She hated the lost expression in the female's eyes. She looked like she was giving up on life itself; like she was on the edge and just about to step off. If there was any way for Avery to prevent that, she swore to herself right then that she would do it in a heartbeat. Every life was worth something. Every life was valuable. She didn't consider the female pathetic for whatever she'd gone through. She only saw a lost soul in need of guidance, someone who needed to feel like they weren't just a number, that they were important to someone. The girl looked up, saying that she felt like she had nothing to live for. Avery gave her soft smile. "And that's okay. Not everyone has their whole life mapped out for them from Day One, and if they do, they're nerds. I certainly didn't. I never could have guessed that I'd be where I am today." She hoped relating to the girl would help her see that she wasn't alone in this, even if that's exactly how she felt right now.

She didn't expect the girl to give her name so she was pleasantly surprised when she did. Maris. Avery's smile widened in encouragement, her eyes twinkling with light. There was hope if she was thought her name would be worth something. "A pleasure to meet you, Maris." She figured saying it was an honor would be overkill but at least this way, Maris could read into it if she wanted. Someone felt pleasure just by knowing her, and Avery was genuine if nothing else. She felt it was fate that she ran across this girl today. As Maris' gaze wandered to the water, Avery took a moment to really study her features. She was so pretty and had so much potential. She just had to see it. Her ears pricked at full attention as Maris told her about her mother and father. Her brother and father disappeared first, but it didn't sound like they were as hard of a hit as losing her mother was. Avery nodded. "Losing a family member and a best friend is like losing a large chunk of yourself. She was a large part of you. It's okay to feel like you're missing pieces cause in a way, you are." She wanted Maris to know that nothing she was feeling was wrong or weird.

As her head dropped, Avery scowled, listening as the girl apologized. She was quick to shake her head, slowly leaning her head down in case the girl didn't want her in her space. If she gave no rebuttal, Avery would slowly push her nose under Maris' chin to lift her gaze back up. Then she would pull back slowly and offer another soft smile. "It's perfectly okay. Sharing what you're going through helps you come to terms with it. I'm grateful that you feel like you can share such a special story with me. Your mother meant a lot to you. I didn't have the same upbringing as you and I certainly wasn't as close with my mother, but I do still know what you mean. My mother abandoned me and my siblings to go to another pack with a male she fell in love with. Soon after, they left me all alone, too. I thought I would just wander forever in that pack but the alpha at the time saw something in me and he took me under his wing. He became more of a father to me than my own could ever be. He raised me and trained me but more than that, he supported me and believed in me when no one else did. That meant the world to me.

"When I lost him, I lost a huge chunk of who I was. It took me a long time to come to terms with his death. Luckily I had a good friend to lean on who also believed in me. But now she's gone too and I had to redefine who I wanted to be now. It's not easy and I can't say there won't be bumps and even roadblocks along the way, but I do believe it's well worth it to put one foot in front of the other until it feels natural again." She hoped sharing some of her story would help Maris see that others went through their own kind of pain too and there was another light at the end of the tunnel, a reason for it all in the end.