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Wolves were precarious creatures. Sage was coming to understand this as she watched the grey wolf snap against her shield of shadows. They tinted the way it looked, but Sage still made out the pure animalistic hatred on its face, the excited look of predator hunting its prey.
Sage wanted to smirk, and it seemed the mutt caught onto it as it roared and started throwing itself against the shadows relentlessly, making the strength of them waver ever so slightly. Nonetheless, Sage was powerful herself and didn't let her shadows down, not for a moment. This wolf obviously was obsessed with her brother (she would address that later) and wished for Sage to die on this rainy day. She urged her shadows to push the grey wolf back, and it snarled in outrage.
"Please," Elis said calmly when Sage began to feel fed up with the entire situation and considered murdering the wolf for the greater good of her life. He stepped in front of the wolf, who automatically stopped attacking, but remained growling low in its throat at Sage. "Come on, now, can't we all be friends?"
Sage scoffed. "Cleary, your mutt has its qualms about that."
The wolf snapped its jaws. Elis laughed good-naturedly. The sound was melodic to Sage's ears, and it made her think of when they were human and younger, and they sat beside a fire, cooking their meal for the day, enjoying the crisp coolness of the night and the warmth of each other. His laugh had almost been the same as this one, just a bit shriller, still working itself into the man he was going to be when he was older.
"Well, she isn't a mutt, so please don't call her that," Elis replied with a smile. "She's my best friend."
Sage could not understand how he found companionship within canines that smelled worse than the polluted rivers of New York, but she figured that Elis had his own way of living his vampire life. She would not judge him for it—not yet.
The wolf paused for a brief moment as if it wasn't expecting Elis to speak those words. Its mouth was open in shock, and it actually took a step back, stunned. Then, almost as if it came to a conclusion, it nuzzled itself into Elis's side, rumbling deep. Sage watched with a deep fascination (and disgust) as Elis rubbed it back. It seemed as though he was finding comfort in the wet strands of its fur. His entire body relaxed as he leaned into it contentedly.
Sage frowned. It reminded her too much of the princess who was young and fell in love with Elis's heart, his charm and his smile, and then broke his heart. He had been comforted by her, too.
"I have come in search of you," Sage stated swiftly as the two got lost in each other.
Elis turned his head, and his sopping wet hair shifted with it. His hand still rested in the wolf's fur, fingers caressing the strands carefully.
"Ah, yes," he responded. "So, I heard. Pray tell, what is it that you are in need of?"
You, Sage wished to respond. She desired to scream about how much she needed him in her life once more. About how she believed him to be dead. About how seeing him at the inquiry had left her mouth tasting sour for the months she was in solitary. She wanted to scream that they needed to run—to rid themselves of this monstrous world they were apart of unwillingly.
