Phantom Hollow Nutcase

He nodded his head, and Mitanni had to assume it meant he understood her. This whole endeavor was much harder than she'd first anticipated, but at least it sounded like it was going well. Or at least she hoped. There would probably be no way of telling until later, when she got to see Judas try to integrate his new knowledge in his daily interactions. Hopefully the pack will be receptive to it, she worried. Maybe she could lead by example there. 

The nervousness she felt was more visible than she realized, and she was a little embarrassed to have the coywolf point it out, even as a means of offering her reassurance. She smiled again, sheepishly, and dropped her gaze as she tried to school her expression again into something almost like her usual good humored smile. "It's my first time teaching someone anything," Mitanni explained, noticing that he stepped back to give either of them more room. Considering he looked quite comfortable, she assumed it was for herself. 

His thanks had her expression going distant as she thought about everything that had happened. Would the rest of the pack have treated him the same if he'd attacked them? Could they have forgiven him for what he'd done if they'd received it? Maybe Malice. She'd been the one to give him the second chance, after all. But the others? 

Her own behavior struck her as a little strange, but in the end this was her pack. She needed to help them, all of them, because she'd committed herself to them. "I'm glad I could help," she answered sincerely. She'd never thought to really make that big of a difference in the pack, but this felt like a step in that direction. "What else was it you wanted to know?"

"For a first time, you do so well. Beginner's luck, it must be" he said with a teasing grin. Eventually, the wetness of his fur clumping his pelt together began to annoy so he quickly stood to shake it his fur out, then sat back down. While he looked at her, he wondered how she could have forgiven him. He had not asked that yet.

He pondered on her next question. He was unsure. There was so much to learn, and so much to unlearn. The latter would be very hard. With his other side still very present, it would not want to be let go so easily. He gave an answer, face serious again. "I do not know. I'll have to think on it."

He stood to leave, but stopped himself. Slowly, he approahced her. "Thank you, Mitanni...May I show thanks in the way you said?" he asked, asking permission to do what she had explained was a way of showing thanks. Not wanting to make her nervous.

"Beginner's luck," Mitanni agreed with a chuckle, assuming it must be so. Maybe she'd been cutting herself short all this time, and she actually made a better teacher than she would have expected. Even so, it wasn't the most enjoyable thing, not when she felt so underqualified, but there was something to be said for how satisfying it was to help someone out.

She waited patiently, watching Judas silently for any sign of what he was thinking. His expression went serious, and she guessed he was contemplating anything else that he could ask. In the end, he put the question off for a later time, when new things would come to him to ask. Mitanni nodded her head and murmured, "Okay." Later would work too.

He looked for a second like he was going to leave, and the little brown female prepared herself to go too until he turned back to her. His thanks drew about another little smile, feeling pretty good about how things had gone, but her expression blanked as he asked to put into practice their lesson. "Oh...yeah. Yeah, okay," she agreed, nodding her head and drawing in a breath to steel herself as her nerves became a bit jittery. She shifted on her paws, uncertain what he intended but watching him expectantly.

With approval, Judas gave a nudge of thanks. At least, he assumed that was how it was done. It felt odd to touch someone and not be killing them at the same time, or maiming them. Unfamiliar. Yet calming. He quickly withdrew, not wanting to make either of them awkward. 

He stood there for a short moment, completely blank. But he soon started to turn away and leave for real this time. "Till next time, Mitanni."

She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but the nudge still caught her a little off guard. She blinked, managed not to flinch, and held still as Judas nudged her softly, a small but kind gesture of thanks that was quickly ended, likely for her own comfort. Progress, she thought again, not only for him but for her too. She hadn't pulled away.

When it was done, Mitanni stood and stared much the same way he did, just trying to process it all. It was he who moved first, leaving with a few final parting words. "'Til next time," she repeated, staying where she was and watching him go. The whole altercation felt strange, surreal, and she couldn't quite wrap her mind around it.

Still puzzling over it, waiting for it to finally set in, the petite wolf turned and left the edge of the stream too, forgetting her still damp fur in her distraction, and went off in search of something else to occupy her time.