Horizon Ridge I Don't Want This Moment to Ever End

Aesop was held, for a moment, in an uneasy limbo as he waited for Alastor's response.  He paid keen attention to Alastor's body language, his expression, trying to pick out disgust or... anything, really.  Much to Aesop's surprise (and relief), the boy simply responded.  No, it was no simple response.  It was, perhaps, the best answer he could have given, and Aesop smiled and relaxed incrementally, free from his fear of judgement.  "He was," said Aesop, and if his voice was tinged with melancholy, then he wouldn't admit to it.  Any untoward feelings of sadness he masked with an easy smile, and let that be that.  No need to drudge up uncomfortable pasts while on the precipice of a wonderful future.  

He marveled at the idea of an entire pack full of an entire pack speaking a different language, a rather Western-centric thought, but he was a wolf so we can cut him some slack.  He felt some sympathy for Alastor, too.  No wonder he delighted so in teaching the language, isolated as he was from it.  Aesop shifted a bit uncomfortably at the mention of Alastor's more or less absent father, not sure if he was supposed to offer words of comfort or just accept the information as a show of trust.  Luckily, he needed to do neither.  The last statement had heat rising to Aesop's cheeks, warming the tips of his ears.  "Aw," he crooned, lips twisting into a wry smile.  "Right back at you, kid.  You really ain't that bad."  An understatement, but Aesop trusted that Alastor would pick up on that.  He seemed quite clever.

Though Aesop's smile was not so wide, his pleasure was still evident in the brush of his tail and the set of his shoulders.  He barked a laugh, allowing the white line of his teeth to flash, and shook his head.  "A little travel won't hurt me, I'm not that old."  After all, the distance he had crossed to arrive in the Wilds was far greater than any within them, he was sure of that.  "I sure as hell hope so, I've been playin' recluse for far too long now.  's about time I got out."  He was confident in his navigational abilities, able to rely on the sun and the stars to guide him anywhere he wanted to be.  "It sounds like quite the trip, but I'll make it when I'm able.  D'you have somewhere to be now, though?  Can't imagine you made the hike up here just for fun.  I might be able to give you directions.  Return the favor and all."