Nova Peak Mind,

The ascension was slow up the pathway. It was not far up the caves; Taikon used the journey as a chance to get to know the emblazoned she-wolf better.
Asra spoke of her Court. The bowing now made more sense. Traditional courts were the type to follow such formalities. Technically, the Kingdom of Faruka also had a court, but it was not much of a subentity. His mother had put it in place in order to give certain members of nobility the guise that they were partially in charge of decision making. In reality, she was quick to oust anyone who did not act as a sycophant for her.
Ah, see, I was born in a Kingdom. Here, though, I am but dirt from the perspective of others, and so I bow, he explained. His wording started to slip into an older, noble way of speaking that he had long ago abandoned. This happened sometimes when he was reminded of his origins. Clearly, the two of them had more in common than he thought they had in the beginning. Taikon was not the type of person to open up easily to others, and so he left the rest of it unsaid as she had.
As they moved further up the path, a borderline violent gust of wind whipped past them. Taikon nearly lost his balance, forced to plant all four feet down hard on the ground to avoid being swept away. Instinctively, he placed himself between the wind direction and Asra, standing sideways to shield her.
When the wind passed, he let out a short, breathy laugh. Well, you wanted cold, he offered a lopsided grin.