<3
The welcome she had been expecting had come from the hybrid that she hadn't been expecting to be there when she returned. Anselm had been quite amiable — quite, although truly she was cruising for a bruising even being present there — and she had been surprised, to say the least, that she hadn't been chased right off the land. Here she thought she was going to get off easy; what a joke that was. Talitha's wide grin was shot the minute Gabriel's eyes were visible.
From the look-alike coat to the golden eyes, he was quintessentially majestic. She had always admired that about him, even as a little tiny child; her father, she adored, even with all his faults. A Lykoi by birth, he was quite the chaotic coyote; it was simply in his nature. She would have the same problem if she were to meet the true Lykois of the world for any length of time. He was built more streamlined than blockish and more athletic than powerful, but even then she knew she wasn't a match for him, nor did she consider being. A softness that evaded his eyes dawned in hers as she crouched low to the sand, his words ringing into her ears and slashing through her. Like the knotted scar across the top of his muzzle.
This is my home, she stated, perhaps more flatly than she had originally intended to. Nothing can keep me from it. Not even you or mom.