The Sentinels I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem

Lotte endured her scolding with mischief and eagerness yet dancing in her argent eyes; there were times she was a terrible listener, truth be told. Fortunately for her, Dagfinn was there to keep her in check — she dipped her muzzle humbly with an apologetic lick to the sharp, masculine angle of his jaw as he gathered his thoughts, and when finally he spoke she beamed with pride. “Of course she did!” cried the soot-stockinged rogue, having the utmost faith in her twin’s romantic prowess despite his lacking experience. “A wolf would have to be dead and rotting not to respond favorably to you,” she reassured him, bumping her muzzle enthusiastically against the underside of his chin. She sobered as he uttered the name he had given the girl — Murhe Sala, she mused, ai, Brontide, your niece is lucky to have met my kaksonen — and intoned with rich solemnity, “It is a beautiful name you gave her,” she praised him.

Unless vulnerability was a mask to be used to her advantage, few saw this quieter, softer side of Lotte. Around her siblings, she was completely honest and unafraid to admit those niggling things she feared or disliked. She listened, enraptured, as Dagfinn told of his adventures — but a stinging desire to leave this forest and join him for the rest of them caused her restless paws to flex involuntarily. As Dagfinn could always be counted on to protect Lotte’s secrets, so too could she be trusted to keep his safe and sound. She did not dare repeat the names or information Dagfinn gave her, not even to taste of the words and their foreign, exotic flavor — she merely locked them away to think of when she was alone. “If I visit,” she said with utmost respect and precision, “you know that I will take care. I need not even be your twin, if that would arouse suspicion.” He knew of her usual aliases — Kaniini and Kitku were most commonly used, but there were others.

For a time, Lotte was quiet — she, too, had concerning thoughts that perhaps only Dagfinn would be able to solve. They were secrets, too, and she leaned forward to whisper them in his ear, a twist of her dark lips betraying her indecisiveness regarding the whole thing.