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[/html]She still didn't understand the prospect of mates, the allure of being tied to one person. From her position, it was a dangerous situation. Enemies could harm someone without touching them, all through the desecration of their loved ones. She had seen that first hand during the Dahlian wars; while she didn't like to believe it, she felt Gabriel still hurt from the pain caused to his family during that time. The thought brought tears to her crimson eyes, but she blinked them away as soon as they approached. She wouldn't be weak in front of this stranger.
What he said was not uncommon to what she knew. Inferni was perceived as volatile and violent, but that was not always a bad thing to give to the world. It kept others at bay, but 'caused problems when it came to interaction outside of the extended family. She laughed bitterly. Had she really proved the statement false? "Don't underestimate my cruelty. You are already less than me for simply being a wolf; add to your stature that you are not from Inferni and far from being a Lykoi and you are nothing in my world." It was a true statement. She refused to acknowledge outsiders as family, and though they could be allies, she did not consider them friends.
She stayed quiet as he complimented her painting skills, glancing to him as he pulled a book from his bag. A real book. With real pages, with real words that she couldn't understand. A red book. His favourite book. She snorted. "I don't read." She wouldn't admit that she couldn't, but simply that she didn't enjoy it. True, she wrote, but not letters. She used symbols unknown by others, save herself, to keep track of her days in the world.