something new awaits

Audra didn't answer right away. Did she think it was a weird question? Shush, Avantika, she told herself. Slow down and be patient. If she weren't so nervous, she'd actually really appreciate the way the other woman thought about her words before she spoke. She seemed thoughtful and adorably serious when she did it. She eventually did reply, saying that she enjoyed Valhalla, but she hadn't grown close to them. Avantika was glad about that. If anything was happening here, she didn't want Audra's pack loyalties to conflict with her own pack loyalties. It felt too rushed to think about living together, but it was true that they could only live in one pack. And Avantika wasn't leaving the Hallows.

Audra flipped the question back on her. "They're my family," Avantika said. "I won't--I'll never leave them, I don't think." It felt like everything she said had an underlying meaning behind it. You might leave Valhalla, I won't leave the Hallows, what's our compromise? But it was still their first-ever meeting, so they couldn't say that outright.

"Speech"