I watch her sleep just like an angel

I enjoyed your post! (:

Malachi pulled his eyes from her face and raised his brows. Her voice did not convince him she was ready for the trek, but Arabella seemed determined to explore the land. Malachi couldn't blame her: the land was beautiful, even the most barren parts. But that land would wait for a different day, once he felt confident Arabella wouldn't collapse on the way. For now, they'd travel the lower slopes that rose gently beneath the paws.

Before he turned from her, she met his gaze with her own. The contact lasted only a moment, but Malachi felt a stir of discomfort at the occurrence. That she would risk such a glance surprised him, and he wondered if there was a boldness beneath the girl's demeanour that would rise in time. Though the awkwardness lingered, he let it rest hidden in his mind, and he returned her smile with a small one of his own. "This way, then." He nodded in the direction of thicker woods and padded ahead of her, hearing her pawsteps follow.

He swivelled his ear to catch her question and he slowed until he nearly walked beside her. He kept his expression cool, but found his mind run blank. Internally he'd always known what Tuwawi expected of her members, but he'd never given words to those instinctive thoughts. He flashed his tongue across his lips as he mulled over her question. "Like any pack, I suppose. Right now we're preparing for the winter. Gathering herbs, filling our caches - " he would need to show her those later " - and securing our land." He glanced at her for a second before turning his eyes back on the trees that passed them by. They still had many suns before winter came, but he knew the cold could set in early. How much strength could Arabella regain by then? He shook the thought away for now, but felt it nestle as one of the many concerns that settled in his heart. "We're a family here, and we're expected to live as one. When Tuwawi accepted you into the ranks of the Glacier, you became a part of it." He confirmed his words with a nod and felt a glow of pride. A family was what Tuwawi had promised them, and a family was what they were - and what they were still becoming.