They wander north. Paws splashing through the shallows, droplets traveling further up her legs. She doesn't mind it. With the warm spring wind brushing against her face, she enjoys the relief of the water they wade through. Walking beside Erik is nice. His presence is comforting. Now that they've spent some time together, Ursa feels a connection to him. She enjoys his time and being around him. Honestly, she can't hide the little smile that lines her lips. Especially when he assures her that the cove is pretty and wags his tail. Her own wags in response and she nods softly, a little hum in her throat of approval.
When the steppe comes into view and Erik comes to a stop, Ursa looks to where the jagged stone rises to the sky. Is that the place he had mentioned was his father's? From here, she can tell it is hauntingly beautiful. Content to stand there in companionable silence, she is surprised when he says her name. Tilting her chin to look up at him, Ursa studies his face. The way he looks some what awkward as if he doesn't want to say what he's about to say. When did she become so perceptive?
And then he says it and Ursa doesn't realize how sad she would be with this admittance. Erik was leaving back to Auster. Frankly, she doesn't know how to respond. She's happy for him to go back home to see family, but she doesn't want him to leave. She wants to keep spending time with him. Shifting her weight, she looks away and toward the river they stand in. She had to be happy for him, had to be. She couldn't keep him here. That was selfish. But she... she wanted him to stay.
"Will you be back?" Ursa asks softly as she refuses to look back at Erik.
