Grouse Thicket put on your war face

Laurel was surprised when he said that he would protect her, maybe because she didn't feel like anyone had genuinely wanted to protect her all her life. It was easy to miss out on the wolves who had been there for her in the light of her disappearance to Larksong Grotto; she'd been so young, and already that period of her life was becoming a blur. She'd never intended to go to the Grotto forever, but when her mother had come to their borders demanding her to come back and then calling her names, she just couldn't bring herself to return to the mother that had left her just as much as Reek had. Perhaps it'd have been different if it had been Casmir and Laika at the front lines that day.

Still, it felt like the first time, and she smiled for a brief moment. She didn't think that Reek or Jhala would protect her at all (nor that they'd excuse her from fighting, because they needed everyone on board to be able to take over), but somehow the word of someone she didn't know at all seemed credible.

"Thank you," she said, feeling a little bashful all of a sudden, and she looked away shyly, though she had no idea why.