Vacation Time.~

He'd contacted the all of two people that actually outranked him and told them he was going to be taking three weeks of vacation time, of which at least a week was going to be spent entirely off the grid in the deep forests. Camping. With Demi.

The looks he'd gotten were hilarious. Assumptions of things happening that hadn't even appeared in his mind; far as he was concerned he was going to take her out and show her the backwoods and places that no outlanders ever saw. It was a chance for them to properly bond, as it where; to get to know each other without the distractions of his duty schedule or interruptions by other people. Much as he loved her sister, she had a habit of showing up just when they were settling into comfortable relaxation; or one of his men would call for him for some reason that 99% of the time his SiC could have handled easily.

Now? No distractions. No little sister. No duty. No nothing; save for them and the wildlands.

A vacation? Damn right.

He'd packed plenty of gear for such a short trip; hell, he'd only taken any because of her. He was functionally immune to cold in his tiger form, and he could easily live for weeks off a single hunt. She was strong, but she could still succumb to the rigors of the wildlands. A proper tent, proper sleeping bags and mats, extra fuel for a small space heater that could actually heat half a stadium without much effort, plenty of water purifying tablets and gear to be safe, etc. Add in his daggers, bow, quiver, and arrows, and they would be plenty safe and happy.  Everything he had fit easily in a single pack that he could wear in either form without worry; thankfully the majority of the gear was extremely light, and other than the sleeping bags being rolled for quick unrolling, compressed into tiny little compartments that made for easy storage. No hulking, unbalanced, back breaking packs to lug, no need for pack animals; just the two of them.

He was just waiting for her to arrive with whatever she was taking with her; he'd told her to just bring the bare essentials for her; whatever special foods or whatever she absolutely had to have, and he'd cover the rest. While he waited, he double and triple checked the ties and straps; they had to be exactly right before they left, or else they risked problems later on.

A vacation.

With Flynn.

The word vacation didn't mean shit since she didn't have an actual job; but when you threw Flynn into the equation it meant everything. She was going to have three weeks of just him, her, and the nature around them. No random interuptions. No random sister appearing. She loved Sicarius, she really did, but her sister seemed to have a built in radar when it came to Demi trying to have some quiet time with Flynn: even if she just wanted to talk and get a chance to get to know him better.

For this trip she had dressed warmer: she couldn't exactly freeze to death per say but she could feel the cold and it would start to slow her down after a while. So, her cloak had been traded in for an even warmer and thicker one, the long sleeved shirt and pants she wore were likewise thick beneath it, fingerless gloves covered her hands which allowed nothing more than the tips of them to be visible for proper gripping, and finally fur covered boots. Everything of course was soak-proof, and breathable enough for her not to overheat yet thick enough to keep her warm. Long white-blond hair was in a braided crown around her head to keep it from being in her way. She carried beneath her cloak a single small bag: it held just the basics and nothing more - which mainly consisted of special bagged blood and a small book. Nothing extreme or that would get in the way - and since Flynn had said he'd handle the supplies she wasn't worried about needing anything else.

As prepared as she was going to get she reached Flynn within a few minutes, a huge grin on her face and excitement gleaming in her eyes. She couldn't wait to get this trip started. "This is gonna be fun."

"Indeed." He was just pulling the pack onto his shoulders; still in his humanoid form and actually dressed in a 'normal' amount of clothing for once. Instead of his usual half finished uniform of pants and a barely fitting vest over his bare chest; he was wearing slightly baggier then normal pants, an almost sweater level thick long-sleeved shirt, and a very, very long scarf wrapped loosely around his neck with the end trailing down to the base of his tail. Extra protection, just in case he had to spent time in that form and it was colder then his fur could handle on it's own. Not likely to happen, but better safe then sorry; and so long as he was in tiger form, it wouldn't matter. Soon as the bag was on properly, he pulled the chest clasps closed and shifted forms; with the extra strap across his chest it was like the bag was attached to a harness and wouldn't come loose no matter what.

"You can put your stuff in the spare pouch attached to my bag if you don't want to carry it. Plenty of room in there." He moved closer to her, making sure he brushed against her in a looooong full body nuzzle, complete with a happy purr; before shifting to give her room to put her stuff away if she wanted. Well, that, and dropping to lay down so that she could climb onto his back and ride him; again, optional, she was free to walk if she wanted, he just felt like offering.

An easy shift of the strap that attached the pouch to her shoulder and she was able to slip the thing free from herself and the confines of her cloak. The purposeful affection full body nuzzle didn't escape her notice, and it made her even happier to know that she was going to have three full weeks to look forward to filled with said gesture. Yup, happy Demi was extremely happy.

When he came to a stop she placed her small bag into the spare pouch where she knew it'd be more than safe: besides, the bags of blood were so reinforced it was going to take either claws, fangs, or an extremly sharp knife to even try and pop the damn things, which of course was exactly why she'd chosen to have it bagged like that. Less change of leaks. Less change of a ruined meal. Not that she needed much at all: she was just playing it safe... or paranoid. Either or.

Knowing she was likely going to be light as a feather to Flynn she didn't mind climbing onto his back for the free ride: they'd likely get there twice as fast without her having to worry about a miss step, or him worrying about her. She got a decent grip on him while being careful not to pull fur: she could only imagine that was being a rather painful thing she'd like to avoid. "How long is it going to take us to get there?", she asked curiously.

"Maybe half a day, with you riding on my back." He rose to his feet and began walking; he'd go slow for the first bit until they hit the deeper forest areas. No reason to run when his normal long strides were as good as a run anyway. "You can hang on tighter, if you need to. We're likely going to end up climbing some, so you'll eventually need to hang on pretty tight. " It didn't take but a few minutes for them to be back out in the lightly forested areas they'd been spending most of their free time in lately; his enormous paws spreading wide on the dense snow and acting like snowshoes. Even with how heavy he was, he was barely sinking into the snow; just enough to leave dinner plate sized prints behind. He was an apex predator, why bother hiding his tracks?

Easy steps, easy movements; nothing was hard for him in the lowlands. It wouldn't be until they where moving upwards into the high mountains that anything would be an issue. "Look around, the forest seems empty, doesn't it? Yet... there are all manner of animal all around us. Lowland deer, rabbit and winter fowl... enough to feed a civilization, and none to be seen unless you know what to look for."

The first actual obstacle, anyone else would end up wasting a day having to climb down and back up the small canyon; or else lose three or more days going around it. "Hold tight, Demi." Paws shifted a bit in the snow to compress it down more; giving him a perfect platform to start his running leap. Ropes of muscles shifted beneath his loose hide, storing energy for the explosion of power he needed. It was just that, an explosion of sheer speed and power; half a dozen quick bounds before he launched into the air, seeming to fly across the 50 or so feet of the canyon mouth and landing a full 10 feet beyond; paws skidding a bit in the fresh snow before coming to a halt. "Simple enough, eh? With any luck, we'll hit an ice wall; those are all manner of fun times."

Demi shifted her grip so that she could hold on tighter: she had no urge of falling off when he got really moving. When Flynn spoke about the forest around them she focused her attention to it and from what it had been on: which of course was Flynn. When she looked at it as an average person likely would it did indeed come across as empty: but when she allowed the instincts she liked suppressing, the hunter within her, to look around she saw things and heard things from a whole different view. She knew she really needed to learn to just be herself - instincts and all - and figured that'd just be one of those things she spent the next three weeks working on. "It does seem very empty... at least until I stop being stubborn and let all my instincts and senses work - then not so much." Of course she didn't like allowing her brain to do that since she constantly worried about losing control of herself.

When he told her to hold tight she adjusted her grip more: and then had the time of her life as he launched himself across and landed. She laughed softly, grinning from ear to ear. "That was fun~" Oh yes, this trip was definitely going to be amazing.

"There won't be many of those, sadly. Canyons are more common in the lowlands. There will be plenty of climbing, though." Now that they were across the small gap in the earth, the land was obviously starting to change; trees thinning significantly and the gently rise to the land giving way to rougher terrain and uneven land. He was heading generally higher, but instead of attacking the hills and smaller mountains head on, he was moving in the trenches and through the gaps between them; this was the easy terrain; they could easily run into other people this far south.

No, he'd take her nice and deep; to where the rare beasts lived, where they'd be truly alone.

"You should not fight yourself. Caging the inner beast just makes it angry; or so my grandsire tells me."

"It wouldn't be so hard if I didn't worry about losing control of myself and accidentally hurting someone." She looked around as they went, noticing how they began to go higher. "I suppose I worry I'll snap or something if someone angers me and then accidentally hurt someone I actually care about. My own father doesn't try to control me when I'm like that because he feels it's pointless, or he otherwise enjoys watching me actually act like a vampire for once..." She wasn't quite sure which one it was of course: knowing her father it could be either or, or both.

"Then again... something tells me that with this whole 'mine' thing popping around in my head that if something did happen and I went a little... crazier... I still wouldn't hurt you - and I'd likely be more willing to listen if you asked me to stop: compared to anyone else I'd probably try and eat for asking me that." Ah yes, her strange vampire brain. It was true of course: no matter how angry, hungry, or generally just out of her mind she might end up she could never harm Flynn because that base instinct that said he was hers would prevent that. It'd also make her more than willing to listen to him during those crazed moments. He'd be the only one safe enough to get close.

"You would be hard pressed to injure me even if you wanted. We're not so breakable, my kind. Not like the outlanders." The more she spoke of her feelings for him, the more he equated it to the way his own people would bond with their true mates. Oh, they'd take lovers and such without much thought; as a people they were extremely open in regards to dating and the like, until they settled down with their proper mate. After that, well; they called it Bonding for a reason. He should have been worried, should been discouraging this; while not forbidden, relationships with outlanders were considered as being passing flings; even serious relationships, when they happened, rarely lasted long; because the Daione would eventually Bond to one of their own people.

He... didn't see this ever happening. If he was truthful with himself, and her, he would have realized he was already pretty well imprinted and bonded to her; all that was really left was for them to get to know each other properly, and eventually other things. Right now? He just wanted her close; wanted her all to himself; just to enjoy her company and all that. They were plenty young, they had plenty of time for things later.

"We shall be far enough into the deep woods for it to be safe. You can relax here, as can I. It will do us both good." He was finally moving up a hill; or rather the base of a mountain. They'd have to move up and over it; cross the valley behind it; and then they'd be in his clan's lands; beyond the reach of just about anyone.

After a few moments of thinking his words over, of knowing that they were true and that she couldn't easily injure him, she stopped suppressing her instincts and senses. The only physical change that would show for the moment of course would be her eyes slowly changing from the light blue they had been to a very light violet color: her natural eye color. Had she been walking instead of riding along his back her movements would have been suddenly more graceful, footsteps more sure, especially as she began to see and hear the world in a whole different way then she had been moments before.

She focused for a moment on what was around her, noticing how everything came to life again. She could hear things she couldn't before, see things that she otherwise would have missed. It was like waking up from some half-asleep state: one she had put herself into for years. Yes, there'd be no going back to dulling her senses just to keep herself under control. She was just going to have to learn to live like this. "You know... when I stop ignoring everything it sort've feels like waking up from a really, really, long nap.", she said with a sudden chuckle. She was indeed amused with herself.

Of course, these awakened senses came with something else too: her ability to become distracted slightly like Sicarius kicked in. Especially when she watched a pretty bird fly past overhead. Yup, the Malkavian was fully awake, and it was probably a good thing she was on Flynn's back compared to walking, else she'd probably walk into, or through something.

"That make sense, in some ways. You are suppressing part of yourself, almost pretending to be something else; so in a way that's exactly what's happening." He slowed to a stop directly in front of a sheer cliff face. It was a decent one, a good two hundred feet of sheer verticality; and then rocky, nasty ledge above it. This was getting into big horn sheep territory; he'd be surprised if there weren't a few floating around. Laying down like he did when he was letting her climb up or off of his back, "I'll need to shift for this; you can hang onto my neck and waist while I climb.".

It took her another moment to actually get used to the heightened senses: she supposed it was likely what a freshly turned vampire felt like upon waking up to such super senses. However, it took her only a few moments to adjust. When Flynn lowered himself down again she climbed off of his back: far more graceful and light footed then she had been before - something she noticed but didn't comment on for the moment.

Her head tilted back for a moment as she looked up at the sheer cliff wall in front of them. She wasn't worried about Flynn dropping her or falling, but she was curious as to how long it was going to take them to get up this obstacle that had presented itself. A small smile slipped across her face and remained there. "You know, we might have to do this more often... this little adventure is already turning out interesting and fun." Yup, more traveling through terrain other people would otherwise avoid with the one person she felt like spending massive amounts of time with? Yes please!

"With a little planning, we can easily take these trips when the weather is right." As soon as she was off his back, he shifted forms so that he was kneeling on one knee and mostly upright; a neat trick of his people, they could shift out of their animal form and into any position they needed to. Saved time, and was helpful when they had to move quickly. Adjusting the pack slightly so that it was settled properly against his back again, "Hold onto my neck; if you need more grip, I can tie you to me, or you can wrap your legs around my waist."

He waited for her to get settled and tighten her arms around his neck before moving to stand; one arm wrapped around her waist to support her when her feet lifted from the ground. He really was a good twice her size, if not almost three times. Big tiger was big, after all. The base of the wall was easy enough, he could take that one handed so long as he had a stable grip with his feet. The higher they got however, the farther apart the hand grips where, and he was starting to almost jump between them. He'd need his other hand fairly soon, "Hold on tight; it's about to get fun."

Demi waited until he had shifted forms before holding onto his neck as he instructed. She made sure her grip was tight enough for her not to slip off and end up falling - ability to fly or not, she had no intentions of risking it. She wrapped her legs around him as well for the added support and then grinned as he started climbing up higher and higher. When he instructed her to hold on tighter an eyebrow rose out of curiosity but she obliged.

She tilted her head backwards slightly while being careful not to pull on Flynn; curious to see how much higher they had to go.

Right, time to be all kinds of acrobatic and showy; although the general acrobatics was gunna be needed to clear the cliff. They had a good half the cliff left, and they'd cleared what was going to be easy. No more half embedded boulders and tree roots to help fill in the gaps between cracks in the rock. "Now for the fun..."

He was switching claws now; he had two sets, the razor sharp retractable kind that he'd been using for the climb; and a set that normally weren't retracted, similar to how a lion or wolf claw would be. These were stronger overall, and wouldn't tear out if they ended up baring their combined weight. Rock cracked and snapped slight as he forced said claws into a solid spot; anchor to take his weight as he walked his long legs up enough to get his knees bent like he was going to lunge. That was pretty much what was happening; he was lunging upward so hard that he was ripping the rock apart with his claws.

He'd covered a good 20 meters or so when he caught a more solid layer of rock which caught his arm. Exactly what he was going for; his shoulder could rotate freely over 360° without worry, and it was now a rotation point for him; he was running around himself to stand on said arm in the split second before his claws pulled free and he leaping upward and towards the right again; flipping upright midair and landing against the rock face with four sets of claws catching for balance. There was a fairly wide, stable crack in the wall here; he could use it to climb the next dozen meters without much effort; even stand on it in a way when he got to the top of it. Glancing around for the best way up from there; he spotted a small, solid enough looking ledge above and to the left by only about 3 meters.

Shit, he could jump that easily; damn near reach it if he leaned over; but he wasn't risking that fall from high enough to shatter even his spine. He flipped around so that his back was to the cliff face, knees bending again and launching him upward; he was aiming straight and using a hand trailing against the rock to find a rock he could push off of. Straight up from where they'd been was smoothish rock he couldn't use; the striations screamed a softer sedimentary rock that wouldn't support them both; he had to follow the bedrock layers. He hit the jackpot just as the rock was changing to the soft fluff of the non-bedrock, a shard of something sharp but hard and stable enough to use.

Grabbing it with both hands, he let his body swing upward around it until he hit the top of his arc and used his feet to run downward to give them the horizontal speed needed; releasing his hands just right for them to arc to the ledge; barely wide enough for him to stand on with his shoulder shoved to the rock face; and only a stepping stone. He'd gotten a good look of a split in the rock face; stained dark with obvious water drain off; in the spring it would be a hell of a seasonal waterfall; and gave him his way up. Feet his the ledge and he was leaping for the waterfall; hands and feet catching the far lip and absorbing the residual energy like a spring to send him bouncing back and forth up the wall. They reached the top in seconds and he was midair again; this time on top of the cliff and with plenty of room to land lightly on feet, knees, and hands. "And we're up. You alright?"