Dessa
mouth full of pins and heart pumping gasoline
There was a slight smolder to her gaze, ever curious about this male who had challenged all of her perceptions of the world in her youth. She watched him as he stood there, the fronds of the willow brushing against his sides as he stood half within and half without. Had he come looking for her, or was it pure happenstance that brought them together again after so many years. Much had changed, not only for Dessa but clearly for him as well. Where she had gained a self confidence that billowed and flowed from her very being, he seemed more sad and lost than he had been before. She could not help her curiosity about him, and when he asked if they could talk she nonchalantly motioned at the space near to her beneath the drapes of the willow's vines.

As he situated himself, Dessa watched his every motion. She felt comfortable in his presence, much the same as she would feel in the company of any wolf whose name she happened to know. Maybe there was something different about him, but she could not quite say what it was. After all, they had met only once before, and despite how his very appearance had shattered so many preconceptions in her mind, it was fair to say they barely knew one another. Something seems to simmer beneath the surface as he stills, laying opposite to her in the snow and curled inwards. "Look at us, all grown up," She mused as he spoke of how the years felt like so much more than what they were. Slowly she blinks, watching him as he speaks of all that he wishes to let go of, but is unable to. Her tongue slid from her mouth, running up over the front of her nose in a single flick before it returned to its home within her mouth.

There is something about him that causes a certain bell to ring in her chest, one she had never been able to identify. Cae had such a power as well, his presence all consuming and overwhelming in a way that she both craved and disdained. It was more subtle with Malum, though, a tinkling that barely chorused in the background. Dessa wondered what had brought Malum to her once more, what had transpired in his life to land him here, in this moment, so carefully treading over the ice to speak with her. "It would seem as though you need to call off your ghosts." The words were spoken solemnly, displaying neither compassion nor irritation at his wish to speak with her about whatever it was that troubled him. She offered nothing, for there was nothing more to say than this. Dessa had become a master of her words in a way that had escaped her in her youth, something so different than when last they had met.

when they said you were past repair
iv. of elowen. by maddox. for cae. from everywhere.
i stitched you up, thread a needle with my hair