The wait was more wrecking than the words themselves, she imagined. Had they come swiftly it would have been less of a burden upon her heart. But the longer the silence wore on between them, the soft crunch of the ice beneath those massive paws as he moved, she came to the premature conclusion that only silence would be her answer and that he would walk away from her as intended. And she wouldn’t have blamed him. It would have been her punishment for acting so foolish and destroying this relationship in its infancy by her misconstrued jealousy.
Warm breath neared her muzzle then a rasp across her stinging maw. Her ears jerked from their imprisoning grip as she sadness of her features were overthrown to shocked. Her eyes lifted, amber eyes searching the cold blues of her beloved’s, again seeking understanding until his voice caressed her ears. Forgiveness. Her tail withdrew from its pathetic capture between her legs and fanned the air behind her. Rather than ask him of his certainty, she took him at his word too relieved to question it. She didn’t rejoice outright, not with her body differing from his. Her taller form gradually caved in size, shifting sinew and bone in a matter of minutes to adorn a body more fit to lavish him with her apology and gratitude.
Dropping her rear to the ground with tail still excitedly swaying, she raised her front and draped her forelimbs on either shoulder as she dropped her muzzle and ravaged his wounded muzzle with an apologetic tongue. Each taste of his blood elicited another mournful whine and even then when there was only the cleaned flesh and fur, her voice quivered with whimpers, repeatedly expressing her sorrow whilst drawing herself closer to him. The woman had done him such a wrong, she couldn’t think where to begin to make this right. But he wasn’t leaving her… he was forgiving her. She could at least start with that.