4/26/2025, 2:42 PM
SKILL ranger 4/5
faust did not move.
he watched her with the same flat, hard gaze he gave everything else that crossed his path—a cold, weighing look that made no promises of welcome. tikigâk's heat-slicked form brushed against him, steadying the powerful tension that had gathered in his chest like a storm held on a tight rein. his ears flicked once toward his mate, acknowledging her presence without looking away from the stranger.
the woman had drunk, had dared to lift her head and meet his stare. he saw the flicker in her eyes—amusement, arrogance, something that stirred faint embers of warning in the back of his mind. faust exhaled through his nose, slow and heavy, a sound more animal than man, more statement than threat.
he did not speak. there was no need. the stiffness of his shoulders, the rooted way he stood between her and tikigâk, the casual shift of weight that placed him more firmly in her path—all of it made clear: he had no interest in conversation.
only that she understood her place here. and it was not at his side.
without breaking his stare, faust's tail rose stiff behind him, a slow rise of banner of unyielding claim. not a warning. a fact. the mountains called them northward, and he would waste no more breath on those who were not part of that climb.
he waited a beat longer, ensuring the message was driven home, before a grunt low in his chest signaled to tikigâk. ready to move. ready to leave the viper to her games and her hollow gaze. he had a summit to claim—and no patience for pretty distractions.