Private Tales Clashing Fangs

[Victoria O'Connor]

She was gladly pushed to her back, suddenly wide awake, and a sigh was pushed out of an open-mouthed smile. Eyes that started out round in surprise quickly hooded to smoldering embers. Her red cascade of hair splayed out wildly behind her, and her arms lay slack by her head. She offered no resistance, and felt the sweet, sweeping excitement of surrender.

She reveled under Fallon’s gaze, feeling not a shred of modesty as she was stared at. She was horribly tempted to gawk, too, but she kept her eyes glued to the wolf’s face. She fed off of the desire she saw in it, and while she knew she was only adding to their troubles, her proclivity for pulling on heartstrings overshadowed her better judgement.

"How am I supposed to leave you?.."

Oh... it was too easy. They ought be mature about this but the game, which Fallon had unwittingly started, was just too fun.

”Oh, any number of ways...” her voice had regained its normal velvet, and she poured honey into it, thick and sweet. ”Leave me trembling...” she bent at the knee and moved her thigh up the outside of Fallon’s leg to her waist. ”...gasping...” she arched her back and pressed her hips up against Fallon’s. ”...begging for more.”

 

[Fallon]

Fallon's brow rose as Victoria started speaking, it hadn't been the answer she'd expected, clearly, but as she went on her expression relaxed and her lips curled slightly, flashing the very tips of her jagged canines but no more than that. She didn't want to be amused right now. It would be far easier for her if they had a serious discussion, an argument, even. It would be far easier if she hated her like she was supposed to. Instead, she was fuelling that desire once more, making her body ache and her mind crave something she really ought not to have indulged in in the first place. An addiction she knew she had to tear herself away from no matter how painful the habit would be to kick.

She let out a quiet growl of restraint as the woman's sycophantic words penetrated her mind and sent her nerves tingling with temptation. The sensation of her skin sliding against hers, the way her back arched and their hips met. She snapped and slammed the woman's hips back toward the ground, her eyes fixed on those smouldering orbs and a shuddered breath escaping her lips, followed by a quiet whine in frustration.

"If that's what you want..." she whispered, and she drew her gaze to watch as her hand explored the woman's beckoning body, squeezing at her curves with renewed fervour and she rained an assault of kisses and desperate grazings of teeth on the woman’s mouth, jaw and neck, delighting in the taste of her cool skin. There was no more restraint, no more discussion, just sheer carnal desire and a woman claiming what was hers.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

~*~

Victoria was forced to, among other things, eat her words. Fallon indeed left her trembling, and her breath came in heavy sighs as her fingertips twitched within the tangles of her own sunset hair. The only “suggestion” that hadn’t been met was her begging for more. She could scarcely draw in the breath to speak the words and even if she could she didn’t think she had the wherewithal to take any more. Her nerves had been frayed with pleasure, and her deepest, most ancient reflexes had been shocked into action (hence the struggling for breath and the heart pounding in her ribs).

”You have... vanquished me...” she spoke in between breaths.

With time her eyes could focus again. Her breathing slowed, and once more the cold dark tides of reality swam around her heels. She couldn’t avoid it anymore, her distractions had run out.

She reached out a shaky arm and cupped Fallon’s cheek. She had to remind herself of what she was... it just didn’t want to stay at the forefront of her mind. Her brain had simply decided that it wasn’t terribly important. But it was important. Regardless of her personal opinions, it dictated everything. Fallon would need to return to her life, and Victoria hers. Their tryst, while explosive, would end. It was how things had to be.

...or was it? She recalled, with hazy gaps, her struggle against herself in the woods. Her resolution to take charge of her own destiny.

Who said this had to end in sadness or bloodshed? Who would dare tell her who she could spend her time with? The faces of old masters and lords swam in her mind and she thought fondly of killing them all should they even whisper an unkind word to her or her silver wolf.

Her Silver Wolf. It was wrong, it was unnatural. It made her unspeakably happy.

”Let me see you again,” she blurted out. Then, more tenderly, ”...please.”

If she kept moving she wouldn’t need to think about the confusion. She might not know what she was supposed to do, but she knew what she wanted. She knew she wanted to stay with Fallon, and if she couldn’t have that, she knew she wanted to see her again. Simple decisions.

 

[Fallon]

Her heart stumbled over itself, and she breathed deeply and heavily in attempt to slow the racing pulse, her skin glistening with a slick layer of sweat as heat seemed to radiate from her body. She rumbled a soft sound something akin to a purr as Victoria's cold hand cupped her face, like a cool, damp cloth to a fever, offering a pleasant reprieve. Her eyes opened with a somewhat smug smile at her, breathing in her scent, that tincture that she associated with the air after a storm.

'Let me see you again... please."

Fallon's brow furrowed, her hand settling atop the one she held against her face and she searched her eyes as though they might hold some solution to her predicament. They didn't, they simply made her predicament worse.

"Victoria.." she sighed the word and wished she hadn't. "I can't. You know I can't...". The words had to be ripped from her throat like razor blades and the ache they left behind was excruciating. There was simply no feasible way for this to happen again, not unless she left her pack, her family, those who depended on her. Not unless she left her entire life behind her.

Her thumb brushed over her knuckles.. "You saved my life. And you made me happier than I have been in so long, for as brief a time as it has to be, I won't forget that." she huffed and pressed a kiss to the woman's palm.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

She could feel her heart slowing down. The mortal remembrances were quickly being strangled by the returning ice as the warmth from Fallon seemed to fade, little by little. Except for her hand, which burned under the wolf’s lips, but now that fire brought an ache with it. An ache to never leave its embrace, and knowing that she would surely wither without it.

She slowly withdrew her hand, trying not to focus on how smooth the skin of Fallon’s face was, and propped herself up on he elbows, sliding herself out from under the woman.

”Why not?” she asked before being able to stop herself. She sounded like a petulant child, and bit her tongue.

She was of two minds. The first was desperate, and wanted to beg Fallon to reconsider. It knew nothing but immediate desire and a terrible fear of heartbreak. The second was Lady O’Connor. Proud, calculating, dignified. The latter kept the former in check, and Victoria drew her knees up to her chest, as if that would protect her heart from the pain Fallon was causing.

Why not? She already knew the answer. Their union had been cursed from the beginning.

”It was too good to be true,” she breathed softly, and it was not clear whether she had said so with affection or with misery. She kept her eyes on the cold dirt of the cavern floor. If she looked at Fallon it would be impossible to accept that she had to let her leave.

”Can you... at least tell me where Olivia was from? If she had family?” If she and Fallon were to be as ships in the night so be it. Hearts mended, but she must not forget what had drawn her back to the garou in the first place. If there was a chance that her family line was still alive she had to find it. To what ends... she’d figure that out later.

 

[Fallon]

The huff she let out was laced with a hint of a growl at the question, but it was more the frustration at the situation than the question itself.. "You know why not, Red." she answered, her tone one of defeat. "I have responsibilities. I can't just up and leave my pack. We have a purpose here and I've just.. Contradicted all of it."

She reached to gently clasp the woman's chin and pull her gaze back to meet hers as she stared at the floor. "It wasn't supposed to happen at all. It goes against all that we are, it upsets the balance of things. It, has to just be a night of sinful pleasure and that's all.. A memory.".. One that she'd think about, every day and night, of that she was certain. She was trying to be the voice of reason, she was trying to ignore the fact that this hadn't been just some tryst and it was something more that would haunt her. That she'd be leaving a piece of her heart behind when she left this woman. That she was already grieving a loss that hadn't yet come to pass. It was difficult enough to accept as it was.

Her brow furrowed slightly as Olivia was mentioned. Normally, Livvy was on her mind most of every day, and this evening it shamed her to realise that she hadn't thought of her once. Not since the previous night, after the apparition had told her to stop blaming herself and see the good in 'things'.

"Oh.." she answered and dropped her hand. It crossed her mind that Victoria may have had another motive for returning to that field, and she wondered for a moment if Fallon hadn't held information about her family, whether she'd ever have returned at all. The thought was torturous, and most likely evident on her face and so she turned away as she sat herself up..

"She had no children, but she had a sister, Evangeline who had twin girls. Her family owned an estate named Landholm not far outside Alliria." she answered, unable to help but feel slightly cheapened, as though she were paying the woman for her services. "I should go, I have a day's travel ahead of me." she rumbled and pulled herself gingerly to her feet, her limp more prominent than it had been before.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria felt her jaw tighten at Fallon’s reply. She didn’t much like being told she was a mistake, and she wasn’t sure how she felt about Fallon’s tone when she’d said “Red.” It would have been a comfort to become angry, but that feeling melted away at Fallon's touch. As soon as she looked upon her face, Victoria could only feel longing. She wouldn't have made Fallon leave her pack, she just didn't want this to be the last time she ever saw that perfect face. She just wanted another, fleeting moment of her fiery embrace, wanted something to look forward to.

She could feel only defeat... until Fallon continued to speak. She should have stopped before bringing up "balance" and "what they were," before bringing up all the things that Victoria herself had fought to overcome when she had returned to save Fallon's life. And she certainly should have stopped before the word sinful.

Misery still predominated as she asked her question, though. Maybe if she focused on what she had to do next it would be easier, but Fallon's sudden shift in tone was another prick at her ire. Was she upset that Victoria had mentioned Livvy? Was she upset that, while being cast aside, she had asked for the one piece of information that could lead her to her family?

No. Fallon didn't get to be angry. Not when she was breaking Victoria's heart. Indignation became the branch for her to grab on to before plummeting to despair, and she held to it for dear life.

A vertiable onslaught of nasty, back-handed things to saw flew into her mind. A century of vampire high courts had left her extremely well armed for verbal warfare, and for a second she wished to cut Fallon as deeply as she had cut her.

"Thank you," she said flatly when Fallon told her about Evangeline, returning her eyes to the ground, her knees still hugged tight to her naked chest.

Fallon got up to leave. That was all she had to say? That she had a long trip? Nevermind that Victoria was a thousand miles from home.

"Yes," she whispered icily as Fallon reached the cavern's entrance, "Better leave time to wash, or they'll smell the sin on you."

 

[Fallon]

Fallon wasn't trying to be cold, not exactly. She was trying to revert back in some way to what she, the 'all-wise' Fallon would have said with her mind and not her heart. She was trying to be logical. To be realistic, to ignore entirely how fast and how hard she'd fallen and how much it could change her life if she was not careful. But the contrast in the vampire's frigid tone sent a shiver far more unpleasant than those before racing down her spine and she stopped, lowering her gaze to the floor of their root-ribbed cavern.

She'd felt heartbreak before. It was worse than a silver knife to the chest in that it was a slow and painful process, a wound that never fully healed. Her heart had shattered when Livvy left her here, she'd never experienced a trauma like it, and yet this.. Right now she was choosing to break her own heart all over again, and another in the process. It was a mistake. She should never have got close to the woman at all let alone let herself feel the way she did.

"Please don't...Don't make this just me leaving you. That isn't fair." she huffed finally and turned to look at her. Another mistake. She should've kept walking.. "There's little use in being childish over it, we both knew we'd have to go our separate ways.." she clenched her jaw and padded back to where she sat to drop back to her knees in front of her.

"I can't just.. drop everything and leave, Victoria. I gave up any right to put myself first many years ago, my priorities cannot change because of my feelings for you. If you want to hate me then do so. It’ll only make my pain harder to bear, but perhaps it might be easier for you to despise me like you should..” she growled and dropped her gaze again, unable to hold it. Her fingers ran into her hair and she gripped at it, her knuckles paling in frustration. Confusion wasn't a burden she generally suffered from, and it troubled her far more than any physical ailment.

"What am I supposed to do here?..." she muttered quietly, unclear whether the question was directed at herself or the woman in front of her. "I can't bear the thought of you hating me. I can't bear the thought of never seeing you again." she looked up, her eyes glassy and desperate. "I...Miss you. I miss you and you're not even gone yet."

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

The words had almost tumbled out of her lips. Although they had been quiet, she knew Fallon would hear them. She had wanted her to hear them. Now, seeing the feral woman stop, seeing that she had indeed heard the spiteful things, Victoria grew nervous. What would she do? Would she return to argue? Would she strike her? Or worse, would she leave in silence?

Another hot flare of anger reared its head as Fallon uttered "childish," but it dissolved at once when Victoria saw her knees hit the dirt and made the mistake of looking back into her eyes. What a fool she was, to fall back under her spell. She felt more despicable tears well up, and she cursed the lump that wavered in her throat. How had this beautiful beast gained such power over her? Why did she like it so much?

As had nearly become tradition, her body acted in discordance to her thoughts, and she rose to sit upon her own knees and took Fallon's wrists gently in her hands. She couldn't bear to see her in this distress, and didn't want that wonderful, sunkissed hair to be harmed.

"I could never hate you," she whispered, holding Fallon's warm hands in her own. "I should. And you should hate me," why was she smiling all of a sudden? "But I just can't." She lifted Fallons fingers to her forehead and held them there, just wanting to feel that warmth on her face.

She waited a few, precious moments before straightening back up. "I am not asking you to leave your people. I don't know what you are supposed to do, what I am supposed to do. I have no idea what this is but..." she took a deep and shaking breath, "Fallon I won't lose you. Please just... just tell me that even though you have to go back... that I will see you again. I don't care where, or how, or when, I just need to know that it will happen."

And there it was. Begging. Bargaining. Although it left a bitter taste in her mouth to think about what she must look like, she was emotionally exhausted, and pride was so tiring.

 

[Fallon]

Fallon was silent with inner conflict, but as Victoria took hold of her wrists and smiled at her like that she felt anchored again. She listened, her silver orbs glassy with waiting tears as she stared back at her in fear and confusion. It must have taken a lot for her to say what she said, to plead with her like that, and her disregard for her own pride wasn't lost on Fallon.

The woman had connected with a side of her that others never saw. She looked at her in a way none ever had, witnessed such vulnerabilities that the Garou had never allowed another soul to witness. She felt like she'd seen a side to her too, a part of her soul (surely she had one) that Fallon wondered if any other had ever seen. It was beautiful, and raw. For those moments she was more real than the scalding blood that ran in Fallon's veins and she felt her like the beating of her own heart. The forbidden bond they'd formed was still molten, too nascent to resist and pull back from.

She knew now that without her her world would become blacker than it was before, darker for her absence, a crippling loneliness just waiting to take hold. The woman had taken root in her, and there would be nothing left to replace the hole she'd leave behind if she cut her out.

"Alright..." she agreed in what was barely a whisper, as though her Gods might hear and punish her for such an arrangement. "Alright." she answered again in a firmer tone, having realised that she simply did not care. She smiled, a bright flash of teeth as her hand reached to sweep the crimson locks back from her face and draw her into a kiss steeped in promise, her heart pounding in her chest with fervency over her decision. She would see her again.

"I'll count the nights.." she whispered against those cold lips of hers, her cheeks dimpling with her grin as she laughed under her breath.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

The kiss set off explosions in her mind. Her hands found Fallon’s hair and shoulders and pulled greedily at her in unthinking instinct. How were her lips so soft. How did her scent overwhelm everything when Victoria closed her eyes. She tasted salt and realized she had let tears fall down her face, but she was not ashamed this time.

She did finally loosen her hold and let her hands slide down Fallon’s arms as their faces drew apart. She was beaming like an idiot and Fallon‘s gentle laughter buoyed up her heart. She hoped that whatever spell had bewitched her would never break.

She took a deep breath, squeezed Fallon’s hands one more time, and let go. ”It’s settled then,” her fingers felt lonely on their own, resting on her legs by themselves. ”Now, I really do need to find some clothes, and I won’t keep you from your pack any longer.” Her voice was gentle. It was not so painful to think about now, not when they had promised to find each other again. It was all that she needed, just that little bit of reassurance, and it was enough. She had lived for a very long time, she could bear the waiting.

She looked outside and could see the waning orange light of the sunset. ”I am afraid you’ll need to go first. It’s a bit bright for me, still.”

 

[Fallon]

Fallon savoured it all for just a few more minutes. Her softness. Skin, hair, voice..lips.

She had to physically drag herself away from the woman, but she felt lighter knowing now that it wouldn't be the last time she saw her and they hadn't left on the sort of terms they almost had. The further she walked away from her however, seemed to cause her heart to grow heavier until the pain in her chest brought tears to her eyes and they fell freely. The pain spread along her spine and outward through her limbs and she let out a strangled cry in pain as the dire wolf forced it's way from her skin, as though it had a mind of it's own and wanted to protect her, like it knew she was in no fit state to focus on her own safety as she trudged naked and on foot into the night.

The massive white wolf shook out her fur and stretched it's rippling muscle as she stood, turning to look back at the tree in the distance, her ears lowered as she fought the urge to run back to her. She knew she couldn't, if she did she was certain she'd never leave her side again. Instead, she threw her head back and threw a long, lamenting howl from her chest for her red vampire, a few wolves from the nearby forest picking up the chorus before making their way to flank her, escorting her as if by instinct as she made her way back home.

She'd been running for hours by the time the other wolves had tailed off and returned to their own territory, unable to keep up with her pace which picked up as she found her strength increase. Fallon made the rest of the run on her own, stopping for nothing and claws churning up the earth until they found the rock of the spine mountains. The familiar scents of home were a comfort, and she lingered outside the caern to shift back, but the smell of blood caught her nose and she rushed inside with a flare of panic.

"Fal!" a few of them called in unison. Caspian, the large blonde male ran at her to lift her into his arms without awaiting invitation and squeezed her tightly against him. She could feel his heart pounding, could see the healing wounds on his shoulders and she touched at them as her cheek brushed against his in greeting.. "Thank the Gods." he glanced upward. "We've searched everywhere for you." he told her with a frown as he set her back on her feet and clutched at either side of her face, looking over her for wounds. He seemed to be pulling at her scent, as though it wasn't quite right, but he settled as her hand cupped his cheek and she rumbled at him in reassurance.

"I'm fine Cas." she nodded, just as she felt a blanket of fur wrap around her back, another pair of arms with it. Tyr, a younger male with scars that marred one side of his face was clinging to her, glassy eyed with worry. She tied the blanket at her chest and turned in his embrace to pull him into a hug and press her lips down on his head.

"We found the Wendigo, and the blood we thought..." his head shook and she hushed him with a frown. She hadn't thought of that, and her guilt sunk with her heart to the pit of her stomach.

"Shit I'm sorry Tyr.. There was another and I chased it a little too far, was too weak to return straight away. I shouldn't have." she growled at herself for leaving them worrying so much. She let go of him and turned to greet the others who'd surrounded her, lifting the two small children into each arm, twin siblings who had wrapped their arms around her waist. Their mother, Nadya's hands clutched at her face and she let out a deep sigh in relief. "What happened?.." she asked with a frown and looked to Caspian. "Where are the others?.."

"Still out looking for you." he replied. "We've been taking it in turns. Ran into a lycan on when I was out myself yesterday, luckily Tyr showed up when he did.."

The two children were nuzzling at the crook of her neck, Tyr was stroking her hair, Nadya hadn't let go of her face, the others were out looking for her... Tears suddenly flooded her cheeks with crippling guilt, though it only panicked everyone a little more and the girls wiped at her face..

"Why you cryin fer, aunt Fal?" the children asked in unison.. Her chest ached, and she squeezed at them before setting them down.

"I'm just happy to be home, and I'm a little tired." she laughed under her breath. Caspian's hands rested on her shoulders as he stepped up behind her and he massaged at the tension.

"Get some rest Fallon. I'll go out and call back the others, let them know you're home safe." he smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek, leading her away from the others to the fur covered rock she slept on. She flopped down with exhaustion and more pelts were layered on top of her. The Beta wolf stroked at her hair affectionately for a moment before turning to leave her. She frowned at the healing wounds on his back.

"I'm sorry, Cas.." she rumbled, the wolf smiled back at her.

"I've had worse, from you in fact." he laughed and shook his head.. "We're just glad you're safe, Fal. You can beg forgiveness in the morning... Sleep." he ushered. Her eyes closed to the sound of crackling fire and Tori's soft voice telling the children stories, her stories, about the Garou fighting against the darkness. The sort of darkness she'd just climbed into bed with..The darkness she missed so deeply it hurt.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria watched Fallon leave the cavern, and then watched the entrance for several minutes after that. As the scarred and muscular body of Fallen stepped away from her, Victoria felt her heartbeat quicken. It rose steadily, silently, and she wrung her hands to distract from the mounting tension within her. When the flaxen hair finally disappeared into the golden light Victoria let out a single, strangled gasp. Almost a sob, but she held her tears deep inside and forced the sadness down. She would see Fallon again, they'd promised. It was still difficult to watch her leave.

She remained within, trapped by the dimming sun, and straightened up at the deep and serene howl of her lover. She knew it was her, she was absolutely certain, and the frightful chill that it sent down her spine was tempered by an adoration. Yes, it was the sound of danger, but it was also the sound of her. The other wolves she did not regard as kindly, but felt secure in the knowledge that Fallon's howl had been the loudest, and the strongest.

The sounds echoed and faded into the night, and with time the open air was available to Victoria once again.

She emerged from the tree when the sky was a pale, purplish blue. A gentle breeze blew her matted hair in a flurry of tiny snowflakes. Her skin did not react to the cold. She walked with purpose, the empty woods focusing her on the task ahead as chilled blades of grass crackled under her bare feet, and retrieved her sword from the empty field. The bodies of the huntress and the villager Victoria had flung at her were still there, and the flies had found them. With a wrinkled nose Victoria left them where they were.

Her clothing was beyond salvage, and lay in pieces about the forest floor. No matter, she would find something soon enough. She crackled her neck from side to side, shook out her arms, and then with a small fwip she shrunk down several times and took to the skies as a black, leathery-winged bat.

The forest burst into brilliant monochrome. Hundreds of ultrasonic clicks escaped from her tiny throat each second, and massive ears received their echoes to paint a flashing series of pictures to illustrate the world. She could detect every needle of the pines, every insect in the air, and each blade of grass in her path.

And she was fast. Perhaps slow compared to a charging direwolf, but bat-travel was far more efficient than going by foot. That, and the fact that whatever dark powers fueled this ability had seen fit to bring her tools along for the ride. The silver rapier would still be in her hand when she shifted back later, and had she been wearing any clothing they would likewise be unaltered.

She flew for a long time. She could not see the stars nor the moon with her voice, but she could tell by the ache in her wings and the burning in her chest. After several hours, and untold miles, she began to see wagon tracks in the dirt.

She followed them. Tracks would lead to people, and people would have clothing and, hopefully, some way for her to bathe. She had considered finding a river along the way, but opted not to. A filthy, naked woman would be easier to explain, and would garner more sympathy, than a freshly washed one.

The tracks lead to a wider trail, and then to a dirt road. The scent of wood fires and livestock hit her nose, and sure enough a small house became visible.

Victoria swooped low in the brush and burst back into her humanoid form, cursing as she landed on brambles that cut at her icy skin. The house looked to be by itself. Victoria could see smoke rising from the treetops beyond but this one building seemed to be outside the village itself. It was perfect.

She watched for a while, seeing if anyone was inside, but there was no movement. Only the smoke from the chimney told of inhabitants, but they must be asleep. Plan B, then.

She stowed her sword in the dense bushes and approached the door. She took a deep breath, prepared herself mentally, and then pounded on the heavy wood.

"Help!" she wailed as pitifully as she could, "Please, help me! Open the door!" she continued to pound on it until she heard latches open at the door creaked open just wide enough to reveal a very short, very old woman. She peered at Victoria, eyeing her up and down in obvious surprise, before opening the door fully.

"Oh, my poor dear! Come in at once or you'll catch your death of cold."

Victoria did enter, having been granted permission, and continued her act by falling to her knees in front of the old woman as she shut and locked the door. "Thank you, thank you," she said in a shaking voice.

The home was very simple. A wood fireplace with a rocking chair, a small table, a few chests and cabinets along the walls, and a single bed. The fire illuminated the single room, and Victoria could not help but wonder how the woman could live like this. She didn't have time to think on it, though, because she was ushered to the bed and promptly given a blanket to wrap herself with.

"What has happened, child?" the kind woman asked. Her eyes were dark and glassy, shining pearls within a face ravaged by time and hardship. The wrinkles told a story, though, and they followed the patterns of smiles as much as they did frowns.

Victoria recited the script she had put together in the previous hours. "Men, in the woods... bandits I think. They attacked our home. They.... they killed my husband and then they.... they..." she buried her head in the old woman's shoulder and sobbed in earnest... but not even Victoria was this good of an actor. It was as though her feigned misery had opened the floodgates to her true feelings, and she let loose all of the tears and cries that parting from Fallon had given her.

The woman's face turned down in grave sympathy. "You needn't say it, my dear," she rested a light and frail hand on her shoulder, patting her back until the quakes subsided.

"They tried to take me with them, but I ran away and hid from them. I've been running for hours."

"You're safe now," the crone cooed in a gravelly but oddly soothing voice. "They wouldn't dare come to Plithom, not with my Damian running the militia. I'll fetch him first thing in the morning, but first let me draw you a bath."

Victoria was elated to hear this, but feigned refusal, "Oh no, I couldn't ask that of y-you," she stammered pitifully.

"Nonsense. You rest now, I'll wake you when it's ready."

And Victoria did rest, or pretended to, as the old woman began warming water over the fire.

 

[Fallon]

Her dreams were utterly plagued by the red vampire. They were the sort that made her heart race and her breaths heavy. Her lips twitched and curled as the woman whispered sweet promises in her ear and straight into her mind before letting her lips loose on her and Fallon stroked her fingers through the crimson tresses. Those cold lips found their way to her neck and the look the woman gave her caused her to tense. Her jaw opened and fangs bared before being plunged into her neck with such ferocity that she jumped out of her sleep gasping for breath.

Tyr was already sitting next to her, watching her with concern. She sat up quickly and let her face fall into her hands and she could feel the cold sweat on her palms. “Go back to bed, Tyr..” she rumbled grittily and let out a deeply held huff, trying to bring down her frantic pulse.

"It's almost noon, Fal." the boy answered with a small grin. "I got you breakfast. Everyone else is outside.". Fallon looked down, seeing that a bowl of breakfast stew, which differed only from lunch stew or dinner stew by putting the word 'breakfast' in front of it. She smiled warmly and reached out to ruffle his already unruly hair.

"Thanks kid. I'll eat and bathe and I'll join you. You can tell me how those shifts have been going." she rumbled at him and got to her feet to stretch. The Caern was made up of rock formations and pools of hot springs, the stalactites decorated with crystal ore and glowworms which gave it an ethereal glow. It had been home since she was a child, and it had always been filled with the soothing sounds of crackling fire and trickling water, and more pleasantly, the voices of her pack.

She untied the fur that'd been wrapped around her and stepped off the edge of the rock to plunge into the deep spring. It occurred to her when she stepped out after bathing that she could no longer smell Victoria on her skin and her heart sunk.

"Y'alright little sister?.." A large, bear-like man growled from behind her as she pulled a skin-tight nubuck dress over her damp skin and she quickly wiped a tear from her cheek.

"Yorik.." Fallon smiled warmly and turned in time to be scooped into the garou's arms and lifted off of her feet. She chuckled softly and nuzzled at his bearded face.

"Had us goin there lass.." he muffled into her hair and squeezed her before setting her down.

"I know, I'm sorry.. Fucking wendigo. Lost track of distance and time." she sighed and shook her head. It wasn't too unusual for her to chase something a little too far, they were all guilty of it, and so it was quite easily forgiven. The man grunted at her and smiled kindly.

"Come, we're sittin' roun' the pit outside. Tori brought some ale back up the mountain." he slapped his hands together and rubbed them as she followed him out into the snow. She smiled at the smell of frost.

Dea, a grey wolf, got up and padded straight to Fallon's side. They were not Garou, but it had always been the way of things that bonds were forged with the animals, they were after all, not so very different. Fallon smiled with contentment as spirits were high and the atmosphere despite the snow outside was a warm one..A pretty dark-skinned woman, Tori greeted Fallon with a kiss to the cheek and a flagon of ale, and a brooding looking brown dire wolf lifted his head to wink at her.

"Kip." Fallon smiled and dipped her chin. The young male had had his heart broken recently and had taken to skulking around in wolf form, but he still managed to look depressed. Tori was in the middle of a story, one that Fallon often told, and the alpha smiled warmly at the sight of the children bundled in furs watching, wide-eyed as they listened to the story of their kind as though it had been the first rather than the hundredth time they'd heard it. Fallon flopped down between Caspian and Tyr, both of whom cuddled into her and shared their pelts.

The Lupa, the Wyvern and the Basilisk.

"The three were known to all as the Triad..They are not gods, nor are they men - but great beasts larger than all lands and oceans.. They created the worlds together, and each had a very vital part to play in making it work..The Lupa, the great wolf who creates and watches over the lands. The Wyvern, the great dragon who creates energy and changes and moves the lands that the Lupa creates. And the Basilisk, the great serpent, who destroys things so that new may be created.."

"Lupa was so good at creating and taking good care of our world, but everything he created was either being changed by the Wyvern or destroyed by the Basilisk and so he grew more and more frustrated every day.. One day he went insane, and he dug and dug and dug until he came to the great fires in the very centre of the the world, and tricked the Wyvern and the Basilisk to fall into it. The Wyvern fell, but he took flight just before he hit the flames, and he took off into the skies and was safe. But the great Basilisk fell long into the depths and was trapped there, and he thrashed and roared so loud that it shook the mountains and rose up the seas!"

"The Basilisk was so angry that he could no longer destroy the great Wolf's world, that he opened his mouth and spilled out all of his darkness, and the demons climbed out of the pit and plagued the world with evil. And so Lupa and the Wyvern created the Garou, the strongest of warriors, and sent them to drag those dark beings back through the gauntlet, and save humanity from the Basilisks' destruction.."

"And that is just what you will do when you're strong enough." Fallon added and the children each puffed with pride. Everyone laughed.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

The old woman “woke” her and led her to a large metal tub. It was more or less a person-sized bucket, but she set to work pouring the hot water over Victoria and washing away the dirt and blood. Her hair took considerable effort to detangle, but the crone seemed genuinely happy to work at it. She spoke as she did so, and Victoria listened to perhaps half of her stories.

“...haven’t had a nice young lady like you around since my daughter left. I told her to stay here but she met a handsome man passing through and followed him to the city. I said ‘you’re a mountain girl, you’ll melt away down there’ but she insisted. Love is a funny thing, don’t you think?”

”Yes,” Victoria answered in surprise to herself, and found her lips curving upwards, ”Yes it really is.”

The woman, Norma, continued to speak, mostly about her children, how Damien had never married and she just wanted him to find a “nice, quiet girl” and leave the guard and settle down farming. Or something like that, it wasn’t much interest to Victoria, but she did enjoy the wrinkled hands working out her tension and cleansing her skin back to its natural ivory glow… even if the water was close to scalding.

After her bath she was given clothes. A very modest tunic that hung baggy over her slender shoulders and that wasn’t quite long enough to cover her legs beyond the mid thigh. She gave victoria another bit of cloth that was supposed to be some kind of skirt, she assumed, and tied it about her waist with some coarse rope.

It was itchy and smelled like hay, but Victoria was strangely enough not completely put off by it. Maybe almost dying and walking naked for a day had lowered her expectations… or maybe Fallon’s lectures about protecting humanity had left a tiny imprint.

The old woman surrendered her bed to Victoria despite protest and fell asleep in the rocking chair by the fire. Victoria lay awake well past this. She could not keep Fallon out of her mind.

She knew she could not go back, not so soon. Fallon had agreed not to end their... whatever this was, and Victoria was not about to jeopardize that. She tried to focus on what lay ahead: Landholm. A woman named Evangeline with twin daughters. It wasn’t much to go on, but it was enough.

She would have preferred to steal away into the night, but she was many weeks from Alliria… months even. She would never make it on foot.

When the morning came Victoria convinced the old woman to keep the blinds shut. She claimed that she had a “sickness of the skin” that made her sensitive to the light, and that moving to the dark woods had been her and her husband’s solution. Being as she was white as a sheet, Norma believed her with only light coaxing. Of course, she insisted on bringing her son to visit, seeing as he was the captain of their little militia.

Perfect.

Her son was a tall man, with a short graying beard and he wore what she could only assume was a very old tunic over thin leather armor. The crest was faded, and it looked as though it had belonged to several “captains” in its life.

“My lady,” he approached Victoria and knelt before her. Victoria almost offered her hand out of habit, but restrained herself. She had not claimed to be royalty, after all. “Allow me to express my deepest sympathies for the tragedy that has befallen you,” he was remarkably well spoken for such a backwater town. Victoria wondered if he could read. “I assure you, you are quite safe here, and should you wish to stay we will do everything in our power to make you comfortable.”

His expression changed suddenly, and Victoria noted he was looking at her hands. “You do not wear a ring,” he said. “Mother said you had lost a husband?”

”The bandits stole it,” she covered quickly. Stupid Victoria. Forgetting a detail like that. ”They… they took everything,” she sniffed and made a pitiful whimper, and it defused Damien’s suspicions immediately.

“Ah, y-yes, of course. I am so sorry.” He looked back to his mother, who was giving him a very stern and disapproving look. “Please, how can we help you?”

Victoria made a good show of burying crocodile tears and kept her voice meek and wavering. Men liked to help damsels. “I have family in Alliria,” she said softly. “They can help me… but I have no way to get there. I can ride but… oh, no, but I couldn’t ask you for a horse.”

She looked directly into Damien’s eyes, but she did not see the luster of foolish heroism that she had been hoping for.

“I am afraid we are not able to offer that,” he sighed. “I am sorry, but we are a small village and have little. A healthy horse, certainly one that could make it to Alliria, is not something we can afford to part with.”

”Of course.”

Damn it.

Damien stood and walked to the fireplace in thought. After a minute, he spoke up again. “There is a trader who comes through every few months. Luckily he should be arriving any week now to make his last visit before the snows become too great. He may be willing to take you with him when he returns south.”

Any week? Victoria’s jaw clenched. It would have to do. ”Thank you, that is more than enough.”

 

[Fallon]

The atmosphere was pleasant. The pack's spirits were high, the boys had a good hunt this morning and they'd be well fed tonight, not to mention the rare kegs of alcohol. Fallon decided to give them the day off, things had been quiet and they deserved the rest... she needed the rest. They seemed to pile together by the fire, slumped against one another in piles of flesh and fur. Caspian was stroking her hair and Dea was licking at her face as they relaxed in the lightly falling snow.

Fallon tilted her head back to watch it fall, and found her mind wandering and her lips curling as she gazed off distantly.

"Oh.. Someone's on her mind.." Nadya pointed out teasingly as she wrapped one of the children up in her lap. The others formed a choir of curiosity and all eyes were on her, causing her cheeks to blush furiously and she cast them all an affronted glare..

"Well.. Who is she?.." Caspian rumbled at her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders with a quiet growl..

Fallon laughed under her breath and shook her head. "You are all insufferable." she huffed firmly and shook her head, trying to shrug off the accusation. They continued to pry and she assured them that they were getting nothing out of her until they finally left her alone.

"What's that?" Yorik frowned, his eyes on Fallon's leg which she quickly covered with a blanket of fur. "That's new." he added and reached to throw the blanket back. Silver burns were unmistakable, and she found all eyes on her again, this time filled with concern and horror rather than mischief. "Wendigos don't have silver, Fal".. he growled defensively and a few others straightened themselves up as though by instinct.

Fallon let out a deep sigh.. "I ran into a hunter on the road. I didn't want to worry anyone.. She thought I was a lycan. I.." she bit on her lip. She could, tiptoe around some details. "I took, a pretty bad beating. But someone stopped her before she could finish the job. I wouldn't be here without her.." she frowned, her heart pounding a little harder in her chest at the fact she was telling them about her at all.. "She killed the hunter, and got me to safety until I was strong enough to come back."

There was still concern on some faces, but others had eased and their anger had turned back into coy grins.. "Told you." Nadya smirked, a smug look on her face. The wolves closed in, the questions came, and Fallon allowed herself to tell them everything that she knew about Victoria, her name, her red hair, beautiful porcelain face, her sheer ferocity.

Everything, other than what she was.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Victoria was allowed another day to rest and recover, though she didn't truly need it. The huntress' blood was still flowing through her and had been potent enough to stave off any gnawing hunger that might try to creep back. She was grateful for this, small communities were notoriously dangerous for vampires. They noticed everything, and knew everyone inside and out. No one could go missing, no one could be acting strangely. It was almost enough to make Victoria consider feeding on wild animals instead... almost.

The following day Victoria was brought into town. Norma had made her a thick, hooded cape to shield herself from the sun, but she did feel extremely vulnerable being protected only by black wool. Nevertheless, she knew she would need to make herself useful sooner or later, if she were to stay here. Luckily her skills at stitch-work landed her a spot amidst the seamstresses while they made garments for the children, who grew constantly, and the men who damaged the fabric in the woods or rocky fields. The women were particularly impressed with her embroidery, though, and indeed it was one of Victoria's greatest talents (if one restricted that list to "proper ladylike activities").

It seemed that she had come at a good time, for there was to be a wedding soon and Victoria had been given the honor of detailing the wedding gown. It was, she was told, one of the few times a young lady had something truly fine made for her. Their definition of "fine" differed considerably from Victoria's own, however. The dress was of a lighter fiber than the standard itchy wool that everyone seemed to wear, but it was still coarse. The thread she had to work with was much thicker than the silk she was accustomed to, but she did what she could with it. A bold pattern of flowers, birds, and other symbols of spring and fertility seemed to go over well. She was careful not to touch the parts of the dress that had holy symbols stitched into them.

As they worked the women talked. Constantly. It truly was a chattering of hens as they gabbed about whatever tiny and insignificant events had transpired in their tiny and insignificant lives. Of course, they had all heard each other's stories a hundred times over and where eager for new material from a mysterious visitor. After the obligatory condolences, everyone wanted to know about Victoria, where she had come from, and especially about her husband. Seeing as she was attempting to blend in, Victoria had no choice but to indulge them.

"His name is... was... Fallon," how convenient that she had a neutral name. "He was a good man. Thought it was his job to protect people. To protect me." She could dream, couldn't she?

"He sounds lovely," said an old woman. "He sounds handsome," said a younger girl.

"Oh, he was," Victoria said with a hint of a smile and a glint in her eye as she looked at the girl. "He had hair like moonlight, and eyes like stars. He could carry me around like I was made of air." She remembered the eerie, soul-piercing howl that Fallon had left her with. "Sometimes... he would sing to me."

She was pleased to see that the girl was swooning.

"Have you... no children?" an older woman asked timidly.

Victoria stiffened just a little at the question, another peculiarity about a woman her age, she knew, and another hole in her story. "No. I... I cannot."

It brought her thoughts back to family. Back to Olivia and Evangeline, and Evangeline's daughters. Victoria had never needed family before... why now did she grasp at the idea so desperately? Did some vestige of human desire linger in her dead and barren body? She absently ran a hand across her belly, and noticed for the first time how empty it felt.

 

[Fallon]

As the days turned into weeks, it felt like her heart had sunk like a rock that was slowly dragging her to the depths of depression. Caspian had taken over much of her duties, leaving her to hunt both food and foe, sating her need to vent her frustrations. They each took turns of trying with her, but she only found the guilt of their worry more crippling and she forced the same reassuring smile and took comfort in their embraces for a time before her mind settled once more on the red woman.

She lay, feigning sleep as she recovered from her wounds of the day. The krait had taken four of them to take down and none had escaped unscathed. Yorik had lost an eye, and yet she could hear his grizzly laughter by the fire as Nadya patched him up. The wolf was made of tough stuff, and Fallon was certain that even half blind, he wouldn't be deterred from his path. He'd have been the hardest to convince of her feelings for Victoria.

"Has she eaten?.." Nadya asked in a hushed tone by the fire pit.

"Not in a couple of days. I'll try again tomorrow." Caspian sighed back to her. Fallon felt nauseous with guilt and rolled to face away from them at the risk of tears spilling.

"I still think she's imprinted. I've never seen her this torn, I mean... She's lost so much and she always manages to pick herself up."

"She will, Nadya. Even she needs a hand up sometimes, just like she does for every one of us." Caspian's tone held an edge of defensiveness, as though the woman had been suggesting that their alpha was in any way weak.

"Aye, lass is tough as ten cave trolls." Yorik assured brightly, but his tone dipped "But I can't help but wonder the same thi-"

"Enough. She hasn't imprinted, don't be so ridiculous. She's made her place quite clear. Now get some food and some rest. We're going through the veil tomorrow."

Fallon's brow furrowed, and sure enough tears flowed freely as she listened to them bicker about her. Her place had always been with her pack, she was fiercely loyal, but even she couldn't explain how heavy her heart felt, the physical ache she pushed down every-single-day since leaving Victoria in that cavern. Imprinting was ridiculous. It was the sort of thing dogs did, an unconditional loyalty and love for a person, that unshakable need to protect them no matter what the cost. She'd heard of it happening to some lycans, her own alphas claimed it had happened to them, a sort of unexplainable 'bond at first sight' they had called it.

Why couldn't she kill her?... Perhaps it had nothing to do with her resemblance to Livvy at all. She felt like if she didn't see the woman soon, her misery might take her off the edge of a cliff. She had tried. Tried to stay away. Tried to go back on her word and push the woman out of her mind and out of her life, hoping that with time and distance, she could forget. She was wrong.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Early in the day, the trader finally arrived. He had sent word a few days earlier, and when the grand, red hawk arrived it had sent the whole village into a tizzy. Victoria had not realized at first how momentous an occasion this was for such a tiny and isolated community, but over the next few days she had learned exactly how desperately they depended on these visits.

The mountain soil was rocky, and notoriously difficult to farm. After a few weeks she was able to keep from gagging on the ever-present odors of potato, turnip, and goat stew, but the reverie with which the women spoke about things as simple as apples made it clear that her disdain was shared.

His name was Bard. No surname, simply Bard, and his wagon was massive. Great cords of rope threatened to burst at holding in the cargo, and he was eagerly helped to unload. While the older seamstresses were eager for fresh fruit, the younger women seemed most interested in the unusual fabrics that were be brought. The children wanted colorful wooden toys with exotic dyes, and the men talked about all the iron tools that needed replacing and the supple, soft leather boots that came from Alliria.

Victoria, on the other hand, cared little for what the trader brought and thought only of convincing him to take her back to Alliria with him. The sooner she was out of this village the better. Yes, she was eager to meet her allegedly family, but after such a long time she had another reason to desire escape.

She was famished. Not even the huntress’s blood could keep her sated for so long. Her pale skin had started to lose its luster, and her thin face had become notably gaunt. It was increasingly difficult to resist indulging herself on the unwitting populace, both to sate her hunger and to distract herself from the incessant thoughts of her wolf. As her hunger grew her will began to fade, and Fallon’s face grew clearer and clearer in her mind.

It had been long enough, she told herself. Surely Fallon would be happy to see her now. Surely… she missed her, too? But… what if Victoria waited too long and Fallon lost her feelings for her altogether? Either case, be she depriving Fallon of a reunion or losing her to time, was misery to imagine. Especially when she knew she could not stay. If she did not leave with Bard at the end of the week she would be trapped in the mountains until spring. She could wait, but humans were so terribly fragile. Evangeline and her children surviving the winter was not a gamble she was willing to make.

The day passed in a blur. Even though she was protected by her hood and cape the sunlight made her head buzz and practically blinded her when it glinted off of fresh metal. She was hot, and while she didn’t remember the exact details of the conversation, Bard had agreed to at least consider taking a passenger back south.

That night she wandered the woods after Norma went to sleep, as she had done for the past week. She blamed her hunger, but she knew the real reason. She had started to crave the cold ground against her feet and the smell of pine, and each night she held a childish wish that Fallon would appear to her out of the darkness. The moon was full tonight, and she heard the chilling song of wolves in the distance. She heard a twig snap.

”Fallon?” she asked before she could stop herself.

”Who’s there?” came a man’s voice in reply. Damien, she recognized. His sword was drawn and he squinted through the shadows, unable to see Victoria as she could see him… and she saw he was alone.

Oh… oh no, Damien. You foolish man. It was all she could think as she stepped silently across the snow-dusted earth. He should know better than to patrol the woods alone at night, for there were beasts and monsters here… and they were hungry.

You would have been safe in town, she mentally chastised him. You would have been safe in a group. It was one thing to avoid hunting in the village, but people went missing in the woods all the time. How could she resist when a meal so willingly presented itself to her after so long? Her heart had begun to beat again, and her starving lungs took quiet, shaky breaths.

He wouldn’t detect her approach. He wouldn’t fight her off. The only thing that could save him now was a miracle.

 

[Fallon]

"At least allow two of us to accompany you until you find her. She could be anywhere.." Caspian held her tightly against him, he'd been refusing to let go for the last five minutes.

Her head shook and she looked up at him, her chin resting on his chest as she huffed. "Are you sure about this. I feel so selfish I--". He glared down at her and she bit down on her lip as he growled affectionately and kissed her forehead.

"You need this, Fal. You've never done a selfish thing in your life, your life has been this pack and putting our needs before your own at every turn. We'll survive for a few weeks on our own." he assured her, and finally let her go. The rest of the pack had said their separate goodbyes, the children had made her a pendant with a carved crescent moon to keep her safe, Yorik gave her his best fur pelt, Tori had wrapped her some dried meats for her journey and Kip had covered half of her face with an affectionate lick. Tyr had spent most of the previous day clinging to her but after a quiet word from Caspian, he'd agreed to spare her any further guilt and let her go.

This was better. They wanted her to go, sort of. Not that they knew the whole story, but she felt far less guilty than she would have for sneaking off. Her things were wrapped up in fabric, and Nayda tied it around her snow-white hackles, receiving a small lick to the nose for doing so.

"Take care sister." the woman smiled, and Fallon set of at a run before the sun breached the surface of the horizon. Her claws churned at the earth for almost a day before she reached the tree, and for nostalia's sake she took her rest there for a little while. Even after all these weeks, she could still smell her here, and the wolf sprawled herself out in the dirt and rolled with a grin on her mind as she recalled Victoria's words..

'I said I wouldn't tame you, I never said I wouldn't bathe you'

Fallon was on her way again by the time darkness fell, invigorated by the hunt as she followed the faintest remnants of the woman's scent. She'd intended on heading for Landholm, but she skidded to a halt in the field when the direction changed. No. Stopped. She whined as she remembered the woman's gifts of flight.

Days went by and she had hardly stopped running. She refused to give up. Every so often she'd stop and throw a solemn howl into the night air and wait, but when there was no sign of her she continued on. She had collapsed by a creek when the wind shifted and caught Fallon's attention. She wandered to a dirt road, her nose to the ground until she found the wagon tracks. And her. She had been here. She let out another shattering howl and took off, following the road until she came upon the village. Her scent was here, everywhere, and Fallon whined as she followed the strongest traces of it into the woods.

Her heart was fit to burst in her chest, it seemed more of a thrum than a beat and the wolf stumbled dizzily and shook her head.

Fallon?

She froze, her ears pivoting and pupils dilating as she peered through the inky darkness of the forest. There was another scent, and her ears pressed back against her skull for a moment as the wolf growled, a low guttural sound that rattled in her chest as sprinted toward the voices.

It'd been some time since Fallon had prayed to her Gods, but by fuck was she praying now. Her gods answered, and as the dire wolf climbed the verge, she let out a quiet yelp of a sound as her gaze settled on her Red standing in the woodland valley below.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

“I heard you,” Damien called out, turning in a slow circle. “Show yourself, and you will not be harmed.” His voice was strong and clear in the cold air, ever the picture of bravery and duty, but Victoria was too hungry to be amused by this. She was close to him now, ten yards at most, and she could smell the ferric nectar that lurked just beneath his skin. He reached for a lantern at his belt, and a tiny flint striker to light it. Victoria curled her lip at the thought of fire and vowed he would not have time to light it.

She was just about to move on him when a new scent carried on the wind, freezing her after a single step. It was damp leaves and soil, and the rich earth of a particular intimate cavern. She knew what it was but didn’t have time to process before a soft, high-pitched sound wrenched her head to the side.

Her cursed eyes cut through the darkness and saw, in perfect clarity, a magnificent silver wolf. She didn’t notice the bundle around her neck, she didn’t need to, she saw everything she needed in the soft, silver eyes.

”Fallon…!”

The name came out as a high, incredulous whimper through cracked lips. Emotions too chaotic to understand flooded her senses, and a heart that had been started by hunger was pushed to its limit by reverence. She was frozen in place by it, unable to do anything but stare through the night.

She was more magnificent than ever. The thick moonshroud fur, the beastial claws, the sharp ears, eyes, and nose of a matchless predator. Her entire body radiated power and beauty, and Victoria felt a shiver run down her spine. It only took her a few seconds to take all of it in, but it felt like an age.

Then, all at once, her body remembered how to move, and she ran. She left a trail of leaves in the wind behind her, caring nothing for the noise she might be making or the twigs she broke through. In seconds she was upon her, and she didn’t bother to slow down as she threw herself at Fallon, clinging at her neck with bony fingers and burying her gaunt, tear-stained face in her fur.

 

[Fallon]

The wolf's ears perked to the sound of her own name, and for a moment she thought she might collapse with exhaustion and relief. It was her, she'd finally found her, and yet Fallon was suddenly frozen to the ground, unable to close the gap between them. She did sound happy to see her, but it had taken Fallon so long to find her, and a lot could happen in a few months. Victoria might have found another, assumed she'd rejected her, resented her, and Fallon couldn't help but have some sort of defensive barriers up should she need to face the lashes of scorn.

All she could do was stare at the woman, focusing on the heart that pounded in her chest and hoping it didn't stop dead at the sight of her. She didn't have time to brace herself for the woman's approach, she'd barely blinked and there were arms around her, almost sending her toppling but her back paws dug into the damp ground and she pushed back with a soft whine. The embrace stole her breath. Suddenly her defences were just paper, paper that was being quickly soaked by the rapidly falling briny drops. Before she could draw in the air her body needed, she had melted into Victoria's form. She could feel her own body shake, crying for the missed time they would never make back, crying to release the tension of these few long months without her.

Fallon wanted nothing more than to wrap the vampire in her arms and hold her. Shifting back would have been preferable, but they weren't alone out here and she was far too wary to be so careless. She made her affection as clear as she could without the ability to speak or properly return her embrace, she brushed her cheek against her head and nuzzled, each panted breath laced with quiet whimpers and she tucked her chin over Victoria's shoulder. Her body shuddered with relief, the scent of her seemed to bring her back to the life that had been slowly dwindling. She felt awake.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

Never, in two hundred years, would Victoria have ever imagined the scene she was playing out in this moment. Stranded in the mountains, teary-eyed and blood-starved, with her arms wrapped around the neck of a gigantic silver wolf like she was drowning and it was the only thing could pull her to shore. Not just a wolf, but a werewolf. Well... not truly, but close enough that no other vampire would bother to learn the difference between Fallon and a blood enemy of a thousand thousand years. How had this woman ensnared her so deeply that she swept right past ignoring these facts and flew headlong into embracing them? She had no explanation, and was helpless against the current of her own heart.

Finally she drew back enough to look at her. The wolf’s head was massive, and Victoria took it both of her hands and peered into the quicksilver eyes. ”You found me.” Her fingers shook, and her hair hung slack and lusterless. Even her fangs almost looked like they had grown longer. ”I never stopped thinking of you,” was the only thing she could say, still not entirely certain that she wasn’t dreaming.

She saw a light reflect off Fallon’s eye. “I know you’re there!” Damien had managed to light his lantern, and Victoria tensed and looked back. He was sweeping the light around but was not close enough to see them yet.

Victoria realized that Fallon must have seen her about to kill that man, and felt a pang of... was it guilt? No, that was ridiculous... but she knew all too well Fallon’s “duty” to protect the people of these lands and somehow the thought of disappointing her was painful. For the hundredth time the sheer inanity of their situation was thrust back into the light. She had to to eat, after all. How could this possibly work? For the hundredth time, she pushed the thought away. She didn’t care how, it just... had to.

Damien was crouching by the tree that Victoria had left from and was picking something up. A piece of... wool? Victoria grasped at the hem of her skirt to feel hole torn from it. Shit.

He looked up towards them, and although Victoria knew he couldn’t possibly see them she remained absolutely still. Then, as quickly as he’d appeared, Damien stood and headed back towards town.

Victoria let out a sigh of relief, although her stomach growled in protest as she turned back. ”Are you alright? Why did you come here? I’m happy of course but... oh, change back so I can kiss you!”

 

[Fallon]

”I never stopped thinking of you,”

Fallon met her ruby gaze with her own glistening eyes which narrowed slightly, giving the impression of a smile, and her chest puffed and fell with a deep sigh, breathing her into her chest to soothe her thundering heart. She'd missed her too. She wanted her here. The wolf whined again in relief and she pushed her nose against Victoria's face before the sound of the man's voice caused her to straighten up and her ears to pivot and focus. She pulled at the scent on the air, and a quiet growl rumbled in her chest as her gaze settled on the flame. It was an odd sensation she felt in that moment, she wasn't sure whether she was feeling defensive of the vulnerable, human man that she should have been protecting, or the red vampire who really needed no protection from the man at all. She knew the answer, and it troubled her for only a moment before the man turned to leave and she settled, returning her attention to the woman in front of her.

The wolf brushed her cheek along the side of Victoria's face once more before her body began to shrink. The process was smooth, painless and quick owed only to years of practise, and in a few moments her fur had seeped into her skin and she was naked once more. She was already beaming, a smile so wide that it caused her jaw to ache, and now that she was able she took hold of Victoria's face to look over her with a soft laugh and her eyes pooled with tears.

"Are you real?..." she whispered to her, her glassy, silver eyes studying her intently, fingers finding tresses of crimson hair and that scent of frost settling on her mind and soothing her soul.. She swallowed the pain in her throat and pulled herself close to the woman, as though the static air between them might suffocate her.

"I'm fine I.. I had to. I can't describe how much I've missed you." she frowned, and the tears escaped as her eyes closed and she dragged the vampire into a deep kiss that attempted to describe exactly how much she'd missed her in a way that words never could.

 

[Victoria O'Connor]

”Are you real?...”

Victoria could have mirrored the question as she watched Fallon’s body melt back into its elven shape. The transition was seamless, but it passed through the depths of the uncanny as the wolf faded and the woman began to emerge. It might have been frightening for anyone else, but Victoria watched those seconds with such eagerness that she felt her chest would burst. Finally… finally... her Fallon knelt before her, and Victoria’s breath caught fast in her throat.

She had underestimated how much this reunion would affect her, and she released a soft sighing moan when the woman took her face in her blazing hands. Fangs to rival Victoria’s own flashed back at her from a saudade grin.

Fallon asked the question, and in that moment Victoria didn’t truly know. Everything felt so dreamlike in the wolf’s grasp. Her eyes were the moon, and her lips the softest velvet. "Flesh and blood," she answered, and her eyes roamed from eyes to lips to the taut muscles of Fallon's neck.

Her pupils dilated with a thunderous single beat in her chest. She could feel the pulse of Fallon’s jugular, and she was inhabited by a momentary, voracious desire to bite deeply into her love and taste her sweetness. There was no hostility in the thought, on the contrary it was fueled by an inexorable passion. Feeding was profoundly intimate, and the act itself would be akin to taking Fallon’s body with as much reverence and hunger as she had in that bloodsoaked field.

Fallon’s words defused the instinct and her face came swimming back into view just in time for their lips to crash together. Victoria’s eyes rolled back beneath closed lids and she wrapped shaking arms around the garou’s powerful shoulders. Her tongue was sated by the salt of tears.

When she was with Fallon she didn’t feel like a monster. She didn’t have to hide what she was, didn’t have to worry about breaking her with her strength. She didn’t need to play mind games or follow gratuitous high-court rules, she could just be. Fallon had missed her enough to come running after her. It was what she had hoped for every night but had not dared to believe, and for a few wonderful minutes she forgot about everything except the feeling of Fallon’s lips and body. She clutched greedily at her, tasted her, and silently begged the wolf to explore her own cold figure. There was no village, no Damien, no family waiting to the south. Not right now.

”Tell me everything,” she said, desperate to prolong the inevitable. ”Where did you go? What did you do? What beasts did you conquer?” She gave a playful gnash of her teeth.