Tithe

Truly rare were the times when Tithe showed unabashed pleasure at something. Just as the strings of fate had come together to create a great and terrible storm, they had come together to re-awaken something wonderful in the broken beast that had once laid in the fox den. The sting of Daenerys’ betrayal was frozen and forgotten in these moments. Replaced by the warmth of the memory of digging and surviving the harsh tundra with his friends by his side. Friends who seemed lost to his past. But as he looked down into the hole the warmth turned to heat as he looked at the golden form of the woman who claimed his soul.

All the elements combined within him. The smile that grew on his face was rare and warm enough to halt the fury of the storm. By digging, while the snow can still move. He explained with a wag of his tail. As she pushed past him, he breathed in her sweet scent, stepping back into himself and trying to hide the action, though he was almost sure she knew he took the moment to enjoy even the briefest of contact. Holding his head high, he trotted ahead of her to swiftly cover the ground before the snow had a chance to continue its relentless onslaught of the fields.

As he entered the ice cave he shook what snow had fallen out of his dark pelt and turned to face the entrance as Pandora entered. Welcome, My Lady. He bowed his head to her. The cave was indeed roomier than the fox den, and cleaner as well. The carcass of the deer remained in the middle of it, beside the large wolf whose tail did not stop beating on the ground. Her words brought the corners of his lips up. Our breath will warm this cave quickly. He assured her from experience. Our breath and our heat. It creates a wall of ice that sends the warmth back at us. Like the reflection of light on water. Steel clad head tilted at her and shining iron eyes watched her face. Her yearned to see how she would react to this place. The theories and thought behind it fascinated him, and he had grown up with the practice. Years of making his own caves made this commonplace and knowledge that seemed instinctive to him. Pandora had grown up in the mountains, he wondered if this was common for her. Or did he bring to her a whole new experience to explore and question.