Stavanger Bay i have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night

Amayo speaks and Qilaq swings her head until she’s in view, blinking a few times and she materializes before her. She turns to the other in the background. Appeh. She hiccoughs, only once, before melting into Amayo’s warm fur. Her heart still pounds in her ears but it is then she can feel it slow every few beats. It’s still several minutes before she feels soothed enough that every muscle relaxes, half laying against her protective wall.

“Amayo, ayo, ayo, ayo…” she murmurs into the soft of her fur, closing her eyes again. Sleep is a far off idea as she settles her breathing into the gentle rise and fall of her chest. Qilaq mumbles the name a few more times before she falls silent, lifting her head and resting upward so that her nose points just over her spine. “Poison tree ‘gain, Appeh,” she mumbles, her body swaying side to side, soothing her frayed nerves.