She tromped loudly through the brush. Feeling safe in her mate’s soon to be former home she felt no need to soften her paw steps as she moved over the dry, bare bushes and fallen flora. It wasn’t long before she saw Zalen’s dark form through the trees, and he seemed to be focused on something. She halted, staring at him for a moment before dropping into a crouch and inching forward. Her eyes narrowed as she got closer…
“Ahh! Gotcha!” She declared gloriously as she burst out of the trees, about to tackle Zalen. The brakes were activated immediately though as her eyes caught a flash of what he had been looking at.
She skid to a stop next to him, her eyes bugging with surprise and her jaw dropping to form an O, just like her mother’s typical shocked look. She yelped doggishly and reversed her momentum, sliding next to Zalen before sailing through the air again in reverse and landing behind the dark wolf. Like a pup she hid behind her mate for a moment, before the stronger woman she was becoming started to prevail. The shock abated and she realized how poor that reaction had been - lesson one - so she took a deep breath and stepped out from her hiding place behind Zalen, coming up next to him and facing her father.
Her ears were back but not down, her face stern. “I’m not going back.” She shifted her weight ever so slightly so her snowy flank pressed into Zalen’s, finding strength and security in his presence. The strength of Zalen’s scent in this place was not just their proximity; it was coming from Titania’s coat, too.
[/html]