Emberwood i'm stuck in the sunshine riptide; dancing all alone in the morning light

Ali's timeline is kinda messy rn but this is meant to be set a couple hours before this thread

 

The boy was off hunting in the dim light of dawn, taking a moment now to relax away from the others. Away from Lennon.
Oh, that man was driving Ali crazy-- one moment he said he loved him, the next he was bringing Miss Perfect home. He hated it. He hated it. Not least because he couldn't actually bring himself to blame it on the girl he had brought. It would have been easier if he could, because there was no way he'd be able to confess this to Lennon.
His only option was to pretend it was okay; not the most comfortable option for him, really, but for everyone else it was certainly convenient. Alarian figured at some point he had spent enough time moping and internally seething, so he decided to go somewhere he could let go. He didn't want to release his anger; he wanted to forget it.

So the boy decided to climb trees. He was having plenty of fun, too, until he slipped and almost fell-- and then he was reminded, suddenly, of how he had met Lennon. Guilt and hurt filled him again, and he sat back on the thick, low-hanging branch he was on. So much for trying to have fun.