An invisible red thread connects those who are destined to meet regardless of time, place, or circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break.

It was one of the proverbs that our elders used to tell us back in the mountains where i'm from. As I looked up at Astaroth, I wondered if he was the other end of my red thread. I felt like my soul was tied to his, in some way. Maybe it was as my ancestors had said, or maybe it was something special to Moladion. In this world full of puzzle pieces, he made up a half of the whole for me. And it was nice, having someone that felt important to me again. He was big and strong and I knew my brother couldn't take him away from me. I had been running for so long, afraid to turn and face my fears. Secretly I knew the only way out was going through everything I was running from. Now, with him by my side, I feel like I can finally turn and face them.

I saw that smug grin that pulled on his face, my silver gaze watching him curiously. Had my happiness made him feel confident in some way? My mind could only come up with that explanation. I think I was beginning to understand Astaroth. He was pretty simple minded, not necessarily a bad thing, and apparently I had rocked his little world and he was working to understand me like I was with him. I could see it in those mahogany eyes, things were starting to line up in his mind. Maybe he could explain it to me if he truly understood what was going on, cus I was still a little fuzzy on the whole thing. Though one thing had become very clear through all this, I liked it a lot.

I watched in anticipation as I spoke my name, my eyes searching for any and all types of reaction. I hoped he liked it, and I couldn't understand why that mattered to me. It shouldn't matter if he liked my name or not, but all I knew was that it did. I quite liked his name: Astaroth. It was strong, perfect for him. The silence that fell between us made me nervous, I felt this desire to do nothing more than to please him, starting with my name. When he nodded in confirmation I was ecstatic. "Denali - a good name." he said, while beginning to lead me to the home he had spoken of. I trotted after him happily, a smile on my lips and my tail swaying.

I had to hold back my giggles as his large form would sink into the soft ground when we walked, slowing him down considerably. It made it easier to keep up, but I wouldn't have had a problem with it even if he had. My gait was quick and made for no problem in staying along side him, even in his slightly hindered state. We traveled in silence, and I understood it. I had learned this part of the demon code from my interactions with Vera. Demon's had a creed to silence, to only be spoken when spoken to, or something along those lines. I respected this and kept the comfortable silence between us. I would respect all parts that made him him, especially the demon part.

It took us a little while to traverse Iromar and to get to the den. It was a little island of some sorts, surrounded by that same old thick, slimy water that made up the swampy lands. He allowed me to push through the reeds and muck first because if he went through first it would be nearly impossible for me to go through without getting stuck. When I was safely across, I turned and watched him follow me with little effort; a mixture of his strength and having traversed this path every day it seemed. I turned and looked at the den, allowing my gaze to wander all over. It was simple and I didn't require any more than that. It had been dug to a larger size, meaning it would easily accommodate little me. It was raised enough to avoid the swampy smells and situated under a bolder. The best thing about it though, was that his smell was all over it, inside and out. It was comforting, and I could certainly grow used to waking up to that everyday.

"Home." he stated simply and I took that as an invitation to explore more and sate my curiosity. I started by walking around back to see the graveyard of sorts along the bank of a lake like pool. There were chewed bones littered all over the place and decomposed alligators. Before I had gotten to Moladion, this might have disgusted me, but now I started to see it in a new light. They were trophies of sorts, I had seem them in front of quite a few dens in Iromar, almost all in fact. It was like a symbol a status, the more trophies you had collected the more honor you had or more strength you had or higher position you had. It wasn't too hard to digest. Maybe one day Astaroth could teach me to hunt those strange reptiles and then let me leave the bones here, a step in becoming a true Iromar wolf.

I circled back around front and quickly disappeared into the den. It was large and cozy warm. His puffed out, prideful chest had not gone unnoticed by me as moved around. I was so small, I could move around freely, I really didn't make a dent in the space this den had to offer. I popped back out and came back up to his size. "Does Denali like this home?" he asked, there was a desperate hope in his eyes that I recognized as the same one I held when I wanted to know if he liked my name. I smiled and nodded. "I do. It reminds me a lot of the den I grew up in," 'minus the graveyard round back' I added in my head.

Then it hit me, this wolf, whatever was going on between us and would go on between us, could I trust him to know my past? I had never told anyone the full story. I had vaguely told Attu some of it because he was a nice, trustworthy wolf that had opened up to me. My mind seemed hesitant but my soul screamed yes, that he deserved to know what he was signing up for. Would it change his views on me? maybe, but it was worth the risk. My gaze had somehow drifted down without my realization. "Um Astaroth," I started a bit hesitantly, wanting to gain his attention. "I want to tell you something, something I haven't told anyone before, ever: My past," I said, looking up to him and meeting his gaze. "But only if you want to hear it I mean, its up to you," I added. I wanted his acceptance and approval, and it started with letting him into the shadow that loomed over me wherever I went.

❤ THANKS SKYE