Private Tales The Horn Calls

[Glendora]

Glendora had done it. Her plan for the last fortnight had worked. Her budding retinue of spies' reports held true. And the moment her mount exited the ley lines within the borders of the Autumn Court she breathed a little easier. It helped that tonight the moons were full and high in the crisp night. Her breath left her mouth in steady steamed-puffs. And the moons' power was helping her keep her illusion up. Just small tweaks in her appearance. Hair a blonde-brown instead of silver. Eyes duller than their normal brightness. It was enough.

The princess knew it would be enough for tonight.

For the hunt.

Long fingers tightened on the reins as she heard the horn's call. A thrill of excitement rose within her chest and for the first time in many years she found a ghost of a smile spread along her jaw. If the reports from her spies held true, she would get some vengeance on the night court males during this hunt. And she was looking forward to cutting them down. With a spur of her boots, she urged her steed forward toward the group gathering for the hunt.

 

[Oakley]

Oak was entirely naked.

Silver scars swirled over his skin, only barely visible beneath the blood that painted the front of his body a shocking crimson. His eyes were pale moonlight as they fixed on the path ahead, his feet stumbling here and there, and the body that he dragged behind him snagged on roots and rocks. He appeared drunk, and he was, though he hadn't touched a drop of alcohol. Blood glistened on his lips, but it wasn't his. The male fae he dragged had had his throat torn out, and it wouldn't take much guessing to figure out who had been responsible.

He'd started his hunt early. This one had known Oak would come for him. He'd had it written in the cards since he'd killed his sister years ago, and it'd been only recently that he'd managed to track the bastard down. Oak hadn't left unscathed, in fact there was still a crossbow bolt protruding from his side and a few other slashes and stab wounds. He'd barely felt them in his fury and bloodlust, but the more they wore off, the more the pain crept in.

He arrived shortly after the horn had made its call, spitting on the body as he dumped it just outside the gathering. There were a few laughs and claps, and some came to drag their fingers through the blood on his chest to paint their faces with..

"You've seen better days, brother." Beckett, an old friend of his called, drawing his attention.

"As has he." he glanced back to the body with a sharp huff and strode to tug his breeches from the bough he'd hung them from. He tugged them on with a grimace, and took the drink that Beckett offered. It burned his throat, but it took the edge off.

"Get this fucking thing out of me." he growled with a lazy gesture at the bolt as he leaned against the tree, braced by his friend's arm as he gripped the arrow and yanked. The pain was liquid fire, and the duannan swore loudly and snarled, his eyes flaring with that silvery glow that was far more animal than fae. Beckett grinned, and Oak punched his shoulder.

"I'm glad you enjoyed that. Prick." he growled.

"No more than you enjoyed that." he glanced back to the body which was now being thrown onto one of the roaring fires. Oak breathed easier than he had done in a decade as he watched it burn, and one cheek dimpled with a lopsided grin.

"Good to have you back, brother." Beckett clapped him on the shoulder. "Now lets have some fun."

Oak's shoulders rolled, his muscles shifting under his skin as he followed his friend back to those gathered, though in the darkness beyond the firelight he spotted movement. He dragged at the scent, and above the smell of smoke and blood and many that he knew, he smelled something that was new. His brow quirked and he stepped toward the female on horseback, his head tilting as he so obviously took her in with fascination.

"Well. You smell fucking delicious."

 

[Glendora]

The flames crackled in the wide clearing, greedily consuming wood and now flesh, bone, and blood. There was something wild inside her that had been caged for far too long in a court that snuffed out dreams. All on the basis of sex.

Speaking of sex.

An opposite stood beneath her. Silver marks beneath crimson ichor. Eyes uncomfortably like her own when she wasn't using illusion. The spurned princess stared down the bridge of her nose at him for so long that he might think she hadn't heard. Or as if she could stare right into his marrow and breath.

Disinterest and a flicker of mild annoyance.

Near one of the larger fires, more were gathering and a loud voice boomed across the clearing. Names were being read from a list. The names. Shapes were beginning to shift as duanan, shuks, and cwnn began to change to their animal forms. Some stayed on horses, like Glen. With a nudge of her boots and light pull of her reins she began to pass on by that bloody male that smelled of the glory to come.

Head held higher than it had in over two hundred years.

 

[Oakley]

Oakley's eyes narrowed just a fraction, a spark of amusement causing them to glow brightly as his lips parted to allow a breath of a laugh to pass. Sharp canines glinted back at her as she stared through him, and he was unable and unwilling to suppress the pleasantly cold shudder that rippled its way up his spine and along his shoulders which he rolled with a quiet growl at the pain.

There was something about her that he couldn't place. He was certain that he hadn't seen her before, and there was a strange shimmer to her aura. And that scent. His cheek dimpled, and a canine dragged at his lower lip before he pressed a hand to his bloody chest and bent into a rather theatrical bow, hoping to pique that annoyance of hers a little higher.

"My Lady.." he grinned, and Beckett snorted behind him, giving him a hard shove.

Oak barked out a laugh and grimaced at the pain it caused. He grinned wolfishly up at the woman as she passed him, a playful growl rattling in his chest. "Mh. De-licious." he muttered again.

"Think you've lost your 'charm' , old boy." Beckett laughed under his breath and shook his head in disbelief at his bluntness. Beckett had always been a romantic, and Oak had just never been shy.

"I didn't hear any complaining from your sister last night. Or you cousin last week. Or your mother that one time---"

"Fuck off." Beckett shoved again, and the pair laughed as they fought for headlocks. Boys would be boys.

As the others started shifting, Oak did too. It was a smooth process, a few stretches and rolls of his muscles, and a massive blonde wolf stood as tall as Oak had been, now shaking out his fur.

 

[Glendora]

The male's reward for his theatrics was a very stiff upper lip and a glare of argent eyes. The princess longed to teach his arrogance a lesson but that was neither here nor there as blood called to blood. But there was a note of longing behind that glare of hers. Even as her gaze flickered to the offender's friend. To be able to have an openness to actions among the company of others.

So free.

On this night she vowed she would be free. Ce'rehena's warnings like a mist in her ears, being burned away by a deeper desire. Biting and snarling caught her attention. To the direction they were all running. Glen unsheathed her sword as she urged her white steed faster and FASTER. Leaving her duties behind. Leaving behind expectations. Leaving behind physical scars that had long ago healed.

And as the hunt entered the unsuspecting rebel camp, gathered foolishly on the outskirts of a leyline, she aimed for one of the enemy males on a black steed. She knew he was night court. Could feel it in her bones. And her sword sung to be covered in his ichor. Looking like a grim reaper queen, Glen charged and swung her sword up even as the male brought his chained mace around.

Sword caught on chain. Each unwilling to budge their grip on their weapons left their saddles and fell on top of each other in the darkness, rolling in grass and mud. There was snarling and snapping of jaws around her as others began to be taken down. A burst of fire lit up the darkness.

The hunt had turned into an all-out battle of blood and fire.

Glen unsheathed her dagger and buried it in the male's shoulder she was grappling with even as she felt a swift kick into her abdomen.

 

[Oakley]

Oakley's claws tore at the earth as he ran amongst the others, he and a few other in similar forms taking lead to clash with the rebel group moments before the rest. Screams and shouts went up, steel scraped against scabbards as weapons were drawn and arrows flew blindly. Some tried to run, but they never got far. Oakley slammed a large Cwn into the ground and they rolled to a stop, jaws snapping at one another's faces and claws raking at chests and sides until the blonde wolf's jaw clamped down on the other's neck and tore his throat open. The creature yelped and stilled, and Oak turned to settle his silver eyes on the female who carried that intoxicating scent.

He licked at his bloodied maw as he watched her fight unfold, until another joined the fray and made the fight unfair. The wolf snarled and launched himself at the male, his claws sinking into his back and his jaw snapping shut on the arm that had been in the process of lifting an axe above the female. The male let out a roar in pain and turned, slamming his elbow again and again into Oak's ribs until they cracked and he let go.

The axe swung at him now, and his body screamed in pain as he ducked away from it before launching himself again, his fangs boring into the male's upper arm as he fell to the ground and the sickening sound of a pop and tear as he ripped the limb free of his body.

 

[Glendora]

A grunt and quick peek over her shoulder as blood splattered the back of her neck and the large, blond wolf sped across the corners of her vision. A gloved hand closed around her neck in her moment of distraction. She twisted the dagger in the male's chest. Other hand still on her sword, she tugged it free and cut off the hand that gripped her throat.

He screamed even as the blood coated her face and clothing.

"Useless bitch!" He spat and managed to kick her free. Landing on her back, she rolled as the chained mace came down with a vengeance biting into dirt and forest floor. Even as she rolled she couldn't stop the smug smile from flitting across her lips.

There was a rip of clothing as the princess of the night court shifted into a large, arctic fox with fur white with a silver-sheen as a moon-beamed snow-drift. Jaws snapping, she went for the male's throat and ripped it clean off his shoulders. Blood-mared jaws shook and she didn't hesitate as she turned her attention to a second male running up toward the blond wolf.

With the graceful bound of a predator, she leaped past the wolf and at the male. A slight yelp as a silver dagger embedded into her side but it didn't stop her from closing her jaws around the male's upper leg.

 

[Oakley]

He hadn't been paying attention to his surroundings. Pain pounded through his mind, but even more distracting was the female that his pale eyes had fixed upon, watching as she gracefully shifted into the stunning white fox, the glistening fur quickly tainted with the blood of the male who'd dared insult her.

She was magnificent. And she was coming straight at him. The blonde wolf's ears pinned back as he ducked, whipping himself around with hackles raised to see her leap at the one who'd been about to bury the silver dagger in the back of his neck.

Oak snarled at the yelp of pain that'd been meant for him and he wasted no more time in aiding the female in tearing him apart. His claws raked at his chest as he leapt onto him. They curled deep into the sinew and bone and tore it free of his body, his heart giving out quickly. Not that it stopped the wolf from forcing his weight down through his two front paws, cracking through the ribs, just to be sure.

His head turned to the white fox, eyes searching the spattered crimson in search of her wound. Blood was always a metallic, sometimes putrid scent to him, but the scent of hers was decadent and sweet. The wolf frowned as much as a wolf could frown, wondering what in the Gods' names she was. Still, remembering his manners, his large head dipped in thanks before he turned to aid in exterminating those few that were left.

 

[Glendora]

Though dead, she pulled the male’s leg off for good measure, fox eyes lifting to the wolf as he dipped a head. It was hard to say what her expression was. A shake of satisfaction and a whole lot feral. As he turned to continue in the slaughter, she licked her lips.

Head turned as she pried the dagger in her side free, a small bark leaving her throat as she dispatched it. Heady with adrenaline and ignoring the blood running down her side, she launched back into the fray, taking down one of the remaining ones. Jaws to the intestines then a quick bite to the throat.

Sniffing the air, she knew it was done. A fire was already being built to dispose of the dead. Some were already shifting back and celebrating. Others were piling body parts onto the flames. Her own keen eyes glinted in the moonlight as she slunk forward, a massive muscled arm in her fox-jaws as she whipped her head back and tossed it into the flames not seeing that a certain blond wolf might be in the way of its trajectory, so caught up in the revelry of the hunt. Even as crimson matted her snowy fur.

 

[Oakley]

Oakley let out a rather emasculating yelp as something hit him in the side, his cracked ribs screaming in pain. His ears pinned back in a snarl as he looked down at the offending arm before his glare settled upon the one who'd thrown it. The ire in his silvery gaze melted immediately, his ears lifting as he sat himself down and simply watched her, tail thumping at the ground and a flirtatious wink as he caught her gaze.

Where had she come from? He was certain he'd never seen her before, in either form.

The wolf stood once more, slightly uneasy on his paws as he started walking toward the camp the dissenters had set up for themselves. He sniffed around for a moment before fur seeped back into his bruised and bleeding flesh, and in the span of seconds he was on one knee and naked once again. A growl scraped at the back of his throat as he pushed himself to his feet, lifting a blanket from a bedroll and pulling it around his waist and tying it off.

Turning back, he stopped in front of the dead male who'd broken his ribs and he spat, grimacing as he bent to grip hold of his collar to drag him to the fire, his gaze shifting to the snowy fox as he passed.

 

[Glendora]

Luminous fox-eyes widened then seemed to smile as the blond-wolf snarled her way. She sat, shaggy white plumed tail curling around her blood-matted body as she licked delicately at her paw. A slow blink back in his direction as he had the audacity to wink at her.

Males

Ears twitched back and forth as the male came back in human form. But her eyes were on the body he dragged. A low growl left her throat. Ears peeled back. The smell of blood and sweat made her more wild. And she nearly pounced onto the body just to rip it further apart.

Hackles raised on her back as she shifted her weight back to four paws. Her growl getting lower. Until her weight shifted forward and a small yelp interrupted her growl.

The wound from the knife.

She needed to shift so it could heal. But she would not move until she saw that body go up in smoke and flames. Her snarl increased again.

 

[Oakley]

She wouldn't have to wait long to see the body burn. Oak lifted the corpse with little effort and hauled it onto the pyre of burning flesh and bones, and the fire cracked and spat in response. Most had shifted back now remained naked or half-so, bathing in the flames that turned their enemies to ash. Blood spattered their bodies, the scent of it thick on the air, and their minds still ran wild with the hunt and the intoxicating effects that it had.

Some were already dancing, a few had paired off and were unabashed rutting on the ground or against trees. A female's fingertips trailed down his back, scraping their way through the blood and dirt, and Oak's head snapped to the side to see Aphasia, her dark hair wild and her flawless body glistening with blood and sweat.

But that scent. It still had its claws curled into his senses, and by fuck the woman now kissing his shoulder and reaching to tear away the blanket was difficult to resist. He'd never managed to before now, but he was far more interested to know more about the vixen. His hand wrapped around her wrist before she could peel away the only thing he wore, and in her confusion she turned her toward Beckett at the other side of the fire, a light smirk on his lips. Aphasia smiled wordlessly at him, and turned her attention on his best friend instead.

Oak turned, his gaze drifting back to where the white fox stood.. "I suggest that you shift, My Lady." he called, his deep voice gritty. "Lest you bleed out." his arms folded, and his lips twisted in devilish amusement as he fully intended on watching.

 

[Glendora]

Her hackles began smoothing down as the body went up in flames. Silver eyes stared intently until there was nothing but ash left. White-puffed tail flicked behind her. A curious glance at the fully nude female. As she tracked a finger down the blond-wolf from before.

That one with the smirk that matched his eyes.

Sly, fox eyes watched as she was turned away. White ears flickered back at his words. A low growl to the male before she turned, raising her white fluffy tail straight in the air and showing off her fox-rear as she trotted away. Behind one of the tents. A low, wincing growl left her throat as she shifted. Unbothered and unhurried by her nudity, she reached over to the black material of the tent and ripped the fabric, fastening a makeshift toga, tying off around one shoulder. Another strip of fabric to cinch around her waist.

Blood dripped down her side, down her leg as the wound finally began healing. A little more slowly due to the magic she was using to keep up her glamor. A pounding of drums began filling the air as members of the hunt made their own music. The energy of the hunt and killing still pulsed through her blood. A song calling to the night court princess. A song that numbed any lingering pain she may have felt.

There was a tug on her hand from a dark-skinned female with golden eyes. A wide-smile on her face as she dragged Glen forward and back to the flames, forming a line to dance. Glen didn't fight it. It was where her feet were already taking her. Even as the darkskinned female's other hand snagged Oak to tug him along as well.

 

[Oakley]

Steely eyes shifted between the makeshift pyre and the vixen, his head tilting with unspoken curiosity and his lips twitching in amusement at the growl and rather rude gesture. Whilst she was out of sight, Oak paced around the fire, collecting more and more bloody handprints on his bare skin. It was now, after the hunt that he loved his own kind the most. It was when they were at their most wild, their most attuned to their own nature. Their most feral and free.

His attention snagged on the female so intent on ignoring him. He half wondered if she knew just how much of a challenge she was presenting to him, and how much he loved a challenge. It should have been obvious, as an Autumn Court male who loved the hunt as much as he did. But she.. She was no ordinary female. Something about her set his blood to scalding and yet chilled him to the very bone all at once. She was beautiful, of course, but there was something more, something new that had nothing to do with a pretty face.

That blood for a start. The scent of it was sheer euphoria, and it seemed to find him and draw him in, setting his senses alight. He'd always had a taste for blood. For years it'd been all he'd consumed to live and yet he'd never smelled anything quite like that crimson claret that ran in ruby rivulets down her side. Wicked thoughts plagued his mind, heating his blood anew as he watched her, his eyes narrowing with silent amusement as she was led toward the flames. He'd been quite content to watch when his hand was taken too, and a grin spread across his face.

"Kenna.." he rumbled in greeting to the female who'd taken his hand. "My Lady." he quirked a brow, smirking as he tilted his head to look her over. She could have attended the grandest of celebrations and would not have looked out of place. It was impressive, really.

"I suppose I owe you my thanks for watching my back" he said as he drew his gaze from her and toward the flames with a sigh. "I knew you liked me."

 

[Glendora]

A derisive snort left the tip of her nose at the male's assumptions. There was a wildness that crossed her silver-blue gaze. Something deep and dangerous as she looked him over.

"Careful with those words or you'll be indebted to me," she purred as a sharp-toothed smile flitted across her face. It was hard to tell if the smile was for him or for the dance as she found another male's hand woven through her other fingers. They began forming a line and somehow, her feet knew the steps as they circled around the building flames of the funeral fire faster and faster. Her braided hair was quickly fraying around the edges.

She realized more than half the dancers in this line were completely naked.

But more importantly than that, the females were treated with an equality like she'd never seen before. And it was enough for her breath to catch. Her feral smile growing. Even as she realized she didn't have much time. She'd have to make her exit soon before her magic was too much.

But she could take a moment longer. Perhaps a few.

 

[Oakley]

"Indebted?.." Oakley purred right back. "Oh now that sounds like fun." he grinned, his cheeks dimpling with genuine amusement. He didn't watch the dancers, nor did he watch the fire. He watched her, in all her rapture as she moved and basked in their glory. He positively burned with envy of the hands that held hers, both the other male and Kenna.

The circle would break soon. They would pair off, and dancing rarely stayed dancing for long. Why he had the urge to tear the male's throat out, he wasn't sure, but he was not often one to control his urges.. He broke free of the female on his right and gave Kenna a tug to unlatch her hand from the Vixen's, swapping places with her in a matter of moments. His fingers laced through the strange female's, and without warning he pulled her to him to whisk her around and out of the other male's reach.

"Tell me more about those debts, My Lady." he smirked.

 

[Glendora]

A flare of her nostrils as she found herself suddenly quite close to THIS male. But his cockiness wasn’t enough to make her break from her revelry. No.

A wicked twist of her lips. Her hands pressed strongly against his own. Testing his strength. Their dance. The smoke. The smell of charred blood made her heady. Stronger than any drug she might consume.

“Don’t call me that,” her voice held an edge of command. One she’d never had with males before. And even testing it out gave her excitement.

And she meant it. Coming from a place were sex labeled her as lesser. She didn’t want it here. This night. Tonight, she was equal. Her eyes drifts to his bare, bloodied chest. And if she wanted to claim him, she would.

 

[Oakley]

"As you wish." he rumbled, his grin spreading as he leaned close to her ear. "Then what should I call you, little fox?" he asked, pulling her closer to him and testing her straight back.

The scent was heady, and he needed no more blood nor wine to feel quite drunk in the moment.

 

[Glendora]

Something made her senses ignite. Even as the pain in her legs began to spread. It was harder with her illusion the closer one was. More magic and more energy. But by the goddess. Blood, sweat, dirt, and revenge was a heady thing.

No expression of pain slipped upon her face.

"Little," she scoffed and suddenly went to hook her ankle behind his. Fully intending to push and pin him to the dirt and leafy ground even as the fire continued to burn in the background flaming the activities of lust already happening all around them.

"You may call me Ora."

 

[Oakley]

A sound somewhere between a snarl and a purr scraped at the back of his throat as he went down onto his back, his silvery eyes flaring as he stared up at her. The shock in his expression quickly melted into roguish amusement, a deep dimple appearing in his right cheek as he gave her a lopsided grin that flashed a pointed canine.

He groaned, his chest rising and falling deeply as he stole a few greedy breaths of her scent and savoured the weight of her atop him. "Ora.." he rumbled, his lips curling as he leaned up to brush his lips against her ear.

"I knew you wanted me." he breathed.

 

[Glendora]

She relished the surprise in his silvery eyes like tasting a rare delicacy. Soaking it up. Her knees pressed into the ground on either side of lower ribs. Her weight pressing into him as she kept him pinned. Her hand latched forward, fingers curling around his chin firmly.

She’d tilt his head from side to side, studying him.

“Do I?” A purr deep in her throat that would warn any other male away. A predatory glint in her own luminous eyes. A hint of the fox sneaking through. Thumb stroked down his cheek, her long nail lightly scraping from the fingers that still clenched his jaw.

“And who do you think you are?”

 

[Oakley]

Oakley cared little for those still dancing around them, for the pain he still felt nor for the yips and taunts he heard from Beckett and a few others as he lay there pinned to the ground. It was not often that he was caught off guard by anything, and he was far more used to being the hunter.

Her grip on his jaw did nothing to deter his grin and he chuckled a husky sound of amusement as she seemed to examine him. "I was mistaken to call you My Lady.." he admitted instead of answering her straight away, leaning up as close to her as she would allow. "You, are a Huntress..." he writhed as he drew another deep breath.

"I think, I am Oakley. Though right now I am not entirely certain." he smirked, his fingers curling against her hips and the silver in his eyes flashing dangerously.

 

[Glendora]

“Brazen and smug, I’d say,” she leaned closer her lips just a hair away from his own. She paused as she got his scent. Her expression remained fixed. The crackling fire at her back.

The pain in her legs growing.

A vice-like grip on her illusion and his chin.

Then her lips would close the distance, claiming his own. Teeth dragging along his skin with a sudden sharp bite that might draw some blood. She didn't have much time now. But she could spare this.

 

[Oakley]

Brazen and smug?

"I'll take that.." he rumbled with a daring look in his eye. He was brazen, but not so much that he would be the one to close this gap, not when she'd won the pin. It was her hunt, and her kill if she chose it. How he loved to watch her hunt.

And just like that, her mouth was on his. Whoops and whistles erupted from his friends. He ignored them. His body buckled and his mind swirled, driven to the brink of madness by the scent and taste of her. His heart was a fist that battered relentlessly against his ribs, so present that it might as well have been set on a plate and served to her for her to do with as she pleased.

The sharp pain of her bite elicited a growl that rattled dangerously at the back of his throat, his fingers digging into her waist before starting their way toward the dimpled small of her back and beyond. When was the last time any female had did this to him? Had any female ever did this to him? What in fuck was going on?

 

[Glendora]

Her own growl as his hands moved. But she relished in the victory. It was heady to be in control. To have power over a male even as she felt something she wasn’t ready to between them. Her growl deepened and so did her kiss. Tongue flickering against his own as if even that was a spar.

The pain in her legs grew.

As did the lengthening of the shadows on a tree lining around them. In a blur of movement, she was suddenly off him and standing several yards away. Her form half hidden in those shadows. Chest heaved as she caught her breath. A leonine smile at the wolf before she stepped further into the shadows as if disappearing.