If only actions were as easy as spoken words, the Nomad would have let this ailment go the moment she told herself to do so. But words did little to move her. Try as she may to reclaimed that fulfillment that drove her, she was left with nothing but exerted energy and no progress. Her eyes and mind had gone distant, she hadn't noticed the girl's closeness til she felt the tender lick upon her muzzle. This was the second time now the girl had compared her to her mate, and again her eyes were filled with longing for her. Strong and free-willed... those attributes seemed so far from how she was now; lifeless...defeated.
But her gaze was not completely lost to the self-induced darkness. There still sparked the light of curiosity as she witnessed the bond between the two... of mother and child. Her tail twitched uncomfortably, her face mirroring the uneasy sensation. X'yrin shook her head. "No... not mother. A Shepard is a mentor that guides the young toward their purpose. In my culture, there is no 'mother', only the Shepard. Their selected family is tasked with raising them while the Shepard prepares the child for the world." Parents meant nothing... though the Nomad would be damned to state her beliefs so strongly in the face of these delicate beings. Her friends. It was an unforgiving outlook, but it was the one that nurtured her and made her into the excellent warrior she was.
As she little one drifted to sleep, its energy expelled from romping through the grasses, X'yrin quietly watched her in wonder. She hadn't encountered many pups to have her own puppyhood brought to light. It hadn't bothered her that she was not coddled as this pup was by Shiloh, and still it did not upset her. However jealousy crept in the longer she peered at the little one, envying the attention she received despite her weak and vulnerable state. She had known something like that once... she had felt that contentment.
"Love?" The female jerked her head away from the child, not even noticing she was drawn towards its sleeping form. Casually she sat back, letting her arms rest behind her to keep her propped. "I'm afraid I don't," she sighed, lifting her muzzle skyward. She let her ears rest against her skull as if to deafen the internal, feral voice's scream that such words were a lie.