The silence of the other female was what drew the Nomad to sit upright and once she had, a whimpering bundle was placed in her arms. The woman visibly tensed, her eyes spanning comically as her gaze darted from mother to child in alarm. What was she supposed to do with this child? It was already resting, why disturb it? X'yrin looked down at the tiny pup, her little chest rising and falling as she returned to peaceful slumber. But obviously she was not the child's caretaker, for it still wriggled a bit trying to find comfort in the older woman's rigid hold. Gradually, she became used to the vulnerable body literally in her hands, and the child soon sensed the alien tension was gone.
Still, X'yrin was put off by the act. She couldn't fathom what it was supposed to do or invoke. She looked to Shiloh silently grasping for some sort of line of instruction. Was she supposed to just... hold it? She suppressed the whine of distress on her lips and turned her confused eyes to the sleeping child.
She was so... so small. X'yrin had to bring the child closer just to better see her. Her nose but a hair's width from the girl was suddenly struck by a soft, aimless paw. The tiny digits coming to rest upon the wet nose. The woman's ears fell back, the look of surprise on her face slowly receding. Aware even in sleep, already the girl had instinct. But her little paw found nothing harmful, just an utterly confused beast without a sliver of sense of parental care and love. Still... she smiled at the little one's sleeping face, marveling at the spectacle of life within her overwhelming hands. She must have been this small at one point, so weak and vulnerable, at the mercy of her caregivers. It seemed almost unfair that she was never held like this.