Elann’s fear would not have been penalized here. Noah was fearful as well, something he confessed to her whenever he traversed into the wilds. He had his sister and Elann with him though, Zulrav watching overhead. It made the feeling of fear lessen in his belly, lessen enough for him to dedicate his attention to Elann and the sounds around them. She said she heard the wind, to which he nodded, then looked in the way she indicated. He nodded again, confirming her hunch.

Noah took her hand again in his and led her in that direction. “You know how I call you my moon?” he said, looking back to her briefly as he stepped over a downed branch. “How you guide me through the night and the darkness, the Zeltivan lovers’ saying?” He looked forward again, ignoring the crunching of twigs that Aimee was doing as the wolf trailed behind them, her fluffy tail in the air and her nose to the ground.

“Before you, there was Zulrav. I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m listening to the wind as it tells me the direction. I can’t see in the dark but I’m not afraid of it, Zulrav gives me light.”

Noah stopped again, his head swiveling from side to side as he awaited the next whisper from the wind. When it did come, it was more than a whisper. The force of the wind rushed over the three of them, urging them in another direction that Noah went without hesitation. The wind continued to push at their back in gusts that didn’t seem to end or wane in their strength. When they did, Noah stopped again.

“He has different ways to communicate,” Noah went on. “Sometimes the signs are subtle, like what you heard, and sometimes they are obvious, like this pushing, or when the lightning strikes in the distance, or when the thunder sounds above. It’s how He talks to me, tells me what He wants me to know.”

Noah turned to face her again, holding her hand still. “When He speaks to me on the wind,” he said, growing quiet but his mouth still moved. The wind was absent in that moment but a gentle breeze would be felt on Elann’s ears, Noah’s voice coming through on a delay. The words said: “When he speaks to me on the wind, this is what I hear: whispers in his voice or in no voice at all. Sometimes they are just feelings, emotions like happiness and joy, or anger and frustration, or curious, and even annoyance.”