Redtail Rise niente

This wasn't going particularly well. Ashlar could feel that and it led his soft voice to trail off. He wondered if he should excuse himself and leave the younger wolf to his quiet... he had no reason to expect anything after all. It wasn't Reki's fault that Ashlar felt disappointed like this, or that he didn't know what to do from here. As far as the boy went, the bard was a complete stranger.

Ashlar's tail stilled behind him as he contemplated this, and he was about to give up when Reki responded. A bit of hope stirred in his chest when the flower was placed on his paw. Requiem was giving him a shot to try again.

He tried not to be nervous but it was difficult. He couldn't put into words how he was feeling, but it was similar to other times when he'd felt the need to measure against something Ashlar knew he'd never match. The easiest way would be to try and forget... to treat them as someone else's. They are someone else's.

It's called a coneflower. Ashlar replied, lifting his paw to look at it and to bring it more into Reki's view. You wouldn't want to eat a bunch of it, or any plant. But it helps with colds. Ashlar lowered it and looked at Reki with a soft, somewhat shy smile. The roots are good to chew too, if someone's tooth hurts.

My Baba used to take me to meadows like this and teach me things, but I always had a hard time listening. There were so many pretty things to see. It's okay if you'd rather like them for the smell. He nosed it, enjoying the taste of the scent. It was easier, then, to talk about things he knew. Thinking of Baba made him relax somehow.