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She couldn't see why he was quite so upset, because it didn't seem like such a thing to be thrown totally off kilter for. Yes, she searched for truth in his jade eyes, eyes so much like those of her mother. The truth was, however, that she trusted him, and wondered if he trusted her as well. Perhaps she's made him so terribly sad, somehow. For her, finding a new brother was the most wonderful thing in the world, especially such a beautiful and kindhearted one as Haven. Why was he so confused, so unbelieving, by their new-found connection? Slowly, Rio sunk into a sadness of her own, and felt her chest tighten as it always did, her brow furrowing in pain as she cast wincing glances at Haven, her brother; periwinkle eyes found his face and then the snow at her pale feet, unsure of where to keep her eyes and wishing she could just shut them for a while.
Even his words were drenched in sorrow, derived from a place she wouldn't have recognized. She had no clue that his problem was not with her, but with their mother. Every time her gaze glanced of his, she saw her mother, and understood why Naniko had not told her she had a brother. "Signore... Haven... why e'you sad?" her voice cracked, tears pooling in her eyes. "You don't want to be my brother?" He didn't like her. First she'd discovered her brother, joyful in itself. But he wasn't so pleased by the news, and she understood it as his disappointment toward being related to her. Perhaps it sounded as if she were fabricating her own emotions, but she was far too young for this. Her sadness was honest, her sense of being unwanted by this wonderful wolf as real to her as the snow at her feet. The pooling tears spilled the boundary of long dark lashes, and she couldn't look at him anymore, but rather watched her tears become one with the snow.