Words: 300+
Coli blinked in surprise at that bit of news. Deuce Rhiannon knew her grandmother... Perhaps that was how she and Haku had been introduced, as packmates? The young adult did not question the history, though, since the elegant white female did not offer any further information. She was curious about the grand-dam whose name she had inherited, and whether or not she was anything like her - was Colibri Soul quiet, shy, withdrawn as she was? But it seemed a question more suited for Mew to answer.
As she continued, she noticed a change in the new pack member. Wistful... then bittersweet... then suspicious. Coli cringed as Deuce glared at her, demanding to know why Haku was not being treated with respect. "He... the p-packmates all trust him... it's not..." Her stammering tongue failed her, and she turned away, gazing desperately out the window at the white snow. "N-not everyone fears him here... it's m-mostly just me," she finally whispered, ears flattened back anxiously as she fiddled with her claws. The admonishments she had gotten for her behavior - Firefly's fierce rejection, Cercelee's stern warning, Mew's gentle denial - had all shown her that truth. "...I'm glad that he's treated you well, and I hope he continues to do so."
She truly did - if she could protect everyone that Haku might hurt, then she would be happy sparing them that pain. There was something about the man, love him or hate him, that just made him impossible to ignore. To love him, and then have him break you... well... Coli had no idea how to overcome that boundary. It had left her a shell of who she could have been. She didn't want to see this friend of his, or his little daughter, suffer at the hands of his capricious temper.
