"Where did you get that thing anyway?" Serenity asked him, hopping up just enough to touch the new earring with her nose. "You didn't actually...?"
"I did."
Penumbra's ear flicked, and the bat wing jiggled. Serenity Moon made a squeamish sound and licked her nose clean of the touch as they walked. Patrol was both her least favorite and her most favorite job. At any given moment, they could spot trouble at the border, and she could spring in and be a hero. 90% of the time, though, it was boring and quiet. She appreciated that Penumbra had decided to join her this time, as she hated being alone even with the full moon out watching over them.
"Why?" she asked, making a face. "It was just a poor bat. It probably was just trying to find its way home."
Penumbra countered, "It's the same as wearing feathers."
"No, no, it's not! No-one wears a whole bird wing! And sometimes birds gift you feathers!"
"The bat was my kill, at any rate. I wanted to make use of everything it had to offer." He gave her a sidelong glance. "I still have its other wing if you wanted to wear it."
"EW!" The she-wolf gagged and skipped a few steps ahead in her disgust. Not that it mattered: Penumbra's strides were long like hers was, and he caught up effortlessly. At least he didn't laugh, though Serenity swore his eyes looked amused.
Those eyes...They were the same shade of blue-green as hers. She had been appreciating that more recently. Usually they were reserved, narrowed in suspicion, or staring ahead like they did now. Always at the task at hand. Always so serious. But then there were times like this, when Serenity caught just a glimpse of something softer in the moonlight, and she remembered that under that thick fur was a beating heart, the same as hers. She wondered what he saw in her eyes in turn...Or did he just look right through her, so focused was he on everything else?
She peeled her gaze away with a jerk and cursed inwardly. She was being silly, staring like that. It was the moon's fault, she wanted to say, bathing him in that light like some...dark prince...
"Are you done being gross?" Serenity asked him, clearing her throat and hoping she wasn't blushing noticeably. When Penumbra grunted, she took that as a yes. "I wanted to talk to you about something. I'm, um...I'm gonna leave soon."
She didn't mean for it to sound so dramatic, but it was the first time she had said it aloud to someone other than her friend, Flickering Wisp. And it was different talking to your friend than talking to someone else...who was also her friend...right? Or. Hrm. Anyway, she hadn't even told her dad yet. She figured telling a few others before that would make this whole thing easier for when she laid it out for Moonlit Snowfall. Only...Penumbra's silence was driving her crazy. Her ears fell back briefly.
"Not like permanently or anything," she went on, looking straight ahead so she didn't get extra flustered. "I just think...There's so much I haven't seen. Things I need to find out. Others I want to help. I can't do that just being stuck here. You could say it's, I dunno, a calling?"
He was frowning now. Damn it, she sounded so childish. Weh I'm bored here so I want to leave my family and go do who knows what at who knows where. Serenity regretted bringing it up at all.
Penumbra asked, "When are you leaving?"
"I need to talk to Papa and the alpha about it, so...I guess soon?"
Another silence. Serenity Moon's heart sank the longer it went, but she had to try.
"Wisp is going with me. I was wondering if you wanted to come, too."
Penumbra's gait slowed unexpectedly. Serenity matched him and turned her head, trying to look calm but feeling uncertainty creep up. He was looking at her now, not through - and she wasn't sure what she saw in those eyes this time.
"Leave?" he asked, the word coming out flat.
"Not permanently," she reminded him. "You've got a good heart, Penumbra, and I," like you, "thought you wanted to help others just like I do. We could make sure those that aren't as lucky as us have someone watching out for them. Maybe we could even bring them to the pack with us."
"A good heart." The male's voice was low and biting. "Do you really think I would leave my home just because you asked? Because you've been watching me?"
Serenity's heart skipped a beat and then promptly dropped into a hole.
"You-?"
"It's not subtle."
Her face burned, though whether from anger or embarrassment was hard to tell. "It's not about that," she started to say, but Penumbra cut her off.
"Perhaps you didn't realize, so here is a reminder: I have a duty to Dawnstar, Serenity Moon. I will not abandon my family, even if you would rather abandon yours." He turned towards a split in the patrol route, curt and stiff. "I wish you the best of luck on your journey."