Anything But Beautiful

He felt bad that he had startled her, but they quickly moved on from it. She went to go look around, missing the beauty in her surroundings. He frowned as he glanced down at her, taking in the somber mood and her quiet demenor. This was not the Quake that he knew, not the fun loving child that he had once seen. Shy, sure, but not like this. Letting out a gentle sigh, he leaned down to lick the top of her head as she spoke up. It was a hard question to answer, and once again he just wished he could scoop up all her problems and take them away. It didn't seem to be the best time to bring up her father either, but waiting could perhaps damage her further. His ears slicked back, an uncertainty filling his belly. "I wonder the same thing myself. There's no real way to ever know, I guess. I'd love to hear from my siblings, from my mate and kids, why they just left. Was it me? Did I do something wrong?" He paused, his golden eyes searching her features. "I know exactly how you feel, and how it's the unanswered questions that are the hardest. So it's up to you Quake, to either sit in this place you have created for yourself or rise above it. Sometimes the worst things happen to the best wolves, and it's in your paws to rise up and let it make you stronger." There were times when Bass needed to follow his own advice, but it was a lot easier to say wise words than to follow them.

He sat for a moment in silence, trying to figure out when the best time would be to break the news. He didn't want to build her up just to topple her down, and he felt like he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. But keeping it from her... No. He couldn't do that. His tail tip twitched back and forth as another harder sigh left his lips. It was now or never. "Speaking of your family..." he broke off, looking up to the horizon. He hated bringing bad news, but it was part of his job as alpha. "He... your father... he was killed in Fiori. He had a new mate, new kids I heard. A bear awoke too soon from hibernation and was starving, killing both Quelt and Bright Moon, who I am assuming was his mate. I'm... I'm really sorry Quake." Bass looked back to her, a broken heart clear in his eyes. He was so torn up over the whole thing, after just having lost Hansel as well. Swallowing firmly, he awaited her reaction on baited breath.

"Speech"
'thoughts'