He never did have a passion for the medical practice. That was Fiaree's thing. Or perhaps it was his cousin? The man couldn't remember.

This woman could surely rub something nasty into his wound if she wanted, and Erebus would more than likely be none-the-wiser.

Despite the unsettling though, he still allowed her. For whatever reason that was.

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^^There were two types of wolves, when it came to healing. Those who understood the language of herb, and those who needed to be healed. Those who needed to be healed usually didn’t know hemlock from lavender, and vice versa.

But this is why she had offered to chew the yarrow, and not he; so that mr ego could trust that he wasn’t up to any funny business. Nonetheless, she could come to clean his wound first; gently licking over it, and chewing through any matted fur that the blood might have caused.

And then she would chew the yarrow and apply it, by tongue, into his wound with a gentle, almost motherly hum. “There. You should begin to feel better soon.”

Harper cooed softly, licking over her lips and taking a step back to look him over. “I live just beyond these mountains, should you require anything else.”

And then she would look to him with an arch of his brow. Surely, he would keep his end of the bargain.

^^
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He almost quivered under tongue.

It brought him pain every once in a while but, such pain gave him a hot burning sensation on his face. He huffed with every lick.

His eyes watched her as she went along, gently going over the gash. Heart fluttering each and every time.

Finally it ended, and he made a sound exhale when she announced that it was finished. His ears flattened, but not in a way that was angry, more embarrassed by being so sexually moved by her.
Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, just that it was a side he seldom revealed. Flirting every once in a while, sure. Yet the wanting for more pain. For her to hurt him a little more, and do it so slow and gently-

His mind stirred.

It made him feel dizzy.

Erebus dipped his head.
"Th-" He stuttered slightly, but raised his head a little and swallowed, correcting the nervous sound in his voice. "Thank you."
The man stood from his sitting, resting position. For one, to meet her at a better height, but also he felt like he was going to keep squirming if he sat for any longer.

The man studied the look on her face and smiled.
Lifting a paw and gesturing towards himself, "Erebus." He didn't care much for the formalities of saying his last name.

He returned that intrigued eyebrow in a playful manner, hoping she would catch the hint that he would at least like to know hers first.

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^^The process of healing someone, and a total stranger at that, was always interesting. Very vulnerable, at that. Most of the time, the wounds were not cleaned and Harper wondered if she ought to charge somethin’ for a cleanin’ fee. She had to caress the wound; the open, exposed flesh with her tongue, getting anything like debris, dirt and other things from out of the skin before she could begin.

It was not the most pleasant thing for her, either, but she committed the scents of her patients to memory. To hear him stutter a thank you was interesting, this prideful beast, stuttering? Would have been delicious to hear him stutter her name, but perhaps that was for another time.

“You are welcome, Erebus,”Harper cooed alluring, licking over her lips with an arch of her brow. The thing he did with his brow was cute, but she didn’t need a hint. She couldn’t get her name out there if he didn’t know.

“Harper. Harper Bacchus, Divine Thornsweaver of Elysium.” Harper said, slowly, so he could commit her name, her rank, and her pack name to memory.

“Now, you going to give it to me or what?”

It had been a deal, yes? She healed him, now he needed to pay up. She’d hate to have to rip open those wounds.

^^
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Like a bubble popped, he seemed awoken from his near-daze at her question.
"Wha-... Give you what?" The man had a hint of annoyance in his voice. Did he look like a man who was fit to give anything? He just had a stranger invade his personal bubble so his wounds can be patched up.
He didn't have much, if anything at all, to give in return.

He looked her up and down.
"What do you want?"
There was almost a nervous twinge to his voice when he asked, studying her body for any sudden movements.

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