"Other... unis?" Kalimirchi echoed, almost disbelieving the sentiment, "I do not separate ties by such a rudimentary disposition!"
Or did he? Had he not been taken to the wolves in his early life, favoring them above most other creatures that thrived within his home? He believed that it had always been because his own coloration matched theirs, and so they were the only family he had, if he had one. But he never claimed a mother or father; not even a guardian had he to call his own. Was he so shallow in acquiring friends like wolves more than others that he would favor those with a slender lion's tail and sharp horn atop their head? And it was only in acquiring knowledge from other wolves that he knew of unis; for he himself was one, and the creatures of his home taught him so. He was proud of who he had been born as, but did that humble pride in himself cause an unaccounted for bias against others not like himself?
No; he grew up to believe in so much more than that, and so he was taken aback by Kai's statement. He dwelled upon his conflicted thoughts that he almost didn't catch Kai's next words, and he shamed himself for losing himself in midst of good company.
Instincts are reckless things... The next sentiment rang true in his mind, and very much so when he was younger... But those days came to an end; maturation came into play; instincts were able to be refined into a much more honorable thing. He wished to believe that.
Kalimirchi nodded brusquely and solemnly to Kai's testament of coming from the mountains. So it seemed he wasn't quite so sure of his own past, either... He turned and smiled truly to Kai; it was one of the last things in the world he expected--to relate to another so much, and they were not even of the same breed or colors! He was grateful that they had met.
"My condolences to your losses," he said with a hint of sadness in his own voice. Never did he think he would be regrettably depressed over never having the pleasure to seeing his own biological family, as he thought he had regressed it into timeless memories. The forest was his family now, and had been since he had first opened eye to the world, hadn't it? "And no, Kai," a soft expression glazing over his features as he was given a nickname, "I lost them when I came into the arms of my home. I do not know what happened to them; if their story is grave, I would find myself in a graver position, so I try and restrain from pondering about what occurred so many moons ago..."
Kalimirchi trailed off, closing his eyes in remembrance and hopes that if his family had met a demise, that they held a good life before he was left to fend for himself. But if anyone was still here on this earth... No, he would have learned by now if there were still any traces of the same blood that ran in him roaming the mortal world. One need not think too much of things in the past, and just needed enough knowledge to not make the same mistakes in the future. That was what he lived by.
He was so clouded with his own mind, that if Kai had said anything else, he wouldn't have heard it. And it was only the small rushes of water beating against rock in a race to reach the end that awakened the stallion to his surroundings--he found himself at a small clearing in front of a mild river with Kai still at his side. He thanked the trees that his companion had remained faithful, and turned back to him with a lowered head, tail drifting slowly to a recessive position under his legs.
"My apologies if I was not all here at first; we have reached a stream..." he looked back for a second to the flowing water, curious. "One of the few clearings I've scarcely been to. I wonder if it would be pleasing to draw strength, and revitalize with the help of water, Kai?" he offered.
