Blindsided, addicted

Aarkron

---

The trek back to Morðfjall had been swift. Åshe knew her way through the lands well enough to not sweat about her sense of direction.

She had been quiet on their journey, mouth too full of herbs to say anything. A slight, natural shiver went down her spine as they entered the borders of her home, the summit of the mountain looking all the more intimidating from here.

Åshe paused beneath a canopy of conifer trees, laying the bouqet of herbs in her mouth down at her feet. Her eyes looked to Aakron, his scars, mis-matched colored eyes. Her expression could only be read as grateful.

"Will you stay?" She asked quietly.

the staff team luvs u

He found comfort in silence. Such a thing never bothered him nor did he feel an ounce of discomfort in it. Instead he cast his gaze on their surroundings. Senses alert for any disturbances, such things came natural and hard to forget when one was trained to always be on their toes. Every sound. Every rustling bush even if it was obviously the wind, he'd be aware.

Only distracted every now and then by his companion.

He wasn't a fool nor was he ignorant to the yearnings of a man toward a woman. It was inappropriate and he worked to keep his gaze elsewhere. On the trees; the way the landscape shifted from autumn leaves to a snow dusted ground, and the looming mountain growing bigger as it seemed that would be their destination.

As she placed her bundle of herbs down, he laid his own atop of hers. Expecting just some simple farewells and perhaps they'd meet again, not as strangers, but acquaintances. His eyes met hers and lingered for a beat longer than he should have, pale blue, like the clearest skies.

And he found himself wordless as she uttered her question. His own hardened stare softening just a little from confusion. “For?” A pause, looking around from under the canopies of the evergreens as though he could spot some kind of problem if he looked. Keeping his body close to hers as though trying to reassure he wouldn't just run off at the first sign of disturbance. “Are you troubled?” On high alert, he kept his gaze steady and ears on a swivel.

the staff team luvs u

Aakron had been confused by her proposition. She looked away, a smile forming, before a light chuff of humor lurked in her throat. She shook her head, answering his intense question. "You do not have to be sad no longer." She would say to him, tail lightly wagging from side to side.

Åshe wanted him to stay for her own selfish reasons. She convinced herself it was for the benefit of Hrafnsvaktin, which it undoubtedly would be, but there had been creeping moments of loneliness, too. Stjörnuáti had always been somewhere else, tending to other tasks, and it seemed like no one else had reared the borders of the mountain peak.

So, yeah, she had a great sadness at times, too. But with him, maybe it could be bearable. Maybe it could go away for a little while. "We are good pack," she would assure him. "Need strong veiðimaðr. Men like yous."

the staff team luvs u

Like some guard dog standing at the door to its home, he waited. Silent, intense stare off into the distance but watching every movement. He was coiled, a viper ready to strike with venomous fangs - a coil that unwounded with her humored chuff. An awkward lick of his lips smooth his expression back to that resting bitch face he normally wore. Incapable of seeing her expression while turned away, but listened to the tone she chose to use.

And that wagging tail was unmistakable.

“I'm not sad.” Not now. In this moment especially with the doors to a pack wide open before his eyes. All he had to do was accept it. There was a sinking feeling in his gut, as though forgotten memories tried to claw their way back to the forefront of his thoughts. To taint this moment in its ugly hues.

"We're a good pack." She said, “I don't doubt it.” With someone like her here, they had to be. Trying his best to carefully stand next to her, not letting his weight thump against the ground as it normally did. The blanket of snow helped muffle his approach with only the crunching of snow announcing his approach instead. “I will stay where I'm needed.” His own tail, short in comparison to hers, swayed slowly behind him.

the staff team luvs u

Åshe enjoyed to hear the words on his tongue. 'I'm not sad, he had said. Her eyes blew wide, but she attempted to maintain her expression in a collected manner. "Really?" She would ask, prodding him for a piece of reassurance.

She felt coy, and sheepish under his dual-colored eyes when the words came fast on his tongue. Had that been a compliment towards her? Was it supposed to make her lower belly warm with a familiar heat that she hadn't felt in ages? Such a simple tune that he sang that she wished to dance with.

When he approached her, standing parallel to her, she knew that she had made the right choice. United. They looked starkly different— his coat of white, her coat of the evening stars. They were different, but there was a somber in his voice that she could relate to. That she could feel.

"I could need help in winter—" she would offer him, brows lifting in a gentle, motherly tone. A genial and benign resonance of her voice floated above the air. It cut through the thickness of his scent and hers entwining. "H-Herbs and...other things..."
 

the staff team luvs u

With a low hum he nodded. “Not anymore.” And reassure her he would. Not wanting to go too far into details with a woman he had just met, he wasn't quite aware of how lonely he had been since waking up and meeting that youngster and teaching him a few things about hunting. How the silence grew and deafened him as the whelp ran off to rejoin his momma. So perhaps he was a little down prior to this -

He had stood by a pack once upon a time. That much he knew. Fought for them. Healed them. Bled for them. Ate with them and laughed with them, they also shared tears. Aarkron could do it again, he would do it again for a pack of strangers who wouldn't be as such for very long.

Turning to face twilight at his side, gold and blues studying her face as she struggled with the words. “Whatever it is.” Those barritones thick and smooth. “I will do. Without question.” He'd be their loyal dog, especially if it was Åshe requesting it from him. He trusted her good nature already. It was she who trusted him to join her pack, now it was up to him to make sure she would never regret such a decision. “Anything.”

the staff team luvs u

Aarkon's words did surprise Åshe. Such a claim of devotion, words of loyalty that bled from his tongue. It intrigued her, wondering if his words would remain true if the time had gotten tough.

"I call my leader—" she'd say to him, smiling lightly. "He is kind. He will see you for what you can do." And then Åshe threw her head back into a howl, calling @Stjörnuáti.
 

the staff team luvs u

He appeared as quickly as he had before, bumping his head against Ashe’s shoulder before turning his attention to the male. “Stjornuati,” He announced himself. “What is name?” Came the stilted question, missing the “your” that should have been in there. A formality, really. He was coming to trust Ashe’s judgement in these things.
the staff team luvs u

Suddenly things moved very quickly. Åshe called for her leader and as though he had been waiting for hours in the shadows, the man appeared. A quick greeting between packmates was exchanged, and a simple demand was shot his way. “Aarkron.” And pale man answered just as simply. Holding his posture proud, but not overbearing or challenging any status held here. He was more so a soldier, standing before a commander. Powerful and proud, attentive and ready for action.

the staff team luvs u

Nice and simple.

“Your skills,” Stjornuati’s requests were finite and straightforward. He had done this too many times to waste the minutes making pleasantries.

“New wolf should know: winter approaches. Hrafnsvaktin will be strong. We will survive. If you betray any, this one will have no mercy sparing.” Food would become scarce and with packs gathering in the area, tensions could run high. From now until spring, the pale leader would ensure that all of them understood the commitment they were making.
the staff team luvs u

“I can fight and heal. I can be a midwife.” Despite his appearance, he had skills in opposing fields. One he liked to do more than the other. He had the physique for a fighter, the scars of one, but his passions laid with being a midwife, a healer for the wounded and needy.

“I don't betray.” Period. The seriousness in his tune spoke for itself. “I will carry my weight and that of the sick and wounded.” He reassured. There would always be those who couldn't quite carry their own for whatever reason. Whether they needed to nurse a sickness or wounds, Aarkron would be here to pick up the slack. He'd be sure of that.

the staff team luvs u

“Aarkron.” Stjörnuáti spoke the male's name and lifted his snout a touch. “You are wolf of Morðfjall now. Aarkron's word is Aarkron's bond.” If he went against what he said, then it would be the tooth and claw of the pale leader after him. It was no threat, however, as he said it with a nod of his head. An official acceptance into the icy realm of theirs. Dark gaze turned to Åshe then, tail waving idly, once, behind him. “Teach him our ways. Explain the earning of his name, in time.”

Stjörnuáti turned then, but paused to look at the Rivenspire female once more before nodding in gratitude. She worked hard and he acknowledged it, albeit silently. Following that, the friend of the raven set off to patrol the borders once more.

the staff team luvs u

Åshe had been listening closely to her leader's and Aarkron's words. Stjörnuáti challenged him, beckoned him of his character, and Aarkron did not disappoint. He claimed excellence in the medicinal field, that much she understood. The word 'midwife' was lost upon her, a term unknown against her ears of the Nords.

But there had been a firmness in his words. A firmness that she could not shake. A feeling that grew, a trusting certainty that bloomed around the shape of his character. She'd look to him this time, fondness in her eyes.

She'd look to Stjörnuáti as he uttered words in their native tongue. Åshe would nod, understanding the duty that was being asked of her. He nodded towards her with gratitude, and she returned a curt nod of her own. I understand, her body language would read. With that, he was gone. Gone into the woodland.

Åshe didn't hesitate to turn to turn towards Aarkron, her expression fluttering. "Come," she insisted. "I show you some place special."
 

the staff team luvs u