A Blood-Like Rain (All the Hounds of Hell #2)

- Kaden -

I was sitting on the stone wall that surrounded the barracks with Sam, drinking beer and trying to stay away from the office for a while.

The day was beautiful. The sun was bright, but there were enough clouds to diffuse its intensity without darkening the sky. It was warm, but not too humid, and the breeze made training more comfortable.

We were a little far, but we could see the men training a little further. They were doing hand-to-hand, and with them were Darren and Eva.

I hadn't had time to check on them much in the last few weeks.

Darren was covered in dirt from head to toe for all the times he'd been thrown on the ground. Eva was dressed as if she'd chosen her workout outfit for a photo shoot. Can't say she didn't look great, but I'm not too sure she got the gist of practicality. She was also a lot cleaner. I've a feeling people are a lot less comfortable with throwing her down as much, but she wasn't as clean as she'd been when she started, and her hair was fraying out of her ponytail.

She may not have all the grace of a seasoned warrior, but she did make out for it with enthusiasm. She looked like she was having a great time.

"You watched their training some?" I asked Sam.

He took a pull from his beer.

"Some, " he said. The wall was high enough for our feet to dangle above the ground.

Darren was getting his ass kicked by Anders. He didn't land that many punches, but when they did land, Anders was pushed back a meter or so by the sheer force of it. Eva was clapping in the back and behaving like his personal cheerleader.

"He's not the greatest warrior I've ever seen. He lacks technique. But he had some ground work done, so he's not starting from nothing. He's no match for our bests, though, but when he hits... Damn man, blood does make a difference. I could train all my life and never land one like that."

"You've trained all your life, dumbass, " I told him.

"I know I'm good. But I'll never have that potential, " he said thoughtfully. "I can pile on as much muscle as I want, it'll still be not enough to match that."

"More muscles? You nearly have to walk sideways through doorways, " I mocked.

"Yeah, you're right. I should train more, " he said matter-of-factly.

I punched his shoulder.

"Oooowww..." he wheezed. It wasn't that hard. I gave him a look, he just drank more beer.

"They're really motivated, " I noted about my sister and her mate.

"They are, " Sam acknowledged. "It will take a while before they're battle-ready though, especially her. But him? Give him two to five years and he's gonna be real solid. Might take her more, five, maybe ten, but she's not from weak stock so ... who knows?"

"I don't think their goal is the battlefield, just to be ready if anything happens, " I noted.

"Not a bad goal."

"No."

I thought some more.

"She has changed. A lot, " I said.

"Because of him?"

"Maybe some. She used to be just a spoiled princess. Took me a while just to make her focus her energy a bit more, make her care about more than her social life. She was just starting to be competent at work when he came into the picture. But now she's studying. I mean, man, she's never applied herself at anything. She had the necessary grades to pass at school and that was all she wanted. It was like that about everything. She'd just put in the minimum amount of effort required. Now she's learning a new language and actually studying. She said she wants to study secretarial something or other." I shook my head. "She's training, not impressive, but she's making actual efforts. Last week she was reading our last census and making notes. She gets herself involved in his work and has asked Marie for more." I took a long sip. "I thought she might not want to do more travelling to other packs, considering what happened last time, but she's been studying other supernaturals and has mentioned to me emissary work a few times. I think talking to one who did that kind of job resonated with her. She's involved. She's dragging our sisters in too." I watched her a little incredulously. "Last week, I heard her give lectures to our sisters about getting their shit together."

"She's getting older too, " Sam said. "She's barely out of teen. She's learning how to be an adult. Maybe he's a good influence on her."

"Maybe, " I said. "First time I saw him, he kinda looked like a lost puppy. Like some kind of arrow that as been shot but had no target, just going in circles, going nowhere."

"He looks focused now."

"Yeah. I think she aimed him right. She gave him a direction."

"Not a bad thing."

"No."

"I guess that's why they're mates. They look like a good match."

We watched Darren make a stupidly wasteful move, he got hit, obviously, but he took the hit well and it got him close enough to give a hit of his own. It knocked the wind out of Anders, knocking him on his ass. It was a risky move, take a hit to win one. Generally you don't do that unless desperate, but he was getting winded and probably realized that if it went on he'd get worse and wouldn't get back on top. He was rushing things a little too much, but the gamble paid off. And Sam was right, when he made a hit, he made it worth it.

He was panting some, while Anders was trying to get his breath back. Eva just rushed to him and jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and locking her mouth on his. Within two or three seconds things got heated and some guys pushed them out of the way, nagging at them. Darren just moved away with her wrapped around him like a koala. I've no idea how he could see where he was going but he didn't hit anything and they disappeared through the door that led to the changing room.

"How's been your health lately?" Sam asked.

"Could be better." I drank. Sam was one of the rare ones who knew. Also one of the rare people whom I talked to.

"How bad?" he asked. We were looking at the other warrior tumbling on the ground practicing grappling.

"Getting worse, " I answered.

"Attacks?"

"Some, " I conceded.

"Heart?"

"I don't know. I've woke up unable to breathe. I mean nothing was working, I wasn't ever trying to breathe. I couldn't even feel my heartbeat. I was just there paralysed, like I was dead, my head just didn't know it yet."

"Man, that sound not good. Could it be sleep paralysis?"

"Maybe. Not sure. But I don't think so."

"But you started breathing again."

"After a while. I don't think it as lasted more than a minute so far."

"You mean it happened more than once?" He turned his head to look at me.

"Yeah. It was rare at first, but now it's nearly once a month." I ignored his stare. I watched the men some more. After a while Sam returned his gaze to the field. We drank more beer in silence.

After a while my sister left the building riding on Darren's back, they were both smiling. They looked like teenagers. He walked on the grass until he reached the dirt path going in Blakeden's direction. She noticed me before they went out of sight. She rose one hand and waved it frantically side to side, smiling at me. Her other arm was around Darren's neck, her legs on either side of his waist. I gave her a single wave.

It reminded me of seeing her on dad's shoulders, doing exactly the same thing, in pigtails and eating ice cream that kept melting down and splatting on the top of his head.

"Kids grow so fast, " I said.

"Wait to have some. From what I heard, it's worse when it's your own."

I shrugged.

"You're ever gonna get some?" I asked him.

"Don't think I have the kind of life for that, " he said.

"Because you just sleep around?"

"Mostly."

"Ever thought of settling?"

"Some, " he said. "Ever thought of settling?" he asked me back.

"Some, " I admitted.

"It's not so bad."

"Don't it just, I don't know, feels empty at times?"

"I thought you and Ylva were getting serious."

"No, " I said. "Ylva is not the serious type."

"Which is why you chose her."

"In part."

"If it feels empty, then why not try anything else."

I shrugged.

"So you're just gonna wait for her?"

"It's not exactly that I'm waiting, " I corrected him.

"But you're gonna be serious with her or when you've gotten her out of the way."

I shrugged again.

"Ever thought your mate does this willingly to you?"

"You mean like a curse?" I asked him.

He nodded.

"I thought about it. I took measures, talked to a wizard. No one found anything."

"So it's not it."

"If it is, it hasn't left any trace that we found."

"What will you do if it is?" he asked me.

I gave him a murderous glare.

"Of course, " he acknowledged. "You have any other idea what is happening then?"

"A million, but anytime I research it, nothing fits. My father has taken it upon himself to do research too."

"He found anything?"

"He's calling me twice a week to ask more questions, trying to see if anything fits with what he found. Nothing simple as worked."

"What about what's not simple?"

"Then anything goes, man."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

"I mean, someone can make a deal with a god, or reach from the beyond, or use ancient magic from another dimension. At this point, there's a bajillion ways to do it, but nothing like that can occur without some serious cost. It's highly improbable for someone to go to such length. The prices for such things can range from one's own soul, or sanity, or eternal enslavemen-."

"So it would mean, some major ass grudge."

"If it's an attack, then yes, " I concluded

"You don't think it's an attack."

"You think I did things to warrant such spite at thirteen?"

He thought about it. "What if the grudge is about your father and not you?"

"It's possible, " I admitted. "My father and I considered it?"

"But you don't think that's it?" he said looking at my face.

"It behaves like a mate bond."

"What if they used the bond? What if they took her and are using her against you?"

"Also a possibility."

"You don't think that's it?"

"I don't know if that's it, " I corrected him.

"What if that's it?"

"Then what can I do? I can't freaking find her. I've tried everything I could think of. I've nothing to track her with."

"What about magic?"

"I'd still need something to create the link with her. I have nothing."

"What about you, can't you be the thing that links the two of you?"

"Nope, not without at least marking one another. A link must be established first so that I could use it."

"This is frustrating, " he said out of options to suggest.

You don't say, I thought sarcastically. I turned my head slowly to glare at him.

He eyed me sideways and drank more beer. He realized it might not be a good idea to keep pushing.

After a few minutes he asked, "Could she be dead? Like haunting you? That's why you feel her, but don't see her?"

"I thought about it, but Ylva saw nothing immaterial hanging around, " I said. "Or at least anything like that. She found a few angry ghost but got rid of them, " I corrected myself.

"Angry ghosts?" he asked.

"People I killed, " I explained.

"So Ylva can exorcise ghosts?"

"No. But Valkyries delve half in the realm of the living and half in the realm of the dead."

"Kinda like reapers for warriors?" he thought aloud.

"In a way, " I conceded.

He froze for a second thinking frantically.

I turned to him inquisitively.

"Ylva can sense death right?" he asked me finally.

"Not really."

"I mean, I saw her twice get real interested in a guy, like her eyes focused real hard, and then not much later, he was dead."

"Valkyries carry the souls of dead warriors to the hereafter, so when one is about to fall, sometimes she sense it coming, but it's not the same as sensing death."

"But she knows when someone is about to die."

"Warriors, " I corrected.

"But you're a warrior, you qualify, but she's not sensing your death. She would have said something."

"Where are you going with this?" I asked.

"So maybe you don't die. Maybe you find her."

"Or maybe I don't die on a battlefield, " I said.

"Do you have to die on a battlefield?"

"To qualify for a Valkyrie soul extraction, yes. Besides, I don't worship Odin. There's a lot of this that could come into account. And Ylva don't always notice deaths."

"So she's not always taking care of souls of warriors?"

"She's never doing that. She can sense some but she's no Valkyrie, just part Valkyrie. And not such a big part."

"How much?"

"It was her grandma, " I said.

"Her father was a werewolf, right?"

"Yes."

"What about the other? What about her granddad?"

"Man, don't ever tell her I told you. She hates people knowing."

He nodded.

"Human."

"It sounded like you were about to say something horrifying. Anti-climatic much, " he complained.

"It's horrifying to her."

"Why?"

"Because she sees it as a weakness."

He shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not."

"Exactly. But not to her, " I told him.

"She's more than strong enough. Don't see why it bothers her."

"I'm not sure it's about her as much as something deeper. I don't know what, but she's uncomfortable about her lineage."

"But not about being part Valkyrie?"

"I think it's different. She's mentioned a few times that Valkyries don't make the greatest mothers-."

"But her grandma decided to make a family with a mortal, " he mused.

"No. She fought with a warrior and got freaky afterward. No babies were to be involved."

"Oh."

We emptied our beers.

"I guess I should stop avoiding work." I said jumping off the wall.

"Yeah, what if the boss found out?" he teased, but stayed on the wall.

I grabbed his leg and gave one quick pull. He went vertical for a second and landed on his back in front of the wall.

"Remind me to never pick a fight with you, " he said wheezing. I walked away.

He eventually dusted himself off, cursing, then went back to work.

- Kaden -

I came out of the plane two hours ago, and was already through with the meeting. It hadn't been that complicated. Nubinero had refused all our demands. This was the last minute-ditch effort to end things peacefully but their forces and mine were already in position for battle. Weeks of back and forth. I wasn't that invested in the matter, but a few of my allies were, so I did them the curtesy of indulging them a bit.

There were nine packs in the end who stood here today. Warriors and Alphas. The battlefield would not be so far from Monaweard, the first pack to have raised the alarm about this whole mess, but far enough not to put at risk Mariqueen's territory and non-warrior residents. But still close enough to be a respectable commute.

The place chosen was far enough from humans not to notice and get involved, in the nook of a small mountain range that would-along with its extensive forest-defuse the sounds of battle. Not all conflicts have locations this well prepared, but the extent of human society's sprawl is considerable and it has to be taken in consideration, unless you want to trigger the human warning bells and find yourself facing a government's military might, or find yourself locked in a facility of which you'll never escape. It's not only werewolf society that worries about that, but the entirety of the supernatural world. To take blatant risk with humans can have a lot of other species ready to rally against you to take care of the threat. I've been part of such party before.

Thankfully, Nubinero has not pushed us in a situation where we had to readjust on the fly and risk for this to occur. They've been rational enough to know how problematic this could become, but also that making this conflict fought in a more risqué setting could lead to the involvement of others who were not originally willing to be involved, only to stop them from attracting human attention.

On the other hand, it also meant that they were confident enough in their capacity to fight us head on, without land advantages, surprise on their side, or guerrilla warfare, and still have a good shot at winning, or even taking us down.

We had to be careful about this one.

From what we found, the facility we shut down was mostly a source of income, and their victims aimed at the black market. But they had a few groups they controlled on the payroll, like the one that attacked Ghealach. It was mostly what the facility was financing, and those were bringing in what was far more worrisome things to take into account about our enemy. Super-weapons.

That's what a lot of powerful artifacts can become. Their use are sometimes extremely arcane and particular. Some could only be used by a certain person, some at a specific confluence of planets, others may have widely different result depending on who uses it or how. Knowledge about such artifacts is sometimes scarce, sometimes conflicting, and others completely lost to time.

On the up side, they targeted mostly smaller artifacts, in spiritual weight that is. Those were easier to steel and were not as strongly protected. Or so that was the information I had on them. I could be wrong and they could be holding the Lance of Destiny, or the Book of Thoth, or the Cintamani Stone. That would suck for us.

I'd manage to have a partial list of what they may be in possession of-we also found a few artifacts they sold either because they found no use for it, or were too strapped for cash, or in one case, the artifact attracted too much heat to keep it-and so far, nothing terrified me, but it got me very careful nonetheless.

We were moving in long convoys of off-road vehicles slowly on an old path through the thick forest. The hoods were whipped by branches and brush. It was a trail seldom travelled and it was narrower as we went in deeper. We knew we wouldn't be able to reach our destination on wheels, but the closest the better.

I didn't know how long that battle would be, but one thing I knew is that every battle is possibly the most difficult piece of exercise someone can perform, and everyone needed to save their strength as much as it was possible. I couldn't afford to have my men exhausted before we even began.

It was a long endeavor. We had to stop often to take a fallen tree off the trackway, or readjust our driving to the rugged terrain. But we had calculated this in our schedule and would not be late to our final location.

We could have shifted and run in a fraction of the time, but again, I wanted everyone as fresh and rested as possible. And this way we could carry a lot more with us. Weapons, ammo, or medical supplies. We had food and water too. I've faced battles before that has lasted days. Though, those were generally more a series of small attacks over a period of time than a full on army against army type battle. Yet there were still so many unknowns, and especially when magic is involved, things can rapidly take a weird turn. I wanted to be prepared.

Preparedness is one of the best tools for survival.

It took us a few hours and we gain a lot of altitude, but eventually we had to continue on foot. So we set up camps with the trucks and supplies, and finally trekked the rest on foot.

Some shifted at camps, while others piled on their weapons and body-armour.

Jayson, my beta, was at the head of the team that would take the higher grounds. Many of them snipers, others were ready to charge from a different angle. Mariqueen and her husband were at the head of the smaller pack and allies. David stayed at camp, and with a team, was getting aerial visuals and was connecting to infrared cameras some of my men were installing around the perimeter as we spoke, along with an array of sensors and microphones.

Him and the team I gave him, would be our eyes and ears and would help us face any eventualities.

After a little under an hour of walking, teams began diverging. We had prepared for multiple directions assault. Ideally we could surround and overwhelm the enemy rapidly and be back for breakfast, maybe even earlier.

I would lead the main charge with a few of my most faithful men. Ylva was with me on this team, as was Sam and our newest recruit Mishka.

I didn't know the guy much and I didn't trust him yet. So I kept a good eye on him. But so far, he had failed to betray us and has proven himself quite a capable warrior.

The group I was travelling with was much smaller now that the other teams, which were moving toward their designated targets.

"Is everything okay?" asked me Sam in a hushed voice.

I looked at him confused at his question. It took me a few seconds to realize my feet were slowing down.

For a second I thought my health might be falling apart at the worst of timing. But I stopped for a few seconds and gave Sam a signal to wait. He signaled for the others to continue ahead and waited silently beside me.

I closed my eyes the length of a few heartbeats and tried to assess the situation. I moved my attention from my head to my breathing, to my limbs, nothing clicked.

Why was I slowing then?

I don't generally do things like this without a good reason, so I shook my head at Sam and moved my attention to our surroundings. Were we observed? Followed?

Sam got the message and scanned the area himself, trying to catch any sign of an early attack.

Maybe this was a magical attack. I tried to feel the air around me, but magic as never been my strong suit.

I gave a quick comment in my earpiece for them to be vigilant and to send a few scouts ahead, just in case.

I found nothing that could have triggered my instincts to be careful.

I began moving slowly focusing on sight, hearing, and most of all smells. My nose was sharper than nearly everyone here, it could have been that my brain picked a smell that was worrisome, but not strong enough for me to really notice. So I put as much concentration in my task of sniffing the air as I could.

Sam let me track on my own, aware he could throw off whatever I'd find if he got too close, and had stayed behind. But I also knew he was keeping an eye on me. No matter how strong I was, or any of my men for that matter, the rule was you never leave anyone in a disadvantageous situation. Never near a battlefield, would one of mine travel alone, no matter how strong. I was not fond of unnecessary risks.

I was maybe ten meters away from my men when I noticed there was a faint undertone in the scents. Something that didn't fit in this desolated forest.

It was an old smell. Whatever it was, was gone now, and had been so for a long time. I walked a little further, barely able to notice the difference. It's only when I reached a little clearing empty of vegetation, with little other scents to hide it that my eyes widened.

My heartbeat was now beating frantically.

I took a few slow inhales, I needed to be sure I was right.

It reminded me of a drink I tasted in Indonesia. It was made with a rare flower, exotic and not from this realm, the flavours tingling in my mouth. It had been the most tasteful thing I'd ever ingested, yet the flavours subtle, and a little sweet, and intoxicating.

This smell had this faint exoticism to it. Shivers travelled all along my spine, and the hair on my arms stood on ends. My instincts were screaming at me to find the source of this smell and bury myself in it.

My breaths were heavy now.

I found my mate.

- Kaden -

I began to panic.

We were heading to battle, but I smelled my mate. I smelled my mate!

I tried to track the direction the smell came from but it was so faint I could hardly notice it. I moved in circles half in a daze. I found a line, a line she must have been traveling, but I couldn't tell which way she came from and which way she was going. And I tried to sniff both ways to see which seemed the strongest, the freshest.

Sam noticed my change in behaviour and got closer. When I noticed him, I raised my hand to make him stop. I was afraid his sheer presence would make me lose her scent.

It wasn't completely irrational either as my own scent on her tracks was enough to nearly destroy what little clue I had.

I went in further.

I followed one side of the track all the way to a small stream, then I lost her. I checked all over, on the other side, everywhere. The track ended here. My best guess was she walked in the stream for a while, the water masking her scent.

I didn't realize I had bolted in that direction, until I heard Sam running to catch up.

We were far now. The noise of my men, faint in the distance.

"What is it?" asked Sam worried.

"I found her, " I said in desperation. "I lost her."

"Who?" he asked confused.

"My bloody mate."

"Fuck! Now?"

"Yeah."

"This is not a good time for this."

"I know, " I growled in frustration.

I walked for a while, following the stream. I still couldn't pick up her scent, so I stop.

"What now?" asked Sam.

"I go the other way, " I said.

I went back on my track. It was easier to go by the scent I just left than try and pick hers again. I went at a dead run, Sam could barely keep up.

When I reached the clearing again I slowed down.

"What are you doing?"

I was back to where I was when I found her.

"Here, " I said, drawing an imaginary line in the air with my finger, going from where we just came from to the opposite side. "This is her track. I don't know what direction she went from but I know this side leads nowhere." I pointed at where we went. "Which means this is my only chance." I pointed in the other direction.

Sam looked back at the direction of our convoy then back at me, worried.

"I know, " I said. "It's the worst timing in the world, but if I don't give this a chance-." I didn't dare finish the sentence.

"I know, " he said.

"I can catch on quickly, " I said. "I just need to know if this leads somewhere."

Sam nodded. "There is still time until nightfall, " he said looking at the sky.

I looked too. There was time, but not that much.

I nodded. "Keep this quiet. Just in case it leads nowhere."

He nodded. "Wait..." he said. "You're going on your own?" It just dawned on him as I turned to leave.

"Keep things tight here, " I told him.

"No one moves alone. That's your own rule."

I looked in the direction I had to go.

"What if it's a trap?" he asked.

"I-." I hesitated. I shook my head. "I don't know, but I think I need to do this on my own."

"You don't make sense."

"I know, " I said in frustration. "Go, " I told him.

He looked like he was about to argue.

"I said go, " I insisted.

He looked like he wanted to defy me on this.

I turned and followed the scent. I took my phone out and waved it at him behind me. "We keep in touch." And I disappeared through the brush.

I gained pace as I followed the track. After a while, the smell got a little stronger and my heart did a backflip. This was the direction she went in.

I kept running at the highest pace I could maintain in the wood. I covered a lot of ground and I was probably kilometers from my men now.

Judging by the increase in her smell and my pace, she was probably walking, which explained why I was catching on, the track being a few hours old now.

It was not a well-traveled path. I was far in the woods and the mountain, it was hard to believe someone would travel here. A little further, there were some paths that would be far easier to travel. Was she lost, or was this deliberate?

The word of Sam resonated in my head.

What if this is a trap?

Was someone trying to get me away from civilization, from my men, from any resources or backup.

I should slow down, think about this, but my feet didn't seem to connect with my mind. I kept running.

There was now the growing sound of water. Another stream? A river? Had she walked deliberately into the water to erase her tracks? The stream had been small, easy to cross, so why risk getting her feet wet far in the woods, otherwise? Then was she doing the same thing here? Would I lose her smell again? The tracks were probably minutes old at best now. Would I lose her now that I'm so close?

The sun was not visible anymore, the orange glow slowly turning to midnight blue.

I was running out of time.

Even with my wolf eyes, my vision was getting limited in the thick forest.

I was close, I knew it.

I suddenly stopped.

If she was hiding her scent, she didn't expect to meet someone so far in the forest. I had run relatively silently, but at this pace, I would have sounded like an elephant to anyone with heightened senses. I slowed my trek to a walk, silent, undetectable. The wind was coming from behind me, no one would get my scent.

As I got closer to the river, the forest cleared, the wind pick up speed, and I smelled her just before I could see her.

There was this light exotic flower smell again, but it was richer now, softer, it reminded me of playing in the dead colourful maple leaf on the autumn ground as a child, of the feeling of strawberry juices running on your tongue, of a stormy night of April, of a warm blanket in front of a fire in the dead of winter, of the silkiness of a woman's skin on mine, and there she was.

A dark outline, barely visible at the edge of my vision, but I knew it was her.

She was maybe fifty meters from the river.

Because of the large rocks ahead, she probably couldn't see it and was guided by the sound.

I picked up speed, still silent. She was headed to the river. It was not a large or deep river. She could probably walk through easily, maybe even up or down the river. I could see the faint undulations of water moving around rocks that were close to the surface.

A few minutes more, and I would've probably lost her for good.

As I got close enough, I slowed my pace, not to jump on her, and I deliberately made my steps audible. I doubted sneaking on her was a great strategy, especially given the effort she was making to stay away from anyone.

I saw her shape tensed on the third step. She heard me.

She was wearing dark clothes-pants, and something with a hood covering her head.

She was probably five-six or five-seven.

She turned around slowly, carefully.

She stopped as her eyes landed on me. Her breathing accelerated.

I got closer.

She took a step back, so I stopped. Her breathing was still picking up speed and she put a hand on her chest.

She was probably feeling that same pang I was feeling. This tightness as if gravity as doubled only not on my skin, just my organs.

I raised one foot to get a little closer. She raised a hand, palms up, stopping me.

So I did.

"What are you doing to me?" she whispered, confused.

What did she mean? As another rush of wind brought her smell to me once more, I understood.

She couldn't smell me. She probably could barely see me in the growing darkness, especially at this distance, she could feel something, she just didn't know what this meant.

I dug in my pocket and took out a black bandana, I took a pebble on the ground and wrapped the bandana around it to give it mass, then I showed it to her, and threw it her way.

Her body language was that of confusion, but she caught it.

It took maybe three seconds for her to get the smell to her nose, and her body became a pure statue.

I looked patiently, and waited for her to process the information. It took a little while, but she took the bandana closer to her nose and inhale deeply.

Her cowl rose back to facing me.

She understood.

She knew.