Bramble Falls Water doesn't quite soothe everything

When Kato returned and quietly noted her decision to leave behind the leg, Laurel almost argued back, her rhetoric amounting to; Well, it was yours in the first place, so you ought to have some part of it. The words would have flown out of her maw too, if her tawny companion hadn't surprised her with his offer. Her ears wavered back and forth in confliction- this is what she wanted, without a doubt. But would it be fair to Kato to join him, and not say a thing about how she was the cause for her family's starvation? No, most certainly not.

"I would love to, but-" Laurel hesitated, seeing the hope practically swarming his odd-colored eyes."I have something to tell you, before I accept." she looked toward the darkening horizon. "Maybe we should settle down, before we get caught in a storm?" Even if the story was relatively short, Laurel didn't know how Kato would take in the tale. To be companions and benefit from one another's experiences was one thing- to start a pack and trust another wolf with your life was something else.

Maybe I'm exaggerating my fault. the female tried to amend. I'd only just turned one- but it's a fact that needs to be told anyway, and I don't want us to get drenched in a downpour while he reacts. Laurel's legs wobbled in protest as she rose on her agonized paws, managing to grab the piece of bark beside her. Lips curling into a weak smile, she garbled, "Whare tu?"

"I would love to, but... There is something I have to tell you before I accept. Maybe we should settle down first before we get caught in a storm?" The whole mood changed immediately. Laurel seemed suddenly nervous, and it infected the fawn youth. Had he done something wrong? Was she trying to be polite about saying no? But Laurel picked up the bark then, and mumbled something that he translated as Where to?

"Oh, right this way," he barked, grabbing the hare's leg. To distract him from the growing feeling of worry in the pit of his stomach, he grinded his teeth against the hare's soft flesh. Laurel seemed adamant that he have it anyway. Relieved at finding the cave once more, he settled down in it, leaving plenty of room for his companion. "Will this work?" he asked.

Now Kato could hear the rain. It still wasn't upon them, but it was getting closer by the second. "So, what's wrong Laurel?" the tawny boy asked quietly. He took a bite out of the hare's leg. It was cold by now, but the taste of meat was so incredibly delicious that he devoured the whole thing anyway. Possibilities of what the sweet, kind female beside him could possibly have to hide. Everyone made mistakes. Kato could still remember a time his overly bold yearling self had challenged a bear over food. If his father hadn't come at the moment he did, young Kato would've suffered a fatal injury. His father escaped with a scar that would last a lifetime, and Kato had never forgotten that day or lost the guilt from giving his father a scar he didn't need.

Laurel followed behind Kato's pace rather slowly, feeling as if sharp rocks were spearing into her pads, even though she took care to tread upon soft grass. When she finally reached the cave- thankfully ahead of the rain- her paws immediately went at ease and Laurel situated herself comfortably near Kato's side. "It's nice." she said, approving once her mouth dropped the bark. Laurel considered chewing the bark to relieve her injuries, but talking also required her mouth. Truth takes precedence over comfort. she reminded herself.

So what's wrong, Laurel? A lot of things, or maybe just a few things, but important things. Hoping not to confuse, Laurel started at the beginning:

"The pack that I came from was very big- nearly all my older siblings decided to stay with us. It was okay, because our territory was full of caribou that came twice a year, and plenty of other prey to fill our cache when they weren't there. I was the youngest, so I didn't have a whole lot of duties to do, but I did have one rule, and that was to report any and all wolves in the area." She sniffed and licked her nose. "And things were fine. But one day, I- well I found a lone wolf- at least he told me he was a lone wolf- in our territory. He had begged me not to tell anyone, or else they'd kill him- and that wasn't very hard to believe, my parents were strict in dealing with trespassers. I didn't want that to happen- he said he'd only just stumbled on our territory by accident- so I let him go, and I didn't say a word." Her ears swiveled back at her past stupidity.

"But not long after, we began to have shortages in prey, and when the caribou came, the next day there would be little left. My parents couldn't figure out what was going on- tempers got short while wolves grew hungry- and no one seemed to have any clues- no one, that is, but me. But I kept silent, and before long that lone wolf came back- as the head scout for a pack rivaling our own. They had grown in secret, taking care to hide from us until they were stronger. When they confronted us, the battle was bloody, and most of our wolves defected to the other side." Laurel remembered her fear on that day, fear and anger. The ear with the notch flicked in remembrance of her attack on one of the scouts.

"My family had to move away. My parents-" A sigh, her narrative growing quieter."My parents didn't make the journey, thanks to injuries, and my eldest brother, Evergreen took over. Even so, the land around us couldn't support what wolves we had left." She lowered her head between her forelegs and whimpered, missing her family. "So I left, since I was pretty much useless anyway. One more mouth to feed that didn't work for it's meal. And essentially, a traitor." Eyes turned away, Laurel risked a peek at Kato to gauge his reaction. "I just thought you should know what kind of wolf you're getting before you trust me to join you."

Kato listened, and it was a miracle he contained the patience and self-control necessary to stay still and quiet until she had finished. It was certainly an event which would've caused almost any wolf a tremendous amount of guilt. The fact that Laurel seemed to hate herself for the mistake made his heart melt a little. It wasn't a bad thing that she regretted her decisions, but in his mind, no wolf should suffer from grief and guilt like that.

"Laurel, I'm so sorry. That must've been a horrible thing to go through. But I want you to know that it doesn't bother me. We all make mistakes, some of them big, most of them small. I understand that you didn't want to hurt anyone and that you feel awful about it. I'm so sorry you've had to live with this," Concern and genuine care was reflected across his entire face as he spoke, his tone as soft and comforting as he could make it. Briefly, the tawny boy pressed his muzzle into her scruff as a comforting gesture. "If you ever need to talk about it or you need a shoulder to lean on, I want you to know that I'm here for you. No one should have to live with that, and if you do decide to stay with me, please realize that it doesn't bother me. I will do everything in my power to keep you and my family safe. You don't have to worry about that happening again as long as you're with me," Kato reassured her. Though her tale unnerved him a little bit, he refused to let it show. He meant every single word he'd said, and in his mind, he swore that he would protect her.

The fawn boy got up to lie down on her other side, pressing against her for warmth and in a further attempt to comfort the dark girl. Rain began to pour down outside, but hardly a single drop came near them. Thunder boomed like cannon fire in the distance, but Kato didn't care. "Why don't you put that bark on and then get some rest?" he suggested as the rain became a steady, constant drum outside the cave.

Kato surprised her- Laurel hadn't been expecting such a warm reply. Perhaps because, prior to arriving in Relic Lore, she hadn't been very warm towards herself; If her thought weren't on food, she was berating herself for past actions. As he pressed against her, warming both wolves in the cave, Laurel felt grateful. And hopeful, glad for a chance to gain a home.

"Thank you, Kato- those words mean a lot to me. I will stay, and do my best to protect you in turn. I won't feel better about what happened right away-" She smiled at him. "But with you, I'm sure I'll get there in time." The rain got harder, and lightning flashed, but the cave was perfect- maybe because it was dry, but most definitely because Laurel had found a friend to trust. And as she chewed the insufferable white bark into a paste that stuck to her teeth, she'd found herself feeling more content than ever, even surpassing the days she'd spent with her family.

Those days would always be her happiest, but now Laurel had a new purpose- to be there for her new pack, when Kato decided it was time. As the paste settled on her paws, and her eyes closed to rest, the dark female made a promise to herself- to learn from her mistake, and to try and do more than she ever accomplished as the littlest sister- not because of guilt, not this time. This time it would be for friends and family that were sure to be found here in Relic Lore.