Perhaps she was more likely to appreciate the simplicity of childhood than most puppies were; her spells of deep, unexplained sadness made her yearn for happier moments. All she wanted was to be indefinitely content like her other siblings seemed to be; they were high in spirit all the time. Unfortunately, such happiness was too far a reach for the Marino girl. She was more than happy now, and at some level she was grateful; she apparently had a friend in this strangely familiar man. That was very good, considering her lack of friends at the present time, which she couldn't be blamed for at her young age. After her little dance, the russet brute knelt before her, rump in the air, looking very much like a child her age, if only within the beautiful green of his eyes. She bumped her nose quickly, playfully against his, blotting out a snowflake that had just landed between her tiny nostrils. Mimicking his stance, she sunk down to rest her weight on her chest, lifting her bottom skyward, whip-like tail waving. But something had changed.
She couldn't sense his hesitance, for he did well to conceal it. So, it didn't seem to her that something had gone wrong, just changed. She righted her pose in one smooth movement, turning it upside down with her shoulders high and her bottom nestled in the snowy earth; she looked very feline in that moment. Her face was genuinely quizzical, one dark ear flopping as she tilted her face to one side. She had assumed that although she didn't know why his scent resembled her mother's, he would. Didn't big wolves usually know more about these things than little ones? "Naniko. She's my momma." Rio gave an affirmative nod, all business. "Why you smells like her, Haven?"