544Gonna try to reply to you more quickly! <3
She was so glad to see a familiar face that she barely thought of the various atrocities that the Irish Stormbringer and his sibling had committed in the Solbjorg—although they had not targeted her often, and she was sure it was because they were good and nice and decent deep down (read: she was very good at being scary to a pair of prankster boys if she wanted to be). She didn’t dwell on such thoughts, though, knowing that she had matured greatly since then; she was no longer a prissy woman who cursed any speck of dirt that landed on her fur, never mind that they were wolves and meant to be outside. Surely, Niernan had grown up as well—even if there was that hint of mischief sparkling in his sapphire eyes.
The tan-pointed black male brought up her brother and his friend, and for a second the woman’s countenance darkened as she thought of Gideon’s swift departure from the Solbjorg and from Vinátta. She was upset that she couldn’t run into her Giddy again, but more than that she worried for him; shouldn’t he be in once place or the other, protecting his family and being protected by family?
“I’m sure he had his reasons for leaving so soon,” Shiloh said in a level and casual tone—a sure sign that she was closing off her true feelings behind an all-too-vague opinion. She didn’t know if Nier knew her well enough to call her out on it, but she’d rather not blubber all over him like a weak woman missing her sibling. She had Saul and plenty of other family members; she should be grateful.
The white she-wolf ignored his knowing chuckles and contented herself with the large cat’s affections, not minding some wetness on her paw as he rubbed his cheek against it. The wooden cat on its twine dangled from her neck as she attended to the purring tabby with little scratches until he rumbled out a sardonic remark in the wolf tongue. She giggled at his insight, her surprise lasting only an instant; she remembered another fluently speaking cat when she was still in Dahlia de Mai.
“Oh, I’m sure worse will be done to each of you eventually,” Shiloh quipped, giving the cat one last affectionate little tickle before straightening again. Her ears stirred in her blonde mane when Niernan asked her about the Solbjorg, and she fought off the urge to cross her slender arms over her body, an obvious sign of uncertainty. She stood strong instead, letting an unworried smile fall across her lips. “The Solbjorg was quiet when I left it, after—” The smile faded into seriousness, and she wondered how much the man knew. “I’m sure Miskunn or Gideon told you about how Wretch was rescued,” she said, not sure at all, and went on before she got too upset over it. “I came to be with you guys, with you and Saul and Gideon. I wanted to...” She hesitated, and for a moment she looked almost girlish, reaching up to twirl a lock of pale blonde hair around one delicate finger. Her feminine posture was entirely at odds with the ferocity in her next statement: “I wanted to protect you—from the Dawnrunners, from everything.”