Dragoncrest Cliffs orchid breathing

Meerkat surprised him then. So she did know something of his beloved da after all, but Njord spent his time with her instead of family when one of theirs was missing, so Sobo still thought he was changed. A little voice in the back of his head tried to remind him that he was only assuming things, that thinking it was true did not make it so. There was no evidence that Njord was pulling away. There was no evidence he had given up searching for Mireille or that Meerkat was more important than everyone else. Sobo ignored it all.

But she struck a chord, identifying that which made Njord so loved by his children both true and adoptive, so for a long time after she finished and offered to leave, Sobo could only look at his sandy paws and pull his brown ears back against his nape. He did not feel ashamed, exactly, but it was close. Not close enough to crack his shell, though.

Da Njord cares for his family, Sobo agreed, an' den you come along, an' den he cares less. He did not find Mireille on de island even dough he be de seafarer, de one who de shepherd of de sea chose. He brought ya home an' dat is all he cares about now. He knew the minute the words left his mouth that he was being unfair to Njord now, for surely it was not true, but he couldn't take it back. A small part of him warmed to know she cared so deeply about his da, but despite that, he dug his heels in. His stubbornness sharpened into something more.

Ya be welcome in Sapphique, an' da Njord chooses ya. But ya are not zanmi to us unless de ot'ers t'ink so. If his littermates thought she was good, then he would let up his stubborn insistence, but until then, he meant to hold her at arm's length, like the da he thought she would steal away.