Noctisardor Bypass Paradise Empty

The quiet was very suddenly broken by the loud tread of another, and with ears perked Seth stopped and turned to stare at the approaching individual. Her dark brown eyes swept over the wolf's slim, dark form, the bright frantic eyes that stared, panicked, back into her own. A look of blatant surprise lifted her brows in wonder, but she stayed silent, letting the wolf speak.

A tale was woven--though the white wolf didn't realize it yet--of a distressed mother seeking to feed her ill children. Given the current state of the weather and how quiet this region appeared to be, Seth could see the trouble in the situation explained to her.

But finding sympathy was more difficult. Having grown up with a paranoid mother who could barely take care of the two children she'd brought into the world, Seth's opinion of mothers was skewed and favored the strong, the stable, the capable, all the traits that her mother never had. And this woman, unable to properly care for her children and begging strangers to help her fulfill her responsibilities, was not one of those mothers either.

Her brow twitched, the faintest sign of disapproval, but she schooled her expression and offered the dark wolf a look of troubled concern. "Oh my, that's awful," she answered, shaking her head sadly, "I'd love to help. In fact, I know what you could do." Her expression brightened hopefully, falsely optimistic, before darkening with contempt. "Hand them over to someone who can actually take care of them." With an irritable flick of her tail, Seth turned to walk away.