[ P ] a nightingale sang

Playing debt collector was hardly what Raiden wished to be doing with her time. Such tasks never quite lived up to her expectations when compared to other more profitable missions both Milo and the guild may assign. In the end, things like this still had to be done and she was the unlucky wolf who drew the short straw of the whole affair. Leaving her to deal with it. Was this some sort of test or just an annoyance pawned off from another’s busy paws?

Whatever it may be merely thinking of it drew an exasperated sigh to flee her lungs, eyes rolling in recollection of the rules set. Belongs could be taken to cover the fee, roughing the individual up was acceptable in order to collect a required sum, but under no circumstance were they to be killed. The usual tricks could be carried out but never the final act. How droll.

Though none of that really mattered until she found the guy, good thing intel was easy to come by within a den of thieves. All one needed was to find the right face, a creature willing to spill secrets for a price or - even better - gullible enough to let it slip freely. She was hardly a generous woman. The cheaper the price the better, so long as the information was good. But would Milo’s usual contact be here tonight?

Mismatched sights danced shamelessly over those passed by, lingered on a few in silent consideration before turning away. They weren’t who she searched for leaving paws to carry her toward the makeshift counter, perching atop one of many stumps set before it. Even if she could not find the whispering serpent then perhaps they could find her instead. The chimeric nature of her pelt was hard to mistake for any other, all one could hope for was that another’s attentions were not captured first this night. Let business be dealt with in peace and grant a swifter release from duties.

"Speak"

BRAITH BRADSHAGH
Bow Before Me O Peasant of Plenty

The man’s tail coiled and thrashed as he sank into the dark caverns, migrating between many strangers with little care for them looking at him passing them by, not giving any hints he was not one invited into the land of sins. To present any sign of confusion or hesitation would show he didn’t belong here and as far as he was concerned, this was the perfect place for him to take in the very land’s persona, what truly lurked around the corners of this eyesore. As someone tried to body check him, he would push back, causing the smaller stranger to smash into the floor, looking down at the man with a bored expression urging him to try that again if he dared. The little drunk would grumble before getting up and muttering a few incoherent things that the young man wouldn’t understand in the slightest, not even sure if it was supposed to be common tongue as an accent ate away at each warped lyric.

He’d only glance at the man as he started to stroll away in a drunken stupor before Braith would head toward the counter, brushing his furs into place with his tongue, finding that to be the most annoying part of the collision. How dare that scum dirty his splendor, he was lucky the boy’s bloodthirst was far more tame than most of his blood if only to keep his face pristine.

Those icy oceans would fall onto those that inhabited where he wished to take a seat, finding it rather overcrowded for his liking as there didn’t appear to be a single place left to rest his bones. It didn’t show in his stride as he migrated closer, appraising every hair upon each pelt with a flare of the nostrils till one pelt would catch his fancy. A rather unique woman swathed in a stunning array of spices while on the other side a deep dark chocolate. Even some of her features were unique, having never seen a tail curl as hers did, shameless in presentation and had she been standing would have hid nothing from another’s imagination. Had he not been a self-centered man, he might have confessed she was beautiful, but he was too absorbed in his own vanity to ever allow such a thought to enter his head.

He would impede on her space, sliding his muzzle into the side of her neck where fangs would brush but find no purchase, if she didn’t do anything to stop him as his large stature loomed over her. “This station isn’t yours, so do be a darling and remove your rump,” his vocals as thick as ever, a gentle warning for her to remove herself from the seat that very much wasn’t his, but he didn’t deem her worthy of keeping.

code by claerie

Impatience flared as claws resisted the urge to click insistently on decorated wood. Raking talons, the scuff and scrape of makeshift containers each leaving their mark upon its surface. So easily hers could join the mix if she gave in to temptation. If it were the prospect of drinks, of entertainment which brought her here tonight it would not be so bad. But no. It was duty which called, duty which bound her to the rowdy presences that lingered within these caverns tonight.

Would that mutt hurry up already? She hated wasted time in such a manner. There were things to do, beasts to steal from, backs to stab. The usual routine… but unfortunately intel was just another part of it all. Information she needed to make a job easier. Drawn sigh slowly pushing from her lungs at the very thought, though before much more could cross her mind - before eyes could dance over swaying bodies in half hearted search - passing touch would find her. A muzzle boldly sliding over fur, pressing alongside her neck as a shadow lay cast over her.

Raiden wanted to snarl, to whip around and sink fangs into the unknown’s visage no matter who it may be though she clung desperately to composure. Fur bristling in silent betrayal of festering aggression as mottled crown tilted back. The fold of her ear flopping with it as her own snout nearly pressed to that muscled frame in hopes of a better look at just who thought they could demand her claimed perch. And from what could be glimpsed this was a creature entirely unknown. The scents and face of an utter stranger.

This wasn’t who she sought.

“Not yours either. Didn’t see a name on it,” the reflective gleam of mismatched gaze betrayed sparking irritation though in part it lay suppressed. Drowned beneath practiced ease, “Shoulda come earlier if you wanted to beat the rush.” Side long glance observed his oversized stature, not something she could take in a fight lest speed was on her side. Yet that had never been enough to bring a tongue to silence, “But if you ask me, I think you’re tall enough to sit on the floor and be a good boy.” Surely drinks would still be easy enough to reach if that’s what he sought, “You’ll still be able to wet your tongue.”

"Speak"

BRAITH BRADSHAGH
Bow Before Me O Peasant of Plenty

He expected her to jump clear out of her seat or bite if she was a more feisty woman but neither option would become of her, finding no blood pouring from flesh or a new vacancy open for him to place himself in turn. Instead, her fur would prickle at his touch, feeling each hair as he breathed in her intoxicating feminine perfume, thirsty to part of own fangs into her but he would not budge. His tail would fan as his muzzle slid all the more against her tresses as if aggressive yet playful bites, testing the waters but truly he was trying to see if the mottled pelt of her was just dust embedded or dirt smeared. It looked like half of her had fallen into mud and it irritated him, finding her both nice to feed his eyes but at the same time dirty if it wasn’t really her natural body.

Nothing would flake off, of course, his ears tipping back as he let out an amused huff that this was really her true coat. There wasn’t even an earthen scent to say it was a stain from clay she may have wiped upon herself or rolled into. He wanted to peel it off her back and keep it for himself as a trophy as if she was a prized bear he could fell.

Her almost touching him would make him draw his head away from her, a hypocrite in believing she was scum for thinking of possibly putting her nose on him, when he had so rudely just done so to her. Then again, when was he ever a man of equality? What he desired was all that mattered, anothers desire hardly acknowledged by him until there was something he could get out of it himself and that only ever sometimes changed with family. Rare days would he care to see his sister truly smile or to make his mother proud but neither were things this stranger would ever experience, much rather into pressing her beneath him and swallow her whole.

A brash tongue back would not do anything in aiding her in gaining his favor or imaginary kindness. “Hmmm could you even read if there was?” he stated with a bitter mirth. He couldn’t read. Books are a new concept to him, having only just seen such odd relics that were not in his birthplace, recently. All he had determined is they seemed to fetch a hefty price for those that treasured them, making him wonder if that's what he should steal for meek change. In reality, he mocked her out of curiosity. Maybe if he was wrong, she could potentially be an asset.

"Very well, little girl." Rather than take her following words to heart, he would instead act far from mature as he sat down on the edge of the makeshift stool, leaning into her with much of his weight but not enough to harm her, only annoy her. He was patient but he was not one to back down from what he wanted, in this case only out of spite.

code by claerie

Snarl lay subdued as it fought the urge to roll in her chest. Lips quivering in wanted threat yet never giving way to a flash of fanged irritation at his touch, even when a muzzle coasted further against plush furs. The partially hidden brush of fangs felt primarily upon her shadowed half as if he could peel away the darkness and reveal the light drowned out in the depths of her hide. Whatever he wanted, what he may search for in her very coat - Raiden hardly planned to grant it to him. Just as she held no intentions of giving up the seat he sought to steal away from her.

Though no matter the proximity he kept - how a touch roamed so freely - one did not miss the way he withdrew before her own muzzle could dare make contact. Shifting back as if venom laced her touch. Not that she minded at least it seemed to cast an invisible shield to his caress. A threshold that perhaps he’d dare not cross again… she didn’t hold high hopes yet such were thoughts clung to as a crown lingered in it’s tilt. Ears pinning as lyrics rumbled smoothly into them. She hated that she enjoyed the timbre of his voice, “Yes. Could you?”

Piercing blue hoping to capture his gaze as a question easily echoed from her tongue, curiosity flooding the mind even as a bite claimed her tone. Milo had made certain she could behold written phrase, there are secrets in books he claimed. Information vital to her work stored within tomes of ancients and the very studies they’d conducted. Methods of trickery, something more subtle than the bite of fangs - though she’d have to find another to obtain such materials from. At times she doubted the man yet she could not deny the usefulness found in such an ability.

Yet no matter the answer offered - or lack of one - anything more swiftly fled her thoughts as the weight of the behemoth rested against her. Attempting to simply push her from a proclaimed perch. The warmth of his hide bringing lips to curl as a worn façade twisted with her vexation toward the unknown man, “Get off.” This was not the floor she had so kindly offered him to stay on and it was more than clear both could not be housed comfortably upon the wooden perch. Raiden shifted lightly attempting to gain a better grip as claws dug in before shoving herself wholly against the titan. Hoping she’d catch him in their precarious balancing act and topple him from the very stool he hoped to steal.

"Speak"

BRAITH BRADSHAGH
Bow Before Me O Peasant of Plenty

He kept waiting for her to snap, to break and show her true nature with each delicate caress in search of answers that needn't be for it was plain as day the truth that sat in front of him. Her dirt did not wash off, there was not a single puff of dust and soot residue that coated his own hide from invading her space over and over again. He didn’t care at all how she felt with his invasion, that was apparent as he continued to push and push and push some more. There was never a crack, however, taking note of her demeanor remaining calm where he was used to teeth flash into his face even by his own family. It was humorous in a way, uncertain if she was a pushover or just had high tolerance or maybe she was nothing more than a whore that was used to no say in her body.

The very thought of dozens of men having touched her made him shiver in disgust. Not for her health but for his own. At least it didn’t look like she carried any diseases that ruined one superficially.

There was a twitch of his lip when she countered his question right back at him, in the moment wanting to lie so as not to look like she was better than him but he wouldn’t get any benefit in that, just his own pride falsely fanned. “I’m afraid I cannot, I’m new to this land and have only just witnessed such scriptures for the first time. Perhaps you could teach me, sweetheart?” he breathed, taking some of the mocking out of his voice now as he eyed her. His tail gave one swish, not expecting her to take him up on that but it was worth a little shot even if it ended in denial. The amount he wanted to learn was limited, only something to make him look better to others rather than to actually have value in it. Maybe rub it in his sister’s face.

Oh, she finally snapped. The sneer that formed on her face was far from attractive, aging her with every little wrinkle it caused along her muzzle, and it did nothing to make him remove himself. The more she fought, the more he leaned into her, allowing his body to mostly go limp against her to see if he could outright smoosh her down. His goal was no longer to remove her, now that was simply a game to him to see what would make her grow more volatile. He did take notice of some watchers as his head flopped on top of hers, increasing his childish dominating actions to make it seem like there was nothing to be concerned about to this unusual assortment of an audience.

“You are wasting your efforts…” he yawned dramatically as if this was just boring him, but truth be told she was making some progress and making him work to keep any hold on the chair.

code by claerie

Mixed stare lay fixed upon him as she awaited any sort of answer from one who still saw fit to invade her space. Though for a moment he was silent, her attentions briefly pulled by the subtle twitch of his lip. Had he not anticipated a query being asked in turn? If he felt the need to pry into her abilities it was only fair that she dig into his own. Poke and prod for answers that truly didn’t matter to her and yet she craved them all the same. A small curve tugging at the edge of her lips as - for a sparse moment - he seemed to deflate, a short breath fleeing his lungs and with it came admittance.

No. He couldn’t read. Proclamation that he was a new arrival to these lands, that he had only just lain eyes upon the peculiarity of scrawled phrases. Something she still held her own questions over: how they came to be, who even held the ability to create such things? Though wonders of the mind were kept silent. None asked had held such answers before, there was no way this man would know if he couldn’t even glean understanding behind what decorated parchment and stone. And his request? It was laughable at best.

As if.

Thought which certainly reflected in the way eyes fought the urge to roll with his addition of , however, for a moment she thought to tease. Insist that if he begged she may consider teaching him a few things but the more she looked to him, the more she took in the expressions worn, it bid something far different to rise. Festering irritation creeping to the surface to lace her tone in budding venom. A false sweetness to them, “In your dreams, big boy.” Her final phrases before his weight was against her, that presence growing heavier the more she pushed back as he laid fully against her.

Refusing to hold himself up proper, flattening her ears to the side with the brush and flop of his jaw over her head. Lyrics rolled smoothly from his tongue even as she felt the shift of his paws against their hopefully temporarily shared perch. No, she wasn’t wasting them. At least that’s what Raiden kept telling herself as force was kept against him. Nails clinging with her desires to keep a foothold upon what had once been hers alone. Though she was no fool, this wasn’t going to work on its own very well. So despite knowing how it would rattle her own skull a crown jerks upward, aiming to knock his teeth together with another surge up and into him.

"Speak"

tw for language

BRAITH BRADSHAGH
Bow Before Me O Peasant of Plenty

Ceruleans watched her with a matching festering irritation as she didn’t respond right away but her gaze sure said plenty, leading to his ears to twitch back in distaste at her rising hostility within mismatched pools. A sneer contorted his expression as she called him big boy, finding her not to be the daintiest girl either, preferring them smaller than her so they were easier to manipulate with his every whim. She was already proving more difficult to bend than the average woman he ran into and the way she kept springing back with that clearly false persona gave him an unrelenting itch he had experienced time and time again, except this time if he wished he could scratch it. This wasn’t a family member, setting her straight wouldn’t form any extent of anger within himself as fang poked out past his lip but a threatening snarl had yet to pull them back with intention.

There was time yet she could rectify her misdeeds and return to his neutral graces though he had a feeling she wasn’t the sort to bow her head, just as he. She was more sturdy, not allowing that frustration to bleed past her eyes but how he was tempted to push until it fully cracked and she showed her true colors. He didn’t know what her job was, if she had one at all but with her looks he’d assume a whore that likely made a pretty penny. Many would likely beg for her services as she simply swished her tail in the right way. Even he couldn’t deny that lust that fuzzed his mind here and there everytime he looked at her, no matter how much he denied her as beautiful in his thoughts.

“Wrong answer,” he replied bitterly with a smile that had the context been different, might have been charming before he would press even more weight down on her. Oh how he could be that big boy so to speak, when she gets crushed under him and struggles to free herself. It seemed she was determined to keep that obnoxious but in a way fun grit about her, not once letting out a noise of distress or yelling her head off like his sister did. A silent prisoner it would seem as he countered the weight she was pushing back against him.

That sudden buckle would catch him off guard, realizing what she was doing a second too late as her skull suddenly bashed into his chin and he bit his own tongue, causing blood to start to drip down from his jaw. A raging glare looming over her before that smile twisted back onto his features in pure amusement. “You little cunt,” voice harsh with a chuckle mixed in. It wasn’t often he would smile but when he did it was hardly ever for a good reason as he suddenly lunged his head down with intent to snap his fangs around her muzzle, aiming to smash her head into the floor with his full weight behind it.

code by claerie

Ears preened back at the tone which fled his lips, to her it was hardly the wrong answer to give no matter how a mind had warred with its indecision to taunt and tease. Instead a tongue offered nothing more than outright rejection. Retort which only spurred one to further press into her space as the nameless hoped to lay claim to all she held first. Such a perch one she would not give up without a fight. It was hers after all and while it may only be a temporary possession that mattered little within the spiced woman’s mind. For the time it was hers and hers alone, thought allowing weight to buckle and surge toward this ‘thief’.

Solid connection reverberated in her skull, a throbbing pain echoing within though it was satisfying all the same. The sneer which once painted her features soon twisting into a wicked smile the moment she caught a glimpse of the blood which steadily fled his jaws. Had action brought teeth to puncture the soft flesh housed within? Knocked a fang from his very maw? In truth it mattered little. All she cared for in the moment was the thrill of success, of catching the upper hand in that passing moment though before Raiden could reposition and attempt to tackle the man to the floor - he shifted first.

The harshness of his rumbled lyrics ignored as sights fixated on the blooded smile which spread ever wider to set fangs upon her. She thought to jerk back. Attempt to maneuver from the snapping reach of his jaws yet there was only so much room upon their shared slab. No spaces left between them as bodies touched in more places than she cared to count. However, in the end the press of his weight wasn’t something she could fight back though if she were to accept the inevitable future which awaited her, he would be coming too.

Forelimb shot up to coil about his shoulders near the base of his neck, pressing harshly in a grip she perhaps did not need though Raiden did not intend to leave this up to change. Refused to risk allowing him to remain upon the very thing which started this peculiar encounter. Breath fled her lungs in a rush, forelimb slipping from him as soon as her back hit the ground. A clouded daze settling over her mind as a world seemed to spin though there was certainty found in the weight of a body still atop her, his presence one heavy to bear all while the curve of ivory snared her features.

There came no warning, no rumbled snarl in her chest as she writhed beneath him to test the waters. Still enough space between them for a body to contort and squirm, hind limbs folding in feigned submission but instead of dropping to the sides feet turned up to rabbit kick him in the gut. Aiming low to catch the softest portions of his belly and punch against organs rather than the defensive structures of bone.

"Speak"

tw for language

BRAITH BRADSHAGH
Bow Before Me O Peasant of Plenty

It seemed the woman was far more stubborn than he initially gave her credit for, not even attempting to dodge his assault when his splayed fangs came flying at her face, a risk of them gouging an eye out if either of them moved a little too much. He had to give her some props for holding her own as well as her form could, not expecting his teeth to actually find purchase exactly where he had aimed. Though, he would quickly realize he had fallen into her trap of sorts as her limbs suddenly would cradle his neck, scooping him close and pulling him down with her, much to his annoyance, having never had anyone so easily use his weight against him. His ears would pin as he held back the desire to draw blood on her, only using his own jowls to get a hold on her rather than to damage her unusual face.

The last thing he desired was for his pelt to be dirtied by her likely diseased blood.

He’d release his fangs from her muzzle once her back was smashed into the earth below them, his paws resting on either side of her head as he took in her pose. It was more becoming of her to be like this, that submission that allowed him to loom over her with an authority that couldn’t be beaten. “Were we not close enough for you?” he taunted sightly as the wrap of her arms along his shoulders, shifting them with a roll so they would sit where he’d prefer. Temptation to claim her body would linger on his mind as he looked at her just as much as disgust lingered on his brow at the thought of her having been touched far too much already for him to ever hold satisfaction in her company.

Lips parted just a touch, debating on what to do with her now with her below him but he wasn’t allowed a luxury to ponder such for long as she chose for them both. A grunt as air was kicked out of him, feeling the digging of talons into his gut, his face wincing in pain. A growl of thunder would fill the bar, guttural as it was threatening from that last bit of his patience being completely fried.

There was no salvaging this wench any longer. Any lust he did feel for her dividing and fading in an instant as he now just craved to torture her but the crowd around them was starting to get heated. He could hear growls not his own from the audience that likely knew her and held respect for her that he was seeking to tarnish permanently, tail flaring back and forth as he eyed destroying her face.

“Break it up you fuckin morons and get out of my tavern before we throw ya lot out for breakin my shit and disturbin my peace!” the bartender would suddenly bark out from over the counter, hackles raised.

He would have continued if it wasn’t for the assortment of eyes turned on them and the rising hostility, even he knew when he crossed a line he wouldn’t walk out alive from. “Your lucky day, sweetheart,” he spat, jerking off of her to leave the tavern but not before spitting the blood from his mouth out onto her pretty little face.

-Braith exits unless stopped/followed-

code by claerie