Ayasha had a new crush, from another pack again. She supposed that it showed that she was over Roran when she had her eyes on another boy. Liam was a rather nice boy, if not a bit angry at her from her teasing. She had taken it a bit far. So she was here at Cercatori d’Arte to apologize and to get to know him more. Though she wouldn’t tell him exactly how she felt about him. The last time this had happened, Roran disappearing on her broke her heart.

Ayasha approached the borders of their artistic neighbors. She stayed a few feet away and then howled for Liam. Dichali landed on her shoulder and said, ”You really shouldn’t have done that to him. Especially since you like him.” She gave him a glare and ignored him. He was right but she knew that already and wasn’t going to let him know that.

She sighed. ”What if he hates me forever now.” Her spirit guide looked at her sympathetically. She gave him a grateful smile but was still worried. This was her second chance to help make friends with Liam. He might be angry now and she would have to deal with that. But she wasn’t too worried.

He was in his shifted form today, a pair of black jeans and a black tank-top fitting him rather well. He wasn't fond of the heat, but it didn't matter as much today. He was sitting in the branches of a tree, using a claw to carve his butterfly into the bark. He was seriously debating on finding out whether or not his fathers girlfriend would give him a tattoo. If not, he was sure there were canines in other packs that would be willing. The butterflies were silent today, but he knew they would come again. They always came again.

A howl shattered his self-imposed solitude. He looked up, scowling. It was an easy move for the boy to swing down from the tree, landing on his feet soundlessly. The call was specifically for him. How...annoying. he hadn't met that many others, and the voice was female. Ayasha. Must be. He approached downwind, his face closed of any expression. He leaned against a tree trunk, crossing his arms. "Think I'm a pet that comes when called, kiddo?"

Okay, so she was a month older than him. It wasn't that big of a difference to him. He stared at her, his amber eyes unreadable. "What'cha needing?" He didn't really feel unfriendly towards her. He just wasn't going to admit that he liked seeing her standing there waiting for him.

Ayasha was a bit busy worrying about how Liam would react to seeing her when his voice came from behind her. She twirled around and saw that his face was expressionless. So she had no idea whether or not he was truly angry at her. ”You didn’t have to come. I didn’t order you to come. I politely asked.” She saw that he had shifted and was much bigger than her.

What did she want? That was a bit of a loaded question. Her eyes raked over his form, almost unconsciously. Her azure eyes swept up to meet his amber ones. ”I wanted to get to know you better. I rather like you and felt like visiting you.” So she had essentially just said that she had a crush on him. Maybe he wouldn’t really notice. She hoped so.

Ayasha then really showed her worry and fear. ”Are you still at me?” Her voice was small and her eyes searched his for any sign of what he thought. She needed to be careful. She was no longer on her territory nor was she bigger than he was. ”I didn’t want our meeting to end on a bad note. Can you forgive me for make you upset?”

His blank expression grew into a warm grin as she spoke. He pushed away from the tree, straightening. He wasn't quite done growing yet, but he was still taller than her. He approached the smaller female, his eyes locked on hers. He grinned crookedly, a rakish expression. "You're far too pretty to stay mad at, kiddo." His golden eyes danced with amusement as he tried to get a rise out of the blue eyed babe. He circled her, studying her.

"So you like me, eh?" He had a sharp mind. He noticed the change in inflection in her voice, leading him to -correctly- surmise she had a crush on him. He paused in front of her, grinning at her, his mind working rapidly behind his warm golden eyes. "Sure is tempting to go home with you, kiddo." He arched an eyebrow suggestively, hoping for a nervous giggle or a surprised stammer.

He knew he needed to play it delicately until he was sure of just how deep she cared. And in his own way, he liked her too. She was the color of purity, her eyes a sweet blue that looked at him so innocently. It touched him in a way where he wished the butterflies hadn't chosen him for their deeds. But they had. He reached out slowly, attempting to take her hand and kiss it gently, as long as she didn't pull it away from him.

She rolled her eyes at his expression and his words. Not this game again. But she did give him a smirk. ”Of course I’m pretty. Though you’re not all that bad looking yourself.” As she said this second part, she tried to draw her fingers against his chest. ”And you might want to show more respect to your elders.” Her eyes were filled with amusement at this comment.

Ayasha didn’t show her surprise, but she did wonder how he knew. No matter. ”And what makes you say that, Liam?” At his comment that was overtly suggestive, her eyes narrowed slightly. ”Don’t tempt me to take you up on that.” She definitely liked the idea of taking him home with her.

When Liam grabbed her hand and gave it a kiss, she also thought about pulling it away but rather liked the way her stomach tightened when he kissed her hand. Her eyes half-closed at the sensation of his simple kiss on her hand. She kept her hand in his, letting him be the one to let go. This was definitely deeper than her feelings she had with Roran.

Though she searched his face to see how he felt about her. It would be bad if she was in a one-sided relationship.

He grinned crookedly at her, stroking his fingers over hers. It was obvious how she felt, and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "A little birdie told me, beautiful." Not that he knew her spirit guide was a bird. He would have still said it even if he had known, though. He smiled at her, his eyes warm. "As for respecting my elders, I've never done it before. Why start now?" He winked at her again, reaching his free hand up to toy with her hair.

Words weren't his strong point, but he wanted to talk to her anyways. His voices was soft and sincere when he spoke. "I can't stop thinking about you, Ayasha. When I look at the sky, all I see is your eyes. Everytime I close my eyes, I can see you standing there, your arms crossed, smiling at me. I'm happy to hear you say you like me...I like you too. I do."

The butterflies mocked him for his weakness, for admitting to mortal emotions. They whispered at him of the darkness that would befall him if he continued this line of thinking with her. He kissed her hand again, trying to ignore the butterflies for a while, trying to be normal for just a little while. If his father could whisper away the butterflies for mother, why couldn't he ignore them himself?

She nearly shivered when his mouth was next to her ear. How did he know about Dichali? He probably didn’t. He hadn’t met her Spirit Guide yet. Though being called beautiful pleased her. But she did roll her eyes at his comment about elders and his wink. ”Maybe you should start, handsome.” Her words were slightly teasing.

Her eyes did widen as he started to talk. She searched his eyes and face and saw that he was telling the truth. But she wanted to tease him. ”I’d more likely be scowling at you.” But she wanted to make sure. ”How do I know your not lying to me? Can you prove that you like me?” She hoped that he would prove himself, somehow.

But she did give him a gentle smile at him kissing her hand. She did wonder what he would do if she gave him a kiss on the mouth. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to actually do it. She would let him make that move. Plus, she secretly hoped that that was his way of proving his affections to her. She rather liked all this attention, but then again, who didn’t? Every girl liked having romance in her life. So why should she be any different?

((Let me know if you want the PP changed. Though I don't think Ayasha would. LOL WC:3+))

With Ayasha, he felt different. He didn't feel as angry, as violent. He wondered for a moment if this had been how his father had made his mother feel. Softer. Less tense. He chuckled as she asked him to prove how he felt to her. That was a simple thing to do, and it would be fun to do, too. He used her arm to gently pull her to him, enfolding her in a sweet embrace. He brought his face to hers, giving her a sweet gentle kiss, his first kiss ever. He smiled at her shyly, nothing of the aggressive male in his amber gaze.

"Ayasha, you are the only one who makes me feel this way. You are the only one who drives away the darkness inside of me and makes everything light." A shadow had fallen across his gaze as he whispered the last. He'd never freely admitted that the darkness troubled him. While he embraced it, he fought it too, which was unlike his mother. He reached a hand up, stroking the smaller fae's cheek. She was so tiny in his arms, as though she were a doll he could crush easily with one hand.

Compared to other females, there was something about Ayasha. Other females were beneath his notice, they were lesser beings. He had little respect for a female leader, even. But Ayasha, he cherished. He had actually hoped to see her again after their meeting on her pack's borders. His golden gaze was gentle as he searched her sapphire eyes. "I can't say that I love you... its too soon for that word. But I do care for you deeply."

The butterflies were yelling now, but he ignored them, focusing on the sparkle of the female's eyes, focusing on the curve of her cheek and the slant of her smile.

OOC: That's fine.

IC: Ayasha gave a slight squeak as he pulled her into his arms. She wasn't hurt by it but wasn’t expecting it. But she definitely didn’t expect his lips on hers. Roran had never kissed her so this was her first kiss. And she really liked being kissed. She smiled at seeing a shy smile on his face. She pulled his head down for another sweet kiss, keeping it chaste. She had no idea how to make it go further so didn’t feel like trying anything.

She laid her head on his chest and listened to the rumbling as he talked. Though she did look up at the mention of darkness and saw the shadow on his face. ”Want to talk about it?” She gave a pleasurable sigh as he stroked her cheek. She turned her head slightly and nuzzled his hand, feeling very content.

At his words about him caring for her a lot but not able to say that he loved her, she nodded. ”Alright. But know that I also care for you. A lot.” She had reached up and cupped his cheek with her hand and used her thumb to stoke his cheek as she spoke. He was a lot different than even a few moments ago. She preferred him this way and would do whatever she could to help him stay this way.

((WC:3+))

The shadows in his eyes darkened as she asked if he wanted to talk about it. He started to shake his head, then stilled as she placed a cool hand on his cheek. His heart throbbed painfully in his chest as she told him how she felt about him. His arms compulsively tightened, wanting to keep her at his side, keep her pressed against him. He pressed his lips to her forehead, leaving them there, just holding her.

The butterflies whispered louder, reminding him if he told she would leave him. That he couldn't tell anyone else about their plans for him. He closed his golden eyes, swallowing. "Trust me, Ayasha...you don't want to know. The darkness... it would change how you look at me forever. And I don't think I could handle that." He nuzzled into her, hiding his face from her.

The butterflies were as loud as his heartbeat now. He drew in a deep breath of her clean scent. "Talk to me, Ayasha. Tell me about you, about your family." His voice was tense, the relaxation of his body having subtly stiffened. If she could whisper them away like his father had done for his mother, he would tell her anyway. He strained to hear her answer through the silken rustling of the sooty butterfly wings. His grasp on her was gentle, though his muscles strained perceptibly through his russet fur.

He could feel them brushing against him now, trying to remind him of his duties to them, of the destiny they held for him. It was the first time he'd really fought against letting them overwhelm him, and the sensations it caused were almost physical pain to him. In fact, they were physical pain. A throbbing headache had begun, making his eyes feel hot and swollen. His voice was hoarse and tight when he raggedly whispered, "Please... talk to me. Make them go away."

Ayasha frowned slightly as Liam didn’t want to talk about it. She understood why but didn’t know if it was a trust issue or not. ”Liam, I won’t think less of you if tell me. I’ll think better of you for trusting me enough to let me in. You do trust me right?” She whispered into his ear as he currently had his head in her shoulder.

She could see that his muscles were straining despite his gentle grasp on her. But she did tell him about her life and her family. ”My mother is actually my adoptive mother. My birth mother died when I was about 2 months old. I was partly raised by AniWayas true chief, Dawali, for a while. Then Ralla and Kemo adopted me. I have three siblings, Alaster, Ahiga, and Aleu. But Kemo left a few months ago. I have an uncle, Noss, in Cour des Miracles and a few that I have taken in. Only Noss is related to me. He’s my mom’s brother.”

She tried to think of stuff about herself. ”I’m a scout and like to sneak about. I can carve animals out of wood. I like to play with my siblings and I ask a lot of questions. I did have a crush on another boy a couple of months ago but he disappeared on me and hasn’t been seen since. Anything else?” She looked at him and saw he was in pain. ”What do you want me to talk about? AniWaya and AniWayans?” She whispered into his ear again and kissed his cheek gently.

((Wc 3+))
He focused on her words, focused on breathing slowly. The butterflies faded back into the recesses of his mind, their indignant whispers full of venom. The headache was still there, but it too had lessened. He was startled to realize she had stopped speaking just seconds ago. Ayasha had done it for him, she had whispered the darkness away. It was only temporary, but she had done it. He let his muscles relax, drawing in a ragged breath. He would tell her about them, about the darkness. He stood tall again, looking at her through clear golden eyes. He rubbed her back as he considered how to continue.

"Thank you, Ayasha... that is the first time I've been able to resist them, or even wanted to." He paused, frowning slightly, then continued in a soft voice, his words somehow coming out flat. "When I was young, my eyes not even opened, I could hear my mother talking about the butterflies. Father would talk to her, giving her the strength to ignore them. And then Azza came, and he killed my sister. Father says he killed Mother too. I guess that's why the butterflies come to me now." He paused again, a hand drifting up to Ayasha's mane, idly playing with a lock of it, his eyes distant in thought.

"There are shadow wolves everywhere, Ayasha. Evil, pure evil. Azza was one. Lucifer is another. He raped my father and marked him as his property. Father doesn't know I saw, but I did. The butterflies tell me my destiny is to cleanse the world of their evil. The only good black thing is the butterflies, but they scare me." He turned a haunted gaze on Ayasha, wanting to hold her closer, but wanting her to pull away if she wanted to run away from him. "They want me to destroy the shadow wolves. Every last one of them. And it scares me."

Ayasha wasn’t sure what had just happened but whatever she did, helped Liam relax. She gave him a nuzzle as his breathing slowed down and his muscles relaxed. She watched as he looked into her eyes and rubbed her back. It seemed like he need to touch her and she liked his ministrations. But this was not about her but about him.

As he talked about resisting them, she was confused, until he talked about his mother mentioning butterflies. What were these butterflies? She considered what he said about them, letting him play with her hair. She placed a hand on his cheek and stroked it with her thumb, not trying to get his attention but to provide him with her touch.

Her brow furrowed as he talked about black wolves being evil. She had met a black wolf whom she was pretty sure wasn’t evil. But she could understand where he came from. ”Liam, I’m sure not all black wolves are evil. There are good and evil wolves of every color.” At being scared of following the butterflies, she nuzzled his chest and asked, ”Is there someway I can help you?” She wanted to help him anyway she could. She reached up and placed a sweet kiss on his lips.

((WC:3+))
She seemed to realize he needed the physical contact, and she continued to touch him. He leaned into her hand, closing his eyes and focusing on the warmth of her hand on his face. Her voice was soft and sweet, even if he didn't quite agree with what she was saying. She kissed him lightly, and his hands stilled, holding her gently. His golden eyes opened, looking down at her. He swallowed as she asked how she'd be able to help him. "Be patient with me." He swallowed again, a frown creasing his face. "I'm not always sure what I need, or if anyone can do it. Sometimes the butterflies are so... entrancing." His eyes went distant for a moment as he thought, then re-focused on her. "Sometimes what they say makes sense. They warned me about Lucifer, and how he would hurt my father. They warned me to be still or he'd do the same or worse to me. And they talk about flames, about purification."

He looked away from her again, with the sudden belief that if he looked into her eyes too long, she would be tainted by the evil that followed him. A sudden helpless anger rose in him, and he removed his arms from the slender female, holding them behind his back. He stepped away, his eyes on the ground, on her feet. He swallowed. "You should go. I don't want to hurt you, Ayasha." His voice was flat, devoid of emotion. His facial expression was wooden, his posture neutral.

He didn't lift his eyes, his body was refusing to respond to his commands. His heart ached as he tried to convince the femme he adored that he would bring nothing but harm to her life. He wanted nothing more than to bury his nose in her sweet fur again. Still, the young male was convinced he was no good for her, that only ill would befall her if he tried to pursue his affections for her. Then, of their own volition, his golden eyes slowly lifted to her sweet blue ones. His amber eyes, which had been warm and caring only moments ago were again cold and unfathomable, shadows swimming in the depths of his gaze.

As he seemed to calm from her touch, she glad kept contact with him. She nodded about being patient with him. ”Of course.” Her voice was soft and sincere. Yet she listened to what he said about the butterflies. ”Do I help make them go away or at least not as loud?” She really hoped that she could help. But her attention was especially grabbed when he talked about flames and purification. ”What do they tell you to do, Liam?” Her voice was stern but sharp.

Ayasha was shocked as he suddenly stepped away from her and told her to leave. She frowned. ”I know that you won’t hurt me.” She wrapped her arms around his waist and put her head on his chest over his heart. ”I trust you.” She softly whispered. But the look in his eyes before she hugged him was cold rather than the warmth he had before.

She stepped away and looked helplessly at him. ”Are you sure you want me to leave? I can stay awhile longer, if you need me?” She was close to begging but she didn’t care. This was for Liam and his happiness. She wanted to hug him again but wasn’t sure how he would react to her hugging him.

Even though his arms were clasped tightly behind his back, she wrapped her arms around his waist. For a moment, his resolve wavered. The sweet scent of her rose to his nostrils, and he drank it in deeply. And then she stepped away. She had asked him a question, he belatedly remembered. About the flames. His voice remained the same monotone when he answered. "They expect me to destroy the evil ones, to purify them in flames. It would release their souls to the butterflies, to cleanse their evil from the land."

His shadowed eyes watched hers, the warmth of before refusing to return. "I don't trust myself around you, Ayasha. You are everything pure and good. But if they have a hold of me... I don't know what might happen." His voice cracked for a moment, his inner turmoil seeping through. "They don't like it that anyone can override them. You can make me strong, but if that fails... I don't want to lose you."

He didn't want her to leave. He wanted her to stay, to climb up into the tree he'd been lounging in and see the butterfly he'd carved into it. He had thousands of things he wanted to ask her about. He didn't dare ask her to stay, didn't dare subject her to the pain he would eventually cause her. Conflict roiled through him like a turbulent summer storm. His golden eyes dropped to her feet again, his shoulders sagging minutely, subconscious gestures of defeat. If she pressed, he would grudgingly relent. He didn't think she would, though. Why, no matter how much she cared, would she deliberately subject herself to his insanity?

Ayasha wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. But she just gently shook her head. She wasn’t sure what she could do to help him. She definitely wasn’t going to go around killing black wolves. Her lips were pressed into a thin line as she thought about how to keep him from doing those things. She wasn’t sure there was any good way for her to stop. She wasn’t even sure if she could stop him.

Her fierce gaze met his shadowed one. ”They’re going to have to deal with me whether they like it or not. I’m not going let you drag yourself into the darkness. And I sure am not letting them take you over!” But his words about not losing her made her realize that he might just love her, even if he didn’t want to admit it.

She saw his whole body sag in defeat and she went back to him and lifted his head to look at her. She then gave him a gentle kiss, while wrapping her arms around him. ”I’m not leaving you when you’re like this, Liam.” She made sure that she was looking into his eyes so he could she her sincerity. ”Now, what do you want to do?” She kept her arms around him, hoping that he would reciprocate the motion and hold her.

He gazed helplessly into her eyes, conflicted. "You should stay away from me, Ayasha." His protest was halfhearted, and when she wrapped her arms around him, he held her gently. He laid his head on top of hers, sighing softly in resignation. He'd never have someone unrelated to him care about him like this. Even his own father didn't seem to care, really. Or at least, he didn't bother to go looking for the boy. Liam pressed a kiss to the top of the Aniwayan's head.

He was glad in a way that she hadn't left, and in a way he felt guilty. Yet, she had chosen, of her own free will, to stay with him right then. He straightened, taking her hand and pulling gently towards his tree. "Follow me, I want to show you something." He had taken the time to slowly build a platform of boards brought from various places. It was his special place, besides the cubby under that porch. But the cubby was a secret place, the place where he hid when the shadow wolves were hunting him.

He gestured to the ladder with his free hand. "Climb up. It's safe. I promise." He grinned crookedly at her, even though his heart felt heavy. He could feel one of his dark episodes coming on. He had them sometimes, times when he felt low, when everything was still and silent. Then a day or so later, he'd be fine, better than fine even. Maybe the low times were the butterflies way of punishing him. He decided not to tell Ayasha anything else about the butterflies, that it would be safer for her -and him- if he didn't.

At his continued insistence that she should stay away from him, Ayasha gently shook her head. ”One of the many thing that my mom has taught, which I follow the most, is to follow your heart. And my heart is telling me that I should stay here with you.” She gave him a gentle smile as he wrapped her arms around her and laid his head on top of hers. She was content here in his arms.

She was a bit upset that he took his arms from around her and pulled towards a tree. But he seemed excited about something so she followed him to the tree with a gentle smile on her lips that reached to her eyes. The tree had a platform in some of the branches with a ladder leading up to it.

He gestured to ladder and encouraged her to go up. She looked at him and though he was happy, there was something a bit off. She started up the ladder and gave him a kiss on the cheek. ”I trust you.” She continued to the platform and settled on it. ”You coming up, hot stuff?” She was a bit teasing but wasn’t being mean. She saw a carving of a butterfly and gently stroked it. ”Liam, this carving is really good.” She knew that it was of the butterflies but didn’t mention anything else about butterfly.

((WC:3+))
She trusted him. She didn't know how much those words meant to him, the boy who couldn't ever even trust himself. He watched her climb up, then made his way up the ladder. She ran a finger over the butterfly and he felt a cold chill run down his spine. He tuned it out, watching her through his inscrutable golden gaze. "I'm sure its not that good," the male half teased her. He drew her to him, holding her gently, directing her to look up to the sky. The branches had been thinned just slightly so one could see the sky above.

"I like to lay here at night and watch the sky." Of course, the butterflies were louder at night too. He didn't mention that. He nuzzled the top of her head, then glanced back up at the sky. He spoke softly, almost afraid she'd tell him no, but more afraid she'd say yes. "Would you stay here with me tonight? I know it's not big enough to lay down, but I'd hold you..." He didn't look at her, his heart racing rapidly. He really wanted her to stay, but he didn't want her getting hurt, or getting in trouble for being gone too long.

His head was aching again. He reached his free hand into a pocket and pulled out a strip of willow bark and began chewing on it. Sometimes it helped his head to stop hurting. Today it helped a lot, as much as looking down at the slender white female he was holding and realizing she liked him for who he was and she wanted to be around him no matter how the butterflies made him act. That was a new feeling for the dirt hued male, to have someone care for him; He liked it. He liked it a lot.