With struggle, comes strength. Butterfly's words resonate with me, for though the saying 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' was common place, the way she put it made more sense. My losses had taken much from me, and yet in the aftermath I had found the strength to go on, to build upon myself and come back stronger. I am not a wolf without faults - no wolf is - but my struggles had made me a better leader with a more central focus. A short, sober nod of my head was given in response, agreeing with her sentiment.
My ears flickered, a rivulet of water running down the edge of one audit and causing a tickle. Then they pricked forward again, listening to the ebb and flow of Butterfly's speech as she wove a tapestry of words that depicted the lands she had traveled to. A distant vision swam in my mind, nondescript and unfamiliar, though my focus remained upon Butterfly even as hers drifted. It sounded like a hard land, this place of snow and ice she had traveled to. We had snow and ice high in the mountains nearly year round, but to exist in something so harsh everywhere you stepped was a battle I was alright with not having to fight every day. Tundra, a word I knew, a place I had heard of before. For some reason I found it hard to picture Butterfly there, but I did not doubt her words. Absently I wondered if MoonGlow had ever gone so far in her travels.
Butterfly's attention refocused upon me and I smiled, thinking the woman likely had many interesting stories to tell from her many years of traveling. And a most interesting way of narrating them, too. The alpha in me quietly whispered Bard in the back of my mind, but for now I was more interested in catching up with my long lost pup-mate. The zeal in Butterfly's tones as she asked of me as well as her family brought a sinking feeling to my heart - any hope of her bringing news of Leonidas vanishing. There was no reason to delay telling her the truth, and in the interest of remaining transpicuous I did not tryt o sugar coat anything.