Put On A Pretty Face

Well, at least the punishment doesn't start tonight... Elias got up as they were dismissed, ignoring the runt as he headed to his room, a persistent glue-scented cloud following him. It was honestly starting to irritate him beyond words because he'd tried everything to get it to go away. It was especially bad because after he'd pretty much stripped of everything except his boxers and a shirt and laid down to go to bed, he ended up being kept up for a long time by that smell until he finally managed to drift off.

The next morning, he got up early per usual, maybe a little later than his normal. He dressed and headed downstairs, the glue-cloud having diminished quite a bit, and was about to bound out of the house for his morning run when he was suddenly reminded that punishment started today, and he couldn't go running without the damn runt... with a noise of frustration, he changed course and headed back towards the bedroom area, quickly finding her room and went in without warning. "Time to get up," he announced rather loudly.

---

Since she was no longer at the party, Hickory had changed out of the dress and somehow managed to get her hair down from the intricate knots it had been tied up in. After a shower and spending quite a while on scrubbing make-up off her face after the fact, she had changed into some more comfortable to sleep in. She had pulled her hair back up too, but this time in a simple ponytail.

Then, because she knew she had a wait ahead of her, she'd found a book to read. Wolves actually were only taught the basics of reading and writing, and only that much on the off-chance that whoever bought them would want them to do something that involved it, though it usually wasn't the case. Though she wasn't the best, Hickory did enjoy reading. It just took her longer and there were more words she didn't recognize than was the case with others. And that was what she had been doing when she heard the knock. She started at first, but then realized who it must be, and she went to open the door for him.

Arya was used to taking her runs after everyone else because at least, she got used to sleeping in later than the rest of the pack. She was still fast asleep in her wolf form, at the foot of her bed. She jerked away, on instinct, moving to the other side of the bed before she looked up to see what was going on. Tensing at the sight, she jumped off of the bed before making her way toward her closet. Glancing back to him, she let out a low growl to get him out of the room. She wasn't changing in front of him.

Once he left the room, she shifted and quickly changed into her yoga pants and her sports bra. Shoes on, she chewed on her lip nervously as she opened her bedroom door. "Let's go," she mumbled, head lowered as she followed him. She wasn't all that sure she was okay with running through the woods with him, alone.

---

Darcy entered the room without a word and moved over to the bed, sitting down immediately. He didn't feel like standing any longer, he was tired and he wanted to sleep more than anything but this was necessity. Whether he wanted to deal with it or not. He drew in a deep breath before he looked up to her, raising an eyebrow. "I expect you to be completely honest with me," he said after a moment.

"What all did she say to you?" HE asked, wondering if her reaction even warranted a punishment or not.

Elias let out a small snort as she growled at him, but it got the message across. He was satisfied she was awake, so that was all that mattered. So he walked out of the room, closing the door after him, and leaned on the wall in the hallway until the runt came out of her room. Once she did come out, he led the way to the front door silently, and soon they were heading out towards the woods.

But while Arya was dressed to run in human form, Elias shifted about the time they reached the tree line. He'd have to go slower so she could keep up with him -or run circles around her- since they were supposed to run together, unfortunately. Or he could just go off on his own and wait for her to finish before heading back to the house... the idea definitely had its merits.

---

Hickory briefly considered just telling him everything she'd said that had actually caused Hickory's outburst, but figured it would be better to just say everything she could remember in this case. So she spent a moment collecting her thoughts, and then sighed. "Well, she tried to use you to taunt me for a little while... something about how you didn't want to be seen with me, that I was a status symbol and I'd only be around until you got bored and threw me out... told me a story about how you gave away the werewolf before me as a gift." She paused. "Then there were actual insults... she called me trash, a disgrace to the world, that I would never amount to anything... and that's about it, I think."

It was all she could recall at the very least. She wasn't really sure why he wanted to hear about what Brittany had said to her, but pushed it out of her mind as she stood there, watching as the wheels of his mind worked.

@ varkatzas.
(we keep forgetting this xD)

(what're you talking about? the reply is right here )

Arya was quiet as they reached the woods, tensing as the beginning of the trail came into sight. She took a deep breath, glanced at Elias' wolf before taking off. She wasn't pushing herself quite as much as Elias probably wanted her to because she didn't want to be too tired to do any of her tasks later on in the day. That was part of the reason she always ran by herself.

When they reached a fork in the road, Arya put her head down and focused on her feet. She didn't particularly care which side he took because she wsn't changing her running trail. Besides, even if he went the other way, they would meet again before the end of the trail anyway.

---

Darcy was quiet, drawing in a deep breath and glaring down at the floor. He gritted his teeth, trying his best not to grind them too hard. He glanced to her and then to the door and back to her, again. "Don't listen to anything that she had to say - there were extenuating circumstances that led to having to get rid of my last wolf, nothing to do with getting bored of her," he said, rolling his eyes at the idea. He wanted to go right over to their house and smack the shit out of the girl but that was certainly out of the question.

"If this ever gets brought up around you again, ou were punished appropriately. That's all you ever say, understood?" He said, raising an eyebrow. He wasn't going to punish her for something that he would have done - perhaps he should have but he didn't care to. Not right this moment, anyway.

(hmm, wonder how that got there )

Elias was well and bored by the time they got to the fork in the road. He might as well have been trotting like a docile dog for how fast they were going. So when they reached a fork in the road, he made a quick decision. He took the path she didn't and gained the speed his wolf craved. He ran the rest of the trail this way, and even started to go for another lap, turning around about a quarter of a way and jogging to the end of the end of the trail.

Once there, he abruptly laid down in the middle of the trail, laying his head in his paws. He was the very picture of a bored wolf, completely still with his ears pricked forward. All he could do at that point was wait for Arya though, since she took so freakin' long. Annoying, but necessary due to their punishment for the antics of the previous day.

---

At first, Hickory had assumed that the bad mood was addressed towards her, and she was therefore surprised at what she was told. It actually took her a few beats before she could get an answer out. "Yes, sir," she said, barely able to keep her voice even. But after that, she fell silent again, not really sure if there was anything else to say -or if she should. This was probably the worst mood she'd seen him in yet, and he was generally unapproachable even when in a good mood.

So all in all, it just seemed to be a good idea to stand there silently until he either said something else or left -she highly doubted he was just going to lay down right where he was sitting on the bed and go to sleep.

(magic probs )

Arya turned away slightly so she wasn't facing Elias completely. She was silent as she ran past his wolf form, in no way excited for breakfast because she still had to be attached to Elias by the hip. She was silent as she slowed to a walk, her earbuds in as she moved through the field and up to the house. God, if every run ended up like this, she was going to go insane.

Heading up to the bathroom nearest her room, she decided to get a shower. Partly to freshen up and... well, partly to get away from the punishment she had to endure for God only knows how long.

---

Darcy was tired and the longer he sat there, the longer he sat there, the more he was feeling like it was a better idea to just lay down and go to sleep on Hickory's bed. After all, why not? He did own the bed after all, didn't he? He let out a groan as he moved back to lay down after kicking his shoes off. He had pulled his suit jacket off and decided to unbutton his shirt. A few scars littered over his body and he was silent as he looked up to the werewolf. "Come on, lay down," he muttered, putting his head back so that he could close his eyes. Not bothering to pay attention to her, he set his drink on the nightstand closest to him and felt himself start to drift off to sleep.

(Ahh, that makes sense I suppose )

Elias got up, shaking himself out as the runt ran past him, and he silently followed her out of the woods. He didn't shift until they were close to the house, and said nothing as she headed towards a bathroom. He headed to his room, grabbed some clothes, and went into a different bathroom to get a shower.

Unfortunately, he ended up having to wait on her after that. Girls took forever in the bathroom, and he wasn't allowed to eat until she got there as well, despite how starved he felt. So he ended up impatiently waiting while staring longingly at the food until the runt finally got there. He still had to wait until she sat down, but he hardly paid attention as he finally was able to get some breakfast.

---

Hickory just stared at him for a long moment after he'd laid down and made himself comfortable on the bed. At his words, she sighed a little. She ended up shifting into a wolf and jumping up onto the bed. However, she couldn't curl up into a ball without laying on him so she ended up stretching out beside him and laying her head in her paws, ears flicking briefly. Then, before long, she fell asleep.

Arya was both excited and incredibly nervous at the same time. Her heart was pounding as she looked at herself in the mirror, wearing her wedding dress. This was the day that she had been waiting for since she was little because in her community, they were taught that they didn't have any real worth until they had a husband and kids of their own. And she was finally getting to marry a man that she had heard quite a lot about, Elias. Yet they hadn't spent more than a few days together before now.

Her heart pounding as she turned, she walked with her father to the doors they were to walk out of. The ceremony was outside. As the last of the bridesmaids left, she looked up to her father and smiled nervously. Arya took a deep breath before the music began and she began to walk down the aisle, toward her new life. It was obvious she was nervous as she looked to the man at the end, Elias. While she could certainly say she liked hi,, she was still unsure about being in love with him. And nervous about the prospect of sleeping in the same room as a boy was nervewracking.

---

It wasn't until the next morning that Darcy had realised that Hickory had slept in wolf form. At first, he had been surprised but he realised that he didn't care all that much. Whatever, if that was how she had been comfortable, he would deal with it. He yawned as he moved to stand, stretching his arms as he looked around.

Darcy stood and made his way downstairs, not particularly having any plans for the day. He sat at the dining room table and crossed his arms, waiting for someone to serve him breakfast. A few minutes later, he was served a hot plate of food and he asked for someone to go fetch Hickory because she was still upstairs and it was beginning to irk him.

As sad as it actually was, his wedding day didn't feel very eventful for Elias. He'd only been around Arya a couple of times, met her for the first time a couple of years ago actually. She seemed like a pretty okay person and looked pretty enough, but the whole thing had been arranged within the pack, not by them. There was no love, and there might never be. But after today, they would be mates. They would have to live together, and they would be expected to have children.

So Elias couldn't really say that he felt excited or even nervous... he wasn't really sure what the feeling was, actually, but he was derailed from that all of a sudden as music began and so did the ceremony. Soon Arya was walking down the isle on the arm of her father to where Elias was waiting, and once she'd made it to the front, the real ceremony began. It was long and monotonous, rings exchanged and everything, and then it was time to kiss the bride.

---

Hickory had just gotten out of the shower when the flurry of knocks came on the door. It turned out to be someone to tell her that she was wanted in the dining room, and she headed down as soon as she got dressed, hair still dripping. She was back to dressing in a t-shirt and had shorts on today rather than jeans.

But because she really didn't think she should keep him waiting longer than usual, she didn't have time to brush the tangles out of her unruly hair before she'd headed downstairs. "Yes, sir?" she asked, assuming he'd wanted something since she'd been called down. She was usually free to her own schedule to a certain point, and couldn't remember ever having been actually called down first thing in the morning. Then again, there was a good possibility that last night played a part in it.

Arya was silent as she moved down the aisle and she was quiet, it was evident she was nervous as she looked to her soon-to-be husband. Her mouth had suddenly gone dry and it seemed to be taking her longer than necessary for her to say her vows. Her eyes widened the slightest bit as the final words were spoken and her husband's eyes fell down on her, as did everyone elses'. She swallowed the lump in her throat as he kissed her, unsure of what to do so she just set her hands on his chest and started to return the kiss only for him to pull away.

Turning toward the crowd while holding his hand, Arya forced a nervous smile to her lips as they began to walk back down the aisle. She didn't know what was about to happen because she had been kept more or less clueless about how a marriage worked and she glanced toward him, chewing on her lip as they reached the doors. She was silent, unsure of whether he would want to make a minute to talk before the party began or what he would want to do.

---

Darcy was silent as he continued to eat his food, not bothering to answer Hickory's words nor acknowledge her presence. His face was void of emotion as he mulled over his options and for a moment, he considered just letting it go completely. but then, Hickory was a reflection of himself and he was a disciplined man with a strong hand in his business and he couldn't afford for his business to suffer because he chose not to make her pay.

He cleared his throat as he finished his meal and finished the rest of his milk. Finally turning his gaze to Hickory, his face was hard as he raised an eyebrow. "This indiscretion is going to be ign9ored for the moment but I am going to warn you that if such a thing occurs again, a punishment will be more severe. So watch your tongue next time you are around anyone. Is that understood?"

Arya was silent as she moved down the aisle and she was quiet, it was evident she was nervous as she looked to her soon-to-be husband. Her mouth had suddenly gone dry and it seemed to be taking her longer than necessary for her to say her vows. Her eyes widened the slightest bit as the final words were spoken and her husband's eyes fell down on her, as did everyone elses'. She swallowed the lump in her throat as he kissed her, unsure of what to do so she just set her hands on his chest and started to return the kiss only for him to pull away.

Turning toward the crowd while holding his hand, Arya forced a nervous smile to her lips as they began to walk back down the aisle. She didn't know what was about to happen because she had been kept more or less clueless about how a marriage worked and she glanced toward him, chewing on her lip as they reached the doors. She was silent, unsure of whether he would want to make a minute to talk before the party began or what he would want to do.

---

Darcy was silent as he continued to eat his food, not bothering to answer Hickory's words nor acknowledge her presence. His face was void of emotion as he mulled over his options and for a moment, he considered just letting it go completely. but then, Hickory was a reflection of himself and he was a disciplined man with a strong hand in his business and he couldn't afford for his business to suffer because he chose not to make her pay.

He cleared his throat as he finished his meal and finished the rest of his milk. Finally turning his gaze to Hickory, his face was hard as he raised an eyebrow. "This indiscretion is going to be ign9ored for the moment but I am going to warn you that if such a thing occurs again, a punishment will be more severe. So watch your tongue next time you are around anyone. Is that understood?"

@ varkatzas.
Elias honestly wasn't really sure what to say. They'd met less than a handful of times, in a controlled environment, for short periods of time where they'd hardly talked. They barely knew anything about each other aside from essential things, and now they were married. Until they became comfortable around each other, things were going to remain awkward.

"We should probably get ready for everyone since they'll be here soon..." Likely, they were already making their way to the room, even as he and Arya stood there. He led her towards the back of the room, where they would sit, and sure enough, no sooner had they sat down, guests were filing in through the doors. Getting acquainted with each other would have to wait until all of this was over with.

---

Hickory at first was confused as to what 'indiscretion' Darcy was talking about. Considering it was first thing in the morning and she hadn't had the time to do anything wrong, it took her a moment to realize that he meant what had happened the night before. "Yes, sir," she answered dutifully, hoping there wasn't a next time that she would have to be around that witch of a woman. And knowing that she would defend herself again if it did happen again.

Though she didn't know it, she was different in personality from quite a few wolves. Many were resentful towards those who had imprisoned them -of these, some caused problems and others moped. Others were simply obedient and didn't think too much. Somehow, Hickory had just come to accept where she was in life with tolerance and hope that things would eventually get better for wolves. There were some things she wouldn't take sitting down, and other things she simply accepted as something that she had to live with. She was really just all around odd.

(I just realized we basically have like... nothing for these two as far as plot xD)