Word Count: 654
Melee was unaware of the paranoia that her friend had about his mother. Naniko's warning was part of what had kept the Soul wolf away from trying to find Scorpius, but it wasn't close to her mind at that moment. To her, his mother was a faraway matter to be considered later. Their future meetings would need to be carefully planned to be away from the Anathema lands. They were older now, though, so she doubted that Naniko was keeping as close of tabs on her older son. Perhaps - if Melee was lucky - she even had new puppies to corral and worry about. Then her intention to see Scorpius would be easier. All of these things would occur to her later, but not right then. All she was thinking about was how good it was to see him after so long. She also knew that she didn't want to wait as long between seeing each other as they had this time. The spirited girl would make sure that they had a plan to meet again at a near date as soon as this meeting was over.
When he said that he would teach her to draw maps, Melee smiled broadly. She leaned up to bump her nose into his chin in an appreciative gesture for his offer. "I would love that! I still don't think I could do it that well, but I would like to try." she replied, excited at the idea. In truth, she had never really tried all that hard to draw. Perhaps she could be better at it if she had a tutor. Besides, anything that created another reason for her to see Scorpius was always going to be a positive thing in her book. It would be good to have a map of all of her pack's lands, anyway. They could use it to teach new members about all of the different locations and perhaps they could also use it for planning. Maybe if she couldn't learn how to do it, her pack would be alright with letting Scorpius map out their pack. Unlike some of the other local packs, Ichika no Ho-en had a more peaceable atmosphere. Allowing an outsider to enter the pack and map its landscape could still potentially be hazardous to the pack's health. She might need to run it past Saul or her father or perhaps even Nayru. After all, as much as she trusted Scorpius, that didn’t mean that everyone else did or that she should let him in on pack knowledge. Little did she know that her concerns mirrored his own about the maps of Anathema that he needed to be cautious in showing her.
She winced slightly at his confusion to her discomfort about Nayru. This was why she hadn't brought it up with anyone else; they would all think her silly for the thoughts that churned through her head. Her fingers rose to run through her mane in an anxious gesture, her bi-toned gaze looking down at her feet. Subconsciously, she crossed her arms over her legs in a defensive, self-protective gesture. "I guess it is kind of silly... it's just that I worry it will change everything. I've never had a mother before and I don't want one. I kind of thought it was fine how it was. Just dad, Range, Saul and me. Now he'll have Nayru, though, and so he won't need us as much anymore. Maybe when he has puppies with her, he won't even want us around that much. I mean, we aren't even his blood children." these were all of the worries that had eaten away at her gut, churning over and over in her head at night. It wasn't logical, she knew that. Deep down, Melee knew that Gideon wasn't going to abandon her. It didn't stop the fear or the worrying, though. No matter how much she wished it did.