Jade Fern Grove sunshine riptide, you came in like a wave when I was feeling alright

Forward dated to this evening

The boy had gone further than usual on his hunt, practicing excuses to give Lennon in his head. We have more to hunt for now, of course it will take longer, he reasoned with himself. It was true enough, but Ali knew full well it wasn't the real reason he was out so far.

He was overwhelmed, to put it lightly. The return of his sister, a chance encounter with his niece, Engel-- and Lennon's pretty new friend. Bitterness rose in his throat-- what a joke. Now he was cornered, trapped here; he couldn't leave. Not with his family members here, not with his attachment to Korei... and not with how hopelessly in love he was with Lennon. Running was no longer an option for him, and it felt unfair, cruel even.
Whenever Alarian experienced any hurt in the past up until now, he ran. And this? This felt a lot like being pinned under a boulder, immobilized and helpless to fight or flee in the face of an onslaught of pain. The worst part, he thought, was that he likely deserved it; memories of a certain red wolf prodded at him, reminding him of the look on Lennon's face when he saw him. He still wasn't entirely certain why Lennon reacted that way, but he did know his companion was being distant again.
Yet so sweet with their new companion.

It's because she's a she! A voice chimed in helpfully in the back of Alarian's mind. Normally he might have shrugged it off, but now he embraced it. Maybe Lennon found him disgusting-- maybe that was why he had reacted so badly to Engel. Maybe he had realized the intent behind Alarian's closeness finally, and was sending a message by bringing Xahi.
He shivered a bit, pausing his trek through the forest when he realized how cold he was. The weather had been so harsh and biting lately, and his coat was thin. Ali remembered then, a bit mournfully, that he had wanted to curl up next to Lennon last night when the cold had turned him to a shivering blob of exhaustion. But he hadn't been able to get up the nerve, and he doubted he could with anything else either.