Whitebark Stream All my fears could be Irrelevant

he listened to her story with rapt attention, fixated on the foreign names and titles. when she finally arrived at the "moral," so to speak, mentioning his father again, surya had relaxed and the tears had subsided. still, he looked uncertain, eyes focused on her face as she spoke.

the yearling desperately wanted to believe her—and most of him did! but there was that infinitesimal doubt, lurking. . .

your culture is not like mine, surya answered, giving aphrodite a weak smile. in my family, they mate for life. i've never heard of something like your story. but. . .i understand. i think. looking sheepish, he grazed his muzzle over the top of her head and took a step back, chin cocked slightly in query.

can we go slow? i have. . .never had a mate before, he admitted, a wry chuckle caught in his throat. i don't know at all what i'm doing.