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Chapter One: Bonds

Andulus stood among all the other rank-and-file knights, armor polished but barely reflecting the cloud-blocked light of day. From their gathering on the High Cliffs with its arranged stonework, the realm fell away into a steep fall into the churning sea, the abrupt end of their kingdom and continent alike. Misty cool air swept over them from the vast waves below as the wait dragged on.

Through his helm, he and the mass of one-hundred and twenty dutiful watched as the swirling cold air seemed to still before the sound of might have been splitting glaciers. The cloud cover parted a moment after as several lights arose, arched toward the assembly of men as a furious rainbow, where it latched upon the appropriate rune-stones before them to create a bridge of aurora colors.

The knight clenched his fists at his sides, eyes wide to witness the gateway to the wolf-people not only existed but meant old tales were true. The streams of prismatic light formed the archway between realms, but soon he could see more clearly as the clouds parted to reveal it; Asgard. That was what man called it in their tongue, a place of mystic beings, fierce warriors, possibly even gods. Myth had begun to become reality three months ago when one of their kind descended from the heavens to parlay with their Council.

A truly immense rock of land floated above the seas, weather-worn from the tips of jagged stone below, the edges barely seen between the other, permanent clouds about the center of the earthen mass. They could gradually see structures of carved stone as it manifested, a landscape of civilization sprawled further up and away.

"God protect us...we were told it was a bloody island, not some flying mountain," Whispered Nemaen beside him, a nudge of his helmed head toward the now colossal sight before them, earning a slight look from the other three Godsworn alongside them.

"Quiet now, they invited us. Trust in our mission and faith," Andulus replied to his old friend, both men grinning beneath those steel visages for a moment in excitement before reality set in again with a second thundercrack.

Upon the far end of the new bridge appeared one of the wolfkin at last with that sound, huge oaken doors had split and slowly parted for the figure to stride through and begin the steps across the lengthy bridge.

"A warrior perhaps, certainly with the arms and frame of one. Is he their king?"

"Possibly, not the one that met our Council, though," Andulus muttered back as he could start to make out features soon, it was a male, quite tall and with strong stature.

Fur like midnight coated the wolf, but where it didn't was a more primitive attire than he expected. A tunic of dark red adorned his chest, faded leather trousers and boots with metallic straps and knee-guards for the lower. A cloak of fur was held fast to his shoulders with a medallion, which bore a crescent moon with two small protrusions at each flank.

"Ze'aszanea, faas nasruhr!" The male wolf lifted an arm in a broad wave as a grin came across his muzzle, Andulus could see the glint of sea-blue eyes with strange gleaming marks beneath them, saw the visible confusion on the few non-armored men, meant as ambassadors on behalf of their realm. "Ah...welcome, and good morning!" The voice carried out, seeing instantly the relief and understanding wash over the gathering.

"Splendid, you know our language! That is truly more than we expected already," The first of three Councilors chuckled dryly to himself and the others, which earned a chuckle from those closest. "More than most savages, at least," He grumbled behind a wide fake smile.

"I would mind such words, you underestimate my hearing as much as my intellect," The black wolf barked out a laugh as his ears twitched.

"O-oh, what I meant was-" The face of the lead man went pale before he bowed his head with hands clasped in apology.

"Worry not, bald man! If I was so easily offended, you wouldn't be standing." Now the wolfkin stopped at the end of the bridge of lights, stepped upon the earth on their side with an almost relieved exhale. "I am Kaenis, son of Kaenos, and emissary of the Canai!" The male waved away any insult with his cheerful tone and a handpaw extended toward the blinking man in greeting.

"I...I am Brother Beyron, I speak on behalf of the Church and King Tyrn! We are pleased to accept your invitation to Asgard, and hope to broker a peaceful future with your kind."

"Asgard?" Kaenis blinked with a laugh as the man took and shook his offered clasp, "Tel'nase, as I am quite sure my sister informed you. Asgard is a name from a bygone time, friend."

"Ah, yes, yes of course! Pardon me, we are still adjusting to this...revelation of your existence. We'd long thought to have met and known all the people of this world. I'm sure you understand?" The older man smiled once more up at the taller, broader wolfkin.

"Is that so?" Kaenis rubbed his dark chin in thought with a large paw, then grinned across all the assembled men. "Do you bring this many warriors to every meeting of new peoples?"

"Why yes, it is to protect my brothers and I, we represent God and the Crown," Beyron said matter-of-factly, clasping his hands across his protruding middle. His attire like the other two was clearly fashioned of expensive materials, fine white cloth embroidered with gold lacings. The emblem of their church sat across his chest, a scarlet 'T' sigil.

"Hm, odd. One of us suffices for most introductions, but your customs are your own." The wolf laughed again, then turned in a side-step to gesture towards the bridge. "Come, step across, and welcome to Tel'nase!"

Andulus watched the seemingly kind wolfkin nod or greet any knight that made to acknowledge him, and as he approached to pass him to step upon the bridge, he stopped near as a soldier pointed skyward and shouted, "Angel! An angel is with us!"

Kaenis looked up along with Andulus to see the soaring sight of an alabaster figure upon wings of slender flames. Like an unquenched blade it flew amongst the clouds. The wolf gave the angel a respectful bow of his head before flashing a toothy grin to the group of humans.

"Angel? Perhaps in your tongue, she is, but that is my sister Kana! She invited you here, so do nothing foolish under her gaze." The wolf barked out and clapped the back of Andulus's armor to get the line of metallic men moving again.

For the grandeur of his own home, the sprawling walls, towers, and stone-carven homes that rose up and away from them were fantastic in scope. It was something else to walk along the wide, smoothly paved center road and look up to meet each wolfkin that stood to greet them.

They were slightly smaller than Kaenis was, with various coat colors and markings but none of them gold or seemingly added. The same kind of cloth tunics or furs adorned them, with ancient wood and stone homesteads behind each individual or pack of wolves.

"In the wolf den now aren't we, mate?" Nemaen elbowed his friend with a grin, the gorget of his helm lifted to show the thrill in his eyes as they walked the long road.

"We're blessed to get such a chance, old friend. Let's pray to God we don't blunder this...we need allies like them." He nodded with a hopeful tone, the urgency of their mission weighing heavier on his shoulders.

"Bah! You worry too much, the reports are exaggerated, and the dragon menace hasn't pushed as far as rumored. It's just fear talking!" The other knight scoffed at his visible worry.

"God be good you're right, lest we have nothing but ashes to return-"

Once more his attention was captured as the angel flew overhead, this time far closer than the distant figure spotted before, and without thought Andulus lifted the visor of his helm to catch sight of her face, of the fierce blue eyes and the same gold marks about them as her brother. Her form-fitting armor of silver and gold allowed her figure to be held rather splendidly yet remain protected in its embrace. His heart skipped and almost stopped when that gaze seemed to snap to his own, as if she felt his stare.

She soared up before a dip down to land with a quietly muffled thud of her boots in a side street, the wings of fire gasping out of life at her back even as she strode toward him in the line of marching men.

"Something to say, knight?" She snarled when she closed the distance, a powerful grasp of his arm tugged him away from the others. "Do your standards of beauty find me repulsive, am I a savage wolf to you?" A slender, gleaming spear of the same metals as her armor was held in her other paw, masterfully artificed and with an edge that almost cut the air itself. "Speak!"

Andulus averted his gaze immediately, "No my lady! You're a radiant angel, my eyes are undeserving of your light! This knight asks forgiveness for staring." He grit his teeth, eyes firmly closed at his own rudeness, and awaited its consequence.

"Hmph, 'your lady', is it? I belong to no one, and you would do well to remember that, knight." Kana reached out to lift his chin by the bottom of his helm with a single finger, the strength of that gesture alone alarming. "I shall forget this, then. Welcome, and stay out of trouble." She offered a grin across a snowy muzzle before she leapt backward and up into the air for wings to flare to life, and carry her upward again to soar away.

"Merciful God, you just spoke with an angel! She'd have cleaved me in twain when I pissed myself instead of answering!" Nemaen shook him by the shoulder and laughed, slapping shut both their visors before getting back into formation with a hurried pull. "Idiot, gawking at a pretty lady...this ain't no storybook, mate!"

Andulus punched a gauntlet into the arm of the snickering knight, hearing the same from many others around them. "Shut it, everyone and the dead can hear you mocking me." He felt his face burn red from shame, yet still risked a glance at the diminishing sight of Kana flying away.

The procession went on for some time, but after many streets, some pauses to greet what was considered the civilian populace, Andulus and his company came to the end of that long road. Before them stood an immense gateway that dwarfed even the entrance they'd come through. Carved oaken doors told stories, a saga for each of the greatest Canai, upon every inch of their faces.

Kaenis had waited at the doors, and now gave a thump of his fist against them. A moment later came the rumbling that felt like a minor quake as the twin doors began to lumber open. "I am sorry, but only your senior knights may accompany you, Brother Beyron. This is not open for debate, so choose before following inside."

Beyron seemed annoyed at being commanded, but complied with a curt nod to his personal guard, five Godsworn, with Andulus at their fore. The small group entered the gateway that had barely opened before it growled closed once more, ending with a thunderous shudder.

"Please, take seats at the right side, it is custom for our guests." Kaenis gestured with one arm while the other tugged apart his fur cloak, tossing it into the arms of a waiting maiden before he himself took a seat in the second largest chair on the left side of the arrangement.

It was a vast, arching hall with a table just as long as it was reaching, many wooden chairs set along either side. Immense beams supporting a vaulted ceiling like a rib-cage might some great beast, finely made chandeliers with a dozen candles each hung to provide a dim, warm glow.

The three clerics seated themselves first with Beyron in the center, however the five knights took up station behind them in standing. "Forgive any rudeness, but they are not permitted to sit with us. They will not speak, nor interfere with our discussions, I assure you."

Kaenis gave a questioning look but shrugged both arms outward to bring them up behind his head, "As you wish, onto matters of importance then. You sent ravens here, you asked us for aid against the threat of dragons. What do the Canai stand to gain, stepping into your war?"

Brother Beyron seemed confused, features furrowed for a moment as both hands laid flat onto the ancient oak table, "I...we were under the impression your people lived for battle, do they not? The old stories speak of your desire for glory, for the thrill of defeating worthy foes?"

"You speak of times long past, when our people held dominion over much of your lands," Kaenis nodded at the truth of the Canai past, "However, those were different times...the world was savage, evil lurked everywhere. We were tasked to tame it, to protect the young races for a chance to grow."

"How old are you, exactly if I may?" The second cleric spoke up, a younger man than his leader, who was given a stern look for speaking out of turn, but got a slight wave of a dark paw as Kaenis didn't mind the inquiry.

"Ancient by your life spans, we do not die of old age, my brother and sisters. We are honored to be regarded as gods in your books, heh." The large wolf barked with a proud grin, only for it to falter as Beyron lost his composure and quickly spoke against it.

"In stories only, of course. There is only one true God, and he is our Father, Creator, and Savior!" The three clergymen bowed their heads in reverence, the knights behind them placing a fist across their chest so that their swords settled into a 'T' from crossguards.

"Is that so? Where is your god then, I would like to meet him and see for myself." Kaenis leaned forward on an elbow, a brow cocked with challenge in those azure eyes.

"You sir, might indeed be mighty, but our God has no need for an earthly body, He is a being of limitless grace and power, beyond any that walk this world." Brother Beyron insisted, face slightly red with the idea this canine creature wanted to brawl with his Lord.

"Disappointing, I have bested many so-called 'gods' in my time, and thus far we are the only ones to hold our ground against the threat of dragon-kind." Kaenis remarked with a sigh as he slumped back into the large oak chair, slouching slightly, "We thought that threat contained, but your kind must have disrupted their prison."

Before a rebuttal could come from Beyron again, a set of doors opened at the far end of the great hall, with several maidens entering carrying trays of food and drink for the gathering. Andulus gasped to himself to see Kana was among the female Canai, no longer within the gleaming armor but fabric attire of tunic and flowing dress.

"Ah, to lighten the mood, refreshment!" Kaenis sat up with a bright grin as a young Canai came beside him, placing a tankard of mead, a large plate of meats, breads, and several gathered foods from their lands before him. "Thank you, Ymira."

Andulus watched the male wink at the female who bowed her head before going to stand to the side, where a smaller table held replacement items or drink as the night went on. Kana walked past the knights, and placed her own tray's items before Brother Beyron as the head guest. The men collectively remained quiet besides offering a curt nod and smile, a shared glance of confusion among them to see what was before a fierce angel now serving them.

"Kana is what you know as a Valkyrie, mighty in battle, but at home they pride themselves on caring for other warriors or company. It is not beneath them, or perhaps a low station as it might be for your women." Kaenis answered the unspoken question flatly, stamping out any comment or inquiry that might be offensive to sister or kin alike.

"Very well, there is much to learn about differing customs...but you mentioned the dragons, you know how dire that situation has become? Do you observe our battles passively?" Beyron cut back to the matter, the mission at hand. To hear it from him, Andulus realized the rumors were true then, it was worse than reports or their commanding officers were letting on.

"We do, eyes are kept on all parts of this world from our home by one of our most gifted Canai. He watches all, sees all that transpires. Your efforts have been immensely courageous, and that is why Kana went to you in offer of aid." Kaenis stated openly with an inclination of his head toward the waiting white-wolf.

"You have seen our struggles all this time...but, why not have come forward sooner? We have lost countless lives, regions of land to these monsters. Yet you stood by, when you had the power to stop them, or is that just a boast?" Brother Beyron's face was red, furious to know the wolfkin were able to see, know, and do nothing about the plight of man against such creatures.

The air crackled suddenly about them, the center of his eyes glowing white-hot when Kaenis' demeanor shifted from kind host to stern-faced, "Do not mistake our hospitality for lack of spine, priest. If we wanted it, your lands would be ours again." He growled, azure eyes narrowing with what the men thought were hints of glowing white-blue to them.

"How dare you! We have come as representatives of the greatest kingdom on the continent, it was she who asked us here and you threaten us instead?" Beyron exclaimed with a pointed finger toward Kana.

"Enough!" Came a resolute voice from behind the clerics, silencing Beyron with both tone and a gauntleted hand upon his shoulder as a knight stepped forward, "Please, forgive his temperament and rudeness. He forgets himself in the face of our potential allies, and most kind hosts. Now I must personally apologize for deceiving you, Kaenis."

The wolves all exchanged a quick glance as the silver-warrior reached up to remove his helm, placing it into the crux of his right arm before saluting with the left, a gauntlet to his chest. The man was young looking, long black hair falling across the gorget of his plate without the helmet to contain it, and strong green eyes staring at the blue of his host.

"I am Andulus Tyrn, King and Lord Defender of Midgard. I came here in person to see for myself if your word was true, if the legends of the wolfkin of Asgard held any weight. You have more than proven so already with your patience and welcome, so I ask you forgive my not being forthcoming, but if my people knew I wasn't at the capital now, they would surely think the worst." With that, the knight-king bowed his head and with a startled, wide-eyed moment so too did the other men about him.

Kaenis looked over to Kana as they shared a quiet moment of thought, before the wolves nodded in unison. The midnight male rose from his large oak seat to hold out an arm toward the assembly of men, pointing at Andulus with a stone-faced stare, "Tell me this then, Andulus. I see you hold the well-being of your people paramount, this is honorable, but to travel here in secret and not reveal yourself sooner to us...can we trust your kind, should you fall? Do men share your values, would they do what they must for the good of your realm?"

Andulus thought this over for a long quiet, before he gave a slow nod, "Aye, men don't all share my vision, but we try to maintain a realm of justice, peace, and good-will. We try against a world of races far stronger or gifted than ourselves, and for myself...I have tried to broker truce over sword when possible. I'm only a mortal man, but for its worth, you have my word that I and my line will honor any pact we forge here today."

This once more earned a glance between the sibling wolves, before they each looked to Andulus with a nodding smile, Kaenis grinning broadly as he reached down to lift his tancard, "Well said, very well said! Let us then set aside any misgivings, for a peaceful pact between our kinds!"

A relief settled on the gathered men, who each rose and offered their own respectful gestures as their king took up a tall mug himself, holding it high with a hopeful smile, "To peace, to the Canai!"

-????-

The races came together well, finding areas of common ground between them to bond over, but only by the constant guidance of Andulus, and reassurance of Kaenis for their kin respectively. Weeks turned to months as talks flourished into trade, exploration, and the lead cause: war.

The tide turned almost immediately in favor of the Tyrn realm when the wolves entered the fray. Drakes were no match for this new foe, they were simple brutes that followed initial orders of destruction, and relied on might to overpower man. Canai packs flanked their groups, tore into them as the humans held a line or fort. It became a hammer and anvil tactic that worked remarkably.

After a swift year, the Canai now aided the realm in a front to contain the still numerically superior monsters, keeping them bottled behind a formation of mountains and three strongholds. Kana held the center fort alongside Tyrn, her choice to both measure this king and test her prowess where the fighting was worst.

Andulus felt as though his heart would burst in his chest, drumming so hard as he watched the white wolfess in battle. His fingers gripped the stone of the battlements tight enough they were red and aching, teeth clenched in tension at his own uselessness. The figure out in the plains before the fortress moved like quicksilver, darting between foes like a bolt of lighting might among the darkest of clouds.

Four days. She had been fighting four days straight as the horde of dragonkin came for the linchpin outpost of their defense. Tirelessly Kana had slain one after another of the creatures that were greater in stature than even the Canai. They were so similar, humanoid in their bodies, tails and claws like her, but with tough hides. Their ability to exhale streams of forge-hot fire made the creatures far more deadly than wolf or man.

Kana possessed a strength greater than just her powerful physique, as mighty and agile as it was, the right arm delivered devastating blows on its own, or empowered the spear within it. The rune atop that paw glowed hot from constant use, causing her arm up to the elbow to take on the look of an iron in a forge. The left carried the opposite power, a rune of protection that allowed Kana to deflect or even absorb attacks to a degree, especially when empowering a shield.

"God, is there nothing more we can do? Where are the damned bolts for the throwers?" Andulus turned to glare at his rushing administrators, one of whom stopped in a fumbled bow with armfuls of reports or requests for aid.

"My lord, they were delayed on the high road, but are en route with Sir Kaenis having found them. They are making all haste!" The young man was clearly shaken, face pale, gleaming with sweat from fear and exhaustion from managing the logistics of the fort.

"How long?" The king questioned as flashes of dragon fire came from beyond the walls, stealing away his attention as his eyes scanned for where the silver warrior might be. He spotted Kana bashing her shield against the face of one drake, while delivering a killing blow with her spear to the torso of another.

There were still so many, for any of them cut down three more replaced it, as they began to encircle the radiating light of the fiery warrior. The wolf being the only light source out in the field as the sun refused to rise for another hour, casting shadows between bulking silhouettes of the drakes. There was no help coming in time, and Andulus began to doubt even the ability of Kana to continue at this pace.

"Ready the gate for me to exit, I'm joining Lady Kana. Now!" The lord-knight commanded as he strode down the stone steps of the battlement swiftly, ignoring the looks or protests of his advisors and closeby friend, Nemaen, who was doing his best to keep up morale, order, and some semblance of hope, who only exchanged curt nods with him in passing.

Serfs cranked levers, prying open the double-doored gate of the fortress as Andulus stepped between them, "Close the gate, send a signal flare when sight of the convoy comes!" The rumble of the oak doors chased the king before he was locked out of his outpost, reaching down to clasp a gauntlet about the hilt of his sword, "Pray it is soon."

Kana noticed the approaching knight between two beasts, snarling at the man so foolish to enter the fray, "You fool, get back in-" A heavy blow struck against the back of her head, staggering the wolf before she returned it, twisting into a slash of her spear, separating head from shoulders before she leapt up and over the growling horde.

Andulus watched the leaping, brief use of fiery wings before landing in front of him in a few steps, a white paw clasping the front of his armor to tug him forward, "Kana, I-"

"Do you have so little faith in me, you think a single man will turn the tide?!" Kana snarled, face furrowed in anger with streaks of bloodied dirt across alabaster features.

"Of course not, I merely wanted to be at your side, my lady." Andulus smiled, his tone calm as always even as she held him at the edges of his footing, "After all, I can't have you taking all the glory, that's not becoming of a king..."

For a moment, Kana's anger boiled further, before it melted away as always in the face of that simple smile, those green eyes. She released him with a huff from her nose, "I knew it, only worried for your ego. Do not get yourself killed, or I shall truly be furious." The wolf smirked with a bark before she turned on a heel, flew up and into the rushing line of drakes with her shield acting as a battering ram.

Andulus shook his head, chuckling before stepping into a building stride to join the white wolf. He drew his sword at last, the instant the hilt left the scabbard the blade ignited in flame; a gift, from Kana on behalf of the Canai, to honor their battles together in the year since creating a pact of their peoples. Forged at Tel'nase by their best craftwolves, personally blessed by Kana herself with a bestowal of her fiery power.

The knight joined the valkyrie in battle, weaving his blazing weapon in graceful yet powerful arcs to sever limb, cleave apart armor, and waste no movement or stroke. What he lacked in physical stature to both Canai or dragon, the man held in surprising reflexes and dexterity.

The drakes were mighty but lacked finesse, they relied on landing powerful blows against weaker prey; however, against these two opponents, speed found them missing in frustration. The months of watching, battling alongside one another allowed the pair to fight in tandem in unexpected unison.

Speartip or burning blade, either ended the life of another snarling drake in swift order, with any return strike finding only empty air or the parry of shield and sword. Though the two warriors had to give slight ground as the large bodies collapsed among themselves, it was gradual but evident. They were holding for minutes, then half an hour saw them mere feet away from the iron-studded doors.

"They'll surround us soon, not much room left before our backs are against walls!" Andulus called out to the wolf, trading footing with a drake before it thudded beside him after a killing stroke. "We don't have much time, where is your brother?"

"Not close enough." Kana said more to herself than to reply, glancing up at the night sky to see only the earliest hues of sunlight. The drakes hated the bright rays of daylight, their eyes meant for the dark of underground and night from a lifetime of hiding in caverns. "Andulus, flee back to the fort, I need you away from here."

"I've barely helped-"

"Now!" Kana snapped over her shoulder at the knight before a wide sweep of her spear whirled about, knocking away or decapitating the nearest drakes just above the man's height, giving him room to retreat. "Trust your valkyrie." She offered a toothy grin as he obeyed in swift order.

The moment Andulus had begun running, the Canai knelt in place upon one knee, spear braced into the ground in a point upwards. Her eyes glowed a hot blue as she stared into the sky, "All-mother, hear me! Your Spear asks you for aid! For my blood and service, slay these foes with me!"

Even as the recovering drakes moved to enclose their stationary foe, their attention went skyward with a boom of thunder. An aurora of light roared down seemingly from the moon herself, centered upon the white wolf in a beam of swirling lights, incinerating all but Kana within itself. It encompassed an ever larger area, reaching outward in blinding power that stopped only feet away from the outpost where Andulus shouldered against an oak door. He shielded his wide, watering eyes with his opposite gauntlet, trying to see the wolf in the burning glare.

What wasn't eradicated by the aurora had lost morale, breaking away to flee the pillar of lights suddenly called upon them. It was only moments, but for a long few minutes there was only the thrumming of hot light, before at last it withdrew in a vacuum of sound and air. The drakes had quit the field, to return to their mountainous lairs and prisons alike.

Kana wavered in place with a turn to look at Andulus, giving an exhaled grin, "See? Nothing...to me..." Even leaned on her spear, her strength was gone, expended to channel her Goddess. The warrior dropped to her other knee before collapsing into the blooded ash of the ruined field.

Andulus shot across to the Canai, stumbling down into place beside her to drop his sword aside, the flames gasping out without a wielder as he gently lifted, turned Kana to himself.

"Kana, can you hear me?" The knight felt his chest tighten, heart drumming fast as he cradled the battle-worn wolf, "Please, tell me that wasn't some last ditch...thing, just for our sake!" His armored fingers clasped about a shoulder, about the back of her head as he held closer still, any facade of his feelings dropped at the thought of having lost the valkyrie.

"...Stop...your whining...I am fine...exhausted..." The wolfkin whispered up at the male, eyes barely open with a soft smile up to the one who would cry for her possible loss. "You...foolish man." A paw came up to weakly cup the side of his face, brushing fingertips along the stubble of his jaw before she turned in against him, clinging about the knight as she gave into the dark of sleep.

Andulus closed his eyes with an exhale of relief, then looked upward to the fading sight of the moon, the sun finally rising to grant the world morning. "Thank you..." He uttered to the sky above, though to which higher power he wasn't sure at that moment.

The king moved to rise and carry the Canai in his arms back to the castle with cheers erupting from the men along the battlements and the now open gates, several attendants rushing to aid their king or the mystical female in his grasp. All were refused as Andulus personally carried the spent form of Kana into the small keep and his quarters, laying her into the bed with a final look across her resting features, more peaceful than he'd ever seen the she-wolf.

"Kana of Tel'nase, if only...I were one of your kind to stand beside you for all time." Andulus said quietly, then turned to leave her alone for much earned rest, the door closed behind the king before dozens of men needed his attention, for new orders or questions about what had just occurred. There was going to be much to explain and consider.

-

Kana stirred with a groan, reaching up to rub at her face with her paws only to realize both were clean. She blinked and looked down, covered in a large fur blanket but nothing else below, "Tch, I will beat him for this." A growl as the warm red of blush caressed her features, clutching the blanket to her chest before a knock came to the door.

"W-what?!" She actually felt flustered, suddenly less sure of herself without her armor or weapons in some place far from any kin or home. Blue eyes darted about the room to find the spear, shield, and armor neatly arranged on the far wall.

"It's Andulus, Lady Kana. May I enter?" Came the one voice in the moment that could worsen that blush, to cause a flurry of butterflies inside her stomach.

"Absolutely not! Who gave permission to remove my armor? Did you see my body?" Kana snarled out even as she tried to roll, then rushed out of bed towards her wargear. The door began to open against her protest to make her freeze, halfway between bed and armor rack.

"My Lady, only the female attendants here saw and clean-" A shield came whirling across the room, missing his head by hairs only to embed in the wall a few inches with crunched wood.

"Out! Now!"

Andulus almost fell backwards in retreat, yanking the door closed behind him. He turned and faced the glances of fear from the serfs, or the amusement of nearby knights. "Heh, she's uh, bit battle weary is all! I seem to have startled our guest."

The king had a turn to blush as he left the Canai in peace to return to matters at hand, with word of her brother only hours away at last with resupply and reinforcements. He was thankful the only thing wounded in the battle now was his pride.

Kana stood in the room naked, chest rising and falling another long moment with her arm still outstretched from throwing her shield in panic. This man actually undermined her nerve, causing her emotions to overrule training or composure.

With a slow exhale the wolf pulled a chair from the desk just by the rack, dropping into it with her face in her paws, "All-mother help me, I dare not think it...I cannot allow myself these feelings. We are vastly different creatures, yet." His face, that soft smile and emerald eyes that saw her for more than a weapon. She was his equal even as king, she was never lesser, or viewed as some kind of beast despite the barely veiled tolerance from the priests around him.

"It cannot, and would never work out." She scolded herself, trying to snuff out the fire that roiled in her gut that pleaded with her to talk to him, confess what these many months had created. "Yet, I can allow myself to dream."

Kana returned to bed, body still feeling the need for rest. She brought about the blanket before closing blue eyes as a smile came to her muzzle as sleep came quickly, and within her dream the silver knight was waiting for her.