Tearing another strip from his meat, the black lad chewed contently while he waited for her response. She took her time, biting into her on piece, and he enjoyed the familial peace of the moment - that strong sense of belonging that pack life brought; It's been a long time since I last felt this way. When his dark companion spoke, his ears twitched, eyes lifting politely to watch her over the meal. His head tilted slightly at her words, brow wrinkling lightly for a moment, then his expression cleared up and he smiled at her, nodding in agreement; her description sounded a lot like his own feelings. "This place does seem to grow on you..." He reflected out loud, tone warm; For whatever reason...

Then came the question. Of course, he should have expected that; Personal question for personal question. For a second, the dark male's face twisted into a grimace, smile faltering. He looked back down at the meat between his paws, stealing a few moments to recompose himself by ripping of another chunk and chewing it intensively. After swallowing, he took a quick breath and looked back up, smile once more in place; "Ha, no. I came here from the south, in the beginning of last fall." He spoke in his usual, cheerful manner, mask successfully back in place; though, it was slightly hollow.

On the inside he was calming slower, as always, any mention of his past made the ebony boy's heart wince. Even though he managed to answer without touching upon any sensitive subject, he still felt slightly breathless, eyes blank while he recovered. It was strange, how these memories seemed to become more painful as time passed, enhanced by fresher wounds rather than be covered, dulled...

The dark lad blinked, forcefully clearing out the confused thoughts; Focus! Stay in the moment. His eternal mantra. He met Nayeli's eyes, small smile apologetic, then he looked away, gazing to the west, where the mountain would have capped the horizon, had it not been hidden by the trees. He continued to speak, hoping to avoid any more uncomfortable questions by putting the spotlight on more recent events; "I crossed the mountain shortly before the snow closed the pass, met a lovely lady who took me too her pack," At this point he was composed enough to glance back at the soot-pelted wolfess with a cheeky smile, one brow cocked. "Then, of course, they went and dissolved just as winter hit its hardest," He sighed lightly, shrugging his shoulders as he finally tore his fiery eyes away from the invisible mountain; "But, that's what brought me here, so I guess I should be thankful." He smiled again, lightly, then returned his attention the remainder of his meat.

Now, the natural continuation of the conversation would be for him to ask another question, but the black lad generally operated on a don't ask, don't tell policy - the easiest way to avoid personal questions was to not ask them - and he had already been burned by one inquiry, he wasn't gonna let that happen again.

Word Count: 517

He nodded in reply to her words, a low, deep chuckle rumbling in his chest; a somber agreement. Then, with no new question from him, they were left to finish their meal in silence - though as before, it was not an unpleasant one - and soon there was no more meat left between Drestig's paws; and his stomach felt nice and full. Nayeli had likewise finished her bone, and was the first one to get up, turning her eyes to the remainder of the carcass. The dark man nodded again as means of response to her words, pushing back up himself to help her. Another laughter escaped him at her last comment, this one lighter; "Ah yes, let us make sure that only the scavengers of Oak Tree Bend get to enjoy this one!" Sending her companion a bright grin he steed forwards to grab another leg, to help her drag the carcass further into the territory. His memories were once more buried in their dark corners, and he felt happy to be with a pack mate and able to help out his pack; My HOME!

Word Count: 186