Ankyra Sound there's an aching inside

the sylph paused from ruminating in the grotto's hallows, her ears involuntarily pricked as the ghost of a faint howl trickled down the stony corridor. standing upright the wretch bid for the surface, crawling through mire and dust with a newfound purpose.

she emerged from the bladed copse with bedraggled fur and a coat scarcely recognizable as white; without bothering to clean herself she made for the source, the companion -- the wolf she had met many times before. when her gaze fell upon him she saw he looked as gaunt as ever -- but had he always looked so haggard? she studied his frame, wondering what great ceremony had caused him to seek her. silently she drew alongside him, though she kept her barbed tongue stilled.