Heron Lake Plateau Long in the tooth but harmless as can be

For a wolf who had, for the most part, managed to avoid most of the drama surrounding the Redhawks, the past couple of weeks had given Colt a hell of a lot to think about.

Namely? Niamh.

She was a beauty, in a grounded way, and hit a lot of points when it came to Colt's type.  She brought to mind Nell even more than Raven had; but that was the problem right? She didn't have the edge, that challenging side, at least right now.  But he'd seen it the first time they met; she hadn't been afraid to call him on his shit then, and he hadn't minded that.

He knew she would want him not to dwell, but that didn't stop the memories from stopping him short.  She'd turned his world upside down, and then she was gone, and now he couldn't feel that without thinking of her.  It felt... unfair? To the girl.  Her age didn't give him pause... he knew on some level he had a few good years left, and if she didn't mind, neither did he.  But it felt wrong to lead her on if he wasn't past his shit, and that guilt was what prevented him from returning her gestures with the ardor she'd begun to show him.

Was it weird he wanted to... talk to someone about it? Bounce ideas, shoot the shit, see if he was crazy to be worried.  And hope that they said yeah, he was crazy, fuckin go for it dude.  Because validation would mean he wasn't that same  shitty guy he used to be, chasing a girl when his heart wasn't in it.  Least not completely - not yet.

He continued on the border, almost too caught up to properly patrol, mind clearly on everything but the line he walked.