They arrived in the town, smelling wrong. It was not unpleasant, exactly, but unfamiliar in a way that prickled at Henrietta's nerves.
She kept her hood low as she and Elis stepped off the narrow road and into the morning crowd.
Voices pressed in from all sides like vendors calling out prices, carts rattling over stone, boots scraping, and laughter too loud to be private.
It made her feel exposed, but at the same time, the familiarity of going in a town didn't fail to make her feel the nostalgia.
The necklace at her throat rested cool and heavy against her skin. Its magic dulled the edges of her presence, wrapped her wolf in something muted and distant. Not gone. Never gone, but quieter. Watching.
Elis stayed close, one hand curled lightly around Henrietta's forearm as if they were
