In the wake of what had happened Eske had more or less forgotten about the homework Wildfire had set for her. It was as she crossed the fire-kissed Bandrona's trail that it dawned on her. Her steps faltered and she let out a low grumble under her breath. For a long moment she hesitated, deliberating. Did she follow it and tell Wildfire that she hadn't completed what had been assigned to her? Or did she scramble to try to make up for time lost? Her parents departure, Thyri's betrayal, the erupting dragon ...homework seemed so insignificant in the face of what she had endured as of late. Perhaps it was no excuse, but in a rare show of humility Eske took a deep breath of the unfamiliar forest and it's tangy, salty air and followed the Bandrona's trail.

A low chuff of greeting left the agouti warrior princess as she caught sight of the Bandrona up ahead. In submission, Eske's tail lowered and her head ducked, wondering if Wildfire would be disappointed that she'd failed already when their lessons hadn't even really started.

Eske's steps faltered and ceased as Wildfire turned and the warrior princess watched the Bandrona wordless stride towards her. Her brow furrowed and she considered taking a step back, her ears slicking back to rest atop her skull. Would it not be for the fact that there was not a lick of aggression in Wildfire's posture Eske might have thought she was being attacked. The fire-kissed woman's foreleg dangled loose over her shoulders and the Bandrona was pressed up against her in a ...hug. The gesture was unexpected and foreign to Eske that she simply stood there dumbly, blinking over Wildfire's shoulder. And then, to Eske's surprise something broke within her. Her whiskers trembled and she let out a noise that sounded like a singular, soft sob. Touched by Wildfire's gesture of affection despite that they didn't know one another well. She felt like she had to maintain her “badass” reputation despite that her siblings were no longer around but beneath it she was still just a girl whose life had been so turned around (and upside down) that she wasn't sure what way she was even supposed to be facing. There was a softness in Eske's eyes as Wildfire pulled back and she had managed to collect herself (crying really wasn't her thing anyway). She only hoped that her mentor did not see her as weak for it.

“Wifi,” Eske returned the Bandrona's greeting, ready to pretend like she hadn't let actual emotion besides her usual attitude (gasp!) slide through the breach Wifi had made in the armor Eske kept her feelings behind. “I didn't get to really do any of the homework you set for me,” Eske admitted, though it stung at her pride. She had hoped to bring Wildfire grand tales of successes and failures but had at least hoped to have something. Instead she was empty pawed. “I'm sorry.” Eske didn't like to fail ...or lose, her competitive nature tended to make her a rather sore loser, as it were. “It will not happen again.” She promised. It wasn't Eske's fault, really, but she wasn't trying to use the chain of events that had come after she had approached Wildfire about mentoring her as an excuse either.

Wildfire's laugh bounced around the forest and for a moment, unsure if she was being made fun of or not, Eske's ears laid back against her skull, her brow furrowed and a sharp retort ready to be released upon the air only to bite it back when the Bandrona stifled it. Guilt then slammed into Eske and she ducked her head, embarrassed by herself, when she realized that Wildfire hadn't been instigated anything but that her (eske's) apology had, apparently, been unwarranted. “Right,” Eske breathed, composing herself smoothly. In that action, there was Gyda's influence, though Eske was still learning to control her aggression and want to fight (everything and everyone, apparently). Eske was no diplomat, not a creature of eloquent and poetic words but had begun to understand that she could not communicate with the world solely by her teeth. Sometimes, the world required a finer touch. Normally, for this, Eske would be quick to defer to Freyja but as her silvern sister was missing in action Eske was forced to acknowledge that she had to fill both the roles: warrior and princess.

“I just didn't want you to think I was only using it as an excuse,” Eske explained, her salmon pink tongue sliding across her jowls once. It was probably the most legit excuse she would ever be given but it didn't feel right to hide behind it. In some capacity: she'd failed. She could have managed to bring some news of her attempts before the incident but she couldn't and that was her own fault. “I'd be happy to help you.” Eske offered the Bandrona, following after the flame-kissed woman though Wifi's words hadn't really been a question. Still, Eske offered the truth nevertheless. Wildfire wasn't so bad ...her closeness to Freyja aside (but then again, her silvern sister wasn't all that bad either).