Tiresias had hoped that with his questions, he would be able to root out whether the other brute, the wolf in front of him, was or was not a kalak. But instead, he apparently surprised the stranger with his myriad of questions… And the two wolves were suddenly very, very different from one another. There was Tiresias, verbose and intrigued, and there was this other wolf, Absol apparently, who answered in as few words as possible. And yet Tiresias was not met with any pain, any attacks, any threats. If this was a kalak, it would’ve taken Tiresias right now, either to drag him back home, or to kill him. So at least in that department, he was safe. But it did not mean that he was not in harm‘s way. After all, this one was still stranger, and had given up next to nothing about himself other than that he, too, called the shoreline home. And at that, Tiresias raced his brows. He, himself, had been doing the same for months, perhaps a year? It was odd that the two had not come across each other sooner. Tiresias had, in that time, traversed the entire shore many times over, and it was rare for him to come across another wolf at all. But then… He also did have the tendency to hide from other wolves previously if he sensed them before they sensed him.

“Absol, is it? It is an odd name, if I may say so without sounding being rude, but I do not have much to stand on considering my own name. Well, then, Absol, it is indeed a pleasure to meet you. I am glad that another can find beauty and peace here among these rocks and silt and waves. As I alluded to before, I am a nomad and call this my home as well. I wonder how it is that we have not crossed each other‘s paths before now. I have not… Seen you before. But I must confess I do not often seek out the company of others.”

Tiresias was being cautious - he would not tell the other of his ailment, not yet, not until he could trust him. But there was the catch 22, wasn’t it? The only way he would ever trust this hessian was to become friends with him, and the only way to become friends with him was to talk, to share personal information, truths. But it was that very information that he wished not to share until they were friends. But without the risk, he would get no reward, and thusly did the russet and ebony titan continue to probe, to speak, filling the silence that the other did not fill at all.

“So where do you hail from, Absol? I myself was born and raised within Blossom Forest. I did once belong to a pack before nature reclaimed the land as its own, utilizing a great wildfire that destroyed everything in its path. But I have lived here ever since. Partly… Partly it is because I have no fear of fire here, not so close to such a large body of water. I know that should the licking flames ever come calling for me, I would need only to dip myself with in the water and I would be safe. That is my reasoning, or at least part of it. And yours? What can you claim is your reasons? Why would you stay here when there would be so much more safety in the bowels of a territory, with the safety of numbers, and the steadfast walls of a secure den?”

Tiresias was feeding Absol tidbits of the truth. Nothing he said was a lie, no falsehoods would cross his lips. Everything was true, although much was left out. But he did not wish to tell everything, not if there was nothing given in return. Instead, he had at last fell silent, hoping the other would return the conversation with some sort of intelligent verbosity. And in the meantime? Tiresias made himself comfortable, settling his rump into the cold silt as he studied the other in front of him. He made a show of it, his pools moving down the other and then back up, but what he was really using more of was his vomeronasal organ. It was heightened due to his blindness and gave him a decent picture of the other. Widely did his nares flare, tasting the other’s cologne upon the air. But he could not detect any hint, any trace of a lie, not when there was no scent of a pack upon his hair. Unconsciously, Tiresias shrugged. He was not sure whether he was relieved or disappointed in the discovery of the other‘s truth. It would’ve been a relief to know that the other was a pack wolf from this place, for it would have meant that there was no way that he was a kalak from another clan. But was it not also a relief that the other had not lied to him? Tiresias sighed, and wondered silently to himself whether he would ever truly be satisfied with any answer given… At this point, his trust and belief in the goodness of others was so heavily marred that he would always be questioning the intent of any stranger.