Bearclaw Valley salt trap

For why?

There was an easy way to answer her, though the reason itself wasn’t all too simple. It involved the entirety of his life up until he’d decided to claim his right to the throne, a tale of misery and pain, abandonment and heartache. So much had happened so far that convinced him that he just wasn’t cut out for having friends, even if a part of him longed to have others that he could trust. “Friends always disappoint you in the end,” he decided to say, figuring it was simple enough; it summed up everything, to a certain degree. And he was fine with not having any friends—or at least he’d always thought that he was. Her sudden offer to befriend him took the albino by surprise, an answer not prepared in advance.

“I—You—” What? What was the problem? “You don’t want to be friends with me. My friends get hurt.” Like Kendra—she was his first and only friend, and look at her! She had died, months ago, and his failed friendship with her was at fault for it. It was safer if he didn’t make friends, however tempting the offer was.

He was relieved when she shared a bit about her trip, keeping his mind distracted from being sucked into the idea of friendship. She had family out there—a brother—and he was the reason for her trip. Did that mean she intended to return with him? Maybe not, judging by her tone, though he was still skeptical. “Did things not go well?” he asked. “Are you going to stay with him?” He had to know that, at least.