Bearclaw Valley whatever it takes

When she answered, her voice sounded considerably nicer than before—he wasn’t quite sure if he liked it. In an attempt to look past it, he focused on her words, rather than her tone; she’d accepted his offer. At least, he was pretty sure that she had. It was hard to determine the authenticity of her response, the sound of her voice—ignoring it was difficult—throwing him off. Forcing the questions from his mind, he decided, without much proof, that she wasn’t messing around with him. “Since you accepted, I should probably know your name,” he said, prompting her for an answer. “I’m Xan.” Eck, introductions. The whole process still annoyed him, had for as long as he could remember, and would likely always.

As her giggles reached his ears, they folded back. He listened to her response with a frown, which deepened after every few words. “Okay…?” he muttered, confusion growing. “I think I like you better when you’re tired.” A few months back, perhaps he would have played along but now, after what happened with Kendra… he just couldn’t. Too focused on the girl and hoping that she would stop being so weird, he didn’t even pick up on the scent of her plus-one.