Canines came in and out of her life. Naniko had learned long ago that there was no use in trying to hold someone tight; as soon as she began to fully trust someone they would choose a different path than the one that she was on and the two would part ways. This happened under varying circumstances; her first experience of it had been when her parents had abandoned her as a whelp, leaving for a faraway land with her more favored sister. Then it had been Iskata, the canine who had adopted her. Things had gone well for a few months...but that relationship had ended worse than the first with the Sadira female attacking her and trying to kill her in a crazed bloodlust. The female's romantic relationships had ended in ruin as well, and she had given up on that front as well. A murderer and back-stabber...she picked poorly, it seemed.
The Angela had learned from her mistakes and displayed some of her beliefs in the rules that she used to govern her pack; in Anathema, once a canine joined the family they were welcomed to come and go as they needed to. Anathema would always be there, and if they came back they would be welcomed home with open arms so long as they had not betrayed her trust and were willing to devote themselves to helping the pack once more. She did this in the belief that others might bring their families there to live, as family members of present pack members were welcomed in without question. Anathema was the one place where just about anyone would be welcomed, no matter how bad a past they had. If they harmed her pack members, she would take care of them then...but otherwise, she trusted that the family would keep everyone in line.
The large female made her way across the terrain surrounding her pack with ease, used to the ups and downs of Halcyon. She had lived here with the pack for just over a year, and had explored all of these areas in depth. Naniko wasn't an isolationist, exactly, but she did have trouble getting out of the packlands sometimes. In the past year she'd gone through two different disloyal sub-leaders before choosing to promote Alaki; so far he hadn't disappointed her. Having a sub-leader allowed her to leave the territory for short amounts of time if she wished. It also helped that her litter of pups had grown a bit; they no longer needed her quite as much as before.
She glanced down at the snow beneath her feet as she padded along, then back up at the dismal sky. She wore nothing on this day despite the chill, only a simple weapons-belt around her waist. Winter was her favorite time of the year. She really couldn't stand the heat of the summer and kept to the caves during that season...she seemed more suited for the ice and snow. A sudden flurry of movement a few yards to her left caught her attention, and the Angela took a few paces back to observe the situation. Had he not tripped she felt certain she would have simply overlooked him, lost in thought. It looked like there was something wrong with his foot. Naniko took a few steps back toward the figure, trying to peer around a tree that barely concealed her alabaster form. She put one hand to her belt, upon which two daggers and a long axe were strapped. Was he injured? She hesitated for only a moment before choosing to step out into the open, clearing her throat. "Nice choice of words there. You stuck?"
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