Kindred spirits

She gradually looked up at him again when he began to confirm the thought that Death was after her, but turning it into a show of her strength, saying how Death must be afraid of her with a grin and a chuckle that was infectious. A slightly amazed grin tugged at her lips as she looked at this man who had not only saved her daughter and showed so much strength and kindness and now here he was, shifting her mind set, making it impossible for her to drift into the darkness that always seemed to consume her. She watched his face as he spoke and began sharing the story behind each of his many scars, starting with a set of them on his neck. As a mother she inwardly cringed and stressed, thinking of him as a young wolf facing off against a mountain lion, but outwardly she still wore a smile, her mint gaze shining with interest and curiosity about the man laying across from her. She gave him a curious look when he mentioned seeing Death, but he was already rolling into another story so she saved that for later.

When he brought attention to a long scar along the inside of his foreleg, telling her that it had been caused by a dagger used by an invading pack, she couldn't help but think of Artorias stabbing away at Sirius and was honestly just happy that it had only gotten Kane's leg in the tussle. As he moved the stories further down along his body her eyes followed suit, chuckling as she looked to where the saber cat bite was hidden under bandages and then to the trio of deep scars that went across his chest and up around the beginning of his shoulder. His simple answer caught her off guard a bit and she laughed, a genuine smile pulling across her lips and her tail thumping lightly against the cot. Hearing him tell these stories not as horrifying attacks or dangerous encounters brought a whole new appreciation to the story telling and she throughly enjoyed all of it, even though she couldn't help but worry over how many encounters he had gotten himself into with dangerous predators.

Her gaze trailed down to his thigh when he mentioned the marks a wild boar had left, though they were nearly impossible to see from here. She had no doubt that they were there though. Out of all of the stories he told it wasn't the craziest to believe. She half expected him to launch into another wild story and when he didn't she brought her gaze back to his face, seeing how his expression had fallen and his smile had slipped away. She blinked with surprise and her own smile faded as well, concern crossing her face. She looked to the scars across his face as he brought the attention to them, telling her of the deadly, massive dire wolf that had killed someone close to him and had given him these scars. Her heart twisted in her chest for him, but the story also hit a bit too close to home. She struggled to match the smirk he tried to give her as he mentioned how death must have it out for both of them. She was starting to believe that was true.

"Those giant wolves are what ended up taking my mate from me as well," she told him quietly after a moment of silence. He knew so much about her at this point, what was one more thing? "After she attacked me, she locked herself away in a cell in the dungeon. Stayed in there for most of a season. It effected the rest of her toward the end, made her thin and frail. I was staying down there with her along with one of our friends... I didn't want her to be alone when she passed and we thought for sure it would be any day. Then a group of those massive wolves attacked the pack. The howl from Ulric, the alpha, seemed to trigger something in her, brought her back for just a moment. She asked us to let her out, let her help." Her voice trembled as she spoke, but she kept going, refusing to stop until it was all out in the open. She hadn't spoken to anyone about what had happened since then and laying all her traumas out in front of him was oddly therapeutic. "She had been a strong, fierce warrior once upon a time. Seeing her wasting away in a cell hurt more than anything else. Even more than the scars she gave me. So I let her out. Let her die defending the pack she built."

She didn't regret letting Resin out, but the loss still hurt. Her mate had been gone from her for a long time now, but the death was still fresh and that had brought all the feelings of mourning she had felt toward the beginning of her decline back in force. "You said they killed someone close to you," she mentioned after a moment, her gaze curious, but a bit hesitant. She didn't want to push him for information, but she also couldn't keep herself from asking. "Who were they?"

Tamsyn Carpathius