Building Courage

Her emerald gaze upon him, she instantly caught the smile that graced his features; though he was quiet, she could see the genuine happiness in his eyes. He didn't need to say anything to express how he felt. He looked different than before, when he had seemed somewhat tense and certainly unsure of himself. He was finally opening up around her, much more at ease than before. She felt herself blush beneath her dark coat, but she wasn't sure why. Making a friend like this was all new to her. She'd never really cared about how others felt, in fact she had spent most of her life trying to ignore feelings in general. But she'd never met a wolf like him, one so silent and closed off, and to see him smile like that and brighten from his gloomy self delighted her. At last Miksa broke the silence that had formed between them, and she broke her gaze from him, realizing she'd been staring just a few moments too long. He turned to lead her through the woods, and she followed a few paces behind, content for once not to babble on like she normally would.

Her eyes cast over the wintry landscape, trying to memorize what this place looked like, but it all started to look the same. If she ever left this place, she wondered if she would find her way back. She'd never considered returning to a place she'd already explored, but for some reason the thought was in the back of her mind now. So absorbed in her own musings, she hadn't noticed Miksa glancing back at her, and his voice caught her off guard. She hadn't expected him to start a conversation, but she certainly was not opposed to it. She bounded up to his side as she tried to think of an answer to his question. Did she like it here? Her ears flicked. "Well, it's kind of colder than what I'm used to," she began, then gave a bored look to the bare trees surrounding them, "And the scenery is pretty dull, besides that overly interesting cave back there. I mean, it all looks the same, and everything's white. The place in the South that I traveled through was way nicer than this."

She paused then, wondering if there was anything nice she could say about this place. After all, she had met him here. "I guess I didn't make any friends back there, even though it was nicer..." she said, looking at him with a smile, "So this place gets bonus points. I'd rather have a good friend than nice scenery any day, even if it already feels like winter." Suddenly she felt like she was talking to much, and she grew tired of her voice - she wanted to hear him again. "What about you, Miksa?" she posed the question on him, "What do you like about this place? I guess you were born here, right?" She would ask if he'd ever been somewhere warmer, but she could guess that he hadn't gone far from these lands. But she figured he would at least talk about this place and have something good to say, especially if he'd never been anywhere else.