Rissa's Rest aims for love but misses the mark

Wrynn was silent for a short while at the question thrown back his way. He'd never... questioned it before, taking the word of his family as gospel without any thought about it. Why would they have been wrong? After all, they'd taken him in when it would've been so much easier to turn him away, and he owed them his life many times over. Simply allowing him to stay with them had been enough, and he couldn't see anything wrong with their harsh methods. Was that not what family did?

He inhaled the scent of Levi, his body relaxing as much as it could given the strange circumstances, and he finally mumbled out a hesitant response, unsure of how to put what he felt into words. "I'm as close to a, a waste of space as... a wolf can be. I get sick a lot... and I'm small. I'm not good at, good at anything." His only use was being not terrible at breaking up tensions between two wolves, especially when it came to a full on scrap. He was somewhat decent as a punching bag, even if it left him in a bit of pain afterwards. But every wolf had their role in a pack.

Levi listened, ever saddened by what he was hearing. He couldn't help but wonder if this was how their natal pack had made River feel. Had Wrynn been accused of the same things, maybe? The Armstead couldn't imagine this frail wolf causing any harm, and certainly not intentionally. It was incredibly difficult for him to believe that others would mistreat a wolf simply on his size and lack of natural immunity, even though those were reasons Wrynn supplied.

Levi closed his eyes, trying to focus instead of letting his mind wander on different, depressing tangents.

"No wolf's a waste of space, ever," he assured him, unable to help but to hug the other wolf a little closer again as he spoke.

"Sounds like you've never been given the chance to be good at anything."

If they really had condemned him so swiftly, how could that be on Wrynn? It was his pack's fault for being so utterly heartless.

The closeness of Levi felt strangely comforting, and it brought back old memories of when his mother had still been alive. It had been so long since he had hugged someone, and he couldn't stop the soft sniffle that escaped him as his eyes began to feel just a little more wet.

Wrynn opened his eyes again, a single tear slipping down to the fur of his cheek. He didn't quite know what to make of the emotions he was feeling, but Levi's words were making him feel something he had never felt before. Was this what it felt like to have a real friend? He didn't know, but other than feeling like there was a glob of something stuck in his throat and an uncomfortable warmth behind his eyes, it wasn't a bad feeling.

"How can you be so sure?" He was never good enough at anything, that much had been made evident during his younger months, and Levi had only just met him so he had yet to become disappointed when he realised that. "How did you find out what you were... good at?"

As simple as the questions were at face value, Leviticus found them a little challenging to answer. Still, he did his best. Editing his thoughts never occurred to him, as though the wolf pressed against him was incapable of ever making him regret such carelessness.

"I... guess it depends on how you define good," he answered as the words came to him, "because I'm not... I'm not talented at anything either. That doesn't mean I can't do things, or help others though. It's the same for you, I know it is because... w-well if you couldn't do anything you wouldn't be here and... and I was cold, and you're helping warm me... and... and I-I could, I could use a few more friends and I think... I think you'd make a great one. Friends... friends change lives, you know?"

Did any of that even make sense? If not, hopefully Wrynn could still grasp the sentiment Levi was trying to express.

He was silent as Levi spoke, still practically curled up into him. The explanation started off so simple, but by the time Levi had finished, Wrynn himself was at a bit of a loss for words, his brain doing its best to fit all the pieces together in a way that even vaguely made sense. Levi wasn't talented at anything? Surely that wasn't true, to Wrynn he seemed like he had a lot figured out in life already.

But mostly his thoughts had focused in on the friends part. Levi thought he would make a {i}great[/i/ friend? Well that was almost enough to make him cry. Never before had he properly had a friend before, but truly it's all he had ever wanted. Friends and a family.

"I'll be your friend," he said softly into Levi's neck fur, lifting up a forepaw to gently wrap around the other wolf's side to truly make their embrace a proper hug. Levi was warm, and the cold numbness that had started in his paws had already gone, leaving him feeling quite content in combination with the food in his belly.

As for the rest of what Levi had said, Wrynn took a few more moments to really think over what he wanted to say. He wasn't so used to speaking his mind, in fact he had almost never had the chance to before, so he felt quite a bit out of his depth. "Do you think you could help me figure out... what I'm good at?" He didn't even know where to start with that, and to be honest it scared him a little. What if he was only good at helping others stay warm?

I'll be your friend, came the other's answer, and Leviticus realized he'd been holding his breath as it came out in a audibly-relieved sigh. That was enough, to know that this other wolf wasn't going to give up just yet. He closed his eyes and rested against the other wolf, deriving a dangerous amount of comfort from his presence. He'd have to just deal with that, this time - whatever consequences he found in himself later on, he knew he was making the right decision here.

Do you think you could help me figure out... what I'm good at?

Levi nodded into the other's thick winter fur.

"Of course. You can come find me any time, okay? Whenever you want or need. My pack is small but we're still pretty hard to miss, just to the east some more of here."