After her rast ceremony she was feeling like she belonged. More part of the pack, at least more so than she thought she was before, anyway. The child looked down on the fox-skull around her neck with pride. She must have scared people though, coming back with not a squirrel, or fawn, or rabbit, but a fox. Truth was, she found hunting cruel. She didn’t like the way wolves were merciless when bringing down prey that could not defend themselves. She settled on eating fish. And Aoi had been planning on bringing back a fish for her rast ceremony, too, until she’d seen a young fox going for a pheasant. Aoi was tall for her age, and had the advantage of being in optime. It was scary when she’d plunged the slate knife into the fox, seen the life seep out of it, but she;’d got over it now. After all, she’d saved the pheasant, had she not? A life for a life.

The crow Saigai, Aoi’s pet, soared above her, leading the way. Aoi wasn’t quite sure where they were going. Eventually, the crow led the way out of the caverns and into the open. Aoi blinked steadily, her eyes fluttering under the bright light. She hadn’t been outside for so long. When her dark eyes adjusted, the brown furred femme tilted her ivory face upwards and inhaled deeply, calming herself. It was a nice day.

Suddenly, Aoi was running, the crow not leading but following her now. She ran through grass and fields. Though she was in optime, for once she wasn’t wearing any clothing, just the family-inherited necklace that had the symbol of Anathema, some crow feathers, and of course the fox skull. Her shoulders were broad, and as a child, her chest was flat and body unshapely. The tall girl ran until she hit the Musqudoboit Valley, and there she settled, sitting in the grass with her eyes bright and sprits lifted for no particular reason.

As she sat in the meadow, her fingers knotted around the dirt and grass. She absently pulled up weeds and moss from the floor and let it float down to the ground again, a repeated pattern that kept her agitated fingers busy. Gingerly, her brown eyes cast downwards to stare at her wispy fur, and Aoi wished for something better than she already had. She found herself boring and dull; greys and browns were not the colour of beauty. At least, in her opinion they were not. She'd rather be as black as night or light and white.

As the young child thought about this, she started to hear something walk across towards her. Anxiously, her head snapped up, and she turned her head to see who it was. A white wolf walking her way, female. She recognized Ayasha from the pack meeting, although she couldn't quite place who she was or what her name was. Aoi didn't doubt that Ayasha wouldn't know her, either; she didn't exactly try to make herself remembered. She watched the white girl come her way with nervousness in her heart. She didn't know what to say to people when they talked to her, as she was a girl of few words, shyer than most.

Uh... she said simply, offering a little hint of a smile. Other than she showed no sign of communication, though, and instead froze on the spot, kneading the ground gently. By her side, Saigai flicked his wings and flew to rest on her shoulder.

As Ayasha's expression seemed to fall understanding more than anything, Aoi found herself less nervous than before. After all, the femme was getting stronger and strong each day in terms of confidence; even to the point that she sometimes started conversations herself. The young girl sat up, drawing her knees towards her and cupping them in her paws. It was hardly a comfortable position, but it made her feel safe. Although the white wolf that stood - and then finally sat - near her seemed not in the least bit threatening, Aoi kept her guard up all the same.

At first, the young jackal-wolf only managed a small grunt in response to Ayasha's words, but then thought herself rude, so came out with a sentence or two. H-hello... she started, gazing at the ground. I'm Aoi, Aoi Itou. the fey continued, finally bracing herself to look upwards. Her aim was to meet Ayasha in the eye but she found that Ayasha was otherwise occupied, fiddling with something around her neck. On closer inspection, Aoi realised it was a ring on a chain. Oh, that's nice. Aoi commented pleasantly, hesitating a little before a hint of a smile crept upon her maw. She wanted to probe further; what was it for? For decoration, or more than that? Perhaps it was from her mate. But she didn't dare interfere with anyone else's personal life. She thought that everyone preferred to keep to themselves; they certainly wouldn't want an obnoxious little pup poking their nose into anything and everything.

The friendly smile that came from Ayasha was much wanted and needed to make Aoi feel comfortable. Gradually, she broke into a grin back, because the emotion around her was usually infectious. In reply to Ayasha's words Aoi opened her mouth back, cleared her throat, and began to speak again. Her voice wasn't quite as timid as before, but still held a certain quietness about it. You too, Ayasha... no, not long. I uh, came maybe a month back. her eyes strained as she thought about it, wondering if it had really only been a month. It felt like she had lived her whole life here, in the caves, out in the world surrounding it. Anathema was her home.

Then Ayasha explained the nice jewellery, and Aoi found herself opening her mouth in awe and speculation. That was just so..romantic. It was hard to explain. She'd love to talk about it more with Ayasha but she felt as if it wasn't her place. That's so sweet. I hope you're happy. In retrospect Ayasha looked as happy about it as Aoi seemed to be; and as the younger femme looked on with admiration a question sparked up in the conversation. The question made Aoi flush hotly and she glanced downwards, ears falling back against her skull. Not wanting to seem rude though, she looked back up and replied timidly. I...no. her face scrunched up in pain. Nobody would like me back in that way. she breathed, pulling her lower limbs closer to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. The crow upon her shoulder clicked its beak in a sort of sorrowful way and snuggled into Aoi's fur, comforting her when she was at her meekest. Saigai did not really understand the emotions she was going through, but tried his best to hold her in one piece all the same.