Inali knew this was the opposite way home, but she needed a little bit more time for herself after meeting with Nina. She would have little time for relaxation once she got back home. The way the pups always kept her on her toes...Inali chuckled softly.

It'd take two days travel to reach Hush Meadow, and even though she didn't want to rush herself, she missed the comfort of her own home. Breathing a light sigh, the woman continued on her way, her movements naturally graceful.

It was sad how she was so content, but didn't know that her world would soon be crashing down all around her. @Jak was in the lore--the wolf of her very nightmares and roots of her deepest fear and hatred.

Her muzzle was to the ground when she took stock of it. 'It' being the smell of prey. Prey that had already been caught, and according to the scent of death in the air, fresh.

Inali kept her muzzle to the ground and she tried to locate where the dead animal lay. It smelled like deer, but she couldn't be too sure.

At first she had not known why on earth she had entered this wooded area that gave her the creeps, but she had trudged on deeper into the area known to wolves as Ghastly Woods, because she had a feeling that it would be worth it. She was glad she had listened to her instinct, because once she got deeper into the woods, instead of the deep undergrowth hiding her paws, she felt normal dirt ground. Curious, she had slipped into the surrounding vines that obviously covered..something.

That's how she found herself in the Secluded Spring, and trying to hunt fresh killed prey. In a hidden part in the far corner of the spring, she finally found her prize. A cache. And it was filled with food, enough to leave you completely satisfied. "Well, this is a surprise," she found herself muttering. Walking around the well hidden cache, she smelled it, and was curious to find out that there was absolutely no scents covering it. No one had clearly marked it as 'mine'. Lifting her head, the rust-hued young woman took a look around, making sure that she wasn't stealing some other wolf's meal. After some moments of complete silence, Inali shrugged, and broke the cache open with her paws. Bending her head, she began to feast.

Inali did not hesitate as she dug into the surprise feast that she had found for herself. But the sound of nearby paws reached her ears, and she pricked one up attentively. Raising her head cautiously, the woman's vision strayed all around her, but her body stayed in it's place.

The footfalls stopped, and the woman sniffed the air lightly. She could not recognize the scent of Secret Woodlands, so she did not know that this pup was lost from the very home that she had just left. One thing the woman did scent, was that it was a male.

Finally turning her head in the direction of the halted footfalls, her ice-blue orbs encountered an amber gaze. Her eyes trailed down the figure, and judging by the developing body, she knew this was a pup. Maybe about Nari's pups age? Pity and sorrow immediately consumed her as she took in his state. He was frozen right on the spot, and Inali couldn't tell if he was frightened, but it sure looked like it.

The woman was cautious as she took a small step forward with one paw, moving away from the cache full of food that was completely forgotten for the time being. She took another step in the direction of the pup. Her movements were as graceful as always, but cautious. She didn't want to scare off the kid.

Her coat ruffled in the slight breeze, and once again, Inali's eyes tried to catch the stare of the amber-eyed male. Instead of the cautious glint that was in them before, all that was in her eyes was pure warmth. She only wanted to help.

Through all this thinking, she had continued to head in the direction of the dark-furred pup until she was a couple meters away from him. Whining softly to gain his attention to her, she tried to tell him by her gentle gaze that she was no threat. Opening her maw, she began to speak in a soft tone. "Hey there kiddo," she spoke with a small smile. "I promise I won't hurt you. You hungry?", she ended questionably.

It was then that she remembered the cache full of fresh kill. She had no qualms of just giving it all to the pup, who was already well on his way into growing into a man. Unlike the youngster, she had no trouble hunting for a meal.

The pup gave her no vocal answer to her question, just a mere nod and a few wags from his tail. A silent one, hm? Just like Yuka, she mused in her head. The petite fae, giving the boy another smile, turned and headed into the direction of the still-full cache.

Inali wondered where the boy had come from, and most importantly, where was his family? Was he far from home? What had caused the tike to just up and run?

The woman pushed these thoughts from her head. It was none of her business anyhow. For all she knew, the boy just had a knack for adventure, and knew exactly the way home.

They had reached the cache now, and her eyes shifted through her surroundings, making sure there was no sign of danger. This was not her pup, nor did she have to be so protective, but that was just her nature. If he could not fend for himself, for now, she would be his designated protector.

Glancing down at the boy, her eyes shined warmly. "Eat up," she encouraged with a smile, her head nodding in the direction of the cache.

The fae was glad that she was here. She had always loved meeting new people, young or otherwise, it didn't matter. Remembering she had not yet introduced herself, the woman opened her maw. "My name is Inali by the way. What's yours kiddo?," she questioned curiously.

As she awaited his vocal or silent answer, Inali took the liberty to get comfortable. Sitting on her rump, her tail wrapped itself around her.

The boy wasted no time in following up her encouragement. He was clearly hungry, and showed that by devouring mostly everything in the cache. An amused grin twitched upon her muzzle, but faltered slightly as he introduced himself.

"Bane."

Bane as in..just plain Bane? Or Bane as in..bane of my existence? The Fates seemed to smile upon her as her muzzle took in the scent of rabbit nearby, not letting he think much of the topic anymore. "I'll be right back Bane," she muttered softly, her mind currently preoccupied with other things.

Her muzzle took to the ground, scenting it, trying to follow the trail of the rabbit. Her paws were silky silent as she moved forward, her body lowering instinctively in a slight crouch. The scent didn't take her too far, just to the other side of the spring. She found a rabbit's nest, and the rabbit was sleeping. Oh, the poor thing. It would become an extra meal for Bane and her.

Making sure her calculations were right, the woman sprang. Her petite form landed right next to the nest. The jolt had woken up the medium sized rabbit, but before it could run away, Inali took charge and snapped her jaws around it's neck, effortlessly killing it. With the limp rabbit between her jaws, Inali lifted her head.

Her paws took her back to Bane's side, and she opened her jaws so the rabbit could land right between them. Smiling slightly, she sat, and then laid down. "Where do you come from?," Inali questioned curiously. Maybe somehow she could help. Taking the leg off the rabbit, she chewed her meal, waiting for him to speak if he so chose.

She watched as he polished off the rest of the food in the cache, and then turned his attention back to her. While he was eating, she took the chance to bite off another chunk off the rabbit she had caught. Patiently she waited as he gave her his answer. She had been playing around with a nearby branch when he finally did, and her blue orbs widened in shock. Nina had only introduced her to her two remaining children. Did she conveniently forget to mention she had another child? Either the pup was lying about his home, or someone in Nina's pack had bred and Nina had let them stay. It was an unspoken rule that only the alpha's in packs were to breed and have children. Well, ninety nine percent of packs that she knew followed that rule. Maybe Nina was that one percent that didn't.

Her eyes were soon back to their normal size, and she looked at Bane. She wouldn't judge a child just because of their parent's mistake. If it was even a mistake at all. A genuine smile gracing her muzzle, she opened her maw. "Well hon, looks like the Fates are on your side today. I just came from there, though Miss Nina failed to mention she had another son. If you don't mind me asking, who's your mother? And if I'm intruding, feel free to not answer and we can go straight to the part of this conversation where I take you home." Waiting for Bane to reply, Inali completely forgot about the rabbit, and nimbly stood up on all fours once again.