Okay, so I should have known how silly it was to try and wait out a flower. As I lay, I felt my eyelids growing more and more heavy until I was suddenly awakened by the sound of approaching paw steps. Well, it wasn't the actual sound that woke me. It was the sudden feeling of excitement and utter joy that caused my heart to explode and my eyes to snap open. Confused, I sat up, yawned, and tried in vain to shake the debris from my dark coat. A voice cut into the quiet atmosphere, startling me. I gasped and turned to see pair of familiar red eyes staring at me. At once my tail began to wag and I found myself trotting over to Shem before I even realized what I was doing. This was becoming a reoccurring thing with him. With a mental shrug, I let my body do what it needed and I would simply hang on for the ride.

"Only if you can make a flower bloom faster than it wants to," I said in reply to his question. It was then that I look at his appearance. Much like myself, he was covered in mud and grim from a day of hard travelling. I gazed at the splatter on his cheek and giggled, then stopped quickly, realizing that he might be too keen to have me laughing at his appearance. Not that there was anything wrong with how he looked! I loved his dark pelt and his cute eyebrow spots. They were similar to my own, only mine were a much darker brown. He was quite handsome with this narrow waist and large paws. Wow, why was I suddenly feeling so hot? Oh crap!! He must have caught me staring. Hurry, Tikal, say something!

"I'm Eden's Kindness now!" I said in a voice that was much too loud. No! Stupid stupid stupid. I wanted nothing more than to bang my head against a rock. "I mean, I'm not his actual kindness. I'm sure he's a kind wolf sometimes. It's actually a rank title. I'm not sure why he calls it Kindness, but I guess I shouldn't question him. Oh, I'm rambling. I'm sorry…" Stop talking stop talking stop talking. My mouth snaps closed and I can feel my cheeks practically burning under his copper gaze. Oh! Why do I always feel so awkward around him???