AALYAN HAD LEFT HIS old home unsure of what the future held for them. But he’d given them what he had, and he’d give them more if they simply asked. The only thing he knew for sure was that no matter how hard Milthu hugged him, he didn’t belong there anymore.
Travelling in human form was frustrating but necessary if they were to carry the tools they needed. It became particularly unbearable on the way back; his clothes smelled like his little brother’s tears and his leopard wouldn’t settle, and his human side wasn’t doing much better.
This was to say that he was distracted enough that it was Naneni who paused and turned her head. “Is there...?”
Aalyan inhaled deeply, the first instinct. Only then did he realise his brother’s scent was considerably more intense than it could have been on
