Bitterroot Valley if these are life's lessons

If she'd been at all uncertain of her feelings before now, they were cemented in this moment. A heady rush of his scent washed over her as he drew near, and her skin prickled under the warmth of his breath and his touch. There was no natural way to lean into it, but it still felt magnetic, somehow, as if she was being pull toward him wherever he was nearest to her.

Instead, her smaller body tremored. Just once, just faintly, but perhaps he was close enough to tell.

Angel breathed out a silent, shaky breath as he turned away from her, her heart beating strangely against her breast. When he turned back to her, though, she was ready, and placed her paw firmly upon the pelt, claiming it. Her blue eyes lifted to his, the intensity of her searching now closer to a challenge than an inquiry.

"I will step more carefully, this time," she told him, her voice a bit cheeky. On a whim, she pressed forward to touch her nose to the underside of his chin. Just briefly, hardly more than a tap before she pulled away. "But more swiftly, too."

Then, with one final look and another wag of her tail, she picked up the pelt and was on her way. If she lingered here any longer, she would never leave!

Thanks for the thread! She will be back soon!