Every action has a reaction

He'd never expected to have such a relationship with anyone. Through and through, he'd been raised to depend on nobody but himself. Bronze had lived alone for so long that he'd never expected his life to turn out like this; he never imagined a pack he wanted to stay in, nor a woman by his side that he cared about quite so deeply.

It was obvious though as he spoke to her just how much he cared. His expression brightened, his normally-stoic demeanor shifting into something much more relaxed. The breath he exhaled was a contended one, and he found himself grinning slightly. "It's how I was raised," he admitted. His parents would likely be just as surprised as he was at the life he'd settled into here, but he knew they would be proud, and that knowledge comforted him. "I think I'm beginning to impress him," he added after a beat. He did fully intend to stay here, in these northern lands he'd grown so used to, and making sure his place here was rightfully his felt important to him.

She shared what she'd been up to lately. Scouting the woods, collecting herbs. Such a task was made more difficult in the north, where the lands weren't very hospitable. He could imagine that taking up a good chunk of her time, just as his own ambitions had. Her comment about her name earned another small grin.

"I've missed you as well," the slate-colored man confessed. Speaking so candidly about his feelings had gotten easier, but didn't always feel natural to him. "Now that the seasons are changing I imagine I'll be less busy, and we'll be spending more time together." At least he hoped so.