Part of Sleekwing felt very lonely, even in the company of this male named Valerian. Though he treasured his family and was glad he could count his father and sisters as friends, the brute felt that he did not have any true friends beyond his family members. Spirane was a pack of wolves that thrived together, but were equally sufficient when they sought solitude. But the heather marked lad found himself craving the company of others, for the opportunity to test himself against them in both mentality and physicality. It was possible that this desire was rooted in his heart, brought about by the discovery of she who completed him. Without her, he constantly felt alone. He needed something to fill that void, and perhaps that was what had brought him down to the side of this lazy river today.

Sleekwing watched Valerian as his eyes looked upon the mountains of his homeland. He thought he saw some look of longing there, but it lasted only a moment and Sleekwing assumed it was just a trick of the light. But the other wolf did state that he had once belonged to such a pack, that he found it strange to not be within a range such as that of Spirane any longer. Sleekwing didn’t want to push his luck, but perhaps if their conversation proceeded well enough he would offer for Valerian to join him upon the mountain, or at least give an open invitation to come visit. That was more his style – it had resulted in Hush eventually coming to seek solace in the mountain’s shadow, after all.

At the mention of imprinting, Sleekwing’s gaze immediately dislodged from that of his companion, looking off downstream and watching the movement of the water. When Hush had asked him a similar question, he had gladly made his best effort to explain the phenomenon to her. But now that he truly knew what imprinting did to a man’s heart, he found himself lacking the right words. “It is…a peculiar sensation,” he began, eyes searching the distance beyond Valerian before he drew his gaze back to his companion. “It is a connection of the souls, a binding that you have no power over. And the shewolf who captures your soul, well you would do anything she asks of you. I can’t speak from the females’ perspective, but from what I have been told the feeling is quite mutual, though nowhere near as intense for them as it is for us.” His gaze was steady now, wrought with emotion but firm none the less. “It is a blessing and a curse, for she makes your world whole, but without her you feel more incomplete than you could ever imagine.” As this his eyes softened slightly, and he looked away from Valerian once more, staring past him and into oblivion, suddenly consumed by wishing that Malina would step into his line of vision and give him some reprieve from his longing for her.