She wasted no time in sharing with him her past, her reason for reclaiming the throne. The way she came to have the throne in the first place. It was an interesting stormy, hardly one he could believe, but why would she make it up? But to think – that she had ruled as a mere teenager? Aindreas had been struggling within the world as a teenager, with no one to trust, nowhere to call home. He had grown up with angst and pain and without a direction in life. Perhaps that was what had caused the majority of his mental instabilities – the incessant need to be surrounded by others and yet the comfort of being alone. The need for everything to be perfect all of the time, to near obsession... and the comfort of having someone to follow, be it an Alpha or simply someone with more direction than himself.

As she continued to talk, telling of her time in Andere Seite, the brute thought of his own time, jumping from pack to pack. She fell silent and Aindreas coughed, clearing his throat before telling him that his father likely was sending diplomats any day now, and soon after offered to clean her wounds for her. She hesitated, her body stiffening for a moment before she softened again, her plume swaying gently before she hesitantly moved into the water. By the way that she moved, he could tell that she was in pain – most likely everywhere in her body. The river’s tongues lapped up her haunches as she sat in the silt that lined the river bed. His cold arctics stared at her, watching her for a brief moment, not sure why he was dumbstruck or mute around her. But then cold liquid penetrated his coat and her bark rendered him conscious again and he blinked, shaking his head. Slowly, he entered the water and positioned himself behind her. Gently his tongue moved against her flesh, incisors gently nipping at her flesh and pulling free debris. He moved from wound to wound, occasionally dipping his head to the current in order to wash out his maw.

But as he worked slowly and constructively, he spoke, his words low and steady – she would have to strain to hear him talk. “Sometimes, miss, things happen for a reason. When I was but a pup my mother abandoned me though she decided to keep my two siblings. I had no father at that time – she had left him after she found out she was pregnant with us, and so we were left to think that he had abandoned us. But at any rate… she left me all alone, saying I was too much of a burden. I grew up on scraps until I found my way here. A lady named Casey adopted me and we joined Munashii Gekko. I pledged loyalty – even as a pup – to the Alphess, and so when my adopted mother betrayed the Alphess in a horrible fashion, she had my mother killed in front of me. Strangely enough, the one who killed my mother was my blood father – Kalgalath – who also was in Munashii Gekko. He did not know of me, and I did not know of him. When Kalgalath left after hearing about Nika – my mother – being in the area, I followed him, for he had become like a mentor to me… and years later we both returned to Blossom Forest, but by that time I had discovered who he was. I planned to confront him, but when I arrived he came to Aurora Borealis and took over, whereas I returned to Munashii Gekko. Soon after, Nika showed up with my siblings – Adara and Rohan. Things… happened… and eventually Nika left. Adara and I were sent to Moondown Shadows as part of an alliance after I left Munashii Gekko… but that is another story completely. Rohan… Rohan died and soon after Nika left. Per usual.” He fell silent, wondering if he should mention his pups. The pups which had been sired out of his deep loneliness were ones that he loved deeply… but he regretted the way in which they had been brought into the world.

“I… I have four pups. There were five, but one died. They were never meant to be born… and it is hard. Their mother… well it was a mistake. She was not who I thought she was, both in character and in person. But I would never abandon them. I just hope…” Aindreas paused and stepped away, evaluating his work. All of her cuts were cleaned, at least as well as he could. “…I just hope that you don’t think less of me for the accident of their mother.” The brute backed away from her, moving out the stream as he suddenly became away of his close proximity to her… that he had caressed her flesh with his tongue.