A Thousand Rainy Days

As he cooked, Talyssa ate. Quill watched her through half lidded eyes, enjoying the fact that she seemed to be appreciating the meal. In between bites, the woman spoke and the man listened. A nod was given here and there to let her know that he was listening. Talyssa spoke of not being satisfied with a normal life and wanting to see what the world had to offer her. He could understand that.

By the time Talyssa finished her story, Quill had finished cooking the strips of meat. The brute settled down onto one hip, plucking a piece of the meat from the warming stone and popping it into his mouth. He chewed and considered the woman's question. What was his story?

Swallowing the bite, Quill uncorked a flask of summer berry wine and took a sip to wash it down. He then handed the flask to Talyssa. "I don't know that it's much of a story," he began in low tones, not as deep and baritone as his father's, but smooth and somewhat sultry. "You know who my parents are. When my father fell ill the first time, the family sort of broke apart. I went one way, they went another. I raised myself, in a sense." One grey shoulder lifted in a half hearted shrug.

"Word spread that my father was in control of a pack once more and the hope was to get the family back together, so I returned." One big paw drifted through the air for a moment. "You see how that turned out." Once again the Kleins were displaced. It was as though he'd come back for nothing. Or maybe something...

"I've never been one to sit still and prefer traveling over pack life." Reaching out with one paw, Quill gently swiped a pad over the fawn and white woman's lower lip, coming away with some berry juice that had clung there so invitingly. On a whim, the brute brought that pad to his maw, lapping the juice away with a flick of his tongue. "All of that has led us here, Talyssa."

"Quill Klein"