Will you remember me?

Something she'd said tilted Valentine's mood, and his form shifted slightly. The powerful body going lean and grizzled, the wolf in the prime of his youth aging in a moment to a tired old man. Cascade pressed herself against him in an instinctive bid to comfort him, though she was at a loss as to what could have drawn such a reaction from him. His humorless laugh made her pelt ripple, and if she could have made him happy again by tearing apart whatever had made him so saddened, she would have. Mismatched eyes blinked up at him, intent and inquisitive, and she wasn't left waiting on an answer to her unspoken question.

Eek.

Though he kept his voice light and playful as he explained that he was seeking revenge, and her ears did prick with interest - Valen never had been one to sit around moping when he could do something about his problems, or at least not in the time she'd known him, so she thoroughly approved of his determination to put paid to the ones who'd caused him hurt - she knew how he felt about Rhythm. Never really understood, had always been vaguely amused and confused by it, but she'd known how important Rhythm was to him. He was Cascade's best friend, and Rhythm was his love. She'd seen the way he'd looked at Rhythm, how protective he'd been of her. She'd seen how lost he'd been when she vanished. She'd been there to support him while he pieced himself back together and started to heal from Rhythm's loss.

So when he told her what had happened, despite his tone of voice Cascade knew how badly it was likely to be affecting him. Someone had taken his mate, the one woman he was in love with, the woman he was so protective of and abused and raped her for years without him even being aware of it. He'd tried to move on with his life and the whole while she'd been being tortured. Hell, if he didn't focus on the idea of getting revenge, if he stopped long enough to really think about it he'd probably get crushed under the weight of feeling guilty over it.

Cascade refused to add to that. Refused to let the mood shift so drastically when he clearly needed a respite from the emotions of the real world. So she gave a gasp of mock outrage and chewed on his neck fur instead. "Well that's just poor timing," she groused in agreement. "I haven't gotten in on a good revenge scheme in ages! I suppose you're getting the kids in on it too so I'll be the only one who doesn't get any fun. Typical. Everyone waits until I'm dead to go off on shenanigans!"

She growled lightly and tugged on the fur of his ruff, then let out a soft purring laugh as she reached up further to nibble and tug gently at his ear. "You know, I always thought age suited you. The whole wise old warrior thing was sexy as hell on you. Looking like this, being adorned with the blood of those fallen slavers can only make you more... appealing." She made a faint noise of approval deep in her chest