Bag of beautiful bones (open)

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Sidurost sniffed the air. He knew he should be looking for food. But even when hungry he couldn’t help but think of his bone collection. It had been a long time since he lost his entire collection and come to Anikira, and he had learned to hide his bones all over the continent. Even if one stash of bones was found, he still wouldn’t lose them all. Not that he wanted to lose any of them. He could now claim several full skeletons. All he had to do was follow the packs that lived in the area he was looking in and wait for them to take a meal. When they left the carcass it was all his. Over the years he had learned some patience is a good thing.

As Sidurost hunted for bones, and also food, he found himself in an open field. He knew this field well. It was the field of a long since passed battle. The skeletons of many a wolf had been found here. This was one of his favorite places in all of Anikira. But he knew he had gotten all of the bones from this area, at least all the easy to retrieve ones. But as he watched a plump hare started to cross the field. It seemed to no even be considering its own safety as it foraged for food, or whatever it is that hares do all day. Sidurost thought it might be looking for food. As he hunkered down to the ground and started edging towards it he checked the wind. He was in the perfect spot. Nothing could have made this a better spot to hunt in just that moment. As he drew closer the wind changed as if giving the hare one last chance to get away. But just as it realized it was in danger, Sidurost jumped and caught the plum little hare by the throat.

The meal was a small one, but for one wolf it wasn’t too bad. Before tearing into the hare, Sidorust decided get his meal, plus the full set of bones that came with it, out of the open and some place where no one would be able to take his new bones from him. It was true that he had many full skeletons from hares, but he liked comparing them and finding differences when the hare looked or smelled the same as other hares he had caught. It was marvelous how many differences there could be between two skeletons of the same kind of creature. He had learned to identify the skeletons of many a creature just by remembering all the bones of his collection.
Sidurost sat down at the edge of the field in a small bush where he could watch the approach of anyone that might sneak up on him and began to enjoy his freshly killed meal.

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Nashira had wiggled her way from the small crevice that had been her den for the night, not like the female had actually been able to get any significant amount of sleep. In fact it seemed like her mind was nearly too focused to permit dreams to overcome it; yet the female knew what would be the results of her distant travels. At last she would be reunited with the warrior that she so longed to train under. The femme rose to paws already weary before their travels had even begun. A gentle shake of the rusett pelt that covered her frame, and the female set off. On occasion she drifted slightly off course, her mind wandering to her past. Thoughts of her mother crossing through her crania, 'I wonder if he will really know where my father is, I bet father will be so proud of me!' The femme emitted an audible yip and jumped in a quick circle. For the moment she was alone, and that was enough for her to express the extreme joy swelling within her chest cavity.

It was quite some time since her trek had begun before the femme noticed the odor of blood lightly caressing her nares. This spiked a sudden hunger within the femme, as she had not permitted herself to eat in several days. It was not as if the female typically attempted to starve herself, merely she was unable to distract her mind from the destination that was now dancing so playfully in the distance. The prance within her step dissipated instantaneously, and her pace dropped to a significantly slower speed. 'There is someone else here,' Nashira's brown optics dashed around the terrain quickly. This land was not officially claimed by a pack, but that did not mean that nomadic wolves were not dwelling here. The thought of being ambushed made her chuckle slightly. Nashira was confident enough that she could run, if several creatures did attempt to attack her. Paranoia was only initiated due to the fact that she could smell the blood. Her sense of smell was extremely poor ever since the battle. Femme shook her head rapidly, forcing her mind on the present issue. Was she alone or were there others?

Crouching down, the femme's acute gaze raped the terrain before her. She ripped apart every image within her mind, attempting to pull from the fragments an image of a creature. And Nashira successfully managed to locate a wolf that appeared to be consuming something in the distance. 'See, silly girl! Don't worry so much!' A smile glittered in those deep hued orbs for a moment, before the female resumed her usual stance. It was a stance that showed dominance, without being arrogant about it. The female believed that most creatures deserved respect, but she would not put up with being ridiculed or treated poorly. Hopefully this brute would honor her wishes on this topic.

Stretching casually for a brief moment, the femme meandered in the direction of the brute. There seemed to be nothing excessively off, or troublesome, about his current appearance; however, Nashira had seen enough in life to know not to judge something off of one brief encounter. After all - either one of them could be negatively viewed in the others opinion. Cocking her head to the side the female silently studied the male before her, silently inquiring if it was acceptable for her to continue closer. One step. Two step. The female halted her movement completely, she was now quite near the brute and wished not to prove as a simple target. Slowly the femme partially lowered her skull, it was a simple bow, but continuously allowed the female to hold her gaze upon the brute. "Greetings there Sir," she spoke softly, her voice feeling rusty from not having been used in such an extent of time.

The femme did not typically engage well with others, but the joyous situation that seemed to be so near in the future was turning Nashira into a bit more of a chatter box than normal. What could one expect though? The female's life goal was so near to being accomplished, and perhaps she would have family again. 'Father will love me I'm certain, even if he doesn't remember my mother.' A smile nearly slunk over her features, but it was shot down before it made an appearance. The femme would not permit a true grin of happiness nor a tail wag of such mannerisms to appear in public. It would be quite the disgrace. The femme remained silent, stoic and proceeded to observe the brute; eagerly waiting for his response, yet not allowing guard to fall.

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Sidurost carefully tore apart his hare as he separated the bones from the meat. He had done this countless times. When eating he was much less careful with what went into his mouth. Therefor he took the bones out first so they could not be damaged. Every so often he looked up for a moment to make sure no one was creeping up on him. When he had separated most of the bones into one pile and most of the meat into another his glance caught movement. Keeping his head in at his task but his glance up, Sidurost found a female coming towards him. She didn’t seem to be sneaking or threatening in any manner, but she did seem like she might want to play dominance games. Sidurost hoped that wasn’t her intention. He had avoided joining a pack for a reason. He cared not for dominance and the games that came with it. He didn’t like telling people what to do or being told what to do. He couldn’t remember what his parents had tried to teach him of pack etiquette. It just wasn’t that important.

Sidurost hoped beyond hope that it wasn’t him she was headed for. He hoped she saw something on the other side of his bush that he couldn’t see from within it. He hoped she wasn’t heading straight for his pile of bones. He would fight for his bones. Some of his older sets of hare bones were looking a little worse for wear, from the time when he hadn’t separated the bones out of his meals first. He planned on having a perfect collection. The older bones would still be in his collection, they just wouldn’t be as important as the perfect bones. All of the bones were important to him, every last chip that he could find.

But as she drew closer he could tell his hopes would not come true. He gently slid the bones behind his body so that she could not see them. The few small bones left in the hare carcass would just have to wait. He would not reveal his obsession if he could help it. These were his and they would not be shared.

Of course if she were not after his bones, which was quite possible, then all he had to do was socialize a little and keep the bones hidden behind him. There was nothing wrong with socialization, just as long as she wasn’t after his bones.

When she finally decided to make her presence known Sidurost lifted his head. Greetings, lady. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company? Over the years he had learned a thing or two about encountering other wolves. He couldn’t remember pack etiquette but he knew he could avoid more fights by being nice. Upon actually studying the female he noticed that she looked a little thin. He wondered when the last time she had eaten was and whether she could hunt for herself. If she couldn’t then her pack was probably nearby and looking for her. Sidurost quickly glanced around in search of other wolves before selecting a piece of meat from the pile he had made of meat without bones. He tossed at her feet one of the larger pieces as an offering of friendship, hoping she wouldn’t call down on him any more wolves to come steal his bones.

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The brute was doing quite a bit of shifting around upon her approach, that much the Mexican female had noticed. The female decided not to think too much about it though, after all the sent of blood had greeted her muzzle. Simply enough, the female opted to believe that the brute was just sheltering his kill. It did make sense, after all she was a stranger to him. 'Shows you're intelligent enough; even though I would never dream of stealing another's kill. I am capable enough to take down my own prey,' her thoughts droned boredly throughout her mind. Either way, the brute did gain a certain amount of respect from the femme, even though she had thoroughly misinterpreted his actions. Studying the brute for merely a moment more, the femme opted to seat herself; perhaps a conversation of sorts would strike up.

Nashira did, indeed, long for some socialization; although, never would the female openly admit this. That and her body was aching from the extensive traveling that had been overcoming her days. Hadrian needed to be found, and word had it that he was just a bit South-east of here. Once again, the tremors of anticipation consumed the small female's frame. Her life goal could be partially complete, at least phase one of it. A twinge of anxiety swarmed the femme unexpectedly, 'What happens after that though?' With force that came from deep within her soul, the russet creature managed to push the thoughts away from her mind. There was little need to cloud herself with all of these 'what if' scenarios that she would surely come up with if the topic was thought about too extensively. For now, there was an opportunity for a brief break and hopefully a friendly conversation. She knew better than to chase off such an offer, maybe next time she would not be so lucky. This male seemed friendly enough for having a foreign being approaching him, especially whilst he was dining.

Ears quivered in time with the gentle flick the end of her tail was making. The tail movement was most certainly not something to call a wag, merely a slight nervous twitch. There still was a chance that this brute would become hostile with her, although chances seemed slim the female did not want to risk it. She perpetually was on guard, the poor girl had never been granted a situation in which she could completely be at ease. Most likely she never would, after all being totally relaxed meant showing the emotions swirling in her heart. That concept was too strange to be even considered a possibility, maybe in time.

A quiet exhale escaped the female's lips before the words began to cross them, "I am merely passing through these lands and happened to be graced with your company." An emotionless smile pressed itself against her features, the femme was truly trying to be nice; however, she resisted the glimmer of her joyful soul from expressing itself. 'Keep it still, girl, no need to be so pleased just yet,' Nashira nearly nodded in agreement with the thoughts playing around within. The girl had been taught to speak with formalities and had never really held an intimate conversation with another wolf; unless one counted her mother's dying words to her. Nashira bit her tongue for a moment, attempting to control the girly excitement boiling to come out. "I am the warrior called Nashira," the femme lowered her head once more, gaze still staying upon Sidurost at all times.

Decisions were quickly forming in the girl's mind. If the topic came up that the brute wanted to travel with her, she would have to reject him. Hopefully he would not want to tag along. It would simply scare the female far too much to have to deal with a companion of sorts as well as meeting her idol. 'And what if Angel Hadrian mistakes him as my mate? No, no, even if a pleasant conversation is had I must make this trip alone.' The female knew that if there was a friendship of sorts that was formed she would come back to meet with the brute. Right now was not the time to bring too much change to her fragile life. She had a plan right now, and was not going to be wavering from that road.

The silence felt nearly deafening to the Mexican female, despite the fact that it had been only a minute or so since she had stopped speaking. "What do you call yourself, sir?" the question left her muzzle laced with genuine curiosity. Names had always been somewhat important to Nashira, after all what was a creature without a name? They were a body that lacked identity. The femme could not possibly fathom the idea of lacking a persona. How different her life would be if she did not have such a plan, a purpose! Within her mind, somehow a name aided in the definition of those. Once more the female twisted her head to the side, hoping to cast an innocent appearance towards the brute.

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Sidurost watched the female shaking and wondered if she was alright. He couldn’t help but glance back at his bones, hoping they would be safe from this strange wolf. She seemed to be distracted by something but still didn’t want to leave, as if she wanted to stay yet had somewhere to be. Sidurost wondered whether he should disappear while she was distracted or if he should try to converse with her. His social skills would soon find a weak point if he kept talking. He had no problem with greetings, but it was very hard to find wolves that liked to discuss the same things he liked to discuss. And those that do like talking about bones are more likely to try and steal mine! he thought to himself.

As the female said she was just passing through Sidurost relaxed a little bit. If she were only passing through then there was no way she was after his bones. He would just have to watch that she didn’t try to take off with them as she was leaving. That would also explain why she seemed distracted. She actually did have somewhere else to be.

Sidurost laid down, making sure to keep his bones behind him and relaxed a bit. He kept his head up but other than that he was the picture of a relaxed wolf. I am Sidurost, just a loner. I don’t run with a pack so I don’t have a specific title. But you can call me Sid. I don’t usually converse with people very much so you’ll have to excuse my informal communication.

Sidurost watched the female hoping she wasn’t what he suspected. He hoped she wasn’t after his bones. Maybe if she wasn’t then he would have a friend. He didn’t normally participate in social situations because he usually only came across two kinds of wolves, those who wanted to steal his bones and those who thought his collection was creepy. There was a chance that this wolf might be different. She might actually turn out to be a friendly wolf. Friendly wolves seemed so hard to find for Sidurost.

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Nashira attempted to refrain from remaining so distracted, tried to drag herself to this conversation in totality. 'Maybe a talk wouldn't hurt you so much, you have survived this long,' yet the femme had a difficult time convincing herself that it would be acceptable to stall such an important meeting. She sighed lightly, pushing the stress from her body. No more worrying. Tail set into a gentle pace, swinging easily behind her; the female cast her gaze upon the brute once more. He seemed to be paranoid, almost as much as she was; although, Nashira was certain that he had a different reason. It was rare that others were so dedicated to something as she was, especially something that did not care for you back. The Mexican female was greatly stressed inside, her journey could prove to be a failure. Only the next few hours would tell. Maybe in the next day or two her stomach could settle down, perhaps the nervous tingle within her spine would diminish. She could be relaxed once more.

She half-collapsed onto her rump in a slightly ungraceful sit, for the first time letting her exhaustion show. There were times to relax, and this would be one of them. 'If I am going to stay and chat, I might as well take a breather,' still coaxing herself to believe this acceptable. Not everyone could constantly be pushing themselves to the limit, mentally and physically. It would certainly be the death of her. Attention averted itself towards the brute as he spoke, 'so he is alone too,' this was nearly reassuring. At least she was not the only one with no family, no friends; for the brute did admit that he was poor with social interaction. It was the first time in quite awhile that Nashira felt somewhat relieved, as if she wasn't totally by herself. There could be a chance that this wolf would understand her, or she was being quite weak. Never in her life had she had a friend, only her mother. The elder had been her only companion and friend, now without that Nashira did not know what to do. All her life she had grown up to believe that friendship and emotions were nothing but trouble. Something within her mind though struggled to believe this as true.

"I do not have a pack either," her words were simple, the emotion within was not seeping out. Nashira was proud of herself, pleased that everything could be tucked so deeply away. It must be a good sign that she could keep everything about herself such a secret. Others could view this as quite threatening though, after all was it normal for a creature to remain so perpetually stoic? To the Mexican creature this was perfectly reasonable, it was everything she had ever known. An emotionless smile crossed her features, "My title was given to me before coming to this island; and I have not conversed with many others myself recently. I have been a bit more focused than before." Her tone trailed away slightly, mind veering off course for a moment. She gripped it tightly by the scruff and hauled it back to reality, forcing herself to stay focused. This was no time for day dreaming, there was never going to be time for that. The silence seemed everlasting, the femme could not bare it for another second. "It is my pleasure to meet you, Sid," the female spoke the brute's name lightly - attempting to engrave it within her mind.

Sometimes she became so focused on herself and her own goals that she forgot others. How many wolves had she met and then forgotten? Nashira could only imagine that there was quite the handful; she doubted any of those leading her towards Hadrian would be recognized again. The female was embarrassed that this was true and was striving to keep every face etched within her memory now. Face. Scent. Name. Those would be important enough features to at least allow her to scrape by in a future meeting with a creature. After all, it wasn't like Nashira had ever had a friend before. There had never been someone other than herself, Mother and Hadrian. 'And the War God doesn't even know I exist...'

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Sidurost smiled to himself as Nashira relaxed and felt a little more comfortable himself. Now that she wasn’t as tense he felt he might be able to read her better. But as the tension seemed to leave, nothing replaced it in the features of the female in front of him. She was more relaxed, Sidurost could tell that, but no emotion crossed her muzzle. There was no tell in her features. As she talked about her title there was no pride, as she mentioned her lacking social skills there was no shyness or longing in her voice. Yet she had stopped to talk to him when she obviously had somewhere that she wished to be. Sidurost looked puzzled. I bet she really is after my bones….. Why else would she stop and hide behind a mask of no emotions? Sidurost grew more rigid but did not change his posture. He stayed laying down with his head up, but every hair on him started to slowly rise.

So…. What are you striving for? If you don’t mind my asking. What has kept you from conversing with others and kept your focus? he asked suspiciously. Sidurost didn’t yet know if he could trust her, and honestly he was starting to lean towards not being able to trust her, but he couldn’t think of a reason why she would lie to him so he figured she would answer honestly. Though the thought did cross his mind that if she was trying to deceive him and it worked that she might get a chance at his bones. Sidurost would not allow that to happen. He quickly assessed how tired she looked and figured he could probably outrun her. He knew this area like his favorite graveyard. He had been hunting small game here and finding bones for years. If she tried to grab his bones and run Sidurost could catch her. Even a warrior has limits.

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Tension once more seemed to fill the air and disappointment swallowed Nashira's soul. 'Why am I causing such tension within him now?' the poor female was at the utmost confusion. For a moment a glimmer of hurt crossed her orbs, but quickly it was tucked away once more. The overwhelming pool of feelings within her gut was leaking without her even noticing. This was highly unlike the femme and proved the great amount of stress she was experiencing; not like Sidurost was expected to know this. The femme felt shivers creeping up her spine again, there was nothing she could do. It seemed as if this conversation would remain frustratingly tense, perhaps they both were hiding something. She certainly noticed the slight change in the brute, it was not in the way he spoke but simply shrouded them. The anxiety lay like a thick blanket over both of them while they fought with their innermost demons.

Nashira's eyes brought themselves to the sky above, it was so beautiful out. 'It is a shame I am not appreciating such a day,' the female almost laughed, she had tried distracting herself from the war of emotions by forcefully thinking of the weather. That was such a cliche conversation starter, the female nearly reprimanded herself for being so silly. Even if both of the canines were on edge she could still converse with the brute. It may be awkward, but the Mexican would attempt to overlook it. She would push through the emotional bullshit in order to distract herself from the breakdown that she felt so close to. 'This must go away before I meet him,' however she knew it would only get a bit worse with meeting the brute. She figured it would be manageable, Nashira did not know how emotional she would become in the near future upon meeting her idol.

It seemed like years before she heard the brute's speech, and it took the entirety of her focus to retain his words. At first his question confused her, 'striving for?' The femme was unsure how to respond to such a statement, her answer would sound so foolish to the ears of another. Her goal was often seen as stupid by others, foolish and childish; however, to her there was such great meaning behind it. No one would ever see that though. They figured she was just a young adult with no future or plans, that was why she truly had went on such a great journey. That or to escape a gruesome past. Reality proved to be quite the opposite though, Nashira wanted to find her past. If she managed to succeed her world would open up to something brand new, something shining and golden. The thought nearly brought a smile to her muzzle.

"I am searching for someone I once knew," her voice sounded distant to herself, as if she was not actually saying the words to the brute. The brute seemed to want to dig underneath her skin, this irked her slightly but not enough for the femme to show it. After all, the brute was simply making conversation, right? He did not wish to use his knowledge to harm her. Nashira prayed that this brute was acting as innocently as she was trying to believe. Who would have thought that a conversation could be so difficult, so stressful. "I want to find the great War God from my childhood, I wish to train under him." Her voice seemed to lose focus at the end, she restrained from mentioning that the War Deity would also be with her father. Then not only could she train, but there was a chance her father may want to build a relationship with her. A great task and family all wrapped into one, it seemed like a good plan to her. 'And mother sent me...'

Her thoughts were instantaneously turned away from her mother, that would be the topic that could bring her to tears. She may not be able to restrain emotion if the female who birthed her got brought up in conversation for too extensive a time. "And what about yourself?" it was a perfect distraction, she had answered honestly and now it would be his turn. "What are you searching for? Why have you remained a loner?" Interest was evident within her words now, and an attempt to distract herself from the agony within.

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Sidurost noticed the trace of hurt cross Nashira’s eyes and wondered why. Perhaps she noticed my increased wariness. Perhaps I have tipped her off and she is going to make a break for my bones, he thought to himself. As he watched her Sidurost noticed that even after he tensed up Nashira remained quite calm. She still let nothing show, even though he had obviously seen her as a threat. She did not get defensive or run away or attack. She was just there, with no emotions to show. Sidurost started to rethink, Maybe that’s just how she normally is. There aren’t very many wolves that collect bones. Maybe she isn’t here to take mine. She just might have a hard time showing what she is up to.

As Nashira started speaking Sidurost found the emotion he was looking for. Even hiding all that she could hide, she still could not hide all that she felt about her War God. Although there was not much that showed on her features, her voice still changed. Even Sidurost, the socially awkward loner, could tell that she longed to find this War God she spoke of. Sidurost wondered if she were delusional or if she had actually met a god. He didn’t quite believe in gods, just bones. Perhaps she just met a wolf that was really amazing while she was a pup. He relaxed again as he thought. Sidurost remembered the first set of bones he had ever collected. It had been the best set of bones, no bones since could top them. But he had lost those bones, just as Nashira had lost her “War God.”

Thinking it over, Sidurost moved slightly so that he wasn’t completely between Nashira and his bones. He allowed her just a small peek of the newest addition to his collection. I….collect bones. Most wolves find it extremely odd… Some of them want to steal my bones. Others have tried to kill me for being so different. I don’t really care much for either type. I’m not really searching for anything, just collecting. Well, I guess you could say I’m searching for the perfect bones. That would be amazing to add to my collection.

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From her seated position the female studied the brute laying upon the ground. 'Maybe laying down would be more comfortable,' yet the female was nervous that relaxing too much would welcome the sleep demons. She certainly could not trust herself to sleep around such a stranger, could she? Somehow it was tempting to permit further comfort. Her mind was simply itching to relieve itself of worry. It had overworked itself to the point of exhaustion, and now it was telling the femme's body to calm down as well. Nashira believed herself invincible at times, specifically when she had a task to accomplish. Often times the femme did not remember to take chill time. Therefore now would be her time. This Sidurost creature did not seem too odd that she could not permit herself to lie upon the warm ground, after all she could still hold up her guard.

After much convincing, the femme outstretched her front legs. Her belly welcomed the comfort of the earth beneath it, a bubbly sensation of relief consumed her frame. Her body tingled as if to thank her for relieving some of the stress, after all her legs and paws had been ready for a break. They were the ones who suffered the most from all of these struggles. Auds quivered for a moment, she half expected that another creature would rush up upon them. Within her mind the image played, some crazed wolf (perhaps friends with this brute before her) would sabotage and attempt to kill her. 'Never,' the thought was shoved into the farthest corner of her mind. Paranoia was natural for the femme, mostly due to her lack of connection with others. Nashira struggled with trust for there had ever only been one wolf for her to confide in, and that one was mother.

Change could come at any time, the Mexican female knew this. After all, her life had been flipped upside down after one single death. Mental and physical scars would travel with her for life and she could do nothing but deal with them. Now was the time for even more change, and the femme did not know how very different her life would be in a matter of days. Her mind was open, ready to accept the possibility she could have a friend; however, it would be a struggle to clear her mind from the annoyances that danced around within her brain. Sometimes the female felt as if she would always be better off alone, then her worries would never be a bother for anyone else; yet, her heart longed for companionship. It would be quite the struggle.

Her head cocked to the side slightly, ears highly alert as Sidurost began speaking once more. He had followed her lead and divulged some of his personal information into her, this was highly comforting to her. A small amount of trust was built in her heart. She had told him a little bit about herself and the favor had been easily returned. A smile nearly tickled her features, but it was far too soon for things like that to come out. There was never an opportunity where it was beneficial to show emotions, that was something Nashira still believed firmly. His story interested her, it was abstract in its own way. Few creature had such an obsession as he; the two creatures were not so different though. Both were out searching and adoring something that could not reciprocate the feelings, or so Nashira believed. His words did not frighten her, the string of trust did. Never had she allowed her guard to fall enough for even a twinge of this to show through.

"I do not believe you should be killed," her words were quiet, nearly silent. "I too am searching persistently for something, a great warrior from my past. It is my purpose to train underneath his greatness," the confidence within her voice rang out this time. She was quite joyous in her search, despite the worries. If her plan succeeded than she would certainly be living a better life. "We are not so different," the femme offered another emotionless smile towards Sidurost. She hoped he understood what she meant with her words and did not take offense to them.

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Sidurost lost himself in thought for a moment, thinking of all the times he had paid for being different. There were the losses that he didn’t normally consider, like losing his family, and there were losses that he greatly wished had never happened. He thought about his original collection of bones that had been taken from him so early. That loss had been what brought him to this land to begin with. Someone had taken his bones, and in the search for them he had crossed an ocean. Those were the bones he missed the most. Those were the bones that changed his life, even in their absence. He knew now that he would never find those bones. They were lost to him forever.

Since then he had lost many other bones, bones that had worn away in the elements, bones that had been lost in a tunnel collapse which was too deep to dig out again, bones that had been taken or destroyed by others while he was away from them, and many more. Thinking this last thought made Sidurost anxious to get back to patrolling his bone caches. He never kept all his bones in one place, for then someone could steal them all away from him again. Instead he kept them in many different places all over Anikira. But his biggest cache was here in Shydar. This was where he carried his most treasured bones. He had learned to use lesser bones to build walls inside the caves he kept his bones in. The walls of bones seemed to help the cave collapse less. Sidurost had discovered this quite by accident and didn’t enjoy putting stress on and of his bone collection, but it seemed that sticks and branches didn’t work for as long.

Sidurost couldn’t believe his ears as Nashira said they weren’t so different. It was as if she had been reading his thoughts. He had been comparing their two completely different situations when he decided to trust her, and here she was doing the same thing. Sidurost wondered if her were really as lonely as she was and just hadn’t yet admitted it to himself. She could tell that Nashira was lonely, Why else would she stop to share secrets with a stranger? Sidurost wagged his tail a little. I hope you find your war god. You will be great in what you choose to become. The title of warrior comes with many responsibilities. But I’m sure you will be great at it. He wasn’t sure what else to say. Sidurost felt gratitude towards Nashira for not hating him like everyone else. He was quite in shock as he felt a weight being lifted that he hadn’t even known existed. He didn’t need validation from other wolves, but it still felt incredible to receive it

Sidurost felt the wind changing ever so slightly and smelled the oncoming winter. If he were going to survive the winter he knew he was going to need to bring something down other than rabbits. Would you like to go hunting with me? I can’t promise we will find much around here but winter is coming on. That is, if you have time before going to find your war god.

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The conversation had started flowing much smoother between the two, at least Nashira believed that it was. Her body was feeling significantly less tense and perhaps her paranoia was drifting away a bit. 'Is this what it feels like to have a friend?' the thought interested her. The Mexican femme craved to feel close to another; yet, she could not seem to bring her guard down for a single minute. That was all it would take for someone to rush in and steal her heart away. 'It happened to mother,' the femme almost nodded in agreement with her own thought. She was not going to intentionally look like a fool when everything finally seemed to be settling down. Humiliation was not what the female was searching for.

A hiccup of hunger swelled in her stomach, she could hardly remember the last time she had ate. It could have been two days ago or nearly a week, the female was at a loss. Days and weeks had blended together until today. This was the day when her new life would begin, it had been decided. Soon she would be with Hadrian and maybe she would make a friend along the way. The new life plan appeared to be working out quite well so far, although she would not be ready for the unexpected outcome. Either way, Nashira felt content for now. Her body felt relaxed and more at ease, it seemed as if she was alive once more. It had been ages since her body felt so relieved of stress.

Her pupils widened, the only sign that the female was excited with Sidurost's words. "Thank you," she lowered her head to the brute, momentarily allowing her gaze to drift away from him. This hardly lasted a second but it was quite the advancement for the female. 'Your happiness may be getting the better of you,' Nashira felt like her mother as the thought floated by. Feelings needed to be sheltered, one could not let themself be ruled. Cautiously the femme closed her eyelids tightly, pressing the thoughts from her mind. The last thing that she needed right now was to get depressed from thoughts of her mother. That would do nothing to remedy the situation she was already in. It would do absolutely nothing but make it worse.

"Your words shall stay close to my heart on that, Sidurost," her smile was still stoic; however her words were laced with kindness and sincerity that had previously been lacking. Nashira was glad they were alone, then if something happened she could deny this entire event. No softness or feelings would be dripping from her pores. She was a warrior princess, strong and cool. Always would she be collected. "I am certain you will find the most beautiful bones in the world." The thought briefly crossed by her mind that perhaps the brute was slaughtering wolves to collect their bones. That would be quite the idea. For a moment she almost laughed. 'It is far too soon for that,' once more she had set to reprimanding herself.

After a bit of careful consideration she opted to agree to his later offer. "I am a bit ravenous, I don't recall the last meal I had," a slight dry chuckle escaped her lips. Sid would probably have no idea the craziness that had consumed her life not too long ago. "It would be quite nice to go for a hunt," her muzzle turned itself upward towards the sky. Nostrils flared in search of a scent that would soon be their dinner.

OoC| Sorry, I am super tired ><