Her brother and sisters were sleeping. Rio was the one who awoke before the rest more often than not, but it was nothing the small girl prided herself in. That extra hour or so was a lonely one, empty of purpose. Most of the time she simply sat off by herself, watching the sky through the window of their little cabin. It was there that she now lay flat on her belly, her face tilting to one side as she watched floppy snowflakes cascade down toward the window. She was so small that she couldn't see anything but sky, the ground below hidden from view by the windowsill. Rio shivered suddenly, a draft of cold wind ruffling her dark fur. She stilled, her mind reeling—where had that come from? The window was closed, and wind always came from outside, right? Quietly so as not to disturb her parents and siblings, Rio padded toward the door, and found it partially open. "Oh!" she squeaked, and immediately afterward shrunk in on herself, looking around to see if anyone had been awakened. But they were still sleeping.



Rio didn't know if she was supposed to be outside by herself. But she really wanted to. Maybe Mama and Papa wouldn't mind. The girl wedged her nose in the crack between the door and its frame. She struggled for several moments with it before she was finally able to squeeze herself through.

She was outside! A happy smile lit up her face, and she darted off into the slushy grass. For the moment, she forgot about her parents back in the cabin; she was overtaken by such a strong surge of adventure, the frigid air fueling her bottomless energy. The cabin was further and further behind her as the moments passed, but she paid no mind to this. Instead, she slipped through the icy grass, a neverending network of snowy chutes. It was not long before the child was soaked to the bone, shivering without realizing it. The snow continued to fall all around her, and for a moment she stopped to watch, fancying the large snowflakes as dancing fairies.

After she had spent a few moments serenely watching the snowflakes fall, all the while trying to discern their impossible inner patterns, Rio's bright, periwinkle gaze slowly fell down to face ahead. Where was she, anyway? She was too young to have a sufficiently developed sense of direction. And she had lost track of time as well. She was all of a sudden aware that she was surrounded by trees, tall and frightful with their strong, snow-burdened branches. The little girl's muscles quivered. Rather than grow terribly upset, she happened to turn around and see that her footprints were etched perfectly into the crystal snow. A happy, relieved smile lit up her face; now she could find her way home! In the midst of marveling over this, a voice startled the small girl. But she didn't act so, she simply turned again to calmly face the man who had approached her.



Her eyes widened immediately in wonder and awe. For he was beautiful. Perhaps that wasn't the acceptable way to think of a man, but it was the first word that came to her mind. His coat was a shade of rust she'd never seen in any other wolf, which wasn't saying much; it nonetheless struck her as lovely and unique. What was most puzzling to her was the shade of his eyes. They were so very similar to Mama's. Rio smiled at him without knowing why; she should be wary of a stranger such as him. But she didn't feel this way toward the tawny wolf. "No, signor, I's not lost. My feets, they maked a twail so's I can get home," she explained, stepping back so that he could see. Her eyes returned to his, her face alight with a hopeful smile. "Oh, I'm Rio! Wha's your name?"

Rio would never be able to imagine his fur as anything but beautiful, even after this flawlessly innocent phase of childhood was over. Even if he, by some chance, told her the reason behind the unique coloring. She had the uncanny ability to find beauty, even if it had been given by something horrid. The gorgeous man drew closer to her, and while ordinarily this would have sparked discomfort inside her, there was something about him, something familiar. It was unwise of her still to abandon her caution, but she knew no better. "You can come in, I don't tink anyone be mad," she squeaked rather hurriedly, moving back several feet to illustrate her invitation. In a moment he was speaking to her, and she quieted. Though she couldn't grasp his words precisely, she knew that he was speaking ill of the snow.

In spite of his jocular wink, the dark little girl cocked her head thoughtfully, obviously not wanting to leave his question where it lay. "You not like the snow, huh, Signor Haven?" she asked. She didn't smile, but neither was she disappointed. It was just a curious thing to talk about something she personally adored so negatively. "I comes out to play in the snow. The fairies, they're my friends," with a nod, as if he would know exactly what she was talking about. "Yous not out to play though, are you?"

He was strong-looking, like Papa. Not gigantic or bulky, but strong in the simple essence of the word. But his might didn't strike fear inside the bright-eyed puppy, only because of his manner. He was gentle and not in the least overbearing, and this made his strength seem good to her. For a girl so young, she was uncannily intuitive about these things. When she stepped back to invite him in, she was in full confidence that he was safe and would not hurt her or the wolves she lived among. This could have been extremely dangerous if her sense of the goodness in others was lacking. It wasn't. She liked his voice, his face, the pretty color of his fur; most of all, she liked his smell. It reminded her of her mother, and Rio adored her mother.



"...Okay!" she cheeped when he told her to blame their prospective mischief on him. But she really didn't think anyone would get mad. Why would they? They should be able to tell that Sir Haven was perfectly capable of being a visitor of Phoenix Valley, that he wasn't there to wreak havoc. Rio fell into step beside him, buzzing with energy. He spoke so kindly that she couldn't help but feel ever so happy! She loved it when others were so nice to her without having any reason to be. "Oh, lots of fun! We's dance in the cold." She twirled quickly in a circle to show him, trying to mirror the spinning dance of the snowflakes. "D'you wanna try pwaying? Wiff me and them?" Small black nose pointed up toward the falling snow, a delighted, hopeful grin on her face. If he didn't play, maybe he would try it. "We has fun! And I wanna pway wiff you; you smell like Mama."

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?"

Rio was all revved up to frolic with this beautiful boy; sometimes it was hard to play with her other siblings because they were the same size and age as she, and tired out quickly. She didn't hold it against them; she was simply a ball of energy when happiness was upon her, and the three of them couldn't keep up. She'd never played with any big wolves other than Papa. But they had to finish what they were talking about, and then they could play. After she spoke, she stared at him with wide eyes, very curious as to why his face had suddenly become so funny-looking. His jaws were parted, his ears flat; he looked like Harlowe did when something surprised him. The girl's brow furrowed as she studied him, and then he spoke words that explained why his mood had so quickly shifted to one of such blatant shock.



He seemed to have forgotten how to talk properly, because he spoke with breathy, uncertain gaps between his words. But she was patient; yep, she'd wait for him to get it right. When he finally did, Rio froze entirely, her little muscles tightening and her eyes growing even wider. Was he playing a joke on her? But that wasn't a nice thing to do; he was a nice wolf, and wouldn't do such a thing to her. She decided that he was completely serious. He appeared almost upset to the little girl, perhaps sorrowful - though she may have been perceiving his expression wrongly. "But... how? Why hasn't Mama and Papa told me they has more babies?" Of course, she didn't yet understand the concept of half-siblings; to her, siblings always shared both parents. It didn't occur to her that Haven could have a different father; what taboo.

Totally just made an awkward turtle with my hands 300

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.

She knew nothing more of her mother than that she was sweet and gentle, and took care of Rio and her siblings in the best way she could (which equaled the best way imaginable). She'd recently taken to her pack duties as Mr. Jefferson had mandated, leaving her in the care of Xeris. And Rio missed her mother. There was nothing more comforting than curling against the strong, pale woman, and letting dreams overtake her. She therefore couldn't imagine any of the feelings Haven felt, since she lacked knowledge of his history with their Mama. But, to her surprise, Haven saw her tears and appeared taken aback again, though this time it was her sadness that had confused him. He spoke kind words that she hadn't expected, treating her to a nuzzle and a gentle kiss. Never before had she felt so confused, and so relieved at the same time. The last of her tears fell, and she forced a weak smile that became genuine as his voice continued with words to soothe her.

But he brought up her mother, deepening her confusion. How could a mother not want her babies? The notion went against the stigma of parental perfection that children often held, and Rio was no exception. She watched him sit down beside her and was more comfortable now that he was close; their play had been interrupted, but she didn't mind. She wanted to understand more than anything else in the world. "But Mama has to love you," she said, as if this was another requirement of Naniko's, of having given life to the boy. She said so because Rio truly believed that there was some misunderstanding beneath this all. Mama loved all her children, no matter who their daddy was. "I love you." She said this quietly, but without hesitance. He must know that he was loved.