Jade Fern Grove If only I had strength to change your mind

He returned the recognition, and a gentle warmth enveloped her chest. Nanook covered the final distance to reach him, her smile having grown a fragment further to touch her eyes in full. "I go where my paws will take me." It might have been wiser to stay in the ice fields, but she'd felt the itch to return here, if even briefly. And with this surprise, enduring the scorch of the sun suddenly didn't seem so bad.

"I'd say I'm surprised to find you this far North - but right now, and with you, I'd say that's the lesser surprise." There was a levity to her voice, and a question - she wished to ask what had led him here to the other side of the great barrier mountains - but she recalled how guarded he had been with her at first, so she simply left her statement open. Nanook reclined to her haunches, comfortable in his presence.