The Heartwood my irregular heartbeat is starting to correct itself

Don't mind Raven, haha. She's a bonehead. :P

When he mentioned he was from the Vale, she suddenly remembered the travel-worn she-wolf that she had met not so long ago in the meadows very near here. "I met someone from there not long ago," she commented with a grin, her eyes lingering on the picturesque peak in the distance. "Chusi. She's an interesting wolf." That meeting had been pleasant, and so far this new acquaintance from there was shaping up to be a very friendly fellow as well. To say her impression of the wolves of Northstar Vale was good might have been an understatement at this point.

Her eyes moved back to Mouse and met his -- and for the briefest moment, she was struck by how beautiful they were, like gleaming chips of glacial ice -- before she glanced down at the same time he did, feeling somewhat abashed. She had never been one to take much interest in the opposite sex, but Mouse really was very handsome. She felt her cheeks grow warm and, as she lowered her head and tried to force her attention toward signs of prey, she regretted that the caldera's food shortage had left her looking so skinny and awkward.