Swiftcurrent Creek i'm not half the man i used to be

well, this was a clusterfuck to beat all clusterfucks. before the strange girl could respond, another of her littermates (ostensibly) came rushing up, barking fiercely at him. aditya did his due diligence in stepping away, stammering out an apology, an explanation. a woman came next, her words more coherent but no less fierce. adi grimaced, stepping further back, shaking his head.

sorry, i wasn't— his ears splayed sideways, awkward and sheepish. i meant no harm. it was a misunderstanding; something frightened the girl. . .

and then, as icing on the cake, alessia appeared, and he turned his gilded gaze to her, lowering his posture in further submission. that's. . .quite all right, he murmured in response, dipping his muzzle in a nervous nod. i'm a new face; i can understand why things were a bit confusing. his eyes darted to the crying pups, to rosalie's snarling face, and then back to the alpha female, studying the lines of her countenance.

it had been a long while since he had seen her. aditya had never really known the dynamic between them. friends, surely, but there was more to it. they tended to stumble upon each other in the worst of times; this small chaos was no exception. how are you? he asked. the words were wholly inadequate, but at least it was a start.