Totoka River baby, when I whisper, can you hear?

So caught up in the sense of relief that she was safe and here it takes him a moment to realize something is wrong. He expects a more typical reaction – for her to be writhing below him in excitement, pawing and licking in return, playful and affectionate. Instead she nearly cowers, flattening her body into the sand and curling in on herself.

A hot jolt of anger surges through his veins – not at her, but at the immediate thought that someone must have hurt her. His large forepaws press down into the sand on either side of Seelie so he takes his weight off her, hackles ridging up between his shoulder-blades, lips twitching up over his teeth in a silent snarl as he runs his muzzle along the length of her back, searching for the scent of whoever harmed her, for whatever injuries they may have inflicted.

But there is nothing there. Just her. Smelling like the sea and the island and Seelie and the thick musk of heat. His short-cropped ears fan to the side and flatten back against his skull, the anger quickly dissipating into confusion and concern. “Seelie,” he repeats for possibly the twentieth time then stands there silently a moment, his tired brain trying to play catch up and figure out what he’s missed here, because clearly he has missed something.

His gaze sweeps towards the island – maybe something wrong there? Something happened to Moorhen? No, no, she wouldn’t be here if that was the case, she would be there. Something bad happened at Morningside? Catori? No, because she would still be there. A soft whine slips his throat as his problem-solving skills fail to give him any useful information. It doesn’t help that her scent is very very distracting.

The Gampr lingers where he is though, standing over her, ever the protector even if in that moment he can’t figure out what she needs protection from. Eventually, he dips his head again, noses against the back of her neck and exhales into the thick fur of her ruff. “Tell me?” What’s wrong? What happened? Let me help fix it. Please.