Mana could not help but grin as sheepishly as ever as her mother begun her approach; her tail flopped about behind her lazily, doing her best to give off an air of at least some kind of innocence. It was a last ditch effort to prevent herself from being disciplined or scorned, though she seldom took either thing to heart. As she aged, she had begun to recognize the differences between not only herself and her siblings but also herself and others in general. For starters, she had an impenetrable armor that guarded her from just about every potentially hurtful word ever. As such, discipline was a voluntary thing. Still, she was glad at least when her mother's voice was calm. She was as fast as ever to respond, her head tilted with an ear twisting back in uncertainty.

"Then how come packs have spies? Information gathering is important, mum! How will we learn otherwise?"

She queried half in jest; she already knew some of the answer, at least. There was an unspoken difference between spying on somebody with the blessing of, say, an Alpha and simply doing it out of boredom or interest. If there wasn't, then surely wolves would just lay about in the shade all day listening in on conversations and watching. They'd never get anything done! Her thinking, however, had been her downfall as her mother had sneaked a paw around her. Before she could squirm free, she was at the mercy of Rogue's affection, sighing and groaning in protest though, ultimately, accepting her fate. Still, she managed at least one playful nip at her mother, trying to snag an ear with a little shake of her head.

"Not long," she begun as she squirmed away, flopping onto her belly to escape before shuffling forward, "But I think I'm going to stay here for longer."

She scrambled to her feet, shaking the dust off her fur (which stood awkwardly on end, giving her a rather puffy look thanks to the salt) as she pranced about a little in front of her mother. Curiously, she sniffed at the earth around her, scenting the musk of the animal blood.

"It's okay there but I don't think I relate to anybody, really. They feel different there. They say my father is honorable but I don't really know what that means, you know?"

She peered up at her mother for a moment before huffing once more, giving a final sniff to the blood before flopping down onto her side. Then, she rolled, doing her best to smell a little more like her mother. Now she'd smell like the dirt and sea, combined with pine and the slightest hint of blood. It felt like a lethal combination to her and made her grin with an exposed canine, a daring little smile as she lay sprawled out on her back, her paws dangling in the air.

"There's heaps of history, though. I wanna' hear more of your stories, though."