The sable female was now focused on sharpening her knife, pausing every now and again to press her thumb against it, to test it's sharpness. She wished that it did not have to be this way, she was not a natural warrior; it was true that she had had to fight for her existance when she had been younger, that she had fought to defend her pack and her family, but she was having her skills tested again, she had been a warrior when she was young and had been hoping to leave that side of her behind when returning here, to be the matriarch of her family and work on being a good grandmother, alas it seemed that fate had other plans for the sable Patrician. For a moment her mind wandered, thinking of how much had changed since she had last stayed in these woods, she had left these woods a loner with no family to speak of and now she was a Patrician in the Crimson Dreams pack and she had found two of her grandchildren and three great grandchildren as well, she had found out why Naniko had been so odd when she had last seen her and she had found herself in the middle of a war, how times had changed. The sable female's mind flitted over the wolves that she had met here, Lucia whom she had developed a strange friendship with, she liked the girl who lookedso much like herself, she wondered how she was, where she was, they had shared a conversation and a few cigarettes, even a drink and the pair had seemed to get along quite well, she wondered how she was now, it had been so long since she had come this way, she regretted not doing so sooner, but alas, circumstances had made it so. She also thought of Zalen, the ebony male whom she had shared such a fun afternoon with, sitting and teaching him to read, she wondered if he was well, she wondered if he had progressed with the reading, he looked like the sort of male who would take her advice and keep practising, she hoped that he had gained good use from the books she had given him, she wondered if he had been practising his writing as well, she hoped so, after all so much could be lost and forgotten if it were not practised. For a moment she thought she could smell the sable male neerby as she sat there carving her knife, no doubt a trick of her imagination, she was lonely here and so her mind conjured up a familiar scent no doubt.
It wasn't until the male spoke that she raised her head, he hadn't been a figment of her imagination after all. She grinned at him, her tail wagging, thumping against the low branch that she sat on. Long, deft fingers quickly placed the knife back into it's holster on her thigh, closing the catch carefully so the knife would not come lose, the steel was placed back into her canvas satchel, which she then placed on the pine needle strewn ground. She got to her feet as quickly as she could, pausing for a moment to stretch, she was not as young as she had once been after all, and sitting for great periods of time often caused the sable female to need a moment to stretch her muscles out once again, this was one of the reasons that the sable female was very active, often wandering here, there and everywhere, never totally still. She crossed the distance between them and opened her arms, pulling the male into a warm hug, it was so lovely to see a friendly face, a friendly face that was not tainted by the war. The ebony female grinned at the male again, stepping away from him.
Zalen! It is marvellous to see you. How are you? The ebony female asked, standing before him, her tail still wagging as she looked up at the male. It had been too long, looking at him she realised this, she wished that she had come here earlier, to continue her lessons with the male, she should have come back sooner and checked on him, she could not help but feel a little motherly towards the dark male. She wanted to make sure that he enjoyed his reading and writing, that he had not been having any trouble. The sable female brushed a long dark strand of hair out of her eyes, noting that it now had a few silver strands hiding here and there within it, she was indeed getting older, something which did not bother her, but it was strange to notice that there were small silver hairs dotted here and there within her sable fur, once it had been clear and unblemished, now there were a few imperfections here and there. She smiled up at the male again, "how has your reading been going? Have you been enjoying it? Come and sit with me and tell me what has been happening to you. Soran said, gesturing to the male to follow her back to her tree branch, moving and perching herself on it once again, not sitting upon the broad gnarled branch this time, simply leaning against it, she would move to sit on it soon enough, but she needed a moment to stand, the stiffness in her legs when she had been getting up told her that much, she needed a break from sitting down.
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