Haunted Wood if you knew me well

// @Serem - these two need a little updated thread <3

Things were going very well, Clarence thought. He was more comfortable with his position in the pack, regardless of if his rank had changed or not, and he was feeling his first crush/puppy love with Santiago. Overall, he was very happy, and feeling more like himself than he'd ever felt before.

But he was worried about the woman who had also spent a lot of time with Santiago. After all, it must be pretty obvious that his scent was all over the man, if they had talked recently, with the amount of time he and the black and white wolf had been spending together. And he didn't want her to be upset. 

So he sought her out, following her scent - his tracking was getting better, thanks to Memory - and eventually running across her. 

"Serem," he called with a small smile, trotting up to the woman.

The dark woman had felt deep down that the male had wanted someone else and so serem put the feelings way back to wherever the hell they came from. When she heard the young boy she went out to se what was needed. "Yes?" She questioned.

This was... far easier thought of than said aloud. What had Clarence even planned to say? The spotted boy shifted his feet and cleared his throat, looking at the woman with a hesitant smile. "I just... wanted to know how you were doing lately. With the puppies and... stuff."

She smiled at the young boy softly even though deep down she wanted to just tear something apart and scream but she kept her composure. "They are well. How are you and Santiago fitting in?" She questioned even though deep down she knew what he was going to say.

How were he and Santiago fitting in? Clarence thought they were doing well. The boy wondered vaguely if there was a deeper meaning behind her words. "We're good," he acknowledged, tail swishing a little behind him. He still hadn't figured out what Santiago meant to him fully, but... "He means a lot to me, and... I know he means a lot to you too." That was braver than he had planned for, but there it was - out in the open.

And there it was, his answer to it and even though the woman had already suspected it, it was a lot harder hearing it from the boy and the dark woman just wanted to be left alone at that point. She saw his tail wag and it upset her deeply but she didn't show it. "Well I wish you two well together."

Clarence shook his head. "We're not, uh, together, or anything," he said, ears lowering just a bit and red eyes glancing to the side. "That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I mean, not us being together, but... y'know, uhm." This was harder to say than he thought it'd be. "I wanted to know how you felt."

In the end she knew what was going to happen. "Could of fooled me." She said a little passive agressive but tried to bite her tongue. "In the end my feelings don't matter it's not my decision to make, its his." And she already knew his choice, it was obvious.

His ears snapped back at the passive aggression in her words, but he said nothing in response. "Have you not talked to him about it?" Clarence asked, brows drawing together as he took a tentative step toward the woman. "Maybe he feels the same about you." That wasn't really what he was supposed to say, Clarence thought. Serem was a form of competition, and he understood that, but still... he didn't want to hurt anyone.