The Sentinels for your vulgar delectation

Raven was truly surprised at Lasher's comment that they had actually met before.  She could recall no such meeting, but then, much of her childhood had been fraught with trauma and loss.  She had spent far too much time in a state of grief and confusion, so one really could not blame her for being fuzzy on the details.  She believed him, though, for Wifi had indeed called her by her middle name on several occasions.  

His revelation that he had once loved her father was even more startling.  How had fate led her to such a wolf?  Of all the places she could have stumbled upon in this vast wilderness, how had she managed to find the one man with such connections to her own family?  Truly, the stars must have aligned in her favor.  "I...I don't know," she responded in an almost distracted tone, answering his original question.  Did she miss her family?  Of course she did.  Her spirit still felt the pain that a limb feels when it is torn from the body -- raw, throbbing red, disconnected, lost.  Perpetually feeling like she was at the edge of a cliff, just centimeters from falling.

And yet, in some obscure part of her there was excitement at the possibilities.  Back at the Caldera, she was the alphas' shy daughter.  She was the quieter one, the weaker one, the one whose subtler, more intellectual skills might not be as valued as those of the stronger, more physical members of the pack.  Here, she felt her talents might carry more weight.  The alpha female was a medicine woman, their daughter training in her footsteps, and though Raven hadn't quite figured out Lasher yet, she knew there was something very different about him as well.  

Hence, her indecision.  "Could you ask me again in the spring?"  She wanted to make something of herself, and somehow, she felt like Donnelaith was just the "clean slate" she needed.  She missed her family, but she didn't want to make any hasty decisions just yet.  It was clear from Lasher's words that he knew where the Caldera was.  Perhaps he could help her find her way there just for a visit sometime.