Northstar Vale and the walls kept tumbling down

There was something off about Delight, he thought; then again, maybe there wasn't. He didn't really know the other boy well enough to be able to tell, but the interaction certainly felt off. Trying not to stare too long at Delight's blank expression, he found himself studying the ground quite intently. He shifted. Not sure there'll be a pack to return to much longer anyway. The words caught him off-guard, and his glaze flitted back to his friend.
It sounded too casual to be real— or maybe just casual enough to be real. Alarian swallowed hard, guilt intensifying; he had taken advantage of a dying pack's resources, then. Before he could regain his composure and apologize, Delight metaphorically slapped him again. Open confusion, and maybe a little shock, danced across his expression before he could stop it. What?
If you— He began, then stopped; Delight wasn't an idiot. Probably. The Governor studied his friend a little more keenly, gears turning quickly. If the other leader left his crumbling pack— took one of the few wolves he scented around the territory with him— Does that mean—
Alarian paused, swallowed, eyeing Delight with an unreadable expression now. They both knew the journey was not short, and Tindómë seemed a ghost pack already. It seemed cowardly, to him, to flee under such a guise— but what was he if not a coward, himself? He had no right to judge, but the more certain he grew in his assumption, the less he knew how he felt about it. Did Delight expect to stay; was Alarian meant to offer, as repayment? Was he meant to seal the pack's fate, sign it away?
It wasn't his job; it wasn't his pack. But maybe— maybe Delight needed that. And maybe Alarian could step back and let someone other than himself be selfish, for once.
I would appreciate that— and if there won't be a pack to return to, He started again, more smoothly than he had expected; a little more detached, too. We have space at Bracken Sanctuary. Perhaps under different circumstances, the offer might have come eagerly; he was friendly, as warm as he could manage, but this didn't feel like a good thing. It felt like being used, and he ignored it only because he knew he deserved it.