Building Courage

He was a quiet one for sure, ever so shy. She watched his eyes avert and his ears tilt sheepishly while his paws shuffled. His timid demeanor brought memories of her surrogate brother, Haru, to the forefront. That boy would always fold his ears and avoid eye contact, although he had reason for it, being awkward and clumsy and often ridiculed by his peers. No wolf had more left paws than Haru had; he was a little bit of a disgrace, hard as he tried. Esa had spent much of her childhood teasing and poking fun at him. He always had mother there to protect him, so she hadn't worried about him much anyways. The young man in front of her, however, was much more handsome and striking in appearance; she was dearly beginning to hope that he would agree to explore with her, especially seeing as he didn't seem to have anyplace important to be. Silently he seemed to evaluate his options, and she smiled when he finally let a question come forth, a statement asking for clarification but also confirming his agreement to investigate.

She liked that he seemed thoughtful but not boringly cautious, a part of what made him seem so quiet. He wasn't one to just blurt something out without thinking carefully about what he should say. His words were few, but they were effective, and his body language filled in any missing pieces. As he drew a little closer, Esarosa inched toward him, trying to catch his gaze with her emerald orbs, offering a wolfy grin. "You just passed by it, silly!" she exclaimed in amusement, pointing her tail in the direction of the mine, "It's just back there! I was resting barely inside the entrance when I spotted you go by. Looks like there's a ton of interesting stuff in there, human stuff, but the scents are old and nobody's been there in sooo long. Back home the elders always said to avoid humans at all costs... but I want to know what they were up to in there!" A mischievous looked twinkled in her eyes before she turned away from him, prancing several steps away.

She looked back at him, whisking her tail around. "Well, shall we?" she questioned, smiling at him as she started ahead, back in the direction she'd come from. She didn't even know his name yet, but for some reason it didn't seem to matter. As long as he decided to go through with it, this would be an intriguing adventure worth the time spent. Besides, she could wait to see if he would reveal his name - or anything about himself - which would be all the more interesting when offered instead of requested. And she would hold onto her identity until he inquired, retaining an air of mystery for the time being. It was something she wasn't normally inclined to do, but the male's quiet nature compelled her to remain quiet as well... well, at least to the best of her ability, as she could be quite the talker when she was excited.