Whitebark Stream is it a sin to find

as salvatore follows the trail, her scent grows stronger with each step that he takes, affirming that he's on the right trail. the icy sharpness of the winter air; clean and crisp burns slightly as he takes a deep breath, holding it in his lungs before releasing it. for the first time in his life, perhaps, salvatore draws forward with a flutter of nervousness in the pit of his stomach. where the confidence he once harbored? melted away at the uncertainty of how she would react to him and then how dawn would react to their coupling because, as artyom has pointed out, they would need to tell her, too.

the sound of snow shifting with deciding purpose is enough to draw him from the nervous flutter of his stomach and singular emberglow eye soon finds kaori: a swath of starless night against the snow and thick rooted base of the fallen birches. nesting, maybe? in the wake of facing her, of the potential consequences of their coupling — which he can't bring himself to regret no matter how terrified the idea made him — whatever armor he's built up to handle the abuse of his conquerer father is no where to be found.

❝kaori,❞ he calls out to her, a bit awkwardly, stopping a good distance away. just in case her reception is less than welcoming ( not that he would blame her ). ❝are you ...?❞ question is cut off abruptly as he changes his mind mid-inquiry. ❝how are you?❞