hallmark

His lips twitched at her words. Perhaps he did, but he worried that if he let himself wallow, he might become embittered and cranky, and he liked being someone who could cheer others up. He wanted to be that wolf who boosted the morale of his packmates and friends during the hardest times. But he chuckled and admitted, “Maybe a little.”

But he listened intently to her next words, ears pressed forward, clearly taking in each word. Some of the worry eased from the subtle furrow between the brow points he hadn’t realized had begun to fall. “I imagine it will. I spent most of my pup hood fighting colds. Now it feels like it was no time at all.” His eyes rolled up in a heavy, if careful sigh, “But back then it felt like forreeeeever”

He smiled as she spoke on, a faint laugh rewarding her quip about surnames, but his expression became more solemn as she spoke of her own, newly familial worries. A sister she was pretty sure hated her, a brother who cared for no one, but she’d fought the first time they met. The description, and knowing it was one of Sirius’ sons, clicked, and he coughed ought a faint laugh, though he didn’t speak of why quite yet. He thought he might know who it was she meant.

“I’m pretty sure Artur won’t stay in Valhalla. Every time I see him, he’s mad in some way. Or slipping out of the pack lands. As long as he doesn’t harm Aurielle, especially nowadays, or our sisters or brother, or my brother’s kids… I can accept that he won’t be happy so long as he’s with the pack. But… I love him, but I will fight him if he tries to hurt anyone. Broken legs or no.”

His eyes burned briefly with resolve, before he flicked away the fire and seriousness with a flicker of the ears and a twitching shrug before smiling at her and adding, “By the way, if that particular brother is who I think it might be, he called Aurielle a lamp post and implied she had no intelligence…”

His eyes flicked around the room as he trailed off, not wanting to voice the more political views aloud. Far be it from him to insult one of the Warlord’s sons, but he worried about the future a wolf who was rude and not reprimanded sharply, thus getting away with the rudeness, to a visiting alpha… might bring the Armada into an all-out war if he insulted the wrong leaders. And Lia would be in the thick of the war, as Reaper, which he surmised was a very high rank.

Simply put, if his Queen were more warlike, and easily ruffled, there could have been a war over such rudeness.

His lips twitched as he pondered, then he muttered aloud, “I hope there’ll still be some bison jerky left when I get home.”

Walk ---- "Speak" ---- "Hear" ---- Think