Duskfire Glacier save your advice cuz i won't hear

As seconds slunk into minutes, Malachi wondered if he had passed her by, until a flicker of red caught his attention and he lighted his eyes upon her. And at the sight of her, Malachi froze and his tongue ran dry, and silence consumed them both. He couldn't read her, he couldn't read her if he tried, for she showed him nothing. Submission, sure, but as for her face, she wrote him a message as clear as the muddy stains of the Glacier ice.

Not so for the message he sent. As quick as his gaze fell upon her did he feel his eyes cloud with uncertainty, questioning if they would consider this enough and pass by without a word, until another day drew them to this fate again and wove a new cycle for the cat and mouse to walk into. Always seeing, but never speaking. His ears turned to the side, and his mind fell blank, and for a heartbeat he merely shared her stare.

But finally he forced his throat to rumble with the simplest word he could muster, yet even that was stiff with hesitance. "Maera." He gave, and offered her a shallow dip of his head. He returned his gaze upon her, and simply waited to see how she would take him now. One thing he knew for fact: no longer was she the pup he'd leaned in to carry on the long journey to Duskfire.