Dawnlark Plains here we are again pretending [m]

Tavi watched the clouds as they drifted, finding that her natural impatience had lessened since she had last spent time with Reek. She was content with staring up at the sky for some reason — and wondered, briefly, if this spring would be filled with wind and storms. She had no idea there was a storm brewing within the maplewood, nor one potentially crackling to life at the riverside; these things were not important to her anyway. Somehow Tavi had become a hedonistic mess of greed and ego. And the worst part was, she was fine with everything.

She thought of all the things she could say to Reek. The way Esaro had attacked her days ago, or his recent display of social ineptitude. The chance that she had prompted him to seek out the Sleeping Dragon wolves — or maybe even her own encounter with one of them. The more she thought about it, the more she felt invested. Tavi wanted to talk about anything that put her at a mental distance from what they were really doing; the guilt that manifested was not wholly reserved for Esaro's antics, but her own. She was displacing her own feelings upon Esaro, knowing somewhere within herself that these games with Reek would not last.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw a figure on the horizon, doggedly following her winding trail. Tavi stood up before Reek reached her, feeling a swell of energy in the pit of her stomach, a warmth flooding her — and with a wag of her tail, threw aside her thoughts. She paced up to him and wedged her head against him, then reached with her teeth to grab at the fur of his neck, bringing her body up alongside his. For a moment she thought they didn't need words — but the silence began to bother her.

Did you get away? her voice was a bit hushed, and Tavi held off from her administrations to level her head over his shoulders, peering towards the maplewood just to make sure. Did you get away - were you followed? Are we safe? Can we -- play? She didn't need to say more, and swiftly resumed her nibbling before he even responded, clearly pleased that they were together again.