Blackfeather Woods Earth to Heaven

For Kendra aka myself, so anyone is welcome to join! :)

Burke trotted through the forest having a more global look over his territory and what others were doing. He was mostly interested in what his daughter was doing these days. He did not see her that often except for when she was curled against him in their den, but other than that the girl was always keeping herself busy it seemed. It didn't take long for the father to track his daughter's location. He was surprised he was getting a bit close to the borders. It was of his belief that Kendra didn't like to be too close to the borders.

He would find out soon enough. The large male trotted further. He soon saw the moving figure of his daughter. She was looking more and more like her mother each day. Burke was actually pretty pleased she was so attached to these dark woods because he was not sure what he would do if she wanted to leave to another pack. He slowed down and let out a chuff in greeting. "What you doing?," he asked her.

Cameo, maybe? Ehe, tag me if he's noticed

The boy had somehow found himself heading towards the borders after his encounter with Nemesis. A part of him wished to cross over them, to explore the surrounding territories a bit more to better clear his mind. Another part of him, however, didn't want to leave the woods. His eyes, which had always been sensitive to the light, had become even more so since growing accustomed to the dimness of the woods. The idea of getting stuck out in the open with the sun blaring down on him seemed dreadful, to say the least, and not something he wanted to risk. And so, he'd settled simply for lingering along the borders, looking out over the land beyond Blackfeather. It satisfied some urges, but only increased others. The wanderlust was sometimes unbearable, but he'd managed to push passed it for the time being.

A single ear had turned in the direction from which a voice had come. He recognized it's owner even before his head had turned to glance in their direction. It seemed he wasn't the focus of the leader's attention presently—rather, that place belonged to his daughter, Kendra—and so he saw no reason to stick around. Naught but a second later, Xan was turning around in an attempt to disappear back into the coverage of the woods. He couldn't tell, of course, whether or not he'd been noticed, and that didn't stop him.

Kendra instantly wanted to get started when the weather was getting better. Yet the girl waited for the morning frost to stay away. It had been good week now and the impatient girl wanted to get stated. She already found the perfect spot which had enough light for her plants and that her eyes could handle. It was a bit close to the borders but she would deal with that. The dark colored girl grabbed the stick with two branches sticking from it in an 'Y' shape. She started to drag it over the ground, making two gutters while dragging it. She repeated this until she had several wiggly lines on the ground. She placed the stick away and then sat down to look over her work. It could be better but this would have to do.

The girl rushed off to get her plant. With all the care in the world she dug up the lavender plant. She was cautious not to break too many roots. She grabbed the plant and then trotted back. Kendra let the plant rest on the ground as she started to dig a hole, a small one. When she was about to place the plant in the hole her father approached her. "Daddy!," she called out excitedly. "I'm making my own garden!," she explained. She grabbed the purple plant and placed it with the root down, to then cover it with dirt again. "I want all kind of plants!," she beamed. Then her eye fell on Xan. "@Xan!," she called out. "Come look!"

Burke watched his daughter being busy with some plants, unsurprisingly. Still he was curious what the female was even planning to do. At first he thought she was practicing drawing the brotherhood marks that he had been practicing himself. But it seemed she was doing something entirely different. The father watched his daughter explain what she was doing, watching how she was putting the plant back in the earth. Honestly, he didn't understand why she would move the plant in the first place... If it had been growing in one spot then why move it to another? He was under the impression that plants died if they were pulled from the grounds.

"That is ... great!," he spoke trying to be encouraging for his daughter. He had not noticed Xan walk by but Kendra had. He turned to watch the male, he had recently spoken to him and Burke had the idea that his relationship with Xan was getting at least a bit better. The male turned quickly back to Kendra, who seemed so excited. "So why are you doing this?," he asked then, he couldn't help himself. He didn't want to discourage his daughter but he was genuinely curious now.

He'd been caught and, like a bandit with morals, had accepted the consequences that came with his lack of stealth. Though every muscles was tensed and ready to bolt, he'd ended up turning back around, instead, and headed in the direction of the father-daughter duo. He'd been wrapped up in his own thoughts prior to hearing his name, leaving him without the slightest of clues as to what the younger wolf was doing. Thus, once he was close enough to see the thin rows, his brows instantly knitted together. Burke seemed to know what it was, however, as the boy had arrived just in time to hear him ask why the girl was doing whatever it was that involved drawing lines in the dirt. Not wanting to remain out of the loop, he was quick to ask, "What's with the lines?"

Once upon a time, the boy had been interested in the field of naturalism. He'd never had an adequate teacher, however, and had therefore placed his interest on the back burner so as not to risk making a fool out of himself. Had he not done so, perhaps he would have understood the reasoning for the girl's actions, but alas, he had and was now paying the price for it.

Kendra let out an excited smile when her father said that it was great, but the hesitation was there. She playfully bumped into him. She kind of liked that he at least tried to enthusiastic for her while not seeing any logic in it. Xan joined and Kendra instantly noticed that the two did not even greet each other. Her pale eyes went from one to the other. "Well. I am making a garden. So then plants will grow in one spot and I won't have to look for them. At least that is the idea. I also found some plant seeds in mother's keep. The lines are there for those seeds. They can't be too deep in the earth otherwise they can't really grow. Azul told me!," she explained and then realized that none of the two knew her bat friend.

The female looked at the two males and then grinned. "Uh.. Yeah! So that is what I am doing. The lavender is good for coughs or a cold, and to calm down a wolf with anxiety," she explained to them. Not that she wanted to be a medic and help wolves, not yet at least. However she did like to know if she would let a plant grow their pack medic would be able to use those plants. "I also use it for purple dye!," she then spoke and swayed the tip of her tail, previously dark brotherhood red, now purple. Matching more with her dark coat. It was more subtile than the red.

Burke listened to this daughter as she explained about what she was doing. All the could think about was Meldresi. She had been just a passionate and excited about all of these things. Knowing that Kendra was often in her mother's keep. It was saddening to see that she would never learn what Meldresi would know and Potema not being back yet it would also create a gap. At least she was having fun, and it looked like she was experimenting with what came natural to her. Still seeing her it made Burke miss his own mate. "That is excellent, Kendra," he spoke with a smile on his lips. Clearly treating his daughter far better than he ever treated Xan. He was not one of his own after all.

Burke looked to the side of Xan and then back at Kendra. He could stop them from meeting, not really wanting her to develop any kind of relationship with the young male. But.. Frankly Burke didn't feel energized enough to even start such a mission seeing that they were pack mates. He recently talked to Xan anyways and them working on their relationship would need to come from both ways. "Alright. I need to go, but why don't you tell Xan all about your plants?," he offered, hopefully that would give the pale young male the idea that Burke trusted his own daughter with him.

Throwing this in here between classes. Such sneak, many wow.

Alexander had remained quiet while listening to the explanation given, determined to miss naught a single word. He was genuinely curious of whatever it was that she was trying to do, and open to learning. "Won't you have to make multiple gardens?" he'd inquired, brows knitting together as he glanced back at the rows in the dirt. "I don't think all plants need the same things." He'd noticed it before, how different locations gave way to different species of plants. So if that was the case, wouldn't she need to make several in order to grow more? He believed so, at least, but had abandoned the thought at the mention of Azul. He knew not who they were, but wondered what had inspired the stranger to share with Kendra information. Had they exchanged secrets? "Who's Azul?" he'd practically demanded, momentarily forgetting Burke was there. He was too focused on the fact that the girl had been conversing with someone else, someone outside of the pack (or so was his assumption). It could be perceived as jealousy, his immediate interest, but he'd deny such claims if ever brought up.

When Burke had spoken again, the albino glanced over at him, being reminded of his presence. His words caught him off guard, of course, keeping his attention held hostage. "Don't you want to hear about them?" He'd asked. "I can go if you wanted to speak with her." He didn't want to, but he could. Truthfully, he was interested in the topic presented, and, unknowingly, interested in the girl that was to share with him the information.

Like a true DB Spy! :D

Kendra looked at her father who encouraged her again. She swayed her tail, her pale eyes observing the two. Though even if her father had praised her she could see in his eyes that there was something that was bothering. She wasn't sure what it was, maybe it was just because something on the borders or maybe it was something completely different. Xan asked a question, a smart one too. She grinned a bit before nodding. "Exactly, though, I will first try this spot, see if my garden idea even works before making several. This is my test garden to see which ones survive and which won't," she explained to him. Her pale eyes glinting a bit. She was most definitely thinking about what was in the future for her gardening skills.

Xan fellowed by asking about Azul on a demanding time. She lifted her muzzle. "He is a friend? Why you want to know?," she questioned on the same demanding tone. Even though she was close to being 6 months old she was often copying behavior, learning from other's their reactions. Her father said that he was letting them talk further while he left. The girl nodded slightly, about to say 'alright daddy' when Xan fired a question at him. She studied the two interacting, sparking her interest quite a bit. She was not going to demand to have her father be here. She knew that he was busy, she was quite independent anyhow.

Burke had not been too bothered about this Azul character, Kendra had spoken about him before. He was under the impression it was a bird, seeing that Kendra's scent was never around the border he had not a feeling she was meeting other wolf, alas, Xan was pretty keen on knowing. Burke looked at the young male when he was questioned. Burke's flattened his ears a bit. "I trust my daughter," he spoke to the young male. Like that was saying enough for now.

The dark male raised his docked tail. "It is alright Xan. I can talk with Kendra tonight," he spoke to him and then gave a nod to her daughter in goodbye. "See you tonight,' he spoke. He did not have any nicknames for his daughter. After that he was trotting off towards the border doing one of his daily patrols. He might seek her out later, now leaving her to socialize with other packmates.

Already it seemed she had a plan in place, with the rows before him being classified as the experimental group. He was somewhat interested to see how it would go, but didn't dare voice such thoughts. The words were kept to himself, not wishing to come off as holding any degree of fascination towards the idea of a garden. "Oh," came his response, ever so simple. He'd considered asking whether or not she believed she would succeed, but had ultimately decided against doing so. The answer seemed obvious to him. After all, she had to have some level of faith in her skills if she'd bother with attempting such a thing. Asking a question he believed himself to already hold the answer to would get him nowhere. All it would do is toss him into a rut, conversation wise, and leave him at a loss in regards to pushing the conversation onward.

His question was answered, but then another was thrown his way in the very same tone he'd previously used. Immediately, his body stiffened and gaze narrowed slightly. "Because I did," the boy stated. "Why'd this Azul guy tell you anything? Did you give him something in return?" An exasperated huff could be heard, faintly, as it'd slipped into his words. He couldn't fully understand his own reasoning for wishing to know. All he was certain of was that he'd told her some things—not much, of course, but enough that the young Inuit was cautious—and he believed there to be a chance she might have shared such things with another. Had she and her friend laughed together at his expense? Did they meet often? How come he'd never seen, or even smelled, him before?! Several questions, none of which having ever left his mouth. They'd remained within his mind, brewing into something of a storm.

In a matter of seconds, his gaze had snapped back to the larger male. He'd spoken of trusting his daughter, as well as mentioned how he could always speak with her later. Alexander didn't know what to make of his words, or how far he should think into them. So, rather than saying anything more, he gave a stiff nod and watched the other leave before his attention was snapped back to the girl. How many more answers could he get out of her, he wondered.

Kendra smirked a bit a him when Xan started to talk back to her like that. The girl was very amused by this because to her it sounded like he was just jealous. Her father didn't seem to care, or well, not too bothered by it at least. But this Xan had. What was it to him. If only he knew that Azul was a bat. "Are you jealous Xan?," she returned with a bit of a grin, her dots on her brow raising a bit as a challenge to him.

She was kind of amused by this whole ordeal. She didn't think much of it, she was just thinking that it was kind of nice that Xan was jealous on someone about their friendship. The girl licked her lips and then grabbed the seeds she had on a leaf and let them fall from her mouth into the little gutter she made. The girl just went on like nothing happened really, because that was usually Kendra's thing.

The boy had been too distracted to catch the smirk, his mind drowning in possibilities. He wanted to know everything, and was having a difficult time pretending otherwise. What he didn't miss, however, was the grin. For with it there'd come words, a statement that had his gaze widening ever so slightly. "No," he'd quickly said, fur bristling along his dorsal from the shock alone of having heard such an "outrageous" accusation. "I don't get jealous!" Perhaps he was only trying to lie to himself, or maybe he just couldn't recognize specific emotions when he felt them. The latter was partially true, for never before had he been jealous, but presently he felt... weird. Xan had no way of understanding the green-eyed monster, as never before had he encountered it, but a little voice in the back of his mind was trying so desperately to make him realize that that, in fact, was the case. The great Alexander had gotten jealous, and over a bat, no less! Of course, he didn't actually know it was a bat he felt animosity towards, having assumed from the very beginning that Azul was another wolf.

When Kendra had gone back to preparing her garden, a faint huff exited the boy's mouth. Without thinking, he'd moved forward, aiming to grab hold of and pull at her tail. To harm her was not his intention, he simply wanted her undivided attention. It was similar to how a toddler might pull the tail of their pet when the creature tried to walk away from them—not a conscious act of harm, but more of a childish way at getting what he wanted. "I don't want you seeing this Azul guy anymore," he'd finally stated, getting out into the open that which was bugging him. "At least, not alone. You don't know what he could do." Poor Xan... if only he knew that he was questioning the intentions of a little bat.

I so badly want to tell him >D

Kendra kept a soft laugh to herself when Xan stated that he was not jealous. It was rather interesting for her that Xan wanted to be her friend. She wouldn't really be a nice friend if she wouldn't tell him about Azul right? Kendra had been going on with fixing her garden, after all that was her main priority. But then Xan pulled on her tail and that was not something she appreciated. She let out a soft growl in disapproval and nipped at him in return, just telling him off for doing that.

"You are jealous," she returned. "You don't want to share me, the thought of someone else being my friend dislikes you, and than means you are jealous, Xan," she explained. After all she had enough jealously to her own twin brother sometimes. She knew the feeling. Her pale eyes looked at him, het coat a bit ruffled. "What makes you think Azul is even a bat? Do you even know me? I don't really go outside our home, ever. I hate the light, it hurts my eyes, why do you think I like the tunnels? Inside this territory I don't really meet other wolves," she explained, looking at him with raised dot. "If you really don't want to share me then you should be a better friend," she offered to him. "Tell me things and stuff like that. I will tell you things in return. Did you even have a friend before?"

I'm assuming you meant 'wolf' instead of 'bat' in that one sentence... lemme know if I got it wrong!

Given what had inspired his decision to pull her tail, the boy took her response as not being serious. It was a game, perhaps, to him, rather than an act of aggression. He'd returned the gesture, then, nipping back at her as her reasoning for doing so was misinterpreted. In Xan's mind, that type of behavior had always registered as simple play, and nothing more. It was unlike the way in which he acted out against others—which was serious. Even though he'd taken it as play, his frustrations were not forgotten, and his mind was quickly set back on track. The need to get to the bottom of things, and ensure that her next meeting with Azul was either done with another at her side, or was never allowed to happen at all.

When it was explained to him that he was, in fact, jealous, he'd brushed it off. "I'm not jealous," he'd stated once more, but at this point he was only trying to convince himself of that. There was no way he could be jealous, right? It didn't make sense. Her next statements didn't make much sense, either. If not a wolf, then what was he? "Maybe you let someone into the territory." He was only fishing, he had no evidence to back his words up. "You'd probably be allowed to do that, so I don't know. If he isn't a wolf, then what? A bird?" And if so, why befriend a bird, of all things? It didn't make sense to him, nor did her words. It seemed like she was giving him the chance to keep her to himself, but in return, he'd have to share stuff with her. Was that what friendship was? "Nemesis is my friend... I think," the boy stated. So there, he'd had a friend before. Sort of, anyways. "So if I tell you things, you won't go to anyone else? You'll only be mine?" The concept alone was strange to him. Whether or not he'd even be able to tell her things, he didn't know, but wanted to at least try.

Haha totally! Thanks! Loving this thread btw! :)

Kendra grinned a bit at him but decided to drop it because she was certain that she was right. But she knew Xan was stubborn so she dropped it now. The girl let out a snort. "My father taught me better than to let strangers in our home. I met strangers before and I didn't let them in either," she pointe out to him, she was going to see how Xan was going to react to that because she had met Whittier there and he would show her these amazing things called mountains or something beautiful like that. She looked at Xan with more of a frown. "Of course not. Just because I am the alpha's daughter doesn't mean I am allowed to do more," she pointed out.

She did not give away what Azul was for a moment, because Xan continued and she was saying important things. She looked at him for a moment. She was a bit surprised he didn't call her a friend. She stepped forward and gave him a lick over his cheek. "Have I ever done that before? No. You were mean to me at first. Does dad know? No. I showed you the tunnels, did I trick you? No. You told about your mother did I tell that to Pietro or others? No," she summoned and looked at him. "I am already your friend Xan. Pity you didn't see me as one," she spoke with a shrug. "You don't have to ask if I was only yours because I have been since the beginning. Clearly you are utterly blind," she pointed out to him and stepped a bit back. Then she grinned again. "And by the way.. Azul is a bat."

Same here. ^^

The claim he'd made was objected against. According to her, she'd not let any others into the territory—said she'd been taught better than that—but had met with someone outside of the pack's claim. Who'd she meet with? How far away had she gone to see them? "Who did you see?" he'd asked. "Did you see them while you were alone?" He was starting to think that he might have to start following her around, just to make sure she didn't meet with anyone he didn't approve of. It'd be a lot of work, but he could see it as being worth the trouble. When she'd frowned at him, however, there came the slightest of urges to leave. Of course, he'd ignored it, listening to what she'd had to say instead. "But you could," he'd countered. "If you wanted to, you could do a lot more and it'd be fine. That's one of the perks of being a princess, isn't it?" Or so was his way of seeing things.

Kendra had done something then that he'd never would have expected to happen—she'd licked him! The touch had frozen him right where he stood, body going rigid as his mind worked through accepting what had just happened. Did all friends do that to one another? Did it always feel that way? He didn't have enough experience with social situations to figure out the answers. He'd nearly stuttered over his words, but had managed to clamp his mouth shut beforehand so that she could continue to speak. "I didn't know we were friends," he'd stated, brows knitting together for a second or so, before a thoughtful expression overtook his features. "Nemesis has never done that." He was referring to her having licked his check. "So maybe she and I aren't friends...? But we are." Xan didn't know much about being a friend, he'd always kept to himself, but figured it couldn't be too hard to get the hang of things. If he had someone like Kendra there, then maybe it'd even be easy!

To hear that she was only his, and only ever had been, left him at a loss for words. He'd ignored the comment pertaining to his vision—or rather, it'd flown right over his head—as he was far too occupied by her first statement. "So you'll never leave me, then? You'll be the one that stays?" Slightly, his head tilted, needing to be reassured that her words were true. Though the expression hadn't lasted for very long, turning to confusion when she'd taken a step away, and then something between annoyed and shocked when the species of Azul was revealed. "He's a bat...?" he'd repeated, staring at her in disbelief. If this were a sitcom, surely he would have face-palmed by now. "Why didn't you tell me that in the beginning?" A frown pulled at his lips, ears folding back in the process. How come she'd kept it from him?

Kendra sat down and looked at Xan with a hint of a victorious expression. She had seen Whittier alone, but that had been on accident. If someone would have been harmful to her then that wolf might not have lived. She did not comment on it because she was pretty sure that Xan would jump out of his skin if he would know the truth of her meeting another male, after all he reacted very badly to her hanging out with a bat. Which was still hilarious to her. Kendra shook her head a bit. "I don't see myself as a princess. My sister portrayed herself that way but I don't see myself like that. I'd rather be Kendra," she spoke to Xan with a thoughtful tone.

Kendra did not see much difference in her licking him, maybe it was still her own innocence that didn't get the message. She still needed to get the talk and really experience boy crushes and all that. The young female was close to becoming a teenager but she was still a child. To her it was just a lick. She shrugged. "Well Nemesis is grown up. I lick my brother all the time!," she let out, not seeing his point. Kendra listened to his words which made her frown a bit. Because after all, she knew about his mother so promising that she would never leave might be a big... promise she might not be able to keep.

"You will always be my friend. Xan. Wherever I am. Maybe I will do some traveling, I want to see some things but this will be my home, and you will be my friend, always," she said with a nod, technically not promising that she wouldn't leave. Now Whittier promised her to show the pretty mountains she was very eager to go with him and explore that all. She didn't see the implications of it, or how her father, and probably Xan would never allow her to go. Kendra slowly smiled. "Because you were quite funny and endearing with how protective you were over me," she pointed out to him. "You were jealous of a bat," she then teased him lightly, though there was no actual viciousness behind her words.

The question posed had not been answered, leaving him in the dark in regards to her life outside of the woods. How far she'd gone, who she'd met with... he knew not the answers to either, and it seemed as if she didn't wish to share. That made him suspicious, of course, and strengthened his belief that following her around might be for the better. That way, he'd always be there, and she'd be unable to slip anything past him—or so was what he believed. Of course, with Xan, things never went as planned, but he'd yet to accept that and therefore didn't stop to consider that his image of the future might not be what actually happens. How disappointed he'd be someday, but for the time being, he'd already moved on to something else. "Even if you don't portray yourself as one, you're still a princess," the boy had said. Just like I was once a prince, he'd added silently, keeping himself from making such a statement aloud.

Though the lick had registered as something strange in his mind, it was soon disregarded as being of little importance. When her brother had come up, any strange feelings had been shoved away, pushed to the back of his mind with the hope that they might never resurface. If she licked her brother, too, then it wasn't anything special. "Oh," he'd then muttered. Perhaps Nemesis was still his friend, and always had been. The Inuit wasn't too sure of things anymore, but decided against questioning it any further. The lick wasn't anything special, Nemesis was probably his friend—these were things he'd concluded, and were also as far into thought as he would allow himself to go. There was, in his mind, no need to complicate things by allowing unnecessary and unknown flutters of emotions to get involved.

A promise had not been made, which had resulted in him frowning. The words spoken instead were pleasant enough to hear, but they'd not been the words he was looking for. "What if I travel with you?" he'd suggested. "I can show you my old home, and everything else between here and there. You don't have to travel alone." If only he'd known that she'd already acquired some sort of travelling buddy, and one that resided outside of the pack, no less. As far as he was concerned, she had no one to journey with besides him and her siblings, though he certainly hoped she'd choose him over them. "I was not jealous," came his reply once more soon after, the words being strained and a huff added to the end for extra emphasis. "I told you already that I don't get jealous." Forever he would deny it, even in death.

Kendra looked at Xan because she did not really like to be a princess, the stories she heard about her sister were alright but how people treated her was something she disliked. Xan might think she was one but she did not want to act like one. She just ignored his comment for now, because she didn't want a whole discussion about it. The female looked at him when she spoke about licking her brother, the other topic. At least that seemed to calm him down. Kendra didn't think much of it anyways, she was not really getting the whole romantic love thing or anything else it could imply. She might never learn it seeing that sex was more in their culture rather than love.

Kendra looked surprised at his offer. "But you don't know where the pretty mountains are," she pointed out. "Your previous home? Oh. Will your mother be there?," she asked curiously. She liked to see more of the land, though she was hesitant. She wanted to wait for Whittier but traveling with Xan sounded exciting too. She would learn more of the basics of hunting even though she did not enjoy it. Her lips turned up in a smile when he said that he wasn't jealous. "Well are you still going to let me see this bat or do you think it is okay now?," she asked with a bit of a grin.

Xan had captured the look of surprise that crossed her face, but did not comment on it. It was rare, perhaps, for him to offer things to anyone, but he didn't think it was really a shocking experience. Besides, he was growing fond of the girl, whether he even realized it or not, and would gladly show her every inch of the earth if it meant he could keep other males away from her. "I do know where the mountains are," he'd returned then, the statement coming somewhat quickly. "Between here and the valley there's these huge mountains, and I'll find more for you to see if you don't like those ones." Honestly speaking, he couldn't remember too much about the mountain range, for he'd never paid too much attention to it when traveling. He'd only ever been passing through, and never really saw the need to examine them entirely.

Following that, though, came a question that made him fall silent. For awhile, he did not speak, a frown having etched itself deep into his features. When he'd found his voice, though, he'd answered with a quick, "No." It'd seemed like a good enough answer at first, but soon after he'd decided to elaborate on it. "She's gone. One of my sisters... she came to visit and told my dad and me that my mother died." Thereafter, he fell silent again, his frown deepening as he'd looked away. It was still a shock to him, really, but he didn't want to admit to that. So, he'd focused back on her words, shrugging when she'd asked another question. "I guess you can see him," the boy had muttered, but his tone lacked any real emotion. He was neither annoyed nor frustrated at that point, just... lost, after having had to remind himself again of Scarlett's passing.

Kendra was impressed that he was so determined to show her these mountains. The young girl nodded slowly, though she was surprised to hear that Xan's mother had died. She blinked and then stopped closer to him. She was not sure what to say or do, because she might have lost her mother but she did not know her. Xan did know her mother, and she had not experienced death before so the girl was not sure how death left like to her.

The girl looked at him with a sad expression. "I'm sorry to hear that. I wish I could have met her or something. She must be really pretty for giving you such eyes," she spoke trying to make it all better, and kind of indirectly calling Xan handsome to cheer him up. She herself was not really that busy with boys yet after all. "Still I would like to see it!," she hummed happily and quirked up her lips.

While she had nodded, Xan's attention had since drifted elsewhere. He didn't like to think of his mother's passing, or any of the memories he had of her. It wasn't painful, per se, but it made him feel strange on the inside. Something inside of him hurt, despite all of the anger he'd held towards her, and thinking back only worsened what was usually nothing more than a dull ache. A part of him was angry with Kendra, too, for having brought his mother up, but the feeling hadn't lived for very long. Quickly had it faded away, replaced with a void of nothingness as his own silence engulfed him. Perhaps he should have walked away by then, and yet, he hadn't even twitched. Near to the girl he had remained, lingering in his own wave of emotions until she'd chosen to speak.

The indirect compliment that she'd given him had slipped by undetected, his mind not in the right place to think so far into things. "I guess she was... I don't know," he'd said, uncertain of how to respond to her words. Had his mother been pretty? He didn't know. She'd been his mother, and then a traitor to his family—that was what he knew, but nearly anything regarding her appearance hadn't left too great of an impact on his life. Yet, he could recall her eyes, their hue having been similar to his own, but not identical. In the end, hers had belonged to her, while his belonged to himself, and that was that. Slowly, he'd shaken his head in an attempt to rid his mind of such thoughts and images, trying to focus on the girl instead. "I'll show you it, then. Sometime later." When, he did not know, but the day of adventure would eventually arrive.

Kendra nodded slowly when Xan promised to show her his birthing place some day. She was interested in seeing it. She wondered what it would look like, though unknown to her soon all those beautiful plants would be destroyed. The girl gave him a nudge. "Good talk. I am going to see if Azul is around! You know... the bat," she teased him lightly.

The girl laughed softly before trotting off, knowing that they were friends now. She did not know how special it was for Kendra to talk to him like that. She thought it was just their friendship, for now. With that in mind she went down into the tunnels, calling out for the bat.

I'm going to end it here! :D