There was something about the stars that were fascinating this evening. The aging brute would look upon them, reflecting on his past, his present, and wondering about his future. He thought of his family, the ones he had lost, of Quelt, of Bass, Wren, and their children. There was family all throughout his life. There were good things and bad, as was natural over the course of time, but through it all Allen knew one thing; he had lived. He had lived a good life, a fairly happy one. But there was one thing his heart missed... and he would wait for her forever if he had to.
Allen would sit alone by the rapids that fine autumn night. The cool, crisp air of the evening was upon him, and the aging gentleman would close his eyes. Reflection. There was a lot to do on that aspect. He would open his eyes again, wondering, where did the time go? Was he really so old? A chuckle would escape his lips, dark gaze shining. No. He wasn't old... he was six years young. When spring came again he would be seven years young. That was all there was to it. He still had plenty of life left within him... so there was no way he was going to give up on anything now.
With the training still fresh in his mind the young man would leave the den. Sure speaking with Star had helped, but there was still the matter of actually fixing his faults. Limno had tried her best to help him, but the young man was still frustrated. Starling was helping with the Italian, at least a bit... but what else was there for him to do? He felt like a failure all the same. He'd breathe out slowly, walking under a night sky that just seemed to bright for him. He hated this feeling. A feeling of self loathing and hatred.
But he knew there was a way to fix this. There had to be. He would lift his head, seeing a form sitting by the water of the rapids. Surprised that anyone was still out this late the young man would approach the other. It was Allen, his uncle. He was not an uncle by blood, but his father trusted and respected the other man enough to make him the secondary of his pack. The boy would come up next to Allen and take a seat, gazing out over the water. His ears were lowered, a heavy sigh passing his lips.
"Uncle Allen? How do I get better at being a field medic?" The young man would ask, not looking at the calico gentleman.
It seemed that his night of solitude would not be so alone after all. Gaze would shift slowly to his right as a young man came to sit as his side. Ah yes, young Shrike. The boy had been troubled during the training he held. His ego had surely taken a blow and despite Limno trying her hardest to set the boy on the right path he still seemed troubled. Allen would give a small smile to the son of Bass, leaning down and beginning to speak softly.
"One must first change how he thinks before he can change how he acts, Shrike." Allen would give the boy a gentle nudge on the shoulder. "So chin up lad... there is more to come yet. Sure you had some trouble during training... but that is why we train... so we can get better at things." Allen would close his eyes, taking a small breath.
"No one starts out a master of all trades, Shrike. Practice, practice again, and practice some more to get a feel for what you want. Be diligent in your studies, to your duties to the pack, and you will grow better at them." Allen would open his eyes again, letting his gaze focus on the young man. "Do you understand?"
Shrike would listen to his uncle, lifting his gaze to the older wolf quietly. More to come... More chances to succeed. Training wasn’t a sign of failure... It was how you got better at things. He would give yet another sigh, his multicolored form leaning slightly leaning into the older man. He didn’t like the idea that he had failed... But with both Limno and Allen saying much the same thing, even his own brother, he figured that it had to be the truth. So it didn’t matter that he wasn’t perfect... He could get there through training.
Diligence... Practice... Shrike would slowly lift his gaze to meet that of the calico gentleman. “I guess so.” The boy’s bi-colored eyes would meet with his uncle’s dark green ones. His ears would flick back some, further questions passing his lips. “How long did it take you to get so good at it?
Shrike still seemed a bit bummed out by his the words he spoke, but at least the boy was doing a little better now at accepting the fact that he couldn’t immediately be perfect. He seemed willing to try now as well, whether through his words or another Allen wasn’t sure. The calico gentleman would breathe in slowly, keeping his gaze upon the youngster as he spoke.
“It varies between wolf to wolf, young Shrike. For me... It took much of my life to fully master my skills... And even then there is always someone out there better than us as we are. True perfection does not exist... It is a comparison of one thing to another, nothing more.”
Again Shrike would listen to the older man. He knew that Allen, just like Limno, only wanted to help him. Wanted to show him that things were not as bad as he thought and that they could get better. Things would vary from wolf to wolf, like how fast they learned things or what they already knew, but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. The boy would give a small nod. True perfection... Didn’t exist. It was a comparison. So that meant in order to be “perfect” you had to be better than everyone at everything.
But... That was impossible? He didn’t quite understand it completely, but Shrike felt a little better about the fact he wasn’t at that point yet. It meant that he had to work on things... And he wasn’t gonna give up. The boy would get up, looking to Allen with a little more determination in his eyes. He would work at making perfection exist.
“Sorry for taking up your time, Uncle Allen. I think... I think I feel better about this whole situation now. I’m going to go ahead and run off now. Thank you for speaking with me.” Shrike would dip his head before running off into the lands again. Yes... There was some practice to be done indeed.
Allen would let the young boy go in peace. His dark gaze would follow Shrike as the boy left, wondering if the child truly understood what he had to say. He truly hoped that Shrike did feel better about the situation and would be able to move on. The calico man would rise, shaking his head with a small smile. The boy had some growing up to do and, in some respects, reminded him of his nephew and his nephew’s son. If only Nona were here... He was sure that his beloved mate could get through to the boy on a deeper level than he could. With one last look at the water Allen would set off for his den to spend what he thought would be another night alone.