The sound of cracking branches immediately draws her attention away from the task she had lain out for herself. White hairs bristle along her spine as lips peel back to reveal bright ivory fangs that flash in the sunlight. Raven tipped ears pitch forward as she lifts her proud head and rotates her head in the direction the sound had come from. Pale silver blue eyes scan the forest dappled by sunlight and almost missed him entirely if it had not been for the familiar scent that wafted to her waiting nostrils.

Dexter.

She almost did not recognize him. Immediately her heart lurched with pain and she forced herself to silence the whine that threatened to slide past her lips. His once rich coat had dulled and thinned, clinging to his skeletal frame in the same way she had only ever seen on a rotting carcass. His usually bright eyes were dulled and filled with pain, a pain that she herself was too familiar with but one that she had never expected to meet in his eyes.

Silently she cursed herself now as she takes a step back from the mound of earth she had been moving and sits neatly on her haunches, never once drawing her gaze away from his own. Black tipped tail curls across her feet as she watches him watching her. She had been distracted as of late with the flooding and the myriad of emotions that still continued to tug at her soul. Though the fates had chosen for her, she had rebuked that for the love that she found for Dexter alone. She had given herself to him, and he in turn gave her two children that she adored even if their union was not meant to last. He had named Tuari his mate not long after and despite her promise to love him unconditionally, it had ripped her heart apart. She had become the watcher in the woods, silent as the mute black wolf that Dexter fawned over. Silently she watched as he drew his family to him, watched as Tuari gave him more pups and nuzzled his cheeks as she had once done. Silently she watched as he returned her affections until Talien could watch no more. She fled. Yet even in the distance she put between herself and Dexter, she found herself drawn to him again and again. She returned to Taviora with the promise to herself that she could get past all of this and yet staring out at him now she knows she cannot. He may have denied her and yet still she loved him.

She had not missed the blight upon Taviora as of late. It seemed the disappearance of Zelda took with it the heart of the pack. One by one they disappeared until very few remained. Among the departed, the dark mate of Dexter. Talien could never bring herself to admit it but she was glad to not have to see them together day in and day out. At one time, she might have even admitted it aloud. However the sight of Dexter now made her regret ever even thinking such thoughts.

Defeated was a word but not even that covered the truth that showed itself to her now. Her heart ached for him and for the loss that had so visibly eaten him away to almost nothing. Dexter. Her Dexter. No, he would not waste away like this, she could not allow it. Even if it killed her, she would at least try to mend what had been broken. That was what she did anyway.

”You know….” she begins, a sly grin sliding across her muzzle as she tilts her head towards him, her bushy tail thumping against the dirt. ”You are not quite so thin that you can blend into the tree trunks.” she teases with a bark, her silver blue eyes shining. ”At least not yet anyway.” she finishes, waiting patiently to see if he would give up his attempt to hide and join her or if he would back away.