Noctisardor Bypass ☾ nás'k

uktark moved in her wake, a dark line drawn through the snow, steady where she was light. the dual ridges rose on either side of them—stone ribs he knew, wind-carved and familiar. he had crossed this bypass in another life, before tartok, before moondancer. it felt different now. quieter. as if waiting for something to claim it.
her glance caught him mid-step.
the flutter of her lashes, the curve of her smile—
he read them as easily as he read the land.
a question she did not voice.
he closed the distance by a pace, enough that his breath brushed the snow stirred by her feet.
the moon silvered her coat, turned her to something born of the same sky above them. he looked at her as she walked, at the way she touched the land with her grace, already marking it in the way only a creature certain of her belonging could.
he knew this place could hold a den.
a life.
a future carved from frost rather than ruin.
her tail swayed; he answered with a low rumble, the sound rolling through his chest, warm despite the cold.
uktark scanned the valley, the sweep of its center, the protective rise of the two ridges like arms around it. it was defensible. rich come spring. hidden from harsher winds.
good land.
when he looked back to her, it was slower, a wordless acceptance of the question she had not asked aloud.
a faint nod.
moon's place, he murmured, voice low enough the snow almost swallowed it. then, after a beat, as he stepped up beside her—
ours, if you want.