A movement caught his eye and Steady turned his gaze to find Chaska at the edge of the clearing. Steady's tail wagged briefly in greeting, expecting his friend to come forward, but Chaska stayed where he was. The same memory that had Chaska staying put was the same one going through Steady's head right now. The dark wolf frowned, hating that he had put that doubt in Chaska's mind that he couldn't approach him. 

Steady stood and walked to Chaska, his expression apologetic. Chaska, I'm so sorry I snapped at you. I was... so unprepared for Krypton's departure, and it caught me off guard. I was hurt, and angry, and I'm sorry I took that out on you. His voice was soft, and he dearly hoped his friend would forgive him.

Steady seen the flinch, and hesitated in his movements, before continuing towards Chaska, who after a few moments, seemed to realize that Steady meant him no harm. He nudged Chaska back, glad that his friend understood why he had snapped at him, and seemed to forgive him. He nodded in agreement with the other male's conclusion on Krypton's place here. Yes, she was. And will be again once she returns.

The Alpha was doing his best to come to terms with Krypton's departure, and one way he was doing that was by focusing on the fact that she would return. He may not have known when, but he certainly would not entertain the idea that she wouldn't come home. 

His gaze roamed about the clearing before settling on the opening of the den. I wonder if Adeline is getting enough social interaction, he commented, looking to Chaska to see what he thought. Steady did his best to spend as much time with her as possible, but since he didn't really keep track of the comings and goings of the other wolves, mostly because they were all welcome here, he wasn't sure who was visiting and when.

He looked thoughtful for a moment before answering Chaska. She seems to be alright. But, I guess I still worry that it's just her. She's got no one her age to wrestle and run around with. Steady had grown up with three siblings in the litter he was born into, and he wished he could give Adeline that feeling. 

I mean, I let her attack me whenever she wants, and we play, but I fear it isn't the same... At the end of the day, I'm still an adult with a different mindset. How would that effect her? It wasn't like she had always been alone, either. She did know just a month ago what it was like to have siblings, and now she was getting to know what it was like to not. Should I talk to her about it? He questioned. 

Chaska seemed to think that Steady should talk to Adeline, and be blunt about it. Steady was usually a to-the-point kind of conversationalist, but he wondered if he could be that way with Adeline. He usually gave her what she wanted, not that she wanted for anything out of the ordinary. 

After a few moments of thought, Steady nodded. You're right, Chaska, he said, his gaze moving towards the mouth of the den before going back to his friend. He smiled softly. Thanks, friend, he said sincerely. 

Steady sighed when Chaska reminded him not to go into bad details. It's hard... I know she's going to ask questions about why Odette and Stoic left so suddenly, and I don't want to lie to her, but I'm afraid to tell her the truth, too. She might try to run off like they did. How could he both tell her the truth and not lie?

He knew it wasn't going to be easy, but as Adeline's body was growing, so was her mind, and Steady knew she would begin to ask questions soon. And, if not to him, then to others. He didn't want to put any of his family in that situation to answer those questions.