Blacktail Deer Plateau buried in the dark

Saena listened, offering an ear where maybe Tryphon hadn't had one before. She knew the feeling of looking for someone. She'd spent a long time finding her way back to the wilds after remembering herself, and her search for her daughters had been equally trying. The difference was that she always knew the endpoint of her search, whereas Tryphon didn't seem to know where the wolf he searched for was. Avoiding him, was Saena's guess. What might cause a wolf to do that, she didn't know. She'd avoided plenty of wolves in her lifetime, but she'd either forgotten them or changed significantly enough that it no longer seemed advantageous to avoid anyone.

"I'm sorry you can't find her," she offered lamely. What else was she to say? She could opine on the situation, but it didn't have anything to do with her, and wasn't her place. Whether Tryphon's someone wanted to be found or not, she could only offer her ear. "Don't be afraid," she advised him, "you can be stronger without those who would readily leave you." That was about all she could offer him. She'd learned the lesson many times over herself: she was generally stronger when she left behind those who didn't appreciate her enough. Tryphon could be the same.

Before she could say much else on the subject, he abruptly moved, causing her to flinch. The anticipation of violence was instinctual as well as learned, when it came to Saena. Usually sudden movement was a good reason to back off, but in Tryphon's case, he merely drew nearer and sought to pull in her scent. She let him without complaint, even going so far as to gingerly sniff the distance between them in search of his own. His question was as unexpected as his motion, and though her brows knitted curiously, she answered: "I was. I'm not anymore. I found... someone who shares my struggles."

She let a beat of silence rest between them, then said, "you could use someone like that, I think." There was no explicit offer, but Warbone and she were kindred through their experiences, and there was no reason Tryphon couldn't be the same. The implied suggestion was an undertone, enhanced by the gentle lifting of her brows as if in question: what are you looking for now?