The simplicity of her tone when she answered his question did little to match the reality of her situation. It was almost stated with a flair of nonchalance – something that Ruiko couldn’t quite grasp from her first spoken words, for the idea of not being with his family was enough to take the oxygen from his lungs. It was painful.


The dark girl proceeded to explain the reasons. Her words only drew a blink from the tawny male, and his golden eyes remained steadfast upon her. It was a very personal matter, which was something that left the large Tainn slightly uncomfortable from drawing out of her. “And is that why you’re here? You’re looking for your brother?” It was a question that avoided discussion on her feelings about the matter, more or less, and was something that perhaps he could help her out with in regards to whether or not he had met the male. Ruiko kept mostly to himself, but it was nearly impossible to not stumble upon another every now and then.

Unable to fully grasp the concept of purposefully harming a sibling, the large wolf simply allowed his eyes to gleam off the top of her head, mildly contemplating what life could have been like had he not been fortunate enough to have such loving and accepting parents. Yet abstract concepts were not amongst his talents, and the Tainn wolf found his gaze upon her dark features once more as she spoke.


While he was curious to what this penance could possibly be, the tawny River wolf made no lead to bring the question to face. Instead, Ruiko gave a mild nod of consideration and understanding, though he soon found himself at a loss of what to say. “I’m not sure what kind of new life you’ll find here.” There was a small pause as he sensed the bitterness in his voice. “I can’t say it’s done much good for me and my family.”

Her gaze lifted, though the tawny River wolf did not match his eyes to hers. He knew she was studying his reaction to her words, and all he could do was lift his shoulders in a shrug. “I couldn’t say,” he amended, not knowing what trials she had truly been through; her tale of her father and his bias ways seemed only to be the tip of the iceberg.


His eyes swept over the she-wolf for a second, once more studying the soft bits of silver fur that streaked across her large but defined frame. Still he made no questions regarding the scars that adorned her body – the assumption could be made that her father was a vile creature, and either he had done such things to her.. or had somehow forced them upon her in another fashion. She was a broken warrior and it intrigued him.. and while he felt the sudden desire to bring her home to the River, he knew such a thing was random and foolish. They knew genuinely nothing of one another. Instead, his bright eyes drifted from her to the path he had come, once more remembering the tiny mouths that needed to be fed at home. “It’s been a pleasure, Ranger. But I must be on my way now.” There was hesitation in his departure, and the tawny wolf stalled long enough to see if she had anything else to say.