AINO
Pale gaze met with amber eyes, and then Aino winked.
"Didn't say I believe it," she replied lazily, looking casual and mildly indifferent under her mother's scrutiny. "But you believe it - " she pointed at Sah " - which is good enough for me. Who or what you were before is not going to change the you that's sitting here right now." And this Sah was the one she was curious about. Now that she was supposed to be his sister and all that.
Lilly was greeted with exuberant coos and fussing by Ilma, while Aino's reaction was more practical. Rising, she went to rummage in a cupboard and returned with a strip of unsalted, dried meat for the cub to chew on.
"I called her Softpaw," she replied, hunching down next to Sah and the wolf cub, with a hand offered to sniff - the one without the food, at first. "Used to sneak up on rats in the sheds, like a cat; they wouldn't hear 'er comin', and then she pounced." Sitting back on her heels, Aino looked Lilly over with some curiosity; there was a difference between her domestic dog and this wolf, not to mention the Halo variant was usually white in the fur, to better blend into the landscape. Silver was not a color she had seen before.
"Just bring your flower in with you next time, boy. Shouldn't have your soul stray too far from your side," Ilma cautioned.
"Baaad things happen to those who lose their bonded; pieces of themselves go missing, they say. Worse than any heartache you can imagine." Stern eyes under wrinkled lids pinned the youngster to ensure that he was listening.
"Didn't say I believe it," she replied lazily, looking casual and mildly indifferent under her mother's scrutiny. "But you believe it - " she pointed at Sah " - which is good enough for me. Who or what you were before is not going to change the you that's sitting here right now." And this Sah was the one she was curious about. Now that she was supposed to be his sister and all that.
Lilly was greeted with exuberant coos and fussing by Ilma, while Aino's reaction was more practical. Rising, she went to rummage in a cupboard and returned with a strip of unsalted, dried meat for the cub to chew on.
"I called her Softpaw," she replied, hunching down next to Sah and the wolf cub, with a hand offered to sniff - the one without the food, at first. "Used to sneak up on rats in the sheds, like a cat; they wouldn't hear 'er comin', and then she pounced." Sitting back on her heels, Aino looked Lilly over with some curiosity; there was a difference between her domestic dog and this wolf, not to mention the Halo variant was usually white in the fur, to better blend into the landscape. Silver was not a color she had seen before.
"Just bring your flower in with you next time, boy. Shouldn't have your soul stray too far from your side," Ilma cautioned.
"Baaad things happen to those who lose their bonded; pieces of themselves go missing, they say. Worse than any heartache you can imagine." Stern eyes under wrinkled lids pinned the youngster to ensure that he was listening.
For the good times that we share,
and the bad times that we'll have
and the bad times that we'll have
