Haunted Wood de dragul tău

The frown she received in response made Meerkat's stomach drop. She wished she could take those words and cram them right back into her mouth. What was she thinking? Why the hell would she ask that? And why did she phrase it so childishly? But she'd asked the question and now she would have to deal with the answer, whether or not she liked it.

"I have never looked at you as a wife, scout Meerkat." She felt like she might throw up, if her throat hadn't suddenly closed. "I did not think it appropriate." The words immediately preceding this statement should've lent them a different context, though now she flushed red beneath her pale fur. She felt a strange mixture of anger and shame. Why should it be inappropriate to have feelings for her?

He paused, frowning even more. "But it is difficult not to like you. Even as only a wolf of the glacier." The implicit rejection struck down the anger, leaving only shame and a cruel sense of worthlessness. Meerkat knew better than to believe that, though the feeling nonetheless subsumed her momentarily.

Issorartuyok asked her what she wished, though she didn't know how to answer that. Besides, she didn't think she could speak right now. Meerkat turned away, tears pricking at her eyes to accompany the stinging like a slap to the heart. She supposed it was better to know. Maybe now she could actually move on with her life.

But for the moment, all she could do was struggle to compose herself. And fail.