Shadewood tusk dawn

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talvani’s smile curved delicate, like the melting edge of a late spring snow. her nod was quiet but sure, her breath misting lightly between them. she did not shrink from him as he stepped near—his blood-painted face, his scar-scored body—she only watched, steady and soft, as his paw brushed the fur.
daa’ka, she said again, gentler this time, like the name had settled warm against her tongue. spirits see. i see.
her eyes, pale and full of hush, lifted to meet his. there was no teasing there, no coyness—only the clear, calm water of truth.
kusax̱asaa… he say it is good, she murmured, voice slow, for you. for me. to be… she searched for the word, paused, then: joined.
her ears flicked, not from fear but from the weight of what she shared. still, her smile remained.
chieftain think you and i— she touched her chest, then his with the faintest motion of her paw —make strong blood.
a pause. then softer, almost shy:
what does daa’ka say?