Totoka River There is no sorrow like the memory of love and the knowledge that it is gone forever

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A dissatisfied frown took hold of her features at his response, coupled with pinching brows. No. Alright then. Fat lot of info that told her. Suppose it was her own fault for asking a "yes or no" question, but the self centered youth was never one to blame herself for long. He still could've told her something more than just "no". She lifted her head completely now, her eyes sill trained on him through a half lidded gaze, then her head turned to the side, peering thorugh the trees beyond. If he didn't frequent here, then where? Was he even a resident of the coast, or a traveler like herself? She'd figured that was what she'd be asking next, but before jumping right back into the conversation again, she paused for a bit, wiling him to say something else.

And he did.

Her ears perked to his next statement, followed by the return of her gaze to his form and then the turn of her head back to face him. "You have a noble berring," were his first words, invoking a flattered spark to flare in her heart. Why yes, she was noble! How rare it was for this to be observed and noted! Out here, beyond her abandoned home, away from the throne she never got to have, all wolves seemed horribley equal. The notion of title, blood, and nobility either didn't exist or simply didn't matter. She'd grown to feel like nothing more than a commoner herself, and that was truly a horrible feeling. What a true pleasure it was to called noble again! It pulled a small smile at her lips and encouraged the female to puff out her chest, standing tall and holding her head high in a learned, regal posture.

Then came his next words, however, and they suddenly made her blood run cold, all pleasure and satifaction gone from her features. For a brief, terrifying and shocking moment, she actually thought he knew, thought he had read her mind and looked into her dark past to choose just the right words. She could be complimented with a "noble berring" without him actually knowing the weight of his words - she'd assumed it to just be a happy coincidence. For him to use the term "kingdom" however, that was just far too personal, far too accurate. It was a word she'd never heard another mutter, and it made her wary, suspicous. The question itself also brought back memories, reminding her of the real broken kingdom she hailed from and why it was broken. "My kingdom is dead," her dark, gloomy concious whispered, returning those grieving emotions she fought so hard to keep down.

This sudden shift of attitude had been made evident on her face, shown by her slightly widening eyes and blank expression, her gaze clouding and looking at the past instead of at him. She was silent and motionless like this for a few seconds before she was able to calm herself, slowly phasing back to reality. He couldn't know, the more logical voice in her head muttered. It was just a coincidence. And with that, came a more hopeful thought. Do kingdoms really exist out here afterall..?

Blinking her eyes a few times, her face hardened into something dark, clearly bothered but trying to return back to her previous mood. Aware her mixed feelings had been evident, she tore her gaze away from him once more, not wanting him to see the pain in her eyes. The intensity in which she stared at the treeline made it seem as if something really interesting must be lying beyond the river. 

"Yes, I am of noble berring, but my kingdom is... well, was, very far from here..." Another pause was taken, so as to compose her thoughts before turning back to him. "...and it is no more."

Her eyes weren't red, no tears pooled in their rims, and she wore a look that said she was determined to stay that way. Her tone had also been bland, not as emotional as one would expect such words to be, as if she were merely stating a fact. There was still a certain listlessness to it though, showing she was not entirely unaffected by this information.

"Tell me your name, stranger." Her voice became firmer now, dripping with intense curiosity and demand. "I have never met another in these lands whom knew of kingdoms and nobility."

She forced the memories and the pain that came with him to the back of her mind, sealing them back up in their jar where they belonged. The spectacle of a man before her was for more interesting. Who was he? How did he know of kingdoms and how to recognize one of noble berring? So many questions...[/td][/tr][/table]