Phoenix Maplewood ii. "and i will translate you"

The elf holds still as he nears, the tang of blood curling harshly against her senses and inciting a prick of anxiety that she forces away. 

Cyan eyes slid hesitantly to the side as he spoke, buttermilk auds raising to half mast as she listened attentively. 

"Two-leg?" Elve murmured curiously, after she had pondered over the thought of how different their lives must have been. She could not imagine a world in which being a wolf was frowned upon; a world in which dogs were exalted and cared for. 

"Like..like a bird?" Confusion and embarrassment shaded her voice, for she knew that he likely hadn't been referring to any sort of winged creature.

She nodded, accepting his words but found it impossible to take them to heart. Perhaps in Ulysses very different world, one didn't need a pack. But in hers, it was harder to survive alone and it was a terribly forlorn existence - she craved the company of others and the security of a pack as much as any. 

Not only that but it was the Sami's duty to uphold the traditions of her homeland - to find a clan and become a wife to one of the men, to fill his den with strapping sons and sweet daughters. To forsake the ways of her people, to forsake the spirits - including her Totem, was to deny her very identity. It would mean angering the spirits, risking death and destruction. 

Still, she smiled gratefully, golden plume swaying softly. "You are kind."