The young girl moved with determined excitement, clearly eager to escape her mother's side and have a chance at adventure. Drestig grinned as he watched her explore the water, turning his head back to catch Kisla's gaze, and he gave a light nod. He'd helped raise to litters now, and had more than his share of experience with yearlings even before then, so he was quite familiar with the struggle; Soon I might be even more… The thought made heat surge through his body, children of his own, of Avalon blood; What will they be like..?

Before he had time to swim too far away in daydreams, the golden woman spoke up, drawing his attention back to reality, and her surprised face. She seemed only surprised though, the ring of her gentle question holding no anger. Drestig smiled, a little sheepishly, dragging out the answer a bit; "I'd say so…" His thoughts went particularly to their night at the springs, and though the general tone between them had not changed markedly, there was no denying that they had grown steadily closer over the past year. Jessie's decision to leave with him spoke louder of that than anything, a sentiment echoed in Kisla's thoughtful addition. A more somber expression replaced the smile on the dark man's face as he nodded slowly, deeply touched by the continued offer, even though their plans were different, it was a relief to know that they were not hated by the wolves of the River. So much was yet uncertain, as happy and hopeful as he was, there was much yet that needed to fall into place before he truly had what he wanted.

Kisla's next question underlined as much, and Drestig's head tilted slightly, lips pursing as he allowed his gaze to drift around the area. Eventually his eyes fell on Lekalta, lips again quirking in a half smile as he watched her enthusiastic examination. "Possibly," He finally replied, voice an echo of the lady's thoughtful murmur; "We're… Looking for the right place." They had limited time now, watching the playing pup reminded him of that; So hopefully not far… He returned his attention to the alphess, smiling softly; "If we do, I'll make sure to let you know."

Word count: 374

"Speech" Thoughts

The ebony man bowed his head humbly at Kisla's understanding; There was no denying that, though he had liked to see her again and meet her daughter, most of his thoughts were elsewhere. Mentally, the aspiring leader made a note to make up for this on a later visit to the River, hopefully one establishing an alliance between their two packs.

Her final comment caused a stir in his stomach, eyes shifting as he thought of his departure from Oak Tree Bend. To hide the nervous tick, he turned his gaze to the falls again, watching the young girl on the mossy logs. Jessie had smoothed things somewhat with Triell, and in the end it was no more than some ruffled feathers; At least I hope so..! He certainly didn't consider the Bend his enemy, and he desperately hoped they didn't either. A light sigh fell from dark lips, ember eyes trailing Lekalta as she responded to her mother's call. Finally he turned back to the golden woman, smiling softly. "I will," He assured, nodding his head as goodbye; "Thank you, Kisla."

He would watch them as they left the same way they had come, and once their silhouettes had disappeared in the distance he'd turn back to the cascading water, allowing himself a few more moments to watch the chaos. A more philosophic wolf might have equated the scene with life: how trees were knocked down by the constant movement of the stream, yet new ones kept putting down roots between the rocks, and the dead logs became breeding ground for mosses and mushrooms alike. Drestig was not of that sort though, and he simply admired the hectic, yet somehow controlled elements, blending together in such a breathtaking way. Then he sighed to himself, and turned back down the palisade, returning to Jessie and their search for a new home.

Word count: 311

"Speech" Thoughts