Hushed Willows how came her eyes so bright? not with salt tears:

There was something about Dawn that Valiant trusted instantly and implicitly. He tripped toward her with his tail wiggling excitedly, and stopped to gaze up at her face. Something shot through him — affection, understanding, recgonition — and then passed just as quickly, leaving him with an adoring but confused expression on his young face.

He woofed at her and pounced on one of her sturdy paws, rubbing his face against the strange scent of her fur.