With each moment that passed, I felt the slight tension of newness ebb away, as we grew more comfortable in each other’s company. Our fast friendship seemed to cement itself with every word spoken, with every second of time that we spent together. I felt at ease in her company, and this was not to say that there were no other wolves whose company relaxed me. Many members of my pack offered me solace from the everyday stresses of my life, but there was just something different about this moment. Even though I hadn’t spoken to Attila of the troubles of my heart, they seemed to flitter away from me as the snow fluttered from the sky.

Intense mahogany pools kept their focus upon Attila as she spoke of her newness to Moladion. My nose had not failed me, telling me true that no scent of these lands lingered upon her. But her words made my ears fall back in sympathy as she mentioned how her home had fallen apart. It was a tale I knew too well, a loss I had felt two years prior when my world collapsed in on itself after the death of my parents. Spirane had felt lost to me then, my whole life in shambles, crushed beneath the usurper’s paws. But my world had been rebuilt; I had taken back what was mine and fixed every wrong that I could right. The only thing I could not undo was my parents’ deaths. That would forever leave a gaping hole within my chest, which could perhaps never be filled.

I stretched my forepaw out to her, placing it atop her own and offering her a gentler smile than those which had graced my features amidst our play. “Perhaps you have succeeded in finding a new home?” Moladion could offer so many opportunities to any wolf. I did not know if she sought the company and comfort of a pack, and it did not really matter. I just hoped that, even if she remained as a loner, she would remain within the lands of Moladion. I had found a friend in Attila, and I hoped that our friendship would endure.

Withdrawing my foreleg, my smile grew once more as I spoke of my homeland. Though the mountain housed painful memories for me, it was also my greatest pride and joy. “I have lived in Moladion all of my life, born and raised upon the mountains that you can see along the western horizon.” My tail began to wag in the snow, brushing the powder to and fro. “Spirane, my home is called. I am my pack’s Protector, the mountain’s Queen.” My banner continued to shift back and forth in the snow, and my smile lingered broadly upon my face. But nothing else changed. I did not rise or expect her to bow before me. That was not the way of things, the way of friends. “Perhaps you would like to visit my home someday? The views are, well they’re indescribable.” The invitation was open ended, but I hoped that she would accept. Whether it be today or many days from now, I wished to share my home with her.