Sorry, this got long! (558)
Tayui frowned when Naniko admitted the reason for her departure from Crimson Dreams. She was surprised to hear it had been through exile. She didn’t know much about the former leader, but she also did not know much about the pack, either. She knew Savina and Anu were in charge, but had never met Savina. She wondered what it might have been over. She refocused her attention as Naniko continued to speak, elaborating on her story. The female mentioned another name: Azalea. It was wholly unfamiliar to Tayui and as she wondered about this new fact, Naniko explained it, too. Tayui flicked her ears forward and then back when Naniko revealed her exile from a second pack. She wondered if it had not been so much a misunderstanding as it might have been correct suspicions. Tayui wasn’t sure how she felt knowing that the leader of this pack had been in two, but could not stick around. AniWaya was the first pack she had left truly by choice after her birthpack. She had fled for her life from La Haine, but Jaded Shadows and Shadowed Sun had disbanded, all due to forces she could not control. But here, Naniko was telling her story and expecting something – what, sympathy? Empathy, even? Tayui didn’t know what to say, so she simply nodded, taking the information in. She was growing more shrewd as she aged, and now she recognized that it would be in her best interest if she did not reveal her thoughts, especially since she wasn’t sure what they were.
Naniko brought them to the entrance of the caves; the arrival was speedy, since Tayui had already been quite close to them when she’d wandered here. Since it was not yet officially claimed, Tayui suspected she had wandered a fair bit more than she would have been allowed under normal circumstances. Tayui followed Naniko in to the caves and peered through the other cave entrances as they passed them. She had known about the existence of these caves, but had never explored them to their full potential. She had been happy with the spacious den under the old tree, which had quickly been converted into a library. She wondered if any books were still there, if they had even survived.
She shook her head and looked back to Naniko, eyes bright as they neared the fire. Naniko moved to hold her hands by the fire and Tayui followed to take a seat. Since she was still in her Lupus form, she could not warm her paws the way Naniko was. But she could still sit close to the fire and warm herself. She paused for a moment to appreciate the heat before turning to Naniko to answer her question.
“AniWaya is lovely. It’s quite peaceful and very beautiful. But it is no longer my home. It doesn’t feel right anymore. I helped found it, but I’ve decided it is time to move on and find something else. A new home to start over,” she replied. She added: “sort of like you.” She hoped this concession would satisfy Naniko’s curiosity. She didn’t very much feel like sharing her woes with this wolf. They were still just crossing the threshold from strangers to vague acquaintances. Perhaps one day she would share her story; until then, it was her secret to keep.