Laika chuckles as she sees Ferox wave his tail, she speeds up her long legs giving her big strides. Laika follows Ferox, falling behind at the pattern. She was clearing the obstacles easily enough, but it slowed her. She was fast on her paws and decently agile but Ferox was definitely more agile then she was. Laika was enjoying the run though, she felt free. For the first time since becoming Alpha she felt normal again, and for that moment she forgot all about her pack and the territory and all the issues. And Laika liked to hang around Ferox, he didn't judge her the way her packmates did. She felt like she could truly be her around him and he truly liked her for her.

Ferox glanced back to see how close Laika was, then picked up his pace slightly, although he still wasn't going as fast as Laika was moving. "You can really cover ground when you want to!" he called back, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground ahead of him so that he wouldn't trip over something and make a fool of himself again. Ferox darted around a stone, continuing in a straight path from there. He knew he could keep running if he wanted to, but he wanted Laika to catch him, so he slowed down a little, pretending to stumble over a branch. 'She would have caught you anyway,' he thought. 'It's just quicker this way!' Ferox smiled as he recovered from the false stumble, but his pace was slower now.

Laika laughs,"My mother was always fast, I suppose I got that trait from her." Laika follows Ferox's path, throwing her own compliment of some sort. "I may be fast, but your agile!" Laika chuckles as she speeds up, watching as Ferox slows down. In surprise Laika misses a stride and slows down a decent amount. She didn't expect Ferox to slow down, but with another burst of energy Laika was moving quickly again. Covering ground within a few seconds, once close enough Laika readies her body. Then she launches herself forward, keeping her claws and teeth sheathed. This was a playful pounce. Laika aims to come down on top of Ferox, aiming to tackle him to the ground.

Ferox grinned at Laika's complement, but the grin faded as he heard Laika's pawsteps rapidly approaching and he put on one last burst of speed so that it seemed like he hadn't slowed on purpose. Then he gave a yelp of startled surprise as she launched herself at him. He felt her hit him and they rolled to the ground, halting the chase in its tracks. Ferox momentarily had the breath knocked out of him, but he recovered quickly and gave Laika a huge smile, getting to his paws and shaking dirt and grass out of his pelt. "Didn't see that coming," he laughed, trotting to her side. He sat down, panting and waited to catch his breath before saying, "I can't remember the last time I had that much fun!"

Laika grunts at the impact, the two crashing together and then they rolled together for a few feet. Then Laika continues rolling a bit further, falling off of Ferox. Laika laughs as she lays there for a moment, the wind rustling her fur. Laika lifts her head, excitement and enjoyment in her eyes. Laika flicks an ear at Ferox,"That was the point." Laughter in her voice as she sits up, shaking off the dirt, grass, leaves, and small twigs that had gotten stuck to her pelt. Laika grins, agreeing,"I can't either. I don't think I've run or chased anyone like that since I was a small pup, playing with my siblings!" Laika gazes warmly at Ferox, adrenaline running through her body and gaze.

Ferox listened to Laika, catching his breath while she spoke, and once he had recovered, he stood up and cleaned off some dirt that hadn't come out of Laika's pelt, carefully licking her fur until it was clean. He backed up and wagged his tail, giving Laika a small smile. "Me neither," he said. "It seems like such a long time ago that we frolicked about without a care in the world." Ferox gave a sigh, casting his eyes downward for a moment, then looked back up at Laika, meeting her gaze. "I'm really glad I met you," he said quietly. "Thank you for all this." He stared into her eyes for a moment, then, before he knew what he was doing, he leaned his head forward, nuzzling her, then quickly licking her cheek.

Laika shivers as Ferox cleans her pelt, however she doesn't move and allows him to get the little bits of dirt still left. Once he sits back down, Laika grins. "Indeed. Oh, my siblings and I use to play constantly. Seraphina would have to constantly remind us to be careful, not to get in the way, make sure to eat get water, and all the needed things." Laika laughs at the memories. Laika pauses at the sigh, then at Ferox's next words Laika perks up. "I'm really glad I met you too." Laika holds Ferox's gaze,"Thank you." She responds, then mainly in shock she doesn't move as Ferox leans forward to nuzzle her then lick her on the cheek. For a moment Laika doesn't move, then she grins, tail wagging. Leaning forward to nuzzle Ferox back, sort of burying her head under his chin.

Ferox was caught completely off guard by Laika's sudden reaction and he almost took a startled step backward, but he stopped himself. Ferox grinned and rested his head on top of Laika's, putting one of his forelegs over her shoulders, his tail wagging so hard his entire back half was moving with it. He didn't know why he felt so insanely glad that Laika had responded this way... Then it hit him. He supposed he had known it all along, but he was only just now admitting it to himself. His first impulse was to keep it to himself, but- well, he couldn't. "Um, Laika?" he said, suddenly feeling awkward as he took a step back. "I've got something to tell you. I suppose it's kind of against the rules, but then again, we've been doing that since we first met." Ferox gave a weak grin, then it disappeared as he sat down. "Laika, I- I think-" Ferox trailed off, then abruptly stood again. "Never mind," he muttered, turning around quickly so she wouldn't see him blushing.

Laika smiles as Ferox rests his head on her head, and wraps a leg around her shoulder. Her own body shook slightly from her own tail wagging as well as Ferox's. After a few seconds Ferox begins to speak,"Yeah?" Ferox takes a step back and Laika straightens up, her head tipped sideways slightly. Laika's eyes widen as he speaks, she knew what he meant, how could she not? Because she felt the exact same way. Laika's ears go down as Ferox stops, then stands up. Spinning around so Laika couldn't see his face. Laika sighs, before getting to her paws and trotting over to Ferox. "Ferox.."

Laika pauses, trying to find the words. "We've known each other for a while now, and we've been hanging out for a while now. And honestly, I thought we wouldn't go anywhere but friendship." Laika flicks an ear as she sits back down. "But, I've never felt like this for anyone ever before. And..." Laika tips her head back to stare at the moon, growing quiet. Was she ready to admit this? She knew she felt it, but everything about it was against pack laws. Their packs would kill them if they ever found out. Laika looks back at Ferox, she was willing to risk it. She was willing to risk it all. Laika takes a deep breath and continues. "Ferox, I love you."

Ferox listened as Laika spoke, but he kept his face turned away. He realized that he'd been pretty obvious about what he had wanted to tell her, and he winced inwardly, knowing that there was no way it could work. 'You should have kept it to yourself,' he thought. Still, though, when Laika said that she hadn't thought they'd ever be more than friends, his heart sank a little. 'What'd you expect?' he questioned in his head. But then... Ferox felt hope kindling as Laika went on, and he finally turned around to look at her. She stopped talking for a moment, and Ferox waited nervously, his heart hammering. Then, she said four simple words that changed his life forever. For better or for worse he had yet to tell, but at that moment, it was the best thing that could possibly have happened.

Ferox froze, his gaze fixed on Laika. Everything else seemed to fade away until there was nothing left but her, and Ferox stood up and slowly walked closer to Laika, his gaze fixed on her eyes. He blinked once, then suddenly any mental restraints were gone as he quickly lunged forward and happily hugged Laika close and licked her cheek, his tail wagging harder than ever. He didn't care about the law, he didn't care about his pack, all he cared about was what was right in front of him. No matter how forbidden this was, it was worth it in every way. "I love you too, Laika," he said, finally backing away from her, a huge smile on his face. "I don't care how forbidden it is. You're more to me than any law our ancestors could come up with."