Noctisardor Bypass stone craft

a memory stirred, sharp as antler-tip:
her voice saying nearly the same thing seasons ago, snow on their backs, steam rising from a fresh kill. she had yielded then too, a gesture half-challenge, half-acknowledgment. he remembered the shape of it. the cadence. the way she’d meant it.
he shook his head once, already deciding.
no, he rumbled, breath clouding between them.
you lead.
not courtesy—truth.
this hunt was hers, her feast, her strength to show. he would follow, shadowing at the flank, driving prey toward her jaws as he once had. but this was her claim to take.
he stepped aside, clearing the path with the broad shift of his shoulder, the silent command of a wolf who expected competence and trusted it.
a flick of his muzzle invited her forward.
your kill.
uktark’s gaze held hers a moment longer, steady, weighing, remembering the woman who had matched him stride for stride once before.

beautiful callback!