Dead Empress Backwater What happens next?

@Reade

Sharlee couldn't stop thinking about her time with Reade. She knew the season had been a big influence that day so she wanted to wait a couple of days before seeking him out. She knew what she'd felt then and she knew what she felt after but she needed to know if he still felt the same. Even though her mind told her that he did, that something had happened between them during that first meeting.

She'd also been slightly delayed with everything that had been happening in the pack. It all had to be dealt with but she needed to take the time for this so she'd gone in search of Reade. She hoped to find him quickly. The butterflies in her stomach were threatening to flutter out of her.

She made her way quickly through the backwater looking for his scent. When she finally found it she followed it until she caught up with him. "I'm so glad I found you," she said as she caught up to him.

Reade had been doing his best to keep busy, remaining attentive to the duties he'd taken upon himself. He didn't want to let anyone down, and their hours apart had been spent mostly hunting. Looking out for any danger. Filling caches. Checking in on Sharlee, but trying not step on toes. The Backwater was experiencing some shock
waves, and as someone who was still a bit of an outsider, he had the luxury of sticking to a routine in the background so that the rest of them could deal with whatever events transpired. Felt what they needed to feel. He'd make sure they had a bite to eat when they needed it, too.

His mind had cleared from the whirl of emotions spring had brought on, back to a more stable state of being, but Sharlee had not left his thoughts. Anything but. Her presence was burned there like a firebrand. He didn't doubt the Fates had sent him here, but grew more and more thankful and thrilled that here meant her.

From their first meeting he'd been interested in the tawny and ash woman, and that feeling only continued to grow. Any distance was simply his attempt to give her the space she might need to clear her own head. While he took care not to be too distant, he felt his heart leap toward his throat when she called out to him. They hadn't really taken the chance to sit together and talk about anything, yet.

Turning to her he gave a warm smile, his ears snapping forward keenly and his tail sweeping behind him. "I'm right here," he assured her, closing the distance in a leap and a bound to rest his head over her shoulders in an embrace before backing away to take in her gaze. She'd sounded nervous. But then, he was a bit, too. "Just thought you'd want to think things over by yourself, maybe," he explained with a gentle shrug. He hoped she'd not come to regret their choice, wanted her to be sure that he certainly did not.

So many things had happened in the backwater over the past few weeks. The loss of Sepherina was hard to understand. Now that she had come through her heat she felt she could grieve for her lost niece. She of course hoped for the safe return of Isla and Nix but she felt that they woukd have to return in their own way whether it was ideal or not. Since their time together Sharlee had taken notice of Reade's distance from her. Though she didn't understand why she was appreciative of it.

She'd need the time to deal with how she felt regarding the events that had taken place in the backwater. Reade was the one thing she didn't have to think through and figure out. She knew how she felt about him. She didn't know what the future heald for them but she knew that she had found someone that she felt she could count on. Over the past few days he might not have been at the forefront of her mind but he was there, a reminder that she wasn't alone anymore.

She smiled and quickened her pace when she heard his voice. "I'm glad I found you," she said as she approached him. The tawny woman brushed her muzzle against his in greeting once she'd reached him. His words made her smile again. "Thank you the time to myself was needed but because of Sepherina. I didn't have to think about us. I meant everything that I said."