Down by the River

The girl smirked with satisfaction as the fox-coated male stopped what he was doing to acknowledge her. She trotted forward until she was standing in front of him, where she planted her paws, white-tipped tail swishing back and forth. Seeing him close up now, her silver eyes scanned him carefully. She looked over his white eye patch, the shading of his face and ears. She could see the resemblance that he bore to her, as well as to her sister and mother, and the cousin she'd met long ago as a pup. She grinned widely, although her eyes held on to their cold demeanor, as the look of confusion spread upon the male's face and he expressed his shock through words.

Blinking slowly, Saffron nodded, opening her eyes to meet his duo-toned gaze. "Yes, you're definitely the one," she said with certainty, "I met a wolf named Bluemoon. He said there was someone in his pack who had the same eye patch as me." She paused, allowing several moments to pass so that her words would sink in with the male. Her weight shifted from one paw to the other, and she parted her lips to speak again. "My mother had the same marking, as did my sister," she continued, "I even had a cousin, too, but... I haven't seen any of them for a long time.." Her last few words were spoken more quietly. She cleared her throat as she fell silent, realizing there was some pain twisting her heart as she spoke, something she hadn't experienced or thought about for a long time now. Was this why she'd been so eager to seek out this male? It was quite possible that he was her relative, and with her mother being murdered, her family split up seasons ago,
she was curious about any possible connections she might have. She wanted to know more; was there a reason her family had become so dysfunctional? What was the history of her lineage?