As the sun began to set Ulric found himself at the base of falls that bridged the terrain between the rapids and the hot springs. It was a place he knew well, though not quite as intimately as the hot springs themselves and the mangroves that were just next door. His ghostly pale gaze followed the tiered levels of the falls all the way up till he was looking up toward the top of them all. He imagined that this was a pretty place to be normally, but the pinks and oranges of the sunset certainly added a certain something.

Normally he could more or less entertain himself with interesting scenery or by just exploring Boreas, but that didn’t seem to be cutting it today. Everything just felt... boring. He wanted something different, but he wasn’t sure what. That seemed to be the grand theme of his life these days. He wanted to do something - anything really - but he continued to feel like he was walking in circles. The thought brought a slightly frustrated sigh past his lips before his eyes slipped away from the top of the falls to look down at the flowing water near his feet instead. Occasionally his mind got wrapped up in wishing for more grand dreams and goals for his future, but tonight wasn’t quite so unattainable. Just something to make his evening less quiet would do for him this time.

"Speech" Thought

lurking around the falls had become the interesting part of her current living arrangements. partly due to her unwillingness to prod around further. besides, she could lounge in the water all she wished.. roll in the mud just after. food was easy enough to come by and settling in the right spots let her watch all the creatures that came to visit. were the colors different today? was it the first she paid attention? her body sprawled in the cover of some brush, watching the still air change around her. the way the colors ate up the sky like it belonged, merging one into the next was freeing to stare at. it couldn't make her feel warm inside, instead she twinged in jealousy. how did things change colors, looking all vibrant and stunning? even animals as they grew.. changing colors, builds.. her stream of mind numbing thoughts would be interrupted, nose twitching at the new scent. feet kicking to twist her body enough to settle on her stomach. for a quiet moment she watched him, until curiosity guided her forward. she'd make noise, plenty of it as she emerged. she knew enough to avoid surprising others, while overly friendly and careless, ru always nagged that one day someone might eat her. her stance widen only to brace the shake her thin frame gave. tossing away a few sticks and remnants of being huddled within things. then single eye would flicker towards him, while the other was securely tucked away. [thinks][speaks][ru]

The rustling from the bushes a short distance away made him easily pulled his attention and made him turn his gaze in their direction, his ears perking forward to listen. He had half expected a raccoon or some other small creature of that sort to come scurrying out from under them, something that could have possibly made its den hidden under the shrubbery, but instead a small wolf slipped out into the open and he gave her a surprised glance. She was nearly half of his height and drastically more slim than him in build. She was like the polar opposite of his over grown size in every way. From the state of her coat he could tell she spent quite a bit of time hiding in brush and things of that sort. She shook out her coat which did help matters a bit, but it still wasn't the well groomed state that he had grown accustomed to.

His pale, silver gaze met a single gray eye and he was automatically curious as to why she kept the other eye closed. He had met wolves in the past that were missing an eye or had some kind of damage to them, but then there were usually scars to go with them and as far as he could tell there was none of that around her closed eye. He left that curiosity alone for now though since it was really none of his business. It was really just an unusual observation if anything - as was the fact that her tail seemed to be missing. If nothing else she had certainly gotten his attention and shaken up his otherwise empty evening. That was just what he had been wishing for so he couldn't complain.

"Hello," he said in greeting with his deep, baritone voice after a moment as she continued to stand in silence and look in his direction. He turned to face her properly with a small, kind smile on his lips. He couldn't help but notice how slender she was, thin to the point of concerning him a bit. Even though she was a complete stranger to him he still couldn't keep himself from worrying a bit. It was trait that constantly nagged at him - the need to take care of anyone around him that needed it. "I'm Ulric. What's your name?"

"Speech" Thought

her nose wrinkled, names. why was everyone so interested in names? surely she could piece together that everyone had a name. but the idea of answering to it was bizarre. at least, anyone other than ru calling her.. was nervous wracking. her ears jutted back against her head as she studied him. why were they so big? wolves and bird wolves alike, very few has she come across but both… so big. her head bobbed up in interesting to peer at his shoulders and back. no bird attachments. sad. pretty. or so she thought, eyeing the color his coat took on, the different shades making her mind drift back towards the sky. dragging her attention towards it, was his coat like the sky? did he change as it grew or was he born that way? a look of guilt flashed across her features, turning back to look at him almost apologetically. she wasn’t just rattling on about him, she swears. having a fit about giving her name to this wolf, when she gave it to the bird wolf. in her unreasonable defense it was simply because she wanted to touch him. did she want to touch this one? full attention focusing on him again, her ears roll forward to express interest. her maw opens, then shuts. no words to give, no effort placed to give. she does this a second time, hoping he would fall into the category of smart enough to understand nothing was going to come out. a gesture she used along the way when people asked her things, sought a voice from her. it had some negative side effects.. some innocent ones filled with pity.  which would he give her? what reaction would he display? [thinks][speaks][ru]

His question was met with silence, but he didn't mind. He waited patiently as the seemingly one-eyed woman's attention began to drift, first looking over his shoulder for something - what she was looking for he couldn't guess - and then off toward the color filled sky. He didn't question her or what had pulled her attention away. Instead, he waited and watched her with an odd amount of curiosity. She was so unlike anyone else he had ever met that it made him uncertain of how he should respond. He settled down onto his haunches and waited for her attention to return to him or for her to wander off. At this point either option seemed just as plausible. He wondered what was running through her head that had captured her attention so tightly, but there was no way for him to tell.

Eventually her gaze popped back to him with an expression that he could only describe as apologetic. He gave her another smile and continued to wait as her ears perked forward and she opened her mouth as if to speak - only to close it again without answering. Perhaps she couldn't speak then? Or did she simply did not want to? It was a problem he hadn't encountered before, but one he was content to work around as long as she wanted to linger around him. The whole interaction was so entirely different from any he had been in before. His family as a rule was very vocal and forward with their emotions and intentions. The lessons his mother had instilled in him on behavior and how he presented himself to the world were deeply ingrained and sometimes felt like a play he had to put on with certain wolves. It made him wonder life would be like if he hadn't been trained to act with this certain air of responsibility and regality.

"That's alright," he replied to her motions showing she either wouldn't or couldn't answer his question. He didn't press her about it or question her to understand if her inability to answer was by choice or ability - he just accepted the fact and moved on. So she couldn't give him verbal replies, but perhaps she could answer things with a nod or shake of her head as long as they were formatted in a way that they could be answered with a yes or a no. "I was just thinking about trying to find some dinner. Would you like some? I don't mind sharing with you."

"Speech" Thought

he didn't rush her, didn't seem to care that she didn't answer. the space between them feeling calm and comfortable. to the standards she held at least, ru had been quiet. her mind on its own was an interesting but terrifying thing. she would get the things she wished to do without him adding in. thus, with the invitation of food and being allowed to tag along. food-giver. ru would of said it was poison, that she didn't need to mingle in with new people. pretty. smart. food-giving. her assessment of him concluded, easily convinced that he hadn't planned to do any harm. picking up her feet  to carry herself forward, taking a path that kept him towards her right. kept him in her line of sight, as she got closer it became more clear to her just how much bigger than she he was. it set an ounce of nervousness in the pit of her stomach, ears twitching back against her head. this one didn't have anything she wanted to touch, but still she went. as she got close enough, her head lifted. stretching her neck in curiosity of the distant between them. as if she was set out to try and touch him, but unwilling to break the personal space bubble had a right to. she'd look again now, to his back and shoulders.. still no bird attachments. the gentle twitch of her nostrils would suggest she took in his scent, storing it away in memory. once satisfied her head tilts at him in a waiting fashion. well.. where we go? [thinks][speaks][ru]

After a few more beats of what felt like comfortable silence, he watched as she got up and began to move closer to him. Since she seemed to be studying him in some way he remained still and continued to sit on his haunches so she could make whatever observations she hoped to see. A lingering smile remained on his muzzle while he waited, watching her curiously as she moved. He noticed how her ears flicked with apparent nervousness and he wondered if she was just nervous about the interaction in general or if it was something specifically about him that made her worry. He knew his size could be off putting to some and it was one of the reasons that he was always so overly kind to make up for the frightening warrior he was built to be.

It wasn't until she looked to him with an expectant head tilt that he finally smiled a little more and got to his paws. "Off we go then," he commented before turning his silvery eyes forward toward the path ahead of them. There were a few areas around here where he knew prey would be, but he hadn't been entirely sure where he would take her until he began to move. With how she had first reacted to him he hadn't really been sure if he would even get this far with her so he hadn't planned out what he would actually do if she accepted his offer. He followed the smaller river that led away from the bottom of the falls, this one far more calm than the rapids that fed this water source. He had considered attempting to fish for her, but it was quickly getting dark and he was hardly ever very successful at it in broad daylight. He just didn't have the quickness and gracefulness it seemed to require.

Instead, he followed the water until he finally spotted what he was looking for. There had been a small family of whitetail deer moving through here as of late and he spotted them in the distance, seemingly getting one last drink before they returned to their thickets for the night. There were two does and he knew one of them would be more than enough food for the pair of them. He led her off to the side where the trees were a bit thicker so that she could hide where the deer wouldn't be able to see her. "Wait here," he told her quietly before slipping away through the bushes, giving the deer a wide birth so they wouldn't catch on to his presence until he was ready for them to. He used his dappled, brown hued fur to blend into his forested surroundings, creeping as close as he dared before he finally launched himself toward. The does didn't notice him until it was too late and made it easy for him to get a firm bite on its front leg. The other sprung off into the night white the one he had chosen to be his prey got tripped up by the bite he held her by and fell hard to the ground. He pressed one of his large paws into the base of its neck to hold it still just long enough for his jaws to relocate from her leg to her throat to end things quickly - cutting off the bleating noises it was making in protest.

With his successful hunt finished, he slipped his head under the small doe's side and rolled its body onto his back so that he could carry it back to where his quiet acquaintance was hopefully still waiting. Once he reached their designated spot, he let the deer slip off of his back and fall to the ground beside him. His eyes scanned for the small woman and he smiled a little when he spotted her again. "Dinner is served," he commented before setting to work getting a piece of the meat free for her. Once a decent portion was torn from the corpse for the both of them he stepped away from it, moving a few paces away from where the deer laid cut open. He placed her meal in front of her, adding, "There's plenty to be had if you're still hungry after this." He wasn't sure how often she actually had a decent meal and if he had anything to say about it he would at least make sure she did tonight. He took a few steps away from her before settling down with his own meal so that he was sure she had enough space to be comfortable with him.

"Speech" Thought

as he stood, she took a step back to allow plenty of space to move. unsure if she was going to be in the way, she wasn't always sure how much space she left between things before bumping into them or getting stabbed by angry branches. she'd follow him, a few paces behind without any issue. lagging into a slower pace once she noticed the size different in their foot prints. her attention would draw to them, tasked with placing her paw in the center of his print. she would succeed a few times, before picking up her pace to not get left behind. moving along the path, she was interested in the sounds that rose into the darkening air. the pretty colors were starting to fade, and she wondered what they wound find to eat. her steps kept her close, her muzzle neatly placed within range of his hind legs. she kept enough to not offer any means to startle him, but hovered in such a way to remind she was there. how was she to help him hunt? she was took a small creatures, bunnies were her favorite.. always making her run for it, making her blood stir in the movement. would he want fish? she could catch those, but she'd have to catch many in order to fill his stomach. her ears rolled against her head in thought before the scent of deer made her nostrils flare. twisting her head up into attention just as he uttered instruction. she complied, lowering herself out of sight. but she would inch forward to get a better view. she had seen her brothers hunt before, at a much younger age they would take turns collecting small animals for her. she learned and mimicked while catering around her blindness. watching him creep across the distance with skill. was this difficult for him? closing in on the distance while remaining quiet, he was so big.. how hard did he practice? she was able enough to get close, but tearing it down would mount for more then she could handle it. when he approached, she slithered around of the bush to make herself seen. she didn't hurry forward, watching him tear chunks of meat out, bringing one to deliver within her space. she wouldn't take it until he moved to his own piece. in fact, she would wait until he took a bite himself. a paw would drag her chunk towards her, light colored fur easily stained by blood as she greeted it. a faint wiggle of crooked stump made her hind waggle in her visible excitement. [thinks][speaks][ru]

While he ate the portion of meat he had sectioned off for himself he couldn't help but glance up at his would be dinner date occasionally. He was both confused and intrigued by her at the same time. He knew all too well how someone was raised could greatly influence and shape how someone ended up being in the rest of their life and, while he didn't know this for certain, he had a strong suspicion that there must have been something that caused her to be this way. It made him wish he could read her thoughts so maybe he could get a better picture of what had led her to his point. The various scars around her body hadn't gone unnoticed by him and he could only imagine what had happened to her tail to make it into the short nub it was now. She was a mysterious enigma that went against everything he had ever known about how wolves behaved and acted. The worst part was that he had no way of knowing that she would be okay once they parted ways. Clearly she had managed to at least keep herself alive thus far, but he couldn't say she was well cared for. Something pulled him to help her even though he had no relation or reason to. When he felt like his niece was in trouble, he had rationalized his anger with the fact that she was just a pup on top of the fact that she was his own blood. This woman was a stranger to him, but he still felt the same sort of anger toward whoever it was that had done this to her. For most of his life he had made himself a caregiver, mostly out of necessity to make sure his family members were cared for. Ever since he left them in the pursuit of forging his own path and figuring out what he wanted out of life he was admittedly feeling even more lost than before. Helping her made him wonder if perhaps his whole purpose in life was meant to be a caregiver of some kind. A protector. He licked his lips and paws clean once he was finished and looked to the small pale woman again with a soft smile. "Would you like some more? Did you have enough to eat?" "Talk"

her mind sped off with its own purpose, oblivious of his glances. today was a good day, another big wolf came by and has even given her food. it made her feel more eager to prod around for more wolves, it wasn't until she wandered into these lands did she have the guts.. or determination to at least look at another wolf. did she fear them? probably. did she crave them? yes. her ears drooped in thought, but her maw stayed ever busy. crunching through the given chunk. he spoke, perking the ends of ears as she looked to him. more food? there was plenty, but to eat anymore would cause her discomfort. downsides came with the lack of proper food, small meals for extended periods. learning this lesson many times before, cramming everything she wished to eat down her throat.. it would just all come up again. thus, her head would shake. a rejection. she couldn't eat anymore. taking to cleaning her face, heavy handed paws drag away the slop. little care taken towards the idea of gentle. her uncaring nature not even getting it all cleared away, stains peeking out as the higher points of cheek bones. her focus would drift to him again, curious to what he would do next. now that he ate, would he sleep? did he have somewhere to be? she had found him when he seemed to be simply wandering, but he was certain to have somewhere else to go. most others did. she considered then, would he hate it if she followed him? poking around behind him because he seemed kind, and she curious. who would want your company? startled, her body jerked up. head twisting to the left like someone was speaking into her ear. gray eye to dull, peaceful comfort quickly subsiding. even if i just watched from a distance...? ru snorted, but he wouldn't say anything more, making her ears droop in well known sadness. [thinks][speaks][ru]

He waited till he got his answer in the form of her shaking her head and he nodded in understanding, giving her a smile. "Alright then, that's fine." He shifted his eyes back to the remains of the deer and added, "I'll find a spot to leave this so you can have some more later if you'd like." He certainly didn't need it and with the wandering and traveling he had been doing lately he hadn't really stayed in one place long enough to justify keeping this big of a kill. If he stayed here tonight perhaps he would have some more in the morning, but at least she would have another solid meal or two from this. That made him feel a bit better, knowing that she would have this to eat on for a little bit. Ulric grabbed the doe's two front legs between his teeth and drug the deer away from the main part of the clearing, moving it this way instead of the way he had before to keep from getting the blood all over him. It was nearly pitch black out at this point, but he was at least able to find a dry spot at the base of a tree near by to lay out his kill for later. It wasn't the best solution to keep other preadators from finding it, but it was the best he could do in a pinch. If it was still earlier in the day perhaps he could pull off pieces of the meat to dry them so they would keep better... All things that he definitely hadn't planned on doing with his evening. None of his plans had involved finding a woman that he felt compelled to help, but here he was and he was attempting to make the best of it. With that task done, he turned back toward the unnamed woman and took the few steps it took to cross the small distance he had created, stopping at the point that seemed to be a comfortable distance for her. He refocused on her face just in time to see her looking off to her left as if she had just been startled by something. It made his hackles prickle nervously and his silvery eyes darted off into the distance at her left, searching the darkness for whatever it was. He had fully expected there to be some kind of threat there, but after several moments of looking and listening he didn't find anything there. He looked back to her face again, seeing the odd change in her expression and how her ears had falling back sadly. His ears flicked in a similar sort of fashion, his brows pulling together with worry. If only he could see what was happening in her mind so maybe he could understand... The large male settled himself on his stomach across from her so that he would be more at eye level for her. He was careful to still leave a bit of space between them since he didn't want to make her nervous, but he still wanted to be close enough that they could see each other more easily in the dark. He was quiet for a moment, trying and failing to find the right words to say. He personally hated when anyone showed him pity of any kind so as a general rule he tried to avoid doing that to anyone else as well. It was hard to do with someone so obviously hurt in some sort of unseen way, but he was trying. He was careful to keep his expression fairly neutral, only giving her a soft, warm smile instead. "Why don't I tell you a little bit about myself?" he asked, the idea sparking in his mind and at least giving him something to say. "Maybe you'll feel a little better if you know me better." It was a long shot, but he was trying. He started trying to think of facts about himself, pausing briefly between each one. "Well... I have one sibling - a sister. Her name is Philomena. Our mother is Roza. She lives in the continent south of here with my sister and two nieces - Nausicaa and Memento..." He paused again, trying to think of things that might be easy, interesting things to digest. I was harder than he thought it would be and he realized that he wasn't really sure what his identity was without his family. "Um... I'm a pretty strong fighter. I don't usually like it very much though - not the way some wolves do. I'll do it if I need to or to protect someone or just for practice, but I never really want to hurt anyone... I hold my own when it comes to hunting, but I've always been terrible when it comes to anything dealing with healing." He smirked a little at the memories of the few times he had tried to learn bits about it here and there, but all that information about herbs and remedies just rolled right off of him. After another beat of silence he started trying to think of something that might connect them - something he had that she also had. He thought of the long scar that marred his cheek and remembered the few scars she had scattered over her. It was a bit of a stretch, but it was something. He turned his head a bit so she could see, pointing to is left cheek with one of his paws. "I got this when I was fighting my sister. I thought she wasn't doing all that she could to take care of her youngest daughter and when I criticized her we ended up getting in a pretty bad fight... Memento was hurt and I wanted Philomena to take her to the nearest pack for help, but she kept insisting that they wouldn't help. I guess I just... I pushed her too far." He shrugged and looked down at his paws. It was something that he had come to terms with, but it still made him wonder if he and his sister would ever see eye to eye again. It had certainly put a pretty deep rift in their relationship if nothing else. "Talk"

he wasn’t going to eat more? he was big, did big wolves not eat more? did he eat more when she was too busy with her own portion? he even spoke of leaving it behind, tugging it off in a direction to stash it away. she wouldn’t follow, nor would her head turn to watch him. deciding if food was there when she grew hungry, she could find it. her mind was pulled from ru sending it down a spiral when she felt him near, the tension in her calming as she focused on him. noticing the distance between them wasn’t much different than what she originally settled. a part of her was pleased, but also disappointed. the smile he gave her again, brought her concern towards his cheeks. did they grow sore carrying such an expression? with the night darkening she’d usually scurrying into hiding, her brighter coat making it easier to pinpoint in the dark. plus, life became much harder for her with the lights out. forcing her to rely on sensitive hearing to get by. as he began to speak, she focused on him once again.. but grew concerned about the night around them. she would listen, but her body would scoot forward. careful steps taken in case a warning would be issued that she had gone too far. keeping to his right, she settled in close. if he so desired to poke her with his muzzle, she was freely within range. but she would not touch him, finding the idea of snuggling in next to someone, odd. others didn’t touch her, not yet. giving him her good side, gave the bad to the wonders of the night. placing an ounce of dependency on him seeing the danger before she. relaxed, ears perking at the topic of scars. i have those.. scars. i have lots of those. excited chirp within her head, perhaps too excited over a comparison she understood. the wiggle that started in her hind would stop, noticing how his expression changed. scars were sad. she knew that, this scar was sad for him too. without a thought, her head lifted up towards his. set and determined to issue a lick across the scar. if his head would divert away she would simply miss. the goal was to offer comfort, remembering the happy feeling she once had. did he want comfort within this moment? she didn't know, but it made the most sense to her. luckily for him, no remains of dinner had been stuck between her teeth. after her completed task, her head would venture back into its own space, tips of ears slightly perked in case he didn't like the idea. after a moment of unsure silence, her maw parted. "farrah." rasp of unused voice, loud enough to deliver what he asked of her. my name. [thinks][speaks][ru]

He noticed when she began to move, watching as she moved closer till they were laying side by side. He had been careful to keep talking as she did it and not move from the spot he had originally chosen so he would disrupt the progress she was making. It almost felt as if he acknowledged what she was doing then he might spook her. Perhaps that was just a thing that he mistakenly perceived, but he wasn't sure he wanted to test it. There seemed to be a careful amount of distance between them so that they were much closer than they had been while still not touching. In the short time they had known each other, he had started to pick up on what was okay and what was not and could tell that this was a big step for her to take. It touched him in a way he didn't expect and he gave her a proud smile once she had settled in her new spot beside him. The way her ears perked when he brought up the topic of scars didn't slip past him. His attempt at finding common ground seemed to have worked. Good, that made him happy. What he had missed, however, was how her visible excitement had ended once his gaze had fallen dejectedly toward his paws. By that point his own fears and shortcomings had begun to distract him. He wasn't sure how long he would continue to blame himself for how things went with Philomena. He imagined that guilt and anger probably wouldn't go anywhere until they were finally able to make their peace with each other, but he wasn't sure when that would be. He wasn't strong or brave enough to face her and he wasn't sure that she even wanted to mend that bridge even if he did make an attempt to do it. An unexpected show of support and comfort shocked him and made him blink with surprise as his small companion licked the scar that he had just finished explaining. He turned his head to look at her with widened, surprised eyes as she leaned back away from him again. It was a silent gesture, but one he understood all the same. Being with her tonight had taught him a lot of things - most notably he had learned that there are much more ways to communicate than with words. He smiled and gave her a small, thankful nod in response. It had been just enough to pull him away from the spiral of his own thoughts which was exactly what he had needed. He considered reaching over to give her a small lick in return, but he worried that might cross some kind of line and he didn't want to push his luck. He wasn't sure what made him so determined to gain her trust and at this point he was too far in to think about giving up now. What shocked him the most was the soft rasp of her voice when she finally told him her name. His ears perked forward immediately toward her to listen, storing the name away carefully in his memories. Farrah. The question he had asked when they first encountered each other had finally been answered. His tail wagged and thumped lightly against the ground as he grinned in response. He'd never been so happy to learn someone's name before, but this wasn't just any greeting was it? This was something that had been earned and he was happy to have gotten to this point. "Farrah... That's a lovely name. Thank you for telling me." It really had gotten quite dark out and he knew that at some point they would have to part ways, but he couldn't help the nagging feeling in his gut that she needed help. He was sure that a lot of that was just made up in his mind, but he still had to be sure all the same. For a moment he was quiet while he tried to figure out the best way to ask his question. "Farrah, do you have anyone around here? Any family or something like that?" Just leaving her out here on her own felt wrong... but he knew he didn't have a permanent home here for her either - at least not yet. He'd feel better about it if he knew she had some family or someone that could help look out for her, but if her current state told her anything then he could guess that she most likely didn't. "Talk"

her heart nearly swooned in excitement to the sound of his tail thumping. it was an unusual sound, much too young to remember when she still had her tail. but she did understand that such a sound meant he didn’t hate the comfort she set out to give him. the surprise in her face made her own lit up, but he was blurring around the edges as her night time struggles began to surface. the slight squint of her eye suggesting the strain. even so, his continued excitement about getting her name kept her focused. her head tiling as he called it, bringing forth effort to respond. was her name lovely? what exactly could lovely mean? her attention tugged away trying to piece together the idea behind it. its too dark now, we won’t be able to get back easy.  she was bound to struggle to get back to where she had been tucked away. she would also need to consider if she would find a hole nearby to stay near the deer he set aside. she had every plan to eat it, if she remembered to return to it. the comfortable feeling around her slowly became uneasy, it was getting too dark. she felt too exposed. even if he was kind, and likely to alert her of danger.. she just couldn’t settle the flutter within her. family? she didn’t have that, not anymore. just ru. her head would shake, finding her feet beneath her. she didn’t bear the intent to run away from him, but it was time for her to go. after taking a few steps away, she paused to look at him. bobbing her head in what she hoped he would register as a goodbye. she'd like to see him again, wondering if him calling her name could exciting. farrah to exit. [thinks][speaks][ru]

The shake of her head confirmed what he had already assumed. She didn't have any family here or anyone looking after her. It made his ears flick with concern, but what should he do about it? He had no real home to offer her besides the den that had begun to keep in the mangroves. It wasn't as if he was part of a pack that he could invite her to join. Perhaps one day he would have that to offer her, but tonight he had no immediate answer. He wondered if even just inviting her to stay near him in the Mangroves would be enough... but before he could finally settle on a decision he realized that she had gotten up. He looked up at her with surprise and watched as she began to back away, dipping her head to him in what he had to guess was a goodbye. He frowned because he didn't want her to go without knowing that she would be okay, but he had to learn somehow that he couldn't help every single wolf he came across. He dipped his head in return and watched her go. He watched the spot where she had disappeared to in the darkness for a moment, wondering if perhaps she would suddenly appear again like she had when they had first encountered each other. He certainly hoped that they would cross paths again if for no other reason than for him to confirm that she was still alright. With a sigh he pulled himself to his paws and began to make his way back toward the mangroves. It was far too late for him to go anywhere else so it made sense for him to cross into the unusual forest and return to what he tended to call home. It gave him a vague hope that perhaps she would be able to follow his scent back to his den so she could find him again if she wished. -exit- "Talk"