Her smile, when it came, was small and sad, but almost painfully genuine. She pressed her brow to his and closed her eyes for a moment with a soft sigh. "I love you, too," she whispered. "You are, and will always be, the strongest part of my heart."
She knew he was right, they should return to the Herd so they could start moving. But she made no move to leave, nor did she release his hand.
"Staluk--" She searched his face, opened her mouth, hesitated, sighed, then closed her eyes again and pressed forward into him for a moment, wrapping her arms around his waist. "...I wish you would talk to me," she whispered eventually. "I know it's hard for you. But I--I want to help. If I can."
She hesitated a moment longer, then tilted her head up to kiss him softly, just for a moment, before pulling back and finally letting go of his hand. "I'll make sure the others are ready. We can leave within the hour."