Moonspear Braveheart

His excitement was like a bright light, burning away at her sadness, or at least pushing the shadows to the furthest corners of her heart and mind. He seemed genuinely thrilled at the news and her black tail began to sweep side to side. It wagged all the harder when Floki reared onto his hind legs, wrapping his forelegs around her neck in a wolfish hug. She almost gave in to the urge to bury her face in his neck, yet he released her and drew back before she could. That was just as well; she probably would have wound up sobbing into his silky, silvery fur.

"You think so?" she asked rhetorically, smiling bashfully. "You guys still have room for me, right? Hey, once I'm in, can you show me where you sleep and stuff?" She paused, her breath hitching in her throat before she tentatively asked, "Do you think maybe I could spend the night with you? I've never slept alone," she admitted a bit feebly, feeling a huge lump forming in her throat. It was only a partial truth—she'd slept alone plenty of times while on the road—but every other night, she'd curled up by her family's sides at the rendezvous site.