Elann held her bread for him to taking, biting from it little more than once. She said she wasn’t hungry, he wasn’t surprised, not anymore. His attempt to get her to eat more had been futile, but he also didn’t wonder why the other women of her tribe said she was too thin. As long as she healthy Noah didn’t care, but she was a level of thinness which rivaled that of Aimee, and Aimee was thin herself. The wolf was a well constructed being of muscle, meat, and bone, she was lithe and agile. Noah wasn’t sure he could say the same for Elann aside from witnessing her ability with a bow and arrow.

Noah took her bread and put it into his bowl. He was thankful because it meant he didn’t have to eat much of the porridge and could fill up on bread and water. He munched as he followed her through the clearing and towards the bank of the river. Then he watched her climb onto the boulder, moving to stand beside the rock she sat on with one hand holding the bowl from beneath and the other consistently feeding bread into his mouth.

He was watching the river’s flow from east to west, as it was flowing from the mountains Zeltiva laid behind. Elann piped up over the babbling of the river, asking about the rain. Noah shrugged, not dismissively but because he didn’t necessarily agree. He swallowed what was in his mouth before speaking,

“It smells like rain,” he said plainly, “a little like grass, maybe.”

He peered at her, wondering what she was going to say in reply, as he crunched down on the last piece of his own bread.

“What would you have done if I hadn’t kissed you?” He was truly curious. If Elann hadn’t pleaded and nearly commanded him to do so, he wouldn’t have. He would have continued to play the game until he was satisfied with the fun had, and there was no telling when that would be.