By dawn the days half over

Watching Kotori as he leaned into the lesson, taking on the scent, and took joy from it… it lifted the Warlord's heart. Gone was the bloodthirsty defender of the Empress. It seemed every time he looked, that man was a more distant shadow. Here, he was a man that created and taught. Building this pack, giving life to children. Sometimes it caught him like a blow, and he found himself questioning how life had led him here. Led him to this place, where he was surrounded by those he loved.

Shaking away the melancholy, he led the boy further through the trees, searching himself, and following the scent, until - there! He nudged Ko, and pointed upwards with his snout, seeing if his son would catch the flash of red in the trees