"But the dream, the echo, slips from him as quickly as he had found it and as consciousness comes to him (a slap and not the gentle waves of oceanic tides), it dissolves entirely. His muscles relax as the cold claims him again, as the numbness sets in, and when his grey eyes open, there’s nothing but the faint after burn of a dream often trod and never remembered." --Brigade, written by Laura
It took longer than it should have for Tamlin to realize not everyone had the same near-perfect childhood, raised by caring parents. It’s a relatively new discovery for him and it fills him with a strange, aching sense of guilt every time - as he is now when Winslow confesses not even her mother had chosen her.
That wasn’t right. Fortunately, his response is quick - his usually-jovial voice absolutely filled with his certainty.
“I do, Winslow. I choose you.” It was a remarkably easy thing to do and Tamlin wishes he could speak to Winslow’s mother and anyone else that might have been foolish enough to let her go in the past. He would let her go too, he knows, but only if that was what she asked him for. And since she says she doesn’t want space - something he is incredibly thankful for - he’s hopeful that is a problem he will not have to face anytime soon, if at all.
“Teeth aren’t going to scare me off. My best friends have always been wolves. It makes sense that I would fall for one.” Once these words are out, though, Tamlin frowns because they don’t sound as romantic as he had intended. It makes him sound like he was in love with a wolf-wolf and, uh, that was just crossing a line. He laughs softly at himself, feeling a little embarrassed and he reaches out to touch his muzzle to her again - just a soft brush of a kiss before pulling back. “Well… you know what I mean.”
The laughter fades but his warm eyes stay bright as he looks at her. “I’m not worried about you getting it wrong at all, you know. It’s okay if you are, just know that I’m not. I think you’ll be surprised how often you get things right with me.” Tamlin was remarkably easy to please, after all. One of the benefits of having an aversion to thinking too deeply. So he is not worried because as far as he is concerned, just having Winslow around is getting it right.
So, hey. Might as well let her know that - as his grin brightens even more, a feeling far shinier than happiness radiating in his chest. “Like right now. You being here? Close enough to touch and talking about staying? An absolute win for me.”
