Duskfire Glacier Howling at the sun and now Im blind

He smiled, though she could tell that it was forced. There was misery written into every line of Rye's body. Then he said something that made her feel a prick of irritation, followed by another swell of sadness. Why would Rye think he was bothering her? Never mind that his words had just done that very thing. That was on her, not him.

"Isn't there a saying," she mused dryly as she ventured closer, so they stood just a few feet apart, "about misery loving company? You look miserable—understandably!" Meerkat huffed out a breath, eyes softening as they lingered on his down-turned features. "And I'm miserable too, for less logical reasons. Anyway. Maybe we can sit here and be miserable together."

Her haunches sank to the ground and she sighed in the direction of the water inches below her nose. Before anything else was said, sitting here with Rye lent Meerkat some perspective. Sure, her life wasn't a piece of cake lately, yet she hadn't just lost her mate and child, on top of everything else. Her heart clenched.

"Life has been cruel to you lately, Rye. If you need someone to vent to, I'm all ears."