Father and daughter

He leaned against her, sheltering her subtly with the height of his body as they walked. He sensed her fear and unease, heard it in the abrupt, single word spoken. Also accepted gently the gift of her words when she gave them. “Survivors guilt” he explained softly, remembering the tormual many of the Klein had first faced when they had arrived in this new world. Him included. The trauma, the lingering memories. He almost snorted when he remembered how the Klein healer had tried to prescribe group therapy for him. That hadn’t gone down well.

He crouched down beside the smaller wolf, gently cupping her chin in an attempt to bring her eyes to him. He was almost lower than her, in this position, his smile was soft, filled with nothing but love. “A piece of our pasts will always haunt us. They were your family, all you had known.” he spoke as one who had lost his parents as a young child, the world he had known a few years later. “Grieve for those that are gone, but remember that you're not alone. The past won't be healed in a day, but there are people here who cherish the gift of your survival.” he wasn’t surprised that these feelings were creeping into her day-to-day life. He could imagine how alone she might sometimes feel, the crushing guilt of what she had left behind. But it was not her fault.

“If you like, I can carve out a house for you in the same cliff as our own, we would be only a shout away. If you ever need the comfort of being around people, we would be right there.” he had found that surrounding himself with wolves he loved had done the most to heal the pains in his heart.