she waited, uncertain of the reaction that she was going to receive, and hesitant whether or not this cub was going to completely decimate nymeria for her attempted friendship. with brymawr blood pulsing through his veins, it could certainly go either way. her eyes remained even and light nonetheless, breath hitched within her chest even as the resounding ’no’ filled the air between them, bold and telling as it wove across her awaiting ears. it was clear that he was not ready yet, and that was okay — and so, instead of pressing further, the druid would simply give an idle tilt of her crown, eyes flashing briefly to the sand at her paws, before returning to @Arkyn's features.

"well, yes, i guess it does," she agreed, taking the inch of progress willingly, toes kneading casually at the loose shoreline as she spoke. the change of topic was probably good for them at this point, anyways, for nymeria assumed that, in time, he would ask questions when he felt ready to hear the answers. "and you have another aunt, too, by blood — her name is valkravn." nymeria added on lightly after a moment of thought, seeing the flash of the woman’s face across her mind as she wondered if arkyn knew much of his father’s side, at all. it was better late than never, she supposed.

He'd guess it was nice to know that he had more family out there aside from his mother's sisters and all of the children from one of them. So when @Nymeria said she were like his aunt seemed to settle some nerves that Arkyn didn't really acknowledge until her response was given. And it would appear as those he had even more aunts, the lioness mentioning his father's sister living in Vermeda. This seemed to catch the boy's attention a bit more than the rest, ears twisting forward and his gaze watching her with an unwavering expression. "What's she like?" He would ask in a rather hesitant tone. Talking about himself and asking questions he knew he wanted answers to but felt vulnerable asking them was causing for Arkyn to feel a bit uncomfortable and out of place.

image by scarf, code by koi

as she did her best to bond with @Arkyn in whatever way that he would allow her to, nymeria could not help but to think of valhalla, and wonder if it brought him any peace to know that she had finally found him. of course, she would need to spend equal effort locating the other two brynmawr cubs, but the valour saw this as a great personal victory -- for she had loved them from the moment of their existence, and had always known that she had a duty to protect them, whether or not valhalla had asked her to directly or not.

the druid was pleased to see that the topic of family toyed with the cub's interest, his curiosity seeming to peak substantially at the topic of his aunt. and while it was a simple question in the grand scheme of it all, nymeria found herself letting out a thoughtful hum, trying to find the best words that encompassed of the essence of the pink-pelted woman, before finally speaking. "she is warm, kind of like the summer sun after a long winter." nymeria spoke fondly of the woman as she went on, always having found that valkravn was an infectious and tender woman, despite the blood of the viking that coursed through her veins. "and at the same time, has the same, strong spirit as you and your father. and she's certainly not afraid to stand up for what she believes in." and it was there that nymeria would take pause, gaging for a reaction from the youth, and wondering if more questions would follow.

Arkyn would stay silent as @Nymeria dove into explaining how his aunt was. And it wouldn't be a disappointing explanation, either. She seemed to be what he were hoping for, if he were hoping for anything with just learning he had another relative here in Amaryllis. And he knew one day he would need to meet her so that he could learn more about his father's side of the family. "Are my father and aunt Valkravn alike?" He was trying to gauge where his personality stemmed from; he didn't know very much about his mother nor her side of the family, but from what the young Viking was gathering from Nymeria it seemed as though he leaned more toward the Brynmawr genes with his personality than anything else. exit via talking.

image by scarf, code by koi

she hummed thoughtfully as the questions continued to circulate, taking each inch as a victory for what she hoped would be the beginnings of a good relationship for the two of them. nymeria intentionally allowed silence to brew between them as her answers reached his ears, knowing that it was likely overwhelming (albeit fruitful) to have so much information poured on @Arkyn at one time. much to her contentment, however, his inquisitiveness continued, prompting the upturn of her lips as she patted the sand beside her, gesturing for the brynmawr to move closer, if he so wished. "well, where should i start …" because while the short answer was yes, the valour expected that the cub would want more detail than that. exit via talking.