Ouroboros Spine wolf-father, at the door

galana's ears flattened further. he'd told her it was not her fault and for moment she thought that maybe she didn't deserve that. she did not deserve what had happened to her, and the guilt wrapping around her throat loosened; the breath she took in was no longer a strangled one.

the desire to say sorry once more was still there, she would say it in a trance if she could. kivaluk's anger was a presence she grappled with; how else could she wish away the agitation other than with more apologies? galana had learned no other way.

❝we're both here.❞ she said quietly, almost a whisper.

the girl moved to sit beside him, leaning her head into his shoulder. her brother. mida, gray, they were not brothers. kivaluk would never do the things that they'd done.

❝do you... do you think that our mother will ever return?❞ surely, he'd thought about.

surely, others did too upon galana's return. she knew it. she bore her mother's fur, her eyes, and in a twisted sense... her absence.

❝if i found my way back, maybe she will too.❞ her voice was steady, but soft. 

hope.