Become The Same

As Vanille shifted to face him he did as well, both of them facing each other with their paws lightly grazing one another while he waited for her response. He could see some kind of hesitation even if he didn't know why or what was causing it and eventually she responding but not before she looked down at her paws. It was hard to hide the disappointment he felt when she insisted that she needed to go back even though she wanted to stay with him. It was hard for him to understand why she couldn't follow what she wanted, but the way she tensed made him worry that he had hit some kind of nerve or made her uncomfortable somehow. He almost shifted to move away and give her more space, but she hadn't moved so he remained for now, watching as she seemed to struggle to get out what she wanted to say.

When she did finally manage to speak he was caught off guard by the truth she shared, but not because of the sad news of her mother's passing. He blinked with shock at the similarities in their lives that had crossed over in unexpected ways. It certainly explained why she was on her own. He didn't know why her father wasn't in the picture, but the fact that her mother had passed was explanation enough. A look of understanding and sympathy crossed his face as he softly sighed, gently taking her paws in his own and giving them a light squeeze. "My father passed away last winter as well," he admitted quietly after a moment, trying to give her a little smile.

He didn't like to think about his father's death. He had already thought about it again and again and thought through every little detail that could have gone differently. At this point he had committed to moving past it at his mother's encouragement to do so. He was lucky to still have his mother and sister and even his uncle to push him forward and keep him looking ahead, but he realized that he had never heard Vanille talk about anyone. She had been alone every time he saw her and had never smelled anyone else's scent on her. "It's hard... loosing someone like that. I'm sorry you had to experience that too." he said softly, his ears flicking back.

"Arcturus Indarra"