Me-ooow! Woof!

.A 10th Kingdom fanfiction.

By VaRuka (Sloth to herself, Servant to everyone, Dominatrix to writing)

Author's Note: This is a my sequences of events after Virginia pets Wolf's tail, and before they get back to the Prison. Please review, cause you know you want to, and you love me, and you just want to.

Virginia cautiously pets his tail.

He sharply gasps from pain. She responds with nervous laughter.

"What, what?" She quickly looks up at him, gauging his expression.

Looking at her sideways, eyes wide, face surprised, he practically states as if talking to a slow child. "Not against the fur, with it."

She gazes into Wolf's chocolate eyes, a small smiling twitching her lips, and reaches for his tail again. He encouragingly nods with a smile of his own. Her hands begins stroking it lightly, delicately, while her eyes flicker from his face back to his tail. Wolf's smile is wiped away with the tingly caress she is giving his fur sends bolts of pleasure to his nerves. He briskly inhales, to shudderingly exhale.

"Nice . . ." He sweetly murmurs.

This time her laughter is genuine. "You're like one big kitten."

She laughs, again. Then smiles wide-showing pearly whites. Eyes shut, he musically keens over and over, like a blaring trumpet, piercing a cold spot inside her heart at his all to cute response. His head tilts her way, softly rubbing her shoulder as thank you. The keening is like a song of mingled grief and love. Her hand becomes more sure in its movements. She gawks down at his face snuggling her shoulder and his twitching nose inhaling her scent, then back down to his wagging tail in amazement.

"One big kitten." She repeats, overtly delighted, resting her head upon his.

Wolf senses danger has passed, and it is time to go . . . but to give up this intimate position with the love of his life leaves him with no choice, but to obviously stay quite nicely here with his face but centimeters from her pert breasts. Ah, but he doesn't want her to think him selfish. Oh, no, that is a bad quality. So Wolf will reluctantly-strenuously-remind her of their plan to free her father by putting a halt to these . . . he peacefully purrs . . . more lovely endeavors.

After moments of peaceful, comfortable silence, and her caressing hand upon his gratified fur, he terminates the silence with a rumbling-deadly-whisper. "Not one big kitten, my juicy Virginia . . ." Languidly, he removes his head from her shoulder, ecstatic at her luscious scent suffocating his nose, and jerks his body forward to slip from the tree branch and land liquidly onto the forest floor, gazing up into Virginia's intrigued hazel eyes, tailing cheerfully wagging.

"Wolf?" She hastily inquires, eyebrows creased, leaning down while keeping stable on the beanstalk's limb.

He opens his strong arms and extends them up, expression deviously serene. She takes the hint and launches herself down into his arms, they grasps her waist, bringing her body flush upon his as he lowers her feet carefully to the ground.

"One big and lethal . . ." He yanks his face right on hers, nose sniffing, eyes flashing an eerie yellow with slitted pupils. "Wolf."

Her feet silently touch the ground.

"I'm starting to notice," She examines his eyes, idly wondering how they do that, feeling as if spiders are crawling up her body, ready to inject deadly poison in her system, "with the tail, the eyes, and the howling, growling bits." She shakily retorts, going for casual but crashing and burning. "Now let's," She becomes all to aware of his warm hands splayed on her hips, "get going, okay?"

He backs away from her with creeping steps, seeing the realization by her now frigid form, while with a charming smirk he drawls, "My exact sentiments."

"Good."

She marches forward, right past him, mind whirling with the implications of what just happened, and what was said, emotions exploding. Twitching his head in her direction he growls, eyes flashing golden once again, watching her curvy form in the growing distance. More than a zillion thoughts swerving, dipping, leaping in his mind. He darts his eyes from her form, to the beanstalk, to the ground, back to Virginia, clutched in the throes of regret.

"Calm down, Wolf. You did the right thing." He animalisticly scratches the side of his head, a confused expression encasing his face. "Right?" Wolf heartily howls out in frustration. "Oh, Virginia, you don't know how much I want you!"

And after that outburst he hurdles to her side in a break-neck run. Panting, he falls into her pace. She keeps her eyes straight ahead, whole being focused on walking, not Wolf's handsome face or soft waggy tail or his little puppy whimpers or that sexy howling. Nope. Not at all . . . She can not take the silence, for it is not comfortable as it was on the beanstalk.

She tilts her head his way, and with scepticism asks, "Sheep worrying?"

His does a simple shrug, eyes averted. "Sheep worrying."

No more words, no expanding on the subject. She supposes it is much more, but he doesn't want the share its most likely horrifying details. And silence reigns for but three seconds before he breaks it with a splendid grin, and bouncing words.

"Goodness gracious, Virginia!" He booms, trotting backwards to face her, facade animated, hands moving very fast. "How do you think about a date?"

She quirks her eyebrows and sadly laughs. "I think you have an infatuation, a childish crush," Her next words are drawn out, "bordering on dangerous." Her lips pinch, face stony, as she remembers the first time he asked her that. "So, a big helping of no."

"Someday you'll say yes." Wolf gravely pronounces, all hyper activity leaking out, feet still, prompting hers to stop as well, eyes locked on her enthralled hazel orbs, hand gently gliding down her cheek with such care. "Someday you'll understand my love is true." She stares unblinking into his everything, frightened, bedazzled, furious, of his heated gaze and stabbing words, "As true as the moon rises at night, as apples grow from seeds, as food is cooked in ovens." Face but a centimeter from hers, engulfed by her sweet, sweet scent, and lost in her shining eyes, as tears begin to materialize.

She brushes her lips against his as a rash whim, eyes locked, feelings for him bubbling to the surface. His eyes widen at the tender contact, flashing a feral golden. Virginia slowly retracts, only to remain so close their breaths fuse, her eyes searching his with desire, body pulsing with it. This is but a glimpse of her bottled feelings-bottled love?-and Wolf can only fantasize about how a stark view will bring forth.

"Oh, what a creamy, luscious, succulent, yummy girl!" He pushes her on with the husky compliments, gives a small pause, while she harshly brushes her lips against his once more. "But so cold as ice." He whimpers so soft and brimming of pity.

She stumbles back from his now crouched form, gaze lingering on him with shock, and somewhat understanding. He sharply yelps in triumphant.

"But someday you'll say yes. And your ice walls will melt into a crystal clear puddle for me to lap upon!"

"Shut up, Wolf." Her voice drops to deadly, choking back sobs, wrestling back tears. "You have no damn clue about what you're talking about."

He sexily growls. "A wolf knows." He hops closer to her, eyes twinkling happily, and leans in casually. "We mate for life." A smirk curls his lips. "And you're mine."

She backs away even more, feet wobbly, wanting him, but screaming inside that she doesn't. He grabs a fist of his hair, yanks a bit, then releases the locks. Virginia reconfirms herself to have her back to him, and marches on, in utter turmoil, but with years of feeling as if there is so steady ground she has perfected denial skills. Hastily, Wolf violently scratches the side of his head in newfound worry.

"Maybe I shouldn't have said that." He whines to himself, leisurely following her swiftly ambling frame a yard or two ahead of him. "Maybe, Wolf, should have kept his big mouth closed. Maybe, Wolf, ruined all chance with Virginia." The word is out with sad sniffle. "Wolfie, you've been naughty . . . so naughty, why must you screw things up?!" He quirks his eyebrow from an inkling of hope found inside him. "Ah, don't give up now, there may still be a chance."

Up ahead she scoffs. "Stop talking to yourself. You're obviously not alone. I hear every little thing you say."

Wolf quietly keens, eyes wide, darting anywhere, everywhere, fingers scratching the side of his head, eyebrows jumping up and down, mentally trying to regain his composure. She half-smiles when she glances back at his contemplative form. That was the Wolf that was raving to her about how she is, and how she feels with such sureness it stumbled her off her high horse for just a second or two, that was the Wolf that claims his undying love, that is Wolf . . . ever-changing.

How can she deal with this?

A step at a time.

"Someday . . ." He mumbles really low to himself.

Virginia's smile is firm on her face until the prison comes into view, dark and spooky in the middle of the day. She falls to her knees and moves some underbrush to get a better view. Wolf clamors down beside on one bended knee, gazing up at the prison where he was once so depressingly confined. Oh, he does not want to go back in there for anything but, but Virginia.

Eyes flicker to her gawking form, mouth amazingly spewing dreaded words:

"Huffity puffity, there it is."

(i constantly wish

that you would say

you utterly hate me

for it would make it all

so much easier)

-By VaRuka