Element politely averted his eyes as the wolfdog's face contorted into one of pain. He heard the sounds of retching behind her and felt sympathy; he knew all too well that eating something rapidly, as she had done, would result in the stomach rebelling - especially if one was starving. For the umpteenth time, he wondered where she had come from. Surely not from one of the packs? From what he gathered from Nayru in Dahlia de Mai, the packs were like a close-knit family; they wouldn't let one of their own starve like this. He shook his head in confusion and turned back to the she-wolfdog, as the noises had ceased.
She didn't turn back to him. She stared into empty space just above the puddle of yuck she had made moments before, breathing heavily. Element wondered if she was about to collapse; he wouldn't be surprised, given her unkempt and bony state. But she simply stared. Element cocked his head; he was about to say something when the girl sprang.
Her jaws snapped down on empty air as she lunged forward, landing in the mess. Her head whipped around, seeming to look for something, as her sides heaved for breath. Finally, she looked at Element, and he could see the frustration and anger in her eyes. What was going on?
"It's'a picture," the female said. "The wolf is. Always goes away...coward." She mumbled these words, almost as if she was embarrassed. Element, despite himself, felt a pang of pity for this poor, bedraggled creature. She was starving, alone, going near insane, and now she was seeing things that taunted her and then disappeared. Element wasn't sure how to handle this; he'd never met someone quite like the girl before. He realized that she had thought he was an image before because that was probably all she had seen; images, taunting her. Another pang of pity. Element decided to try to comfort her, offer her advice, even if he wasn't sure what would comfort the poor canine.
"I'm sorry," he said carefully. Then he realized that, perhaps, the wolf's solitude and lack of company was what made her this way. "Perhaps other wolves like you would help?" He knew this was risky - there was always the chance that this dog didn't want company - but it was worth a try. "There are many nice wolf packs around," he said. "They're all very close, like a family. I'm sure they'd be able to feed and house you for a while. If you want to join them, I'm sure they'd be more than happy as well." Element was almost sure that was how it worked; he'd seen lone wolves appear on the borders of packs, and the pack leader coming and accepting them in. From what he'd seen of most of the packs, he was sure they would help this pitiable creature, whether she wanted to actually join them or not.
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