It was nearing midnight, and the wolf was having one of those nights. The nights where you were considered an insomniac because, by all tried means, you just could not go to sleep.

Shaking her coat, the woman lifted herself from her warm perch between her pack mates, and blew out a restless sigh. Stretching, her back arched and toes curled, she let out another sigh as she took a deep breath of the crispy air. Padding out of the den, she gave @Yuka a small lick, before fully exiting her comfy premises.

Inali's fur coat had finally shed it's summer fur and now that it was winter time, her winter coat had come out. Her fur was thicker now, and her natural rust hued coloring was now more pronounced.

Underneath, a soft layer of snow smushed between her paws, and she looked down at the white element in slight curiousity mixed with a bit of surprise. She knew about snow of course, but she didn't remember it coming so quickly before in previous seasons. Though, these lands were not the same as her own. She remembered the frost that had appeared earlier, and she wondered if this was normal for these lands. The weather was cold, but not as cold as she knew a seasoned winter could become.

Her mind briefly wondered to @Minka. Her friend had gone through a deep period of sadness when she found out that Asterion had left, but it seemed like she was recovering from it, and she was glad of that. No man was worth her tears. Someone as good as Minka did not deserve to be hurt in that way of abandonment, but Inali knew that the Fates plans did not always contain sunshine and rainbows.

Inali did not know of the feud that had gone between @Simaea and Minka, but she often wondered why she never saw the Healer anymore. She did not know that the woman had holed herself up for so long, for if she had, she would've done something about it.

Inali decided that her mind had wandered around for too long, and she brought herself back to reality. With soft laughter, the young woman laid on the soft pillow of snow beneath her, and pawed at it playfully. Rolling around in youthful abandon, she took great care to not wake her pack mates.

The woman barely had laid herself onto the ground to have some fun, when her ears took notice of a pair of footfalls behind her. The twinkle in her eye grew brighter as she noticed the pup.

Inali couldn't help but grin as she noticed him approaching her. He had finally grown into his figure, and she couldn't help but be proud of the growing boy. He had fought so hard to show, not only to his siblings, but to himself, how strong he could really be.

The woman remembered their lessons together. From traveling across the borders of their land, to hunting small prey, to play fights. She had grown so close to this boy in such a short time. She cared for him deeply.

But Inali noticed something that amused her, but also worried her. Yuka was smitten with her. She didn't notice when it had started, or how she hadn't noticed before, but she hoped that it wouldn't develop into something that could become troublesome.

The boy sat confidently beside her, and she lowered her head to greet him. Running her muzzle softly from his backside all the way to the crown on his head, she nuzzled him. Hey Big Guy. I didn't mean to wake you. I just couldn't sleep, so I decided the best was to step out."

Looking into the eyes that had changed from puppy blue, to amber with flecks of teal, she grinned softly. "I'm very proud of you honey, you do know that right? You've been doing so good in our lessons, and my, you've grown so big! You'll be bigger than me in no time!" Chuckling softly, she playfully swatted his muzzle.

”Why don’t they like me?”

Those words were like a knife to her heart, stabbing her right through the middle. Choking back an unexpected sob, she pulled him into her embrace. Wrapping her head around his neck, she nuzzled him comfortingly. Or at least that's what she was aiming for.

"Oh honey..," she trailed off. Her mind was going haywire, trying to figure out what she could say to make this boy not feel so bad. He probably thought no one liked him because everyone was so busy all the time that they didn't really pay attention to him. She saw someone bright in Yuka. He could really be something. His sister and brother were of the rowdy bunch, but not Yuka. Oh no, not her her Yuka. He was something special, and she saw it plain view when she looked into his eyes. There was much he could give to the world, if only they would accept him.

Sure he wasn't that sociable of a kid, but he wasn't perfect. So what if he didn't like to talk much? When he did talk, it was always thought out and meaningful. Burying her face into his neck, she sighed softly. opening her maw, she prayed to the Fates. "Oh honey. They love you, I know that..there just..busy a bit. But they love you. I see it when they're around you. Like your mother and father. Their very protective over their children. And..and Titan. He's a good boy, caring for his sibling'
s welfare, even if he is a bit rowdy. And your sister. Malia..Malia is something else. She's mischievous and she bully's you a bit, but I know she loves you. She won't let anyone bring you down. And I love you."

By this time, she had pulled away from their embrace and was looking at him firmly in the eye. he might not catch all her words, but she knew he would catch the gist of what she was trying to say. "I wouldn't let anyone hurt you. Don't you see?"