The delicate lines of confusion that touch the young woman's features are not unexpected, so many of those whom are given to attempt any form of association with the young man are so often reduced to such an expression as he struggles to accentuate his desires. Perhaps it was his lack of schooling on a whole that had resulted in his total illiteracy, perhaps he simply did not care enough to learn. He had liked Tetra's books, the ones he kept in his room, the ones with all the pictures even if he couldn't understand the words. Yet his desire to learn had gone up in the flames of that fateful night, along with any trace of his companion or his family, the closest things the boy had ever had to pack. He had been desperate to belong to them, to someone, and yet he remained so dangerously wary of those around him, had only just begun to even allow himself to be coaxed inside Tet's room before that fateful day. Yet he remembers her, more so, he remembers a delicate girl with long dark hair and eyes so similar to his own, a little girl, not very tall, one whom had often sort to spy on their Boys Only adventures as little sister are want to do. He had found her agitating at first, the young man unable to fully grasp how to act around women of any age and yet he had come to the simple understanding that she was somehow Tetra's property and as such, something to be...watched over should Aiden be absent. The shaggy haired boy had always protected his companions things, his sister falling amongst this category of possession though it has been a terribly long time since he saw her last, her own memory slower, perhaps, to register the youthful features of the feral young man before her.




For a moment he seems almost nervous in this interlude, long fingers knotting together, waiting for some reaction. No one has remembered him, not for near fifteen years, the pack he had lived upon the outskirts of had fled within the night, Tobias entirely forgotten, or so he believes and indeed to have the single representation of his past he has found in all those years refuse to acknowledge him also results in a seemingly agitated expression. He is oblivious to her own internal struggle, unaware of her side of events from that night, nor the pain she still carries with her. He had been left with charcoal and rubble, picking pieces of the life and family he knew from what remained before simply setting off to find what he was missing, he cannot understand her own struggle in this, his mind does not work that way. He is far from foolish or stupid, merely, he exists upon another plain entirely, an instinctive one that has allowed him to survive this long alone- even if his form suggests such a thing was no easy task. His lips part, prepared to repeat himself to the woman as he chews upon the bread he has pilfered (for he has always had a love of thievery) when she seems to manage to summon the name from her lips, his own features lifting slightly into something that may have been a smile, his understanding of emotional expression a terribly limited thing before he nods, dark tresses falling back over his equally dark eyes.




"Yes!"




Clearly he has taken some sort of delight in this, offering the girl a near beaming grin, one hand shifting slightly as if he makes some move to touch her, seeking some sort of contact with the bare remnants of the pack he had known before seeming to think better of it, long fingers withdrawn with uncertainty back to himself. Women....are puzzling things to him, he had experienced so few of them save for Nadya herself and their Mother in those few occasions he had seen her, believing surely he had outsmarted her in all those times he had been given to leap through the window and into Tetra's room. The woman had undoubtedly known of the boy's presence within her sons room and yet, if she had, she had simply allowed it, continuing to offer him food all the same. Any interactions since however, had been a limited thing, his mind consumed entirely with the pursuit of his desire, having little time for socialising, let alone dating or searching for a mate. Besides, he is hardly any woman's desire for the perfect mate, despite his physical capabilities. He is a good Leopard perhaps, but human being is debatable. Her question sees his head tilt to the side ever so slightly, dark eyes upon her own once more before he abruptly points across the street, indicating to her exactly where he had been and where he had come from, failing to understand the perceived meaning of the sentence, answering her in the literal sense as she moves to offer him the apple. For a moment his eyes widen, features frowning slightly before some modicum of understanding manages to pierce the darkness of his mind- or seemingly so.




"Throw...it."




Evidently- he wants her to throw the apple, they why cannot be said, fractured words parting the air before he manages a sigh at her lack of obedience in this, reaching forward to take the piece of fruit from her before lobbing it sideways, watching as it smacked into the wet grass and rolled slightly sideways. The look upon his features readily indicates this was not what he had expected, muttering to himself words of no real consequence as he wandered over to pick it up once more, returning it moments later to her hand.




"It is...a shit ball...does not....even bounce."




That he thinks it is a ball, rather then food clearly speak volumes in regards to his life until this point. He cannot identify the fruit and yet, his desire for food is often met with his predatory instincts. He simply prefers meat, has never even tasted an apple, much less understands what to do, content to give the girl her useless toy, before his head tilts slightly again.




"Where is...Mom and Dad?"




He is not asking after his own parents, they have long since abandoned him, more so, he asks after hers, calling them by the same names she and Aiden always had, believing indeed, that such monikers are in fact their given names.




"Where does...Sister live?"




Just as her name is 'sister' or at least, he cannot remember her correct name, it has been far too long, his mind incapable of storing some forms of information, dark eyes watching her again as he stands before her, asking where her home is, hoping perhaps, Tetra will be there too. He knows he is close, knows he is somewhere in this city and yet he cannot seem to pinpoint his missing Leader.

madness, as you know, is like gravity: all it takes is a little push