Ears swivel round, catching the faint whisper of an invisible meadow buck slipping through the undergrowth and into some hidden barrow. They rolled forward again when Seele starts to speak; I listen in quiet appreciation and curiosity as syllables fell in the form of an honest answer. We all had our secrets and personal conflicts; some just revealed theirs more easily than others. In truth she answered my return of concern with more meat than expected—the reward for such omission was my unwavering attention and consideration.

I thought out of the two of us, Seele would have more friends in this valley then me (considering she’d come from their ranks.) If anything I’d taken for granted the loyalty of my previous family; we’d all had differences, but they’d never dared disobey the call of tradition and the rule of Sultan’s.

Seele voiced to have the pose of a silent killer, one that used darkness as her shield and surprise as a potent weapon. The shadows had no appeal to me, I’d been trained as a youth to fight with honor and dignity in the light of day. To make my power and purpose known without a single thread of doubt. Trickery and lies were for the weak of heart…or those who actually had the talent to use a silver tongue.

Thus why the Basin held little appeal. They whisper dangerous and tempting promises, like a woman in the throes of heat often did to lure in her weak minded prey. Their words always seemed to be nothing more than empty vocals—offering little sustenance.

She appeared fragile, instinctively my gaze softened, the tips of brows narrowed into tiny furrows. I remained motionless a moment longer, even as her gaze trailed away to some previously unnoticed ant crawling across our feet. Nostrils tremble, blowing free a small sigh of warm air. Slowly I pushed my muzzle toward her shoulder, drawing in that strong feminine essence with the next quiet inhale. Tickling whiskers make first contact, threading along the soft sleek fur that outlined every muscle; dry velvet shifted forward to solidify the connection.“We shall weed out the traitors; they will either come to accept this home and it's guardians or not,” compassion came easy to me, nobody wanted to be the object of a hunt in their own land, “Ye has won my loyalty, measure its worth and may it do ye fine.”

Tone is low, just one notch above murmur and meant for her alone, “Eris and her companion have been removed from this family; does the wound caused by their actions give ye grief?” They’d betrayed her trust. No wonder my dear sister was on a fine edge.