Hushed Willows A Silent Retreat

Like the first snowflakes on bare skin, Kirain’s reservations melted into invisibility. Aglow with satisfaction, Wake’s own optimism rose alongside hers. The physical weakness he saw of her was becoming quickly overshadowed by flashes of her mental wealth and emotional resilience. He found himself wanting; wanting to know more about her; wanting to sift through her thoughts and feelings and history; wanting to find the thing that made her who she was– and then fashion that thing into the shape of himself.

Your birthpack was nomadic, you say? Wake mused, interested. You would make a fine Cardinal, if you miss roaming. (A beat to remember that she wouldn’t understand his meaning.) The Cardinal is the wolf who makes paths for the rest of the pack. It is their duty to direct scouts when we change territories, or conduct the scouting themselves. Make sure that there are no serious threats to our ranging. It is an honorable role in my culture.

It could also fit hand-in-glove with her healer’s ambitions, to scout and research her plants along the way, but it could just as easily be deemed a distraction to her studies if she desired only to tend to her medicinal wares and duties. Wake quietly wondered what she made of his statement.

He wondered if there was a sliver of ambition to her sweet, battered soul.