The Heartwood [m] In what appears to be a ritual "Godspeak" song of the Rieklings

He held her, and slowly Ana calmed, soothed by the way he groomed the top of her head. After a time she started to clean her blood from his fur in the same gentle way. For the first time in weeks, she clicked contentedly.

She loved him.

And still she did not know who this boy was, or where he had come from, but she knew that he had come to her when she needed comfort the most. She knew that she would follow him anywhere. Even as she bled into the dirt all around them, even as her vision swam and her mouth was stained crimson, Ana felt the soothing of a hurt carved deep into her soul.

Stay, She bid him quietly, pleading past the blood thick in her mouth, and pressed another scarlet kiss to his neck. This was love. This was it. She would never let him leave her.