Oystercatcher Tide Pools do not look for my heart anymore, the beasts have eaten it

There was a peculiar kind of desperation to Ksenia. Skellige watched her with narrowed mahogany eyes and tight lips as she proceeded to explain to him the falls of Warsaw politics. A curling smile began to wind gently to his leathery lips. Mother did not think that her favorite pupil was fit to lead the islands? It would have been impossible to hide his elation at this news. The woman did not seem to want a distance between them, but the dark-pelted titan felt it wise. The more steps she placed in his direction, the further he seemed to want to be from her. But he was still captivated by her words for the time being. Long ears were pricked to every rise and fall of her voice.
 
“… she doesn’t think I’m fit.”
 
Suddenly, all of his aggression seemed to rise to the surface and he took a threatening step forward, snapping his teeth mere inches from her face. “Because you aren’t,” he spat. “And you still haven’t answered my question. Where are the others?” His face was stern now. The fur along his shoulders and neck seemed to rise threateningly towards the icy she-wolf. No matter the circumstances, Skellige refused to believe that Ksenia had travelled alone.