ooc:
She went on oblivious to the concern on her behalf until the gentle prod of her paw jerked her awake to the present again. Her ears drew forward and brows creased with mild interest as she looked from her feasting companion to the boy nudging her paw. Her muzzle wore further surprise when he inquired about her, wondering if she was alright.
Her tail flipped mildly on the snow as the initial surprise of his concern wore off and she reclaimed her sense. With a quiet as she had been, it was a wonder he had not asked sooner. Any other would have known that this was simply how the female was the majority of the time, silent and content unless invoked to speak. But he did not know her well… or at all for that moment. A stranger to him as he was to her, though the philosophy of Ichika bid that such distances be closed. Embrace one as family with security and love; was that not the way of Ichika?
“I’m alright,” the woman offered softly, raising her paw to gently brush the boy’s crown to assure him of her word’s validity. “I do not speak very often. As a Nomad, words were hardly necessary unless they were to instruct us by the lessons of our particular families. We are a more gestural people that dwell in silence.” An aspect of her culture that she was learning went against the more enthusiastic and engaging of Ichika’s inhabitants. Despite the time she had spent within her new family, talking was simply an art she could not delve into without purpose. But…it was not necessarily unpleasant.
At the mention of her mate, her ears perked more attentively and eyes became wider with interest. She hadn’t put much thought into the boy before and had thus neglected that he was a part of the life Saluce had before they had met. She had always assumed he was happy with her but hadn’t thought of what he was like before then… what trials he had to endure… what love he had before her. “…not the best luck with women?” she asked quietly with her tail patting the ground with less subtlety. Just how many women had he had before her? And what was more alarming, had he had any children with them he had neglected to mention? X’yrin wouldn’t believe herself to be the jealous type, but skeptical, she was.