"I am not," she revealed. The Tainn furrowed a brow as assumptions of all kinds came to him. If this Corinna had been able to have had two chance meetings with two different leaders in this very place, then it was highly plausible to Fenru that this woman, here, was also the head of a pack... and she was here for a reason. That reason, he would then deduce was that she needed his knowledge about Relic Lore and its inhabitants. In that instant a wave of remorse pulsed through him, he should have known more than what he already know but he didn't; and, what he did know, he did not feel like sharing.

With what he was about to say next, he broke character. Gone was the inquisitive cub and in his place Ice's well-trained greenhorn had risen up with suspicion and newfound verve. "Good," he remarked, his tone just a touch too bitter for his own tastes, even if he was somewhat pleased to know that she had never come in contact with the Aniwayan wolves or a grief so great as losing one's own siblings to death and other terrible misdeeds. "I think it's best that you were left in the dark." Like me... so long ago. "We've seen too much pain and loss here. Would rather spare you our hardships so you can shoulder your own." And those icy shoulders of yours, you'll probably need them if you're going to stay here.

His tail twitched dubiously and he gave an airy snort. "Where're you from if you're not from here?" The words were unpleasantly heavy on his tongue, and a small part of him, while he was still rather distrustful of his companion, hoped she would still tolerate his curiosity. The boy had had his handful of assumptions to begin with but until she answered him, he could very well go on as he was, thinking that the woman had come from a place of plenty, a place where nothing could have harmed her and her family. Yet, here she was - here, in Relic Lore - and she was apparently quite a way's away from home. He openly frowned, "You should go back." So much for being outgoing...

She growled at him. Good. Fenru snorted again, shrugging his shoulders once as his tail came to a more natural position. The only sign of his vexation that showed now was the turning of his ears and they pointed forward with the most unamused scoff. "How could your hardships be dead?" he questioned, his tone meaning to bite back at her in hopes of covering his disbelief and all that he had successfully kept hidden in the past until now.

"If they are, why come here? Go back to your valley," he grumbled, his frown giving way to a half-wince. As much as he wanted to take a step back, he shakily kept his stance, his neutral, slowly crumbling facade that harbored the distraught cub within him. His large ears finally gave way and flipped back; his hind legs folded underneath him and for some time he stared at the smooth river stones between his paws. After a few deep breaths, he lifted his chin to look at her.

"Why are you here?" he repeated, partially and sorely wishing he had stayed home so he could have rightfully chased the woman away. Maybe if he hadn't been caught up in the war on the Aniwayans, he would have been far more understanding, but at present, he was even more lost than ever before. It took him several moments but what she had just enlightened him with came back to the forefront of his mind. "If I told you my purpose in being here, right now in this very spot, was to tell you to go back... would you return home?" he sniffed, the awareness of the fact effortlessly tripping him up. He gazed at her uncertainly now, still trying to make sense of what was to be had from their chance meeting, "What if I told you that there's nothing left for you here?"

The woman told him that she had killed them all. "Them" being her hardships which Fenru now assumed to be those she considered dead weight... unnecessary and taxing by all means. He tried to swallow the lump at his throat but it kept stuck there like a piece of coarse board hide. He rose to his feet again, unsure if he ought to make himself scarce. All logical sense he bore pointed that he might be still be subject to a surprise attack, much like how the gray and silver yearling (Rais) had been quick on his feet and stolen what was left of his meal.

His ears kept pressed against his skull, every instinct he had suggesting that he should return to the duties he had temporarily abandoned for the day, even if it meant that his running rendered him into some sort of coward. He had already fought in a crusade to rid Relic Lore of imposing enemies, turning tail now, he believed, would not discredit his bravery. To him, it only made sense that if he did it, his actions had come about out of wariness (and maybe even the hint of fear about dying between this woman's jowls; he would not be just another hardship she had vanquished). His molars lightly gnawed against the inside of his cheeks as she told him he was wrong; he made no sign or sound to counter her.

She continued to tell him that she knew her purpose and that he... was lost. This shade of a Leader had seen right through him and he immediately and inwardly resented it. He was unhappy and he was the one who remained here. Her mind had already been set and she knew what she had to do next. Fenru sullenly took a step back as if honor her intentions and schemes. He, too, had been thinking about such things - a pack and family of his own, the idea of leadership and, of course, proving to everyone, as well as himself, that he was fully capable of achieving his desires. So far in this endeavor, he had done nothing but cower, sulk, and fear like a war veteran several years his age.

The Tainn had the mind to remember where he was and what he was doing. He did not have the advantages anymore and he had already yielded to her with a backward step. "G-good luck then," he proffered, no longer confident now that he realized how poorly he might have stacked up next to her. His roving eyes flickered to her dark face for only a moment, "I, um... I have to get going now. My family will be missing me."

The woman seemed to have granted him his leave with a dip of her muzzle. Surely, she did understand - at least scent-wise - that he did have a family to get back to, right? That... if she planned to carry out any fishy business, he would be absolutely and terribly missed. Slightly backing away, he kept his cautious eyes trained on her until he found a decent path to take between a dense bush and through the trees.

"Bye," he curtly muttered before vanishing from her sight, fighting hard to keep himself from curling his tail between his legs. All the way back home he grimaced to himself, playing and replaying the conversation in his head. He must have looked utterly foolish. As a nearly full-grown man, he should have at least seemed to amount to more than what he presented to the foreign woman. He had broken and recovered from loss, battled many an inner demon, traveled across unknown lands and heights, and survived a full out war against a threat that had migrated into Relic Lore. Really, he should have carried himself just a tad bit taller, more dignified.

By the time his ears had perked up and his tail had relaxed into a more justifiable position at his heels, he was standing at the base of a tree where Ice had recently passed during a border patrol. All those hours of silence and only now did he make a single sound. A mere sniff as to wordlessly and sullenly explain his cowardice to himself. He'd show that woman, he promised in his head as he lifted it with newfound zeal. The next time he saw her, he would make sure that he was not the lost pup she thought he was.

(Fin.)