Sawtooth Spire all ashore

Hmm, Nikai murmured as he processed that. It seemed odd to him, still, because he had immediately told Valette when he even considered leaving. He couldn't imagine what it might be like to just leave and not think to return to tell your family. Or even try to find a messenger, or howl, or... well, anything. It made him think, because if Alya was the same way, which she in some ways confirmed, then would she tell him if she wanted to leave..? He liked to think she would, knowing that he would come with her.

As Alya apologised for not searching for him, Nikai shook his head and smiled reassuringly. Hey, don't worry, I mean... I would've done the same. It wasn't that I just left. Things happened, and I don't think you could've found me that easily anyway. Heck, we might still both be wandering the wilds looking for each other, right? In your efforts to find me, returning to your family's mountain was the best thing you could do, really. Nikai booped his snoot to Alya's cheek in confirmation that she had nothing to be sorry about. After a moment of hesitation he added: If you ever wanted to leave, you would tell me though, right? You wouldn't just leave? I'd like to think we can always share that kind of stuff with each other, and discuss where we'll go next if one of us wants to go. It might not be as easy as he described it now in practise, but at this moment in time that's how easy it felt to Nikai.