Now that they were close, Leaf could see the scars more clearly on his body. There were old ones she recognized, but also new ones that had formed and seemed fresh. Unlike him, she knew that more wounds would come with time, and she hated him for it. Though there was nothing more admirable than protecting those one loved, her selfish side wanted him to be safe and healed. Noticing that he favored his left paw, she reached to lick the sore spot, despite knowing that kisses did nothing. Her affection evaporated when they returned to the topic at hand, however, and she shook her head in disagreement. If the only reason he felt safe was because he could bully others into submission then he--well, he was a wolf. Nothing more. She also thought his view very narrow, because even though he did not care for himself, weren't there others he needed to protect? Sometimes, protection merely meant staying alive for someone else. Yet another thought flitted through her mind. It shined bright pink, then red. Light and temporal as a butterfly. The thought that if she were here by his side, would he protect himself then? With that the butterfly vanished. "But Bazi does not support Ferdie as you do," she said. "When I talked to her, she seemed to trust you, not him." Bazi had claimed that Ferdi was sick in the mind, as if he could not help but being mad. "How can two best friends share such different sentiments?" she finished with a bit of spite. Licking her lips, she sighed. "Let's make peace between the two packs. It doesn't have to be this way! I want to be able to see you without feeling so disloyal, so dirty. Is it so wrong that I--that I like you?" Her ears flattened against her head, but her tail flicked in annoyance. It was not as if he were the only wolf that she cared for in this pack. There were others, too. It just seemed silly that all the subordinates were suffering for what seemed to be a misunderstanding between leaders. |