The morning light filtered gently through the tall windows of Noel's room, casting soft lines across the floor. Outside, the snow was gone. Birds chirped. Spring had officially begun.
Noel sat on the edge of his bed, barefoot, with Noir curled up in his lap. The small wolf was asleep, chest rising and falling slowly, head nestled in the folds of Noel's robe. His fur, dark and faintly violet, shimmered in the warm light.
Noel stroked his back absently, eyes distant.
'Now Marcus is off with Clara to train in the Nivaria region...'
He paused.
'In the original story, he never found out about the illness spreading in the north, atleast not this soon. He couldn't. Marcus wasn't close enough to Elyra this early in the story. No one ever told him what was happening. That's why her mother died.'
His fingers stopped moving for a moment.
A quiet exhale.
