She stalked her little friend, also on the search for Ingram. Although, she was less vocal about it. Somehow, ever since Arrille and her had talked about Ingram and her maybe liking each other, she wasn't able to keep the thought away. She had to speak about it at some point, if only to get it off her chest.

The breeze brought back memories, too many to really count or to know in what order they had taken place. It seemed that, no matter how much time she spent inland, somehow she always ended up at the sea. Perhaps that was a good thing, for here was where her real friends were. Though she doubted they would ever come with her to explore the beauty of Teekon, she liked it here and was happy wherever they were.

Chusi, who was paying more attention to Arrille and where he was going, was too late to see the slight freeze of the coast-born male upon seeing her. When she saw Arrille mouth something she could only faintly hear and not really make out, she looked to where he was looking. She beamed a big smile when she spotted Ingram there and her pace began to quicken even before Arrille gestured for her to hurry up - which resulted in her nearly running towards the duo.

Hiyaaa! She called, slowing to a stop where they would be gathered for a conversation, she supposed. She did not pick up on the teasing looks and waited somewhat patiently to get a clue what they would be talking about.

Her mouth took the shape of a tiny round pebble, eyebrows raised as Arrille cut to the chase faster than she had realized. Her ears flattened, making her poofiness even more apparent since it pressed the fur that stook out down a bit. She swallowed softly as the feeling of blood rushing to her cheeks made her remember even more.

I... She choked and chickened, something which was something to be ashamed of, she found. She was a proud Fearghal, after all, and admitting a crush did not fell under life-threatening situations. Still, it felt like it. And yet she kept looking into those electric eyes, not wanting to miss a second of him just being.

She took a deep breath but was sort of startled at the sudden touch. She could not believe how out of it she was today, but swallowed that disbelieve away together with some fear. Unfortunately, Ingram seemed to not get the hint at all. You'd think when a girl you like is acting this way you'd have at least a clue on what's about to happen. She frowned, closed her eyes with a flutter of her lashes, and braced herself for what she was about to reveal.

I really like ya! She nearly screamed, startling herself perhaps more than she had the two boys. She shook with anticipation then, heart making skips and switching between fluttering and sinking like a stone. Her stomach did some back-flips and her gaze was directed at Ingram - seemingly immune to her shakiness.

She stared at him, time seemingly freezing as she did as well. Perhaps the faintest of smiles would settle her back down, but nothing came. If anything, Ingram looked like he was mortified at the thought of her liking him. Her brows moved up, revealing more of her shimmering eyes, full of anticipation and bittersweet sadness. Silence was not what she had been looking for. The "I's" hinted at something being stuck in his throat, like "I don't like you" or "I wish you hadn't said that". She didn't know anymore. She had never been great at reading others anyway.

She saw it happen in slow-motion, but what happened probably didn't take more than a few seconds. Perhaps even less. It started with a blurring shape of Ingram coming closer, wobbly and dangerously so. Shock made her hackles rise and she was about to jump away when the throbbing pain of a headbutt was felt. She had closed her eyes and stumbled a bit forward, further entangling their bodies.

It was hard to compare the pain of her head to the pain in her heart, but she knew the one in her heart was the greatest. She was confused and startled and honestly just wanted to walk away and seek a quiet place to mourn what might have been. She wasn't even mad at him, or Arrille for that matter, she was just so embarrassed and in pain. While Ingram had fallen, she had slowly sat herself down, head nearly between her front paws. As her head hung there, she tried to think but even moving her eyes kind of hurt.

When Ingram came to check on her, she looked up a bit with a frown. It was clear to see by her droopy features and hanging ears that she was both in pain and sad. She nodded slightly - the throbbing was lesser now than before and she was sure the headbutt hadn't caused any major damage. His actions however...

She looked at Arrille then, a bit more regretful than how she had looked at Ingram, nodding at him also. She didn't feel like saying anything anymore.

Rather slowly, like a thick blubber seeping through a crack, his words registered in her mind. She tried but grabbed at nothing that could have potentially informed her that this was one big joke between the two boys, and turned her head to look at Ingram. After their headbutt, after his silence, she had not expected that he would ever confess such a thing. A smile settled upon her face as her ears went skywards and she was about to say something when Arrille interrupted. Luckily, he realized that it was not a good moment to celebrate the embarrassment that was a confession and she didn't pay it much attention.

In fact, all of her attention had settled upon the ash and silver boy who returned her affection, despite their rocky past and her annoyingly cheerful attitude. Honestly, if they could work, anything in the world was fixable. 'dunknow what ta say... She nearly whispered with a happy smile, moving her head towards him, before she knew what she was doing, to do the very thing he had planned just moments ago.

She had nearly forgotten her friend, third-wheeling like a pro in the background, and only just turned to look at him when she heard his footfalls retreat. She made a mental note to thank him sooner rather than later, but for now her focus was on Ingram and the happy-tummy feeling that seemed to spread from her toes to the top of her nose and then back to the end of her tail.

She nearly wanted to and embrace him, however well a wolf can do that, but the thought of another unfortunate collision kept her from doing so. Mhm! She answered with quick and peppy nods, not able to form many words anymore, getting up to press herself against him if she may. Imma be your girlfriend forevah. She softly purred in pure bliss.

Her heart fluttered as he said that. no matter how sappy it sounded, to her it meant the world. The boy who had been so rude to her when they first met was now her one and only boyfriend in a place without her father and family. With a ruler she didn't particularly like but hey, she was sort of family now. At least, that was what this entailed for the future, right? Just like Lotte and Arturo?

With a sigh, she relaxed against him. It was almost like watching a sunrise together, only without the (strawberry) sunrise. They would remain that way for some time longer before retreating into the grotto to spend the night together.