This was nice. Even after so much time apart, it didn't take long to shake off the dust and slip back into a comfortable state with Haziel. Which shouldn't come as a surprise, given the whole imprint bond. We were made for each other, weren't we? Our souls called to each other, and it did not take long being in one another's company for us to become familiar once more. And the fact that Haziel always said what he meant, rarely finding use for euphemisms, helped. Then again it was just us, which I appreciated more than anything else. I didn't like to admit it - missing him, being envious of his sister's closeness - and I tried to keep my focus on other things so that the feelings didn't seep across the tendrils that bound our souls together. It was the last thing I wanted him to know.

The rat-a-tat of my heart when he spoke of me needing him, however, was something that I couldn't have disguised even if I'd wanted to. If I needed him? Of course I needed him, but my ears fell back and then pricked forward again at the notion. "I will," I responded, a small smile creeping into my voice and onto my features. I had spent so much of my life proving that I didn't need anyone else, that I was strong and independent even within the pack. It had stemmed from the need to prove myself to my mothers, and only continued to grow from there. In some ways it had worked better than I'd really wanted it to. I was on my own more often than not. Not right now, though, and I chose to focus on the fact that Haziel remained with me, did not move to take some of the meat and make his departure. So I asked him if he wanted to join me for a swim, and was pleased when he accepted the offer.

Turning towards the waters, I looked to Haziel as he came up alongside me. The feeling of his fur brushing against mine sent a tingle down my spine, and when his shoulder touched just behind mine I moved forward into the water. In such close proximity I could sense his movements as he was about to make them, and his hesitations were reflected as patient pauses in my steps. Slowly we made our way deeper into the salt water, and a strange sensation came over me. Blinking rapidly, I looked to Haziel to make sure he was ok. From his face one never would have known the utter and complete loss of his senses that he was going through, but I could feel the tightening nervousness that coursed through him for a few moments. I was sure not to stray from him, maintaining contact as I looked back out across the expansive waters. Before long the gripping feeling passed, replaced by a more calm and pleasant feeling.

Together we paddled through the water, and as he relaxed and turned my snout down and rubbed my chin against my chest, working to clean the more stubborn blood from my fur. I was constantly aware of Haziel's position, though, and my ears flicked back as he spoke. Mid-rub, I hummed an acknowledging response; I'd gotten a small taste of what entering the water felt like for him, but I knew that I could never truly understand how the world appeared to him. He saw everything through his other senses - sounds, smells, touch. So when his touch vanished from my side, my head snapped up and around, only to find that he was enjoying a small independent paddle. I couldn't help but stare - even in the water he was a sight to behold. I'd really just never gotten over how handsome he was.

When he moved to return to me, I paddled closer to make it easier for him to find his place at my side once more. Contact reestablished, I moved to guide him in a small half circle to swim parallel to the coast for a bit before we would return to land. He asked about the island, and I lifted my gaze to look at the distant landform. I'd been there a time or two in my youth, but hadn't gone in recent years. Hunting out there meant I had to try to swim the carcass back across the channel, which was typically more difficult than it was worth. "It's a fair distance to cross from here; not impossible, but tiring. You know the northern curve of the coast, just before the last point near Diveen? That's the shortest gap in the channel. I can take you sometime, if you want."