fieryknowledge | (no subject)

Ignis followed suit, nose to the ground with a low rumble. Everything smelled so damned good to him right then. Another quick snuffle of the tracks and his head was back up, vivid eyes peering off into the dark night. There was a quick wash of ichor from a nearby daemon, but there was no chittering or other sound and daemons were anything but quiet. Most likely a dead daemon, though, or the greasy remains of one.

Ignis had to check it out, more daring than his usual caution would push him to be. A quick chuff and he was off again, melting into the dark like a silver shadow.

Gladio continues to sniff out the tracks, tucking away the direction for when morning came. Ignis would surely enjoy learning to hunt later in his new form.

He almost misses his mate slipping away, and his head whips around to see hip slipping i to the darkness. A low noise rumbles in his throat, calling him back, but at the same time Gladio does trot off after him. He does not want to let the man go too far off this time of night, considering the daemons had free roam.

There was no sign that Ignis heard Gladio as he padded off, but once he realized that Gladio was following him, he sped up. He had no idea why, but something was driving him on into the night. Maybe it was instinct and maybe it was something as simple as making sure the daemon filth he smelled really wasn't a danger. He had no idea.

Ignis does not seem to hear him, but Gladio works to catch up to him as fast he can. With his eyes a bright amber he tracks the quickly moving silver figure ahead of him as Ignis moves faster. Gladio can feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, all of his senses zeroing in on Ignis...Waiting, just waiting for a move.

When it come, Gladio doesn't waste time breaking into a flat our run, sweeping in toward the other at a wide angle to herd him into the correct direction.

Right then, Ignis was lost in his instincts. All he knew was that something was chasing him, trying to herd him in and he didn't like it one bit. Rumbling his displeasure low in his throat, he sped up as much as he could with his still unfamiliar legs, angling himself away from Gladio as much as he could manage.

Gladio realizes Ignis is running from him, and this isn't great at all, especially so late at night. Moving faster his feet pound the dirt below him to catch up, forcing Ignis to veer back to the haven as he howls at the othee, asserting his dominance and assuring him of his presence both.

That howl earned Gladio a low snarl as he veered out again, trying to get away from the intrusive presence of his partner. In the mixed up mind of his, he saw Gladio as a domineering threat right then and he didn't want to go back. He wanted to run, and keep running until his lungs burst and his legs gave out.

How dare he keep trying to rein him in?

If Gladio got close enough, he'd see that Ignis' teeth were bared in an unhappy snarl, and any closer and those same teeth would snap at him in annoyance.

Instincts can be a dangerous thing, especially right after one hits their first change into a were. When Gladio hit his however he was still small, able to be controlled. Ignis is an adult and fast on top of that, he always has been.

But Gladio's stamina will hold out. Use to this form, use to running flat out. He doesn't bare his teeth to the other and stays just out of range, but even so keeps herding Ignis back to the blue light of the haven. Dodging the start of daemons, of sleeping animal herds, nudging Ignis to the direction he wants him but falling back as he can. After all the last thing he wants if for him to get hurt, but he has to, needs to exert his dominance over the other to secure his place with him.

To keep Ignis safe in the long run.

Openly snarling now, Ignis wheeled around, trying once again to dodge Gladio's efforts but soon enough, his paws land on the path leading up onto the Haven itself. He pelted up the gravelly path only to scrabble to a halt, his feet kicking up a small cloud of dirt around him. He was panting heavily, but that didn't detract from the way the blue lights from the Haven flickered an unholy hue in Ignis' intense stare.

The moment Gladio was back in sight and close enough, he bared those teeth again, growling a soft warning for the other to stay away.

Gladio pads up to the haven, dark brown fur with black streaked in patterns through it. His eyes are just as luminous but he remains silent, unaffected by the threat.

But he pads closer, and closer still. Deliberate steps daring his mate to lunge at him. If he does, Gladio won't hesitate to pin him down as he had before.

Verdant eyes followed each step, his head a slow swing as he watched his partner. The snarl died off into a low rumble in the back of his throat, though he never stopped showing his displeasure at Gladio's insistence. Muscles tensed up a moment later and those eyes that had been locked on Gladio flicked away just as he tried to bolt off, relying on his speed as if he knew that Gladio could still outmuscle him even in this form.

Ignis is tired and that alone does not make him quick enough. When he tries to bolt Gladio lunges, form stretching out into somethibg half man, half were that Ignis had seen the night of the full moon, and the night of his first transformation.

The extra height lets him land on Ignis and they tumble to the ground, Gladio quickly moving to pin the other to avoid shap teeth, even as he finally snarled back.

"Enough!"

He isn't a pack leader, not yet. But out here, by themselves... His authority would be hard to contest, espcially to his mate.

He tried to dodge. He really did, but Gladio had done something he hadn't expected, though really, he wasn't in much mind to really think. When Gladio downed him, he went into a tumble with a muffled yelp only to end up pinned under Gladio, face down and struggling.

The struggles stopped the moment Gladio's voice ripped through Ignis like a physical strike. All the fight bled out of him in a second and left him still under Gladio's weight, growling low in the back of his throat.

Ignis stops but is still tense under him. Gladio gets a clawed hand into the scruff of his fur and holds on, but his free hand runs through soft golden fur across his shoulders, down his back.

"Come back to me, my Iggy."

Gladio isn't going to hurt him, but he foes have to trust him. This is 't somethibg they both have ever had to deal with, the growing pains of a late blooming were- But Gladio does know how to be Ignis' rock in the storm, if nothing else.

"Come on, babe. You know I'd never hurt you."

Edited 2018-03-24 02:01 (UTC)

A few sweeps of Gladio's hand and the growling died off, but he remained tense. The adrenaline of the chase was draining away, leaving Ignis' mind wound tight while his body let itself wear out under Gladio's dominating presence. His muscles were still knotted up from his quickly aborted attempt to run and while part of him wanted to relax under Gladio's stroking hand, part of him remained on edge and just as unable to come down as he sometimes did as a human.

It is working, slowly but surely. Gladio sighed and continues to rub his fingers through his fur.

"My mate... Come on Iggy. Listen to my voice; let me calm you down."

He considers it his job to, after all. After all, he cared about and loved Ignis deeply. He releases the scruff of his neck, but is ready to grab him again if he bolts.

Wiry muscled tensed up again when he felt Gladio's hand loosen up on his neck, but he remained where he was. The voice was now soothing and one he knew well, but there was still an edge to him. His mind was locked in on something and for Ignis, that could be a good thing, or a bad thing. Growling again, he shook as if to try and dislodge Gladio's stroking hand from his fur even though he clearly wasn't about to try and run again. Not when he knew that Gladio had him outmatched.

This time.

Gladio lets his mind dig for a way to gelp his mate. And he finds it in his usual way, despite Ignis' new status as a were. He leans in and presses a kiss to the top of his head, both hands stroking through fur now.

"You're too tense, let me help? I want you to feel good, Iggy, and you know I can help with that."

He rumbles out, without words and low in his tone calling for his mate, asking him to trust him, to give to him. He presses his scent out against him, trying to either soothe him into changing back or at least giving him to control.

That tone struck something deep inside Ignis, his instincts wanting to answer that and when Gladio's rich scent washed over him, there was no way he could resist. It took some effort and longer than he would've wanted, but after a few long moments, Ignis had managed to settle back into his human skin. He lay under Gladio, the fine lines of his body still a bit tense, but it was already a good deal better than it'd been before.

Gladio is so glad when Ignis seems to listen to him, through he knows it isn't over yet, not by a longshot. Even as he turns back to human, brilliant and beautiful Gladio's large, paw like hands continue to move over him steadily.

Back in his human skin is good, but Gladio hadn't been prepared for the sight of all his marks still all over Ignis' fair skin. His breath hitches briefly as his fingers slide down to the bruises on the man's thighs, gently pressing into them, even as he leans his warm, heavy weight against the man's back for him to sink into.

"Oh gorgeous, I'm so sorry. Were you afraid of me? You don't have to be. I'll never hurt you unless it's to make you feel good."

He has changed back to mostly human as well, considering his need to concentrate on talking. Mostly in the face, but all of it, even caught in the middle of a shidt, is familiar and Gladio, everything Ignis already knows.

The pressure on his still bruised thighs made him tense up again, a soft hiss of protest escaping his lips. He was just now starting to get his breath back after his headlong run and subsequent tumble with Gladio so the sound was a bit softer than usual. He would've moved away but Gladio's weight settled heavy atop him before he could even think of it.

A new hint of something slipped into Ignis' scent then, something wary and maybe a trickle of instinctive fear buried in there as well and he had no idea he was even giving that off.

"I would hardly call that making me feel good."

At that hiss he catches what he is doing and pulls his hand away immediately. Gladio might make mistakes, but he is quick to fix them when he can.

"You're right, I got caught up in how beautiful you look wearing my marks." He admits, and moves off of the other. He helps Ignis sit up properly, even reaches over to snag his sweatpants that had been lying next to the fire from where they shidted, keeping them nice and warm. He hands them over to his lover and finishes shifting back himself, unconcerned about being nude.

"Are you okay, Iggy?"

Instead of taking the offered sweats, Ignis shifted back, away from Gladio's hand. The motion wasn't made with intent, just instinct. While Gladio wasn't concerned with being nude, Ignis shuffled around until he managed to curl up, effectively covering himself up. The whole while, he kept his gaze low, away from Gladio.

"What did you do to me? Earlier, with your voice."

Gladio actually does look a little upset at how Ignis inches away from him, but does his best to hide it from the man. This is all new to Ignis, and it is happening so fast that it has to be scary.

"I just... you know, exerted my dominance over you. Its a pack thing. I was worried you were gonna get hurt if you ran away from me again, and I couldn't let that happen to you."

Iggy may have seen it from Regis or Claus when a meeting was getting heated once or twice before, but it was unlikely to have affected him so much back then.

Ignis hadn't noticed Regis or mostly Clarus using it, though it wouldn't shock him. During heated 'discussions', both were known to raise their voice and oddly enough, things seemed to clear up once it happened. Now he knew the how and why of it and it disturbed him. It disturbed him enough that he climbed to his feet and padded off into the tent, settling himself in the security of his nest without even realizing that he'd done it seeking comfort.