Dayton lent an affectionate ear to Misha as she shared more of her story. He was glad she felt comfortable opening up to him now. Her mother had died when giving birth, and Misha was an only child. Her father, a healer, and managed to raise her without mother's milk. That was quite impressive in itself. He imagined that could have been part of the reason that the girl had such a petite figure. As a pup she probably missed out on some of the nutrients she required. The boy let his amber gaze be fixed on something in the distance as the words continued to pass her lips. One spring day, her father had disappeared. He tried to picture how lonely she would have been, and failed. It hurt to much to think about. He only wanted to see Misha with a smile, the one she had been wearing when he'd laid his head against hers. That shy, tender smile. He began to feel angry as the story moved to Ahote. He had played with the maiden, captured her heart and then stomped it into the dust. It was wrong to take advantage of someone so young and innocent. He ached for her and felt her pain, nuzzling his chin into her head. Things were quiet again, so he spoke. His soft voice barely disrupted the silence. "I'm so sorry, Misha. This Ahote should never have done that to you. If I were bigger, and stronger, I would track him down and hurt him for what he did to you." These thoughts had already entered his mind many times before, but he decided to voice them, to make the maiden understand how he cared. This was wrong. She should not be in this kind of pain. Walk. "Talk." Think.

Misha widened her eyes at Day's words. He had wanted to hurt her old mate.. But why? Why help Misha? She let a soft sigh escape the woman's lips. She closed her eyes, seeing the flashback of her old mate snapping at her, then throwing her onto the ground and running away. Why had he done that? Why had he just left her like dirt? She had felt worthless ever since he had left her; and she had always felt broken inside, like this swirling storm inside. Always she would tell herself: 'Conceal, don't feel. Don't let them know.' She had always felr like that; and was always so weary about trusting against her heart and trust issues, to let go.

OOC: FROZEN MOMENT!!

The boy waited for the girl to react, to say something. She didn't reply to his words, however. Her eyes only widened, and she seemed to think for a while about what he had said. Dayton wasn't actually going to hurt her mate, of course. Like he had said, he was small and powerless. There would be no way for him to defend someone. Not even someone he loved. His mind flashed to the time he tried to protect his little sister... and failed. Did Misha remind him of his sister? Is that why he cared so much all of a sudden? As he pulled away briefly and stared at her, he realized that this might have been true.Misha had the same tawny coat as his younger sibling had, though their eyes were different. No one had eyes like Misha. But at least now he had a solid reason for his affections. Perhaps it wouldn't confuse him so much if he had a reason. "Let's talk about something different," he offered, wanting to get his mind of the topic of her terrible mate. Walk. "Talk." Think.

Misha stood up and shook her fur. Why? Why was life so hard for the female? She was so tired of pain and being hurt. But, then again she was so used to keeping her heart locked up and keeping herself locked up and concealing her feelings. The small, fragile maiden sighed and dipped her head into the water the waterfall peak provided, and slipped her tounge out and began sipping a bit of water. Maybe all she needed was a cool drink of water to clear her mind..

Dayton shifted to let the girl through. Misha stood and walked away for a minute, taking a drink from the clear water. She hadn't answered him, but he wasn't going to pressure her. She had given so much to him already. The boy rolled up to sit delicately on his haunches, watching his friend for a moment before glancing away, toward the deeper parts of the woods. Then an idea struck him. Dayton and Misha were both fairly new to the Tortuga pack. Perhaps she would be interested in exploring the territories with him. They could get familiar with the lands together. His back legs stretched as his petite body reached its full, unimpressive height. He walked carefully toward the maiden as she drank, not wanting to startle her. He leaned his head forward and brushed his nose against the side of Misha's creamy pelt. "Hey. Do you wanna explore a little bit? We can see the other parts of Tortuga. There are a few areas I haven't encountered yet, and I'd like a little company." Dayton felt a kind smile spread across his face. Walk. "Talk." Think.

Misha shook her head and felt tears blur her eyes. No. She couldn't just let herself go that easily.. Never that easily. Was she foolish enough to believe that it was possible? Or was she just desperate? No. She was just desperate. But being desperate is rushing. And if you rush too much, you can get hurt. "I.. I'm sorry, I have to go!!" Misha turned around and began running off, away from Day, away from the Tortuga pack, away from life. She had no idea where she was going; and she could much less see where she was going with the tears blurring her blue gray eyes. She just needed to get away from it all, take a breath to conceal it all in like she was used to. This wasn't her, this wasn't Misha, letting herself go so easily.The walls were building up.

OOC: ~exit Misha

As he waited for Misha to reply, the boy leaned too and took a sip from the river. The water was crisp and clean, churned by the sparkling waterfall nearby. He could still hear the sound of its crashing in his ears as Misha suddenly disappeared from his periphery. Dayton stood up straight with a jolt and whipped his head around to follow her rapid movement as she seemed to run - no, stumble - away from him. She apologized quickly, tripping over her words, and announced that she had to leave. Then she was gone, her soft fur only a flash in the trees. The boy seemed to notice her absence more than he figured he would. That fur, vanishing around the curve of a tree, had once been curved into his body. His side suddenly felt cold and empty. This was a new emptiness, one he hadn't known himself capable of feeling. So Dayton left the river too, walking somberly away to go explore on his own. This was the life he was used to. Things returned to normal as soon as Misha was gone. But for him, normal was miserable. EXIT DAYTON Walk. "Talk." Think.