WC: 557
The brown and cream wolf nodded easily at Ezra's words, feeling the same sense of disbelief and wonderment towards Vinátta and Saul. Saul had extended the invitation to her when she was at her darkest, based solely on the knowledge that she and his cousin Lilin were related, and she had nowhere else to go. It was quite a leap of faith, since he knew next to nothing about her, and yet... the sheer kindness of his offer was enough to earn her loyalty. Saul had a gift for bringing people together that way. She wondered how he and Ezra met; she knew their sons were playmates, but had no idea how long they had been together. "You can call me Coli, if you prefer," she added, smiling shyly. The nickname sounded more familiar, less formal than the grandmother she had been named after.
"M-my story?" she stammered, slightly taken aback. Did she have a story? Where to begin? She hadn't told anyone in the pack much -- Lilin knew the most, and that was only because she wanted to know about the dreadful father they shared. It wasn't necessarily that Coli had anything to hide, it was just... for once, she wasn't getting the stares of pity she had in Dahlia de Mai, or even Crimson Dreams. It was nice being seen as an equal, rather than someone so pathetic she needed others to protect her. "I haven't really done anything interesting..." she trailed off, fiddling with a blade of grass. "I've been in a couple different packs before this one, but... they didn't work out. Spent the last two years on my own, since... well, I couldn't seem to stay in a pack." She tried to keep her tone light, but it was hard not to let the melancholy creep into her voice. Cowardice ran deep in her, and all her failures could be traced back to that regretful flaw. Sighing heavily, she tilted her face upward, staring into the deep blue of the sky as though it held the answers.
"To be honest... I... I screwed up. I almost had a mate, and children, but it fell apart because of me. And then I ran away instead of trying to fix it, and it took me this long just to return to the east coast. You... You're lucky to have your little boy," Coli added with heartfelt sentiment, and more than a little jealousy. She was past her prime now, and further than ever from starting a family. It hurt so much to think of Anu and her sons, the happy ending she had rejected. She never should have left. She was trying very hard to start a new life here, but it took a lot of effort not to imagine what she could have had elsewhere.
"I guess it just wasn't meant to be, for me I mean," she mumbled, settling her chin back onto her knees. "My relatives are all pretty messed up, me included. Probably better that I didn't have pups." After a moment she winced internally, realizing she had come across in a very bitter and unpleasant manner. She wanted to be friends with Ezra, not whine his ears off. "Um... do you... have a story?" she asked timidly, hoping he had not grown weary of her dull company already.
