Duskfire Glacier i'm cauterizing the veins you lacerate

He stood still, letting her lean into him. Her fur warm against his side, steadying the beat of his chest. His golden eyes stayed fixed on the dark one, unblinking.
Big Sky, he said, rough, tainted by the memory of what once was. A tilt of his head toward the white horizon behind them. Plains here. Home now.
His tail flicked once, then stilled again. You? he asked, the single word edged with quiet weight, sheathed enough to hide his true curiosity: what gave him this air of familiarity? While the soft press of Svana at his flank reminded him why it mattered.