(326)
Claudius could feel his sister tense at one point, but didn’t look over. He felt as though she was probably seizing up trying not to cry, so he didn’t want to know. He knew if he looked over at her sad, stricken expression, his tears would continue to flow. He sniffled and tried not to cry anymore and took quiet gulps of air. After a few seconds, he swallowed too much air and coughed three times before he was able to breathe again. He finally glanced over to his sister in time to see her stroking blue feathers with her free hand. He stroked her hand with his own, hoping he might offer her some comfort (even though his hands were shaking very badly).
He was startled when she spoke. He wasn’t sure if they had to be quiet for the entire ceremony, but he hoped Dawali would warn them if they were doing something they should not be doing. He had a great deal of trust for the older man. Even though Tayui told him once that she was older than Dawali, he was still very wise. Claudius respected him a great deal and was very glad he had agreed to do this with them. He knew it meant a lot to Ocèane and it meant a lot to Claudius, too. He was so lucky to have such an involved leader. He didn’t know what he would have done without Dawali after his mother left.
“Y-y-yes,” he stuttered. “Th-th-th…” he began, but couldn’t get the words out. He tried not to cry. “Th-th-ha-hank… y-you…” He lapsed into embarrassed silence when he realized how long it had taken him to say such a simple thing. He wished he were like the other wolves who could speak normally and weren’t so afraid. It hurt to think that Noir would only ever know him as the embarrassing, stuttering brother and not the wolf he would one day become.
[/html]