Emberflame Ridge She appears in his dreams

Reek found himself much more comfortable now that Tavi had made her way back home, now hopefully to stay. There, in the safety of the grotto, Reek knew he could shelter her from harm. It was an instinctual drive, strong in its nature, to keep both her and the pups she would soon birth safe and sound. Though he had failed to admit his growing feelings and emotional attachment towards Tavi to her in a verbal sense, let alone to himself, he felt the swift undercurrent of his feelings evident now more than ever.

She pulled away, causing Reek to exhale a short and shallow breath. Turning toward the grotto, Tavi set her course toward home. As she stepped forward, Reek called out, "Tav, wait—" the conversation he had with Jhala crossing his mind as she went. He bit his lip: awkwardly, uncomfortably. While Tavi was away, Reek had come to a conclusion of his own. He opened his mouth again, this time, to ask her to be his mate -- the only solution Reek could imagine for their little predicament -- but his voice stopped cold in his throat. This, however, was not the proper time. Here, on the outskirts of the grotto, there was no magical moment between them signaling the proper moment to label their relationship. Even still, Reek wondered if there would ever be a proper moment: things had become too complicated, too fast.

He shook his head and sighed, defeated. "Nevermind," he managed to croak. "It's nothing." It was a lie, but this time, he directed it toward himself. "Let's go home." There would be other times, more opportune times, to talk about such things. And so, Reek placed one tired paw in front of the other and followed Tavi's course back to the grotto.