( kalani x royal ) @ursiiformes
Kalani leaned against the doorway of the clinic, the scent of antiseptic and metal sharp in the air. Her arms crossed loosely over her chest, Echo pressed to her leg like a restless shadow — three heads shifting, sniffing, whining softly as if impatient for her to move first.
“Didn’t think you’d still be playing doctor,” she said finally, her tone light enough to pass for teasing, but there was a tremor of something else beneath it — a tired kind of warmth. “Figured you’d have found a cave somewhere by now. Wrestled a bear for the title.”
Kalani’s gaze flicked down to Echo, whose tails swayed lazily before one thumped against the doorframe. “Echo dragged me here,” she went on, softer now. “Guess he really wanted to check on you.” Echo gave another low chuff — the sound halfway between a bark and a sigh — before settling his heads on his paws.
Kalani looked back at Royal, meeting his eyes in that long, unguarded way that made time feel like it hadn’t passed at all. “Guess I couldn’t tell him no.”