Duck Lake I tell you that I'm thinking about,

Elowen's ears flattened against her skull as his words lingered in the air, her heart skipping a beat. She couldn’t quite make sense of how to feel about them. Was he just being kind? Or was there more to it? The heat in her cheeks flared again, and she found herself tugging nervously at the tips of her fur. “Y’think?,” she muttered, her voice nearly lost to the soft breeze.

The suggestion caught her off guard. The idea of going to Bearclaw Valley, somewhere new, where she might be needed—well, it sounded daunting. There were too many unknowns, too many ways she could embarrass herself, could mess up, could fail. But at the same time, the thought of having a place, a purpose… it stirred something in her chest.

Though, Lorcan had offered her the same. She felt guilty for not going to him yet. Then again, would he have missed her anyway? He didn’t seem like the type to settle.

After a long moment, she stole a quick glance up at Cole, her paws shifting uneasily on the ground. His gaze was so steady, so sure, like he actually believed in her, and that made the flutter in her stomach only worse. "Don’t know if I could keep up," she murmured, looking away quickly as she tucked her chin into her chest, retreating into herself. Her tail curled around her legs. "Got someone waiting on me, I think.”

"He... he might not want me to go, anyway." she said, voice quiet, uncertain if it was right to bring him up at all, but she couldn’t help it. The hesitation in her words spoke volumes, her feelings too tangled to sort out.