Broken Boulder milton joins a pack!

He was undeniably relieved when Milton finally left; honestly, what had Ali ever done to deserve that, anyway? What was the deal there? Maybe, he thought, the sea witch had cursed him— maybe that was why everything sucked and the universe had aligned in just the right way to stick the most horrifyingly cheerful, oblivious wolf in the world right in Alarian's face. Thanks yall.
Alarian turned to Ulf as he approached, already relieved and calming slightly to see his friend's gentle expression. Yeah, He told him with an affectionate smile, tail swishing now. Then he gestured in the direction of Paradise Garden, a question behind his gaze. If Ulf accepted his invitation, he'd lead him there— if not, well. Whatever his friend wanted to do, he'd happily shadow him for awhile if allowed. There was something calming about the wolfdog's presence; maybe this counted as using him, in a way.
Alarian had already accepted that he was pretty awful, though, and that was okay with him.