So much worry felt by the warrior about a matter such as this was silly. He and X’yrin were friends and pack mates. Friends found happiness even in the loss of each other. If an open trail held a place in the woman’s heart stronger then Ichika no-Hoen, then Jaden should have realized such a thing was better for her. Coercing her into staying in a lifestyle she viewed as stagnant would violate the terms of a mutually beneficial friendship. But wouldn’t disregarding another’s feelings completely be just as malicious? He was right to worry wasn’t he? To help her compromise and accommodate both their wishes wouldn’t be wrong. Why did that suddenly sound so selfish? Jaden reassured himself that he was simply putting too much thought into this. It had been difficult for her to leave her former home. Maybe she did regret loosing relationships such as her mother or father and that would be something… but she hadn’t mentioned them. She mentioned her Shepard, a term the Shishen had heard her utter before, but she spoke nothing of brothers or sisters, aunts or uncles. Did such things hold no place for her? He knew she wasn’t that coldhearted.
Jaden took another bite of the spongy deer liver and pondered this as his companion finished. More questions trembled in his throat in hopes of being voiced but X’yrin continued the conversation in another direction by pushing easily into Jaden’s dark life story. This should have been expected. Without showing the urgency he felt for information on her past, what would keep the woman from inquiring about his? He simply didn’t like talking about it. Only a year ago, there had been a completely different wolf under his ebony fur. He and X’yrin would not have found friendship. The assassin would have looked down on her for something because there is always something to look down in someone if you looked hard enough. Then they would have fought and to say the male would have kept it honorable or fair is a blatant lie. The woman was a fine hand to hand fighter, but no skill in unarmed self-defense would stand against a trained assassin’s dagger or arrow. That was the kind of man he had been: angry, deceitful, and coldhearted.
Jaden sat back on one arm as if the small amount of food he had consumed were bloating his belly. My family… He gave a slightly uncomfortable smile and looked for something to say that wouldn’t be a complete lie, they are all dead. Mostly lost to disease. There was nothing left of them to stay for. His gaze wondered and he shrugged off this answer just like every other thought of them. There was nowhere near as much expression put to the words as should be for something so apparently sad. And it wasn’t even the whole truth. However, it was close enough that there would be no feelings of guilt for the lie to his friend. The man’s gaze slowly trailed back from the trees around them and fell on the bloodied she-wolf. What of your parents? You never speak of them. The conversation was quickly averted back to her past and Jaden sat up. He set the remaining portion of his liver back on the pile of organs. Trying to eat was useless because he was even less hungry now then before.
Jaden does. "Jaden speaks." Jaden thinks.
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