Noctisardor Bypass i've build a wall behind every step i've taken

It was Mahler who drew up beside her. Two wolves each wearing a mask, cloaked in lies because the truth was too bitter and ugly to wear out in the open.

When he first approached Laurel startled visibly, but soon managed to calm herself down. Her heart continued to raise despite his friendly demeanor. It was different now that Xan did not stand beside her. Do you really think he could protect you? Different to see a man, a powerful man at that, approach her. If he wanted anything, she was powerless. Laurel kept a guarded distance between them with this fresh on her mind, though there was a friendly wave of her tail and a smile on her face.

The mask came on easy enough.

I'm doing good. You didn't lie, it's a nice place. Laurel offered him a kind, almost bubbly smile. I haven't seen Xan around for a bit, but I'm sure he's somewhere. He had promised to stay with her (perhaps that not so much in words, but he'd promised to protect her and he wanted this family, too) so surely he found not be gone. Much like her, he'd been very on his own in Easthollow. Perhaps, where she tried to make the best of it and make their position here more permanent, for Xan it was the same in Rivenwood as it had been at the hollow.