Raven's Watch birds of a feather

All she could manage was a small nod, her softly grayed ears twitching as the pain tightened in her throat, strangling her words before they could form. Mictec’s kindness and understanding were like a balm to an open wound, unexpected, but deeply welcome in these moments of painful recollection.

Life was not kind. It never had been. It was struggle and strife, a relentless test of endurance. That was the balance of things, wasn’t it? The give and take, the ebb and flow. The expectation of all living beings. Yet knowing this truth did nothing to soften its weight, especially when guilt sharpened it into something unbearable.

It’s what you allow yourself to have, too.

Mictec’s words struck something deep within her, a raw nerve she had long refused to acknowledge. Her paw came down sharply on the rocky ground with a sudden slap, born of frustration, anger at herself, at the endless guilt that chewed through her mind and heart like a constant predator.

Kirain let out a long, shuddering sigh, her shoulders sagging under the weight of it all. The battle inside her felt endless, unwinnable.

“If only peace were so easy to find, Mictec,” she murmured, her voice heavy with weariness. Yet, despite the resignation in her words, she managed a small, appreciative smile for the she-wolf, a flicker of gratitude breaking through the storm within her.