Stone Circle circle of stones

Nikai definitely didn't think he wanted to be away from Easthollow forever. It was hard to imagine what travel would be like and how far the world stretched away from Easthollow, but the thought that he could return home to Easthollow made him feel comforted. Nikai smiled softly as his mother assured him that she wasn't mad. Then she went on to say that she too had had a similar crisis when she was younger. She'd even carried a different name back then. It was weird to imagine his mother as anyone but Valette, now. Weird to think she'd been through so much in her younger years, too, as adults always seemed so collected and like they knew exactly what to do. As he thought of this Nikai suddenly realised that he was an adult, too, now, and others like the pups might look at him the same way.

It was easy to just say 'I'll stay here instead' and he was very tempted to, but Nikai felt that he had to go. He hoped Valette wouldn't mind overly much that he would leave even after the effort she put into visiting Alya. He didn't see this as a bad thing; it was good that she and Valette got to meet, because he definitely intended to see both of them again in the future.

"Thanks," he murmured softly. "It's weird to imagine you going through a similar thing. You always seem like someone who has everything together, I can't imagine you being someone who feels doubtful about anything." As for her question on Alya, he considered for a few seconds before saying: "I will head west first to visit her and let her know. Then she knows she doesn't have to make time to visit, for now... Unless she wants to get to know her future mother-in-law better, of course." Nikai grinned at Valette jokingly, though a part of him definitely hoped they could be together one day. "And maybe she wants to hang out for a little bit while I'm there, or accompany for a little bit of the journey." It would definitely be good to see Alya again. Even better if she wanted to join him, but he wasn't sure he could truly ask such a thing of her.