Poison Path What's your poison?

His brows knitted together as his young mind did its best to grasp the idea of some wolves being naturally mean. He couldn't understand how hurting someone else would make anyone happy. That just didn't seem right. Her next words were interesting too, telling him he needed to look out for himself. "How do I not look out for myself?" He countered. He fed himself, drank water when he was thirsty, went to sleep when tired, what more did he need to do? Little did the child know there was much more he would have to learn to do if he was going to survive.

Think. Was that not what he was doing? How could she know if he was or wasn't thinking? "And how do ya know if I think or not?" He asked as his small rump sat on the ground. Exploring was much less interesting now. She was teaching him and the small Eastfall boy loved learning. It was a trait he inherited from his mother. If there was something new to learn then he wanted to know. Lucky for him, at his age there was a plethora of knowledge for him to acquire. 

"Well, for one if you were smart you wouldn't talk to strangers. Two, you wouldn't wander so far from home, least not till your bigger and tougher. I mean, even I could take you, and you see me? I'm small as fuck."

For as feisty as she was, Mari wasn't going to be a heavy weight champion anytime soon. Not unlike her brother, damn Gabi was built like a shit-brick house. If anyone was made to brawl then it was him. That said, it didn't stop her from flapping her gums whenever someone looked at her wrong. She just didn't let it escalate too much. Sort of, she was still working on that part.

His next question was a decent one, but even so she didn't have to think about it too much. As sharp as a tack was she.

"I ain't no mind reader, so I couldn't tell you for sure. But I know kids, how they think. They don't think about danger, you hear? They think about what game they're gonna play next. What's for dinner? Where their Mamma is? They just don't think about whether they're gonna die tomorrow. Whether they'll drown, or starve or even freeze to death." She shrugged, for that was the way of things. Not their fault but it was the truth nonetheless. "So think outside the box kid, be different from the rest."

Mari has left Relic Lore. I'm in the process of finishing off her threads, those I don't finish will be deaded!

I am so so sorry about this wait DX life got really hectic last month DX

Mismatched eyes looked on to his appointed teacher as she answered his question. She said that if he was smart he wouldn't talk to strangers and that he wouldn't wander so far from home. At least not until he was bigger and tougher. "I'm tough! See?" He exclaimed as he jumped up and gave a small growl baring his not so scary milk teeth. Once he was finished he gave the woman a goofy smile. He couldnt help himself. 

He sat down as he asked how she knew what he was thinking. Was that even possible? Maybe? The possible excited the young boy. That excitement was soon squandered as the woman said she wasn't a mind reader. His ears fell against his skull momentarily before standing back up atop his head to listen better at what else she had to say. As she spoke of how she knew kids in general and how they thought Chan cocked his head. He gave her words some thought. Ya he didnt think about surviving he just kinda went with it, like nothing would hurt him. "Be different" he murmured to himself looking at the ground. "Ya! I'll be different!" He stated looking back at her. His brows knitted together though as he realized he didnt know what drown or starve meant. She said be different though, so being different meant not asking what those meant...right?

One more from Chan the little man?

Mari had seen a whole lot of shit in her life but she couldn't say that she'd seen this before. Okay, maybe it was a little cute. Just a bit, the tiniest of smidges. The point was, as much as she acted like it she wasn't an ice queen, or anything equally as heartless. It was just tough, you know? And she was so very tired, more than she could ever really say or ever even want to admit.

"Yeah, I see." She said, unwilling to push things any further.

She could have-or rather should have-been frank with him, said that his growls and posturing wouldn't be worth shit till he was big enough to back it up but...What was the point? Why was she letting herself run the risk of getting invested? He seemed to be taking in her words, but would he even remember them when it counted? She didn't want more blood on her maw, in these sorts of circumstances the less she said, the better.

Shame it was a little too late for that revelation.

"That's all you can do kid, just be smart...and different and don't die."

She was done here. She weren't a teacher, nor did she have endless patience or a fountain of wisdom to draw from. Mari was just playing it all by ear, which hadn't gone very well for her as of late. Or ever, now that she thought about it. Maybe it was damn time she started to plan ,figure out what the hell she wanted to do with her life. At this point she didn't have a lot of options going for her, unlike the kid here who had endless possibilities in store. She'd never admit it, but she was jealous. She felt it deep in her chest, like a mold taking root, spreading more and more till her heart was black and rotten.

Yeah, she was definitely done here. And done with pack wolves in general, as with every meeting it always felt like they were-unintentionally- rubbing her face into the dirt, reminding her of what she had lost and what she'd never have.

With a ceremonious flick of her tail she turned and took a few steps to leave, before pausing and looking over her shoulder. "Bye."

Mari has left Relic Lore. I'm in the process of finishing off her threads, those I don't finish will be deaded!

@Marisol wow I suck big time I'm so sorry! Archiving after this :)

His goofy grin widened when she acknowledged his "toughness". The small boy was glad he could impress her. He repeated her next words and vowed to be different. Marisol said that was all he could do. Be different, and don't die. Being so young the weight of 'don't die' zipped right over his head. 

"I won't!" He promised not knowing the extent of his promise. But that wouldn't matter for the dark stranger turned to leave. Chan's head cocked to the side a little as she turned to look back uttering a single word. "Bye" . So that was that. She turned and vanished into the mountainous forest. "Bye" he called out unsure if she heard him. Whether she did or didnt it didn't matter. She had taught him something that she would remember for a life time. 

And with that the boy turned back towards the lake. Maybe he would find something to play with on his way back.

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