King Elk Forest i will paint you in silver; i will wrap you in cold

Mona's shifts were so dizzying, Nathaniel had found, and he could not take his eyes away from her. He was again left confused, rendered speechless. The feeling was disconcerting, but not unwelcome; that his firebird had not simply walked away made something in his chest suddenly clench into a fist, a tense ball of emotion he could not identify. The ex-soldier could only decipher that this was... good. More good than bad, anyway, he decided.
Nathaniel was grateful for the quiet; he took to the opportunity to brood enthusiastically, but it didn't matter the next moment. The ex-soldier would have flinched from the touch, had it been anyone else. His surprise was far more gentle with Mona, and even if he had the heart to reject the comfort he would not have wanted to. Something like dread pooled discreetly at the corners of his thoughts, but Nat lacked the awareness to put it to any sort of context, so he dismissed it. This was surely harmless.

It was some time before he spoke again, and before he did he took a moment to brush his nose along Mona's ear. It was perhaps to his benefit that he did not quite understand their interaction-- had Nathaniel been anything but oblivious to the gradually-blooming connection, he would have sought to destroy it utterly in this moment.
I have to find my brother. It was a solemn announcement, punctuated with an uncertain flick of his ears. Eventually. I'm not sure where he is, but Burke-- my father-- said he was in these lands. Along with more of my kin.