"Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit..."
"There is no one who loves pain itself, who seeks after it and wants to have it, simply because it is pain..."

There was surprise in the male's eyes but he didn't give too much away. He was definitely a mystery Avery looked forward to trying to figure out. He was a complex creature and she saw a whirlwind of emotions in his eyes most of the time. He seemed troubled, but she couldn't put her paw on it. It was harder to find out such things when he was unable to just tell her, at least in the traditional way. Oh well. She was patient in most things when it didn't come to battle so she would take her time and find out the old fashioned way, but communicating with him in whatever way she could. She could tell a lot of things were complicated when it came to him. When she asked about family, he was very vague in his answer, shaking and nodding, but in a way, she thought she might understand. Maybe not family but still the only kind of family some wolves had in this world. She knew all about that. Andras wasn't blood but he was her father in all other senses. Chernobyl wasn't a mother to her more than giving her birth. Aithne was her sister and yet not in other ways. As long as he had someone else here that he could go to, Avery felt a little better.

When she mentioned Blackthorne, Avery saw again a whirlwind of emotions. He said the former alpha wasn't the reason but there was still a twinge of anger in his eyes. He didn't seem to like Blackthorne though. Too bad he couldn't just speak to her. She would have to keep digging, little by little. She was happy he had a way to at least tell her his name. Hemlock. She could remember that. When she asked if he compared himself to the bush, he seemed thoughtful for a minute. Finally he shook his head, his eyes showing confusion as if wondering why she would ask such a thing. It was just a hunch, but she had a feeling he wasn't being completely open with her. She wouldn't push. She would just keep getting what she could out of him. Perhaps in time he would let her in more. She had plenty of time to help him see that he could trust her. He seemed distant for a while after that and she gazed off across the swamp lands, thoughtful herself. "I wonder how many alphas these lands have seen since my last time here." She was speaking more to herself than to him, but she didn't mind if he heard it. Then she turned her gaze back to him.

"I know Aithne was killed here. Were there others?" She wondered just how much death Iromar has seen. She could tell Hemlock had seen some dark things in his life. He just held himself as a wolf almost without hope and she hated to see it. She would work to restore that hope, but first, she needed to face some demons with him. She told him her story, hoping it would help him relax a little around her to know where she was coming from. She told him about Chernobyl and Andras. She could practically see the cogs working in his mind as he processed everything. She wouldn't ask about his blood. It didn't matter if he was related to Andras himself or not. He was her pack wolf and therefore, under her protection, no matter what. When she told him he was better than he gave himself credit for, he snorted and she couldn't help but smirk a little, her eyes twinkling daringly. She shook her head. "You don't have to believe me, not yet, anyway. I'm going to prove it to you. Maybe not today, maybe not even next week. But some day, you're going to realize it and remember the day I said that." She was sure of herself in this.

She didn't know his story or how he came here but she didn't go by that. The past didn't matter. The future was all that mattered. She always thought herself rather good at reading a wolf and she saw someone who wanted to do the right thing when she looked at Hemlock. She had a feeling if he could talk, he would say the opposite. She could see it in that defeated look in his eyes sometimes. But that only convinced her that much more that he wanted something different for himself, that he still had hope, even if it was buried deep. Somehow, she would find it for him. She could tell he was still unconvinced, his gaze almost daring her to prove it right now but she knew that would take time. So instead, she would make some more small talk before letting him go on his way. "I hope you'll be a part of the pack hunt coming soon. I'd like to meet your friend here officially so I know who to go to about your dirty little secrets." Her lips twitched and she winked playfully before letting out a light chuckle. "Just kidding, of course. If they're any kind of friend worth having, they wouldn't tell me anyway and I don't blame them. True loyalty is hard to come by."

She said the last part as more of an afterthought but her gaze grew distant as she thought of Aithne and how she would have done anything for her. Oh, how she wished more than anything she could have been here to save her best friend and kill the bastard who took her from this world. It would have been her greatest pleasure. She offered him a bitter sweet smile. "Sorry, I still get lost in the past sometimes. Don't you wish you could go back and change something sometimes? Take a different path or make a different decision?" She looked away again, grimacing before she sighed and shook her head. "It's all smoke and mirrors, of course. We can't change the past, but we can certainly reap the consequences of it in the future. Best to accept and move on, I guess." She shrugged. She turned her head then, considered before she met Hemlock's gaze. "Hey, are you hungry?"