The Nomad hadn’t come to preach, but to understand not as a Shepard but as a friend. And so when Vesper spoke with noticeable reserve in her voice, against the grating sensation it posed, the she-wolf listened with unbiased ears and did not let her mind stray away with thought. An umber glove was left empty without the other’s paw, yet it hung there inviting her familiar touch in the air between them, a continuous offer of support, aid, and tether to the reality the two had created their bond within. The complicated implications housed beyond the Inferni borders were unknown and uncared for by a mind plagued with worry and considerable doubt for the well-being of her cherished friend. What mattered was only the two of them in here and now, undisturbed; a golden presence trying to make sense of what drove a mind born of two worlds.
Living in fear was not a state of mind X’yrin could grasp, having felt the protection of the Nomads until she ventured from them of her own volition. Perhaps it was by the blessing of her ancestors or luck itself that her run ins with both packs and strays had been minimally uneventful til she came to these Northern lands. The diversity of life that claimed and scoured the lands was vast each harboring an experience that made them what and who they were. It reminded the woman that this was not the first time she had heard of a mind tormented by the scars of the past either, and still it disturbed her to hear of it from the companion’s paled, scarred maw. Carrying this mindset tended to drive loved ones away and even pushed the mind toward dark depths one would not have thought possible. She had listened to the sorrows suffered by minds like this and was compelled to save her friend from a miserable fate like that. She looked to the young woman and became worried that she would become lost to the shadows of paranoia and all whom she held dear and loved would be lost to memory, unable to keep by her side as they too were inevitably pushed away. Her ears drew back as her own mind became antagonized by fear. The Nomad opened her mouth immediately hoping to dispel this fear of hidden assailants, but kept her maw shut, reminding herself she was to listen and not act. Not until the young woman had had her say.
Silence again became the she-wolf’s companion as a pause settled between her and the coywolf. Still she was left with a vacant hand in the hopes of being filled by warmth and familiarity. But it felt now like a fool’s hope, though she couldn’t lower it in defeat. Rather it retracted when paws lips parted to speak again. “You do not kill?” No longer could she keep her words to herself. Accusation was far from her intent but she could not ignore that even the notion had crossed the girl’s mind that day. “If you do not kill, then you do not eat. We kill to survive and yet your life was never in danger my friend. Within your home you should not have to feel that killing is even an option. Are you not encouraged to call for help? Are these people you house with not your family?”
Truly she had hoped to understand, but this all sounded backward to her. When last they spoke Inferni had become a home to her in her time of need, a place where she felt she belonged. And yet here she was harboring these spiteful feelings, perhaps not for herself but to the world that lied outside the skulled borders. What sort of bonds were forged here if she still needed to look at the world as wanting to kill her? What reason did she need to tell herself she wouldn’t kill? X’yrin felt herself grow tense in the passing seconds and knew her brows were knitted to a scowl. Quickly she swept a paw atop her head to convey her lack of understanding, trusting that such gestures where not lost to her pupil. “I am disturbed by this, Vesper,” she admitted firmly. “My intention was to understand, but I have only more questions and my worries have grown. Be it my place or not, I can’t look at this and walk from it. You have become my responsibility… and you are my friend above all else.”
Again she extended her hand nearly thrusting it into her companion’s chest in the hopes it would be taken. “I do not ask for you to bow, or even apologize, but listen to what you have said to me. You would treat the world as your ready enemy because of the experiences you have had in the past? You shouldn’t feel this way when in the company of your family. It should be a place for you to properly open those wounds then allow yourself and your brethren to let them properly close and heal. You should feel safe enough in doing so. You should feel that you are not in danger to even speak with one outside your pack.” Oh yes, she had noticed. The tentative nature that took hold of her confidence, the subtle wary that lined the contours of her muzzle. X’yrin had felt the sense of not belonging since she had come to the place but hadn’t anticipated it would show on her friends face as well. “The world is not out to get you, surely you know this,” her voice had become stressed as she fought to find the words to bring comfort to her friend, nearly wearing away as the tightness of her throat lessened the intensity of what had once been a sure tone. Uncertainty had whittled it down to barely above a whisper laden with an unspoken pain and an apparent fear of loss. “Do you think I, as part of this world outside Inferni, am out to get you Vesper?”