Feeling a lil nostalgic

Azure approached the Willows with a complex mix of emotions. This place, shrouded in its willowed curtains, had always held a deep significance for him. It was here that he first met Hanako. She must have felt equally reminiscent, as of all the lands in Boreas, it was here Basilisk had directed him to find her. As he made his way through the familiar landscape, memories, both sweet and painful, flickered in his mind like shadows cast by the dancing willow leaves.

He spotted her beneath the trees, her presence stirring something in him that he couldn't quite name. She seemed lost in thought, her gaze distant. Despite the changes time had wrought - the marks of life's trials etched in her fur, the shortened tail - to Azure, she remained as captivating as the day he had found her.

"I found a lone wolf here, once upon a time." Azure said, his voice low but carrying enough to reach her. His approach was cautious, respectful of the space between them that time and circumstance had created. He paused a few steps away, taking her in. "She called me 'Your Highness', and I offered her a home." There was a hint of the old warmth in his voice, a softness reserved for her alone.

It had been so long since he last looked at her. His gaze was unflinching, seeing past the physical scars to the Hanako he knew - strong, resilient, yet vulnerable all at the same time. "I was so pleased with myself for earning her favor, contented that I could manipulate another to such an extreme as to make them mine." And his she had been. She had assured him of it again and again and again, and foolishly, Azure had chosen not to believe it.  

He took another step, moving with an excess of caution, the past coming to life in his words. "But as I played the puppeteer, I didn't realize how the threads were tangling around my own four paws. I thought I was drawing her into my world, but in truth, she was leading me into hers." A faint smile touched his lips, a rare display of fondness. "She had a way of turning the tables without even trying. Of infuriating me with a single word... and of calming me with a single touch. I was so focused on winning her, I didn’t notice how deeply she won me."

Azure shook his head slightly, a wry smile playing on his lips. "Funny, isn't it? How the hunter can so easily become the hunted and not even realize it."