Nova Peak i'm just a girl

"I love you," he whispered. The fragile words took flight next to her ear, flared bright and scattered ghosts of themselves into the wind. Something popped inside Bazi's skull, far away and much too quiet. She turned towards him, eyes averted, staring pensively into the river. Their bodies had caused a traffic jam, and water was rushing fast around their hindquarters. Someone with the concept of traffic jams might have imagined horns and curses.

She was pushing him away. She knew it - perhaps not consciously, not all the time, but the signs were not hard to read if one peeked out of one's own ass. The solitary trips to the Emberwood, the unnecessary busyness - "the children need me", "the pack needs me", "I need time to myself". Bazi winced inwardly. She could not recall the last time she had given Scimitar any recognition for the hard work he put in to keep them safe, and happy, and together. Guilt squeezed her heart.

Bazi touched her cold nose to her mate's, seeking his eyes. "I know I've been.. off," she told him quietly, pitch rising. "And I'm sorry."