Moonspear some nights i feel like i have died

He whirled to face her and Wildfire waited for the pattern to repeat. It didn't, at least not right away. He stared at her guardedly, then recognition seemed to hit him. There it was, the inevitable snarl. But it remained low and ebbed quickly. More importantly, he didn't flee. In fact, he spoke. She didn't recognize the word—she hadn't heard his hoarse whisper the last time—but it sounded like Norse to her.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what that means," Wildfire replied, maintaining her cautious distance. She had the distinct feeling that he would run away at any moment and felt an inexplicable need to keep him here for once, to get him to talk. "Are you Kaylan? My name is Wildfire," she introduced in a soft voice, offering a small (and hopefully encouraging) smile.