Jihyo had never seen anything as vibrant and refreshing as Sana’s satisfied grin when she leaped out of the water.

 

The omega wagged her tail more fitfully than the large fish jolting between her jaw. Sana dropped her prize onto the stony beach, tongue lolling out not due to exhaustion but rather pride. It was a sight, and Jihyo couldn’t help but chuckle at her arduous achievement. The fish was a salmon based on its deep blue scales and large size. For a rookie fisher like the omega, this was a pretty impressive feat. Sana shook herself, splattering stray droplets of water all over the rocks and Jihyo. Her light russet fur was still damp, but she held her happy complexion as she slumped down on her belly next to the alpha. The salmon had settled down in front of them, relaxing its muscles and stilling. Sana’s tail had not stopped wagging. The robust force of it was fanning Jihyo from behind. The alpha was proud of her, but her pearly green eyes were somewhere distant. Sana tried to decipher the direction of her gaze, and it was no surprise that she found them to be directed towards the island. She knew what Jihyo was thinking about. She knew it since they arrived.

 

Sana whined, breaking the calmness of the atmosphere causing Jihyo to look at her, bemused. The omega rammed her head right into the younger’s neck, nuzzling against the soft fur and she pushed until Jihyo was completely knocked over. The alpha did not protest nor say anything. She simply chuckled, being more than immune to Sana’s random antics by now. Jihyo was laying on her back when the omega crawled on top of her and began her face.

 

“Sana!” The younger groaned and jerked her head away.

 

The omega moved to her neck instead, astutely targeting an especially ticklish spot near her collar. Jihyo was soon squirming in laughter and unconsciously wagging her tail in sync with Sana. This was truly her biggest weakness—not her sensitive neck but rather the omega.

 

“Stop it.” The alpha whined lowly, swatting Sana’s muzzle away with a paw. The omega stopped but took Jihyo’s paw in instead. God, she was restless. “Aren’t you hungry?”

 

Sana let go and tilted her head. “I thought you were hungry.”

 

“It’s your catch. You eat first.”

 

“But I caught the fish for you.” Sana’s ear sunk back.

 

“Fine.” Jihyo rolled her eyes.

 

The omega jumped off her, scurrying to grasp the salmon with her jaw and heaved it back to the alpha. But even just within that small moment that she’d left Jihyo alone, the younger’s eyes found their way back towards the island. Jihyo had a bad habit of worrying too much, even with things that were already set and done in the far past. Sana had to tenderly nudge her ear to call her back to reality. The alpha gave a meek smile and although it was vague in emotion, Sana could sense the small resemblance of nostalgia leaking out from it. They hadn’t even been gone for long, but she knew that it was hard for Jihyo. They had left the comfort and safety of everything they’d known—the island was their fuzzy paradise filled with the morning’s freshest rays of sunshine and cool sandy beaches. Now that they had decided to depart, a foreboding chill was already drowning them in apprehension. Behind them was the wild woods and in front of them was home. Jihyo had plenty of reasons to feel burdened and sad. And despite knowing all of this, Sana couldn’t force herself to care any more than the amount that she needed to. She couldn’t share these feelings that were eating the alpha alive, because she had grown to love the sea. Well, everyone in their pack was supposed to anyway. It was their identity and what set them apart from their land relatives ashore. Sana’s admiration of the sea might have grown just a bit obsessive compared to the others. She loved the shifting tides, the golden coast, the breeze, the salty smell—everything. More importantly, she loved Jihyo. It wasn’t her idea to run away, but if the alpha was leaving then there was no reason for her to stay. Sana did not regret anything in the slightest, but she was fully aware that the alpha probably did.

 

“The fish is starting to smell, Jihyo.” Sana frowned, tucking her muzzle underneath the alpha’s chin.

 

The younger hummed. “I already told you to eat first.”

 

Sana let out a guttural sound, a rough hybrid of a growl and whine. Jihyo didn’t budge. The omega was close enough to hear her erratic heartbeats, and it was intimidating. Sana knew where her mind had wandered.

 

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” The omega glanced up at her with glossy eyes.

 

Jihyo swallowed. She did want this. But the vast wilderness behind them frightened her, she would never admit it frankly but even the endless sea ahead also discouraged her. They weren’t safe here exposed to everything and anything of menacing attributes. She did not trust the ruthless wild nor did she trust her own instincts which had led them here. Jihyo was beginning to fear, and it was radiating off her in hectic waves. Sana quickly inhaled them like a second nature.

 

“I think the fish is going to grow legs and walk back to the sea.” The omega breathed softly below her chin.

 

She sounded genuinely disappointed, and it shattered Jihyo’s former solemnity as the alpha choked back a laugh. “I already told you to eat.”

 

“But I caught it for you!” Pettiness raised Sana’s whine just a notch too high for the alpha’s poor eardrums.

 

“Then, why don’t you feed me?” Jihyo opened her jaw teasingly. There was an equivalent pettiness radiating from the act that riled Sana up more than the omega could image.

 

She could feel it now. The mood was lifting up to a much more comfortable and light-hearted direction, and she was not planning to let it drop again. Without wasting any time, Sana jumped on her feet. She had Jihyo’s fullest attention now. The omega scurried to where the fish was, grasping it loosely by the tail in a hurrisome lift. Jihyo was amused, eying Sana as she tossed the fish on the ground again when she came close. The omega got to work, struggling to tear the skin out in a ridiculous manner that cracked Jihyo up. Her teeth worked fine, honestly. She was just a tad too excited, and it was hard to tear open a fish when her uncontrollable wagging tail was starting to throw her off balance. It took a while but finally, Sana managed to grasp her teeth around a piece of meat. It was small—bite size appropriate—and carefully chosen at the least bony part of the fish. Sana swung her head forward, tossing the orange flesh which then landed decisively into Jihyo’s opened, awaiting jaw. The alpha smiled at the satisfying fattiness of the taste in when she swallowed. She stared back at the omega, anticipating another piece but it never came.

 

Sana wasn’t moving. She found herself completely grounded with a simple desire of watching the way Jihyo’s emerald irises twinkled under the evening’s light. They were directed right towards Sana. The omega wondered if that smile—that splendid, bright, refreshing upturn of her lips—was actually caused by the food or herself, because she loved the idea of being the reason Jihyo smiled. She questioned if this was the first time she’d felt like this and if not, how long had it been since she’d felt this way? She wished she kept track of it, all those precious moments with Jihyo ever since they ran into each other as pups. Jihyo really shined, seriously, and Sana was so entirely whipped but she wasn’t wrong about the enchanting effect of just looking at her. The alpha held her in a trance that she couldn’t snap out of even when Jihyo tilted her head to figure out what was wrong. Nothing was wrong. Nothing could possibly go wrong right now. Not when every single element of Sana’s delight was present in front of her through the crashing sound of the ocean, the fatty smell of salmon, and Jihyo’s face. It was all too perfect. Sana’s heart was soaring, swelling—she tried fighting back tears, but her eyes were clouding nonetheless. A sniffle escaped her, triggering the narrowing of Jihyo’s eyes as the alpha shot up. This wasn’t Sana’s intention at all. They were having such a good time, and she didn’t mean to alarm the alpha that something was wrong when in reality everything was as right as it gets. She was just overwhelmed. Happiness didn’t come easily around here and even if it did, she was so used to losing it too fast that this seemed surreal.

 

“Sana?” The alpha’s voice brought her back to reality. Jihyo had somehow managed to pull her into the crest of her neck.

 

This was real. This seemed secure enough. Sana could relax and appreciate it for a while, perhaps for a very long while. The omega nuzzled hard, a subtle reassurance that she was, in fact, fine but that only made the alpha inch closer. She wasn’t complaining. Jihyo’s smell and warmth were a nice distraction. For once, the world had narrowed itself in the spaces that only they occupied. A gentle brush of Jihyo’s tongue across her ears locked Sana back to her senses and gave her everything she needed to feel.

 

Sana realized that she could do this for a very, very long time.