Eleanor's eyes pricked forwards as the stranger's hackles lowered and the hostility disappeared from her face. She was pleasantly surprised that her story would have such an effect. The way that the woman was looking at her made her cringe inwardly, wondering what it was exactly that she was analyzing. It was a terrible thing to have to hide who fate had made you to be your genuine self. The slate-grey wolf could only hope that the stranger's opinion of her wouldn't change based on the fact that she was not biologically female. But she was female in every other sense of the word, posture, poise, even scent, and each day it got harder for her to be told apart from one who was born with the natural femininity that Eleanor desired.

Her head tilted slightly. "Perhaps choose was the wrong word. Choose to act on the feelings, perhaps, but the feelings are there regardless." Semantics, really, but the last thing she wanted to do was say something off-putting to the stranger. Eleanor felt as though they had struck up some sort of connection- really, they were one in the same, though their situations were slightly different. Solidarity through the pain of figuring yourself out.

The stranger's question made her chuckle with slight surprise. "I can't really say. I guess I'm not picky, though I'm certainly not looking for a knight in shining armor to sweep me off my paws." Eleanor said with a small growl at the absurdity of that statement. Although she had embraced being female in all aspects, she had never understood their desire to be taken care of by a male. She had never needed or wanted that, she had never had that emotion. And she was sure that the woman standing in front of her never had, either.

Eleanor lowered herself into a sit, peering curiously at the woman now lying on the cave floor. "You know, I understand. The pain and the anger of not being 'normal.'" She tilted her head slightly, vibrant eyes blinking shut for a moment before opening once more. "It's not worth it to change ourselves for what the greater population believes is normal, right, or good. There's too much sadness and hurt that comes with that path." A grin tugged at her maw. "It's better to say to hell with them and do what you want. Be who you are with no regrets."