There is comfort in being in the presence of an adult. Haziel might have known how soothing such a presence would be to me after having lived long in the den with my parents. Some yearlings chose to separate themselves from their parents and surely by two most would go about their own direction, I think, but I had adored Fenrir and Natu. I had cherished the time spent with my sisters and my now lost brother. It had been a happy fate for me to be condemned to stay with them - even though condemned wasn't the correct turn. I had chosen it with all the alacrity that one could have at my age. Now that beautiful image of paradise with family had been shuttered. Shadowed by the death of parents and the distancing of siblings. Now it was time to put away childish things and to take on the mantle of an older wolf, a more solemn expression of aging.

You're a bright girl. His compliment sees my ears twist back and my lips lift in a pleasurable smile, even if he cannot see it. To me, I think that being called bright and smart and clever were the ultimate of compliments. Beauty was an outside thing that fate dealt out with callous abandon. Intelligence was cultivated and should be prized for it showed true initiative, true belief and perseverance. To be called slow or dumb would be the ultimate of sins to me and would strike me down as surely as death had done my parents.

"You being here is comfort enough," I answer in a soft voice, somewhat tentative lest he might grow uncomfortable at such brutal honesty. The games of the world were sly tongues and hidden secrets but I chose to overcome such things; simplicity, honesty, and kindness. They were the epitome of what I hope to achieve in my life. What I hoped to become. He turns his face towards me and I feel somewhat guilty for having asked him such an open question, but his answer is enlightening. Nor does he seem furious at my mention of his impediment. I couldn't even call it that - he got around just fine.

If he could see then he would spy the bright smile that upturns my face, washing away all trace of sadness. "Too right you are," I reply back to him calmly. "I wonder if we can not all try to look a bit beyond ourselves and just a bit deeper. I imagine that without the distraction of sight you are better able to understand yourself as well." It was a musing question. I was well attuned to my wants, desires, and being, but I had found that a few others were confused and lost. They looked outside for guidance, which was okay, but one must also look inside as well.