Mahina quickly hid the skeptical look on her face but Vi noticed it before she could. Instead of the heat she expected, it was like she was in that freezing water all over again and an involuntary shiver ran through her from her head to the tip of her tail. She was so grateful for La Luna, she would’ve never survived on her own. Back home everything was taken care of for her. Her schedule, when and if she ate, what she ate. If she knew she would end up here, would she have fought harder? Her ears fell back toward her head and her fur bristled. She’s not sure she would like the answer to that. She pretends to be brave… but is she?

She knows she’s going to have to tell Mahina at some point. Maybe for now it can only be some of the truth, she at the very least owed her that. The other stuff wasn’t important anyway. At the mention of Mahina hunting for her her eyes narrowed. She didn’t want anyone taking care of her, but she bit her tongue and tasted metal. She didn’t realize she bit a little too hard. Her nails dug into the ground and her muscles were taut from the frustration. She’s never felt more fragile and useless.

She’s a wolf! A predator!

And yet, she has never acted like one. Except once…

The memory made her icy veins warm up and she stood with a shake, shaking out the strain of her muscles. She walked closer to Mahina and sat, staring into her moonlit eyes, and she took a deep breath breathing in her warm, spicy scent. And she quickly sent a silent prayer to the moon that she wouldn’t think any less of her.

My past… I was born into royal family. My families home was called Arguentia. The word rolling off of her tongue easily with her accent. She was careful to say her families home… as that was never a home to her. Just a place she was forced to live.

Everything was handled for me, I was able to do nothing.

Nothing. She couldn’t hunt, that would mean she would get stronger. She couldn’t cry or fight, that would make her unwantable. She did have one thing, her friend. Possibly the only thing that kept her alive for so long.

Vi quickly looked up at the sky, quickly blinking away the tears that threatened to take over. She didn’t want La Luna’s pity.

I just wanted you to understand… was not my choice.

She took a breath, and finally met Mahina’s gaze once more, this time her eyes holding a look of fierce determination, her tail flicking at her side.

Pero juro ser diferente. (But I vow to be different.)

I will be strong like La Luna. If I am able to stay with you and your captain when we meet her.

She smirked playfully, trying to hide the anxiety clawing away inside her chest. She would try to prove every day that she was worth saving. She would never be the princess again. She would be so much more… maybe even a Valkyrja.