My heart keeps racing

The tip of Bright's tail twitched as she watched him tentatively. She had invited him to come join her, but wondered how close he would sit to her. Did he notice that she was nervous? Had he noticed her scent, did it do things to his head that it did to most males? Then he did something that surprised her altogether; although he came closer, his large body slipped into the water, putting himself on lower ground than where she was seated. She had to wonder if he'd done it on purpose to make her comfortable, and if he had, he certainly had succeeded, as a smile of amusement crossed her dark lips. She realized that he seemed acutely aware of her discomfort, and she found that intriguing - he was very observant, but he also went out of his way to make her feel better. How interesting. This was exactly why she felt so comfortable around him, even the first time she'd met him, something about him seemed different.

Her dark ears tilted toward him as he spoke, filling her in on how much he'd been able to settle in. As she recalled, it had taken her quite some time to settle in and get to know anyone in the pack as well, in fact she still often kept to herself. "I know how hard it can be to get used to a new group of wolves," she replied quietly, her voice no longer quivering, "It took me a few seasons to really feel at home." As he mentioned the meeting, where many of the pups had crowded around him as though they were drawn to him. She laughed along with him, suddenly having forgotten her anxiety - it was seldom that she relaxed so quickly. "It seems the pups are drawn to you," she commented, "They're all so sweet."

As he asked her if she was faring well, she nodded, blinking her silver eyes as she met his one-eyed gaze. "I'm well," she began softly, slowly before going on, "I'm comfortable in Fiori, the wolves are all lovely... but I'm glad you found your way here. I find it hard to make friends, yet it feels very easy to get along with you." After she'd met him in neutral territory, she never thought she'd see him in Fiori. But she was happy that he'd come here. She was beginning to find his company quite enjoyable.