{"Innocence and instinct dance in their eyes, one blink away from beast, one breath away from becoming."}
We spent the better part of the day indoors, planning and later that evening Elle leaned into my side, her head resting against my shoulder, legs stretched out along the wooden steps of her cabin. The air smelled like pine resin and cooling earth. Crickets had started their song. In the distance, wolves called to one another across ridges like old stories echoing through the trees.
We were quiet, but not the kind of silence that hangs heavy. This was the kind that settles deep and stays. Her fingers traced idle circles on my forearm. My beast purred low under my skin, content.
The mountain called to me. I could feel it not metaphorically, not emotionally. The summons was real. A thread of instinct tugging at my bones. Ancient magic laced in the wind, pressing into my skin like a heartbeat I had not heard in years.
The mountains were waking, and it was like we were coming.
