He couldn’t help but smile brightly at her reaction, waving his own tail in a mirror, if a little more restrained, of hers. Her elation surprised him, coming here naming Darrah as her father, did she really expect to be let down? Again he was left to wonder what kind of pack she had come from, and what exactly her dad had told her about uncle Drestig; All in due time..! Just then, the sound of soft pawfalls in the snow drew his ears backwards, one brow twitching in surprise, though he didn’t turn his head. He would recognize those steps anywhere, and as Jessie drew up beside him, he only glanced down, smiling softly. Her scent took him by surprise though, making him breathe in sharply as his eyes narrowed and tail stilled for a moment. Spring had snuck up on them, and with his mate just recently returned home; Well, I should have known it was coming! The king shook his head lightly, smiling to himself. He’d have plenty of opportunity to explore this development, but this was neither the time, nor the place.
Instead he turned his eyes back on Rosalind, perking his ears once more as she started talking. Despite clear relief from his acceptance, she still had a chaotic, stuttering speech, making her story a bit hard to follow. But he caught the gist, nodding at the explanation of how she had come to be, giving a soft sigh and faint smile at the loving message, and furrowing his brow as she elaborated on her birth pack. Once again, he worried for his ‘nephew’; What have you gotten yourself into kid? But all else was pushed aside as the girl breathed herself into her last question. Drestig jolted slightly at the name, immediately glancing sideways, where he felt his partner stiffen. The catch in her voice as she answered send a dull ache through his heart, and he leaned towards her, brushing his shoulder against hers in support. When she paused to compose herself, her explained: “But he was your great-uncle, yes. Related by blood, unlike me.” He shot the girl a pale smile, but his main focus was still on Jessie, watching with love and concern, until he was sure she had a handle on the situation.
Only then did he move to make introductions, following the queen’s own line with an elaborating: “Jessie is my mate, and female leader of Wild Rye Fields.” He would leave it up to her to decide if she wanted to divulge any more about her relationship with Hotei, figuring she left out her last name for a reason. Instead his attention turned to their new recruit, a warmer smile lining his silvered muzzle; “This is Rosalind, our newest member.” He confirmed his earlier words before his partner, then turned his eyes back to her; “She’s Darrah’s daughter.” Jessie hadn’t had quite the same relationship with the boy and his sister as their uncle, but she’d helped raise them just as much, and cared for both them and their parents. So he didn’t think she would challenge his acceptance of the girl, but he let the introduction hang in the air for a moment anyway, just to be sure.
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