how come I never got used to the feeling of sleeping in a cage?
too long driving, too damn hungry; a tied-up hound but nothing stays
There’s an odd sense of relief when Ruinam reciprocates the offer, reassuring that his shoulder will be there for her during her endeavors. A honeyed smile brightens her pretty face, retiring the smug expression that she most often adorns. ”Thanks. That’s sweet of you,” her gut tells her to reach forward and touch him, to solidify her loyalty with a tender caress of her lips, but Valdis doesn’t move. It’s what she has always seen mother do, and yet the idea of touching a man – someone other than family – unsettles her. So, she quietly nods and takes to heart what he says.
”You’re a wise one,” she comments, her tone gentle but in humor as her gaze swiftly traces along him before darting toward the shadows in response to hearing the fox chirp in victory. Such a fascinating thing to have a companion. It would spare her from loneliness, but there are days that she savors the solitude and loses herself in the storm of her thoughts. Ever ambitious, she needs time alone and away from the herd. With her blue eyes trained on the forest, Valdis considers what it is to have a companion like Ruinam, but the recent voices that have creeped into her mind dismiss the idea. There’s enough rolling around in her thoughts. She doesn’t need a shadow among other things.
A deep breath expands her lungs. It’s warm with the changing seasons. With so much needing done, she contemplates her next moves before turning her head to look at Ruinam again. ”You have a great deal of wisdom, my friend,” she tastes the word on her tongue, playing with it uncertainly despite the grin broadening. ”I’ll take it to heart.” And she actually will, because he was right in what he advised. Rolling her shoulders, Valdis brings to life the leaves and tree trunks around them as they glitter from the light reflecting from the frost across her skin. ”But I must go and finish some business,” her business, in reality, is Sinner and learning methods to climb the ranks. With a nod of her head, still warring herself whether to touch him, she concludes with, ”I’ll see you soon?”
Of course she will. They are friends. They are comrades.
Valdis
