Bearclaw Valley mercury in retrograde

It was difficult to not respond to her, the trust he’d since placed in the girl working against his desire to attack and, essentially, calming him down. He remained on edge, ready to lunge at any given second, but his growls died down—for now. Overall, his posture did not change at all and he continued to stare the male down, sparing Reigi only a glance or two—until the bond was revealed and his head snapped towards the girl. A brother? It made sense that she would have siblings out there somewhere, but for one to turn up on their doorstep out of the blue? That was something he would never have imagined happening.

Alexander was at a loss, battling with himself over what his next step should be. A large part of him still tried to force him forward, to further threaten the male, but he didn’t—he was the brother of his friend and chasing him off might upset her. He struggled a good few seconds before gritting his teeth and looking at Reigi, remembering she had earned his trust, and then turning back towards her brother. He moved neither forward nor back and kept his eyes on the stranger at all times, but a stiff nod told them both that he understood and would let them do whatever siblings did after spending time apart.