Blackfeather Woods meet me on the battlefield, even on the darkest night

She takes another step back, and although she seems to be less frightened by Damien than before, the shadow prince knows that she doesn't feel comfortable around him at all. He sighs and observes as Xivilai hides herself in the shadows. She mumbles something in a low voice, something Damien didn't quite understand, but that reminds him of his own brother at Xivilai's age, talking to himself like there was someone else inside. Much like the Speaker, this girl was a mystery.

"You don't care, do you?" he asked, not really even expecting a response. He got up and looked at her for a moment as if trying to decide what was best for her. There were no other thoughts than that Xivilai had a home now, and that if there was a place for such a peculiar girl to become something meaningful it had to be Blackfeather Woods.

Damien took a step forward, keeping his head at the pup's level, and nudged her back towards the den. By that point he had understood that speech wasn't probably going to help, so body language would have to do.