Bearclaw Valley “What am I to you?”

A huff and an eye roll. Whilst neither were preferred responses, he almost expected them. He nearly huffed himself, not knowing how to get the answers that he did want, but the sound never managed to work its way out—nor did he get a chance to speak more in favour of the idea, her words cutting him off. One word in particular—girlfriend—not only took him by surprise, but made his innards twist at the thought; Alexander didn’t like the idea of that, believing that going that far would mean getting too close and leaving him open to being torn down. “She’s not my girlfriend,” he argued. “She’s just my… friend.” He didn’t quite like that word, either, and he especially detested saying it out loud. It didn’t feel right on his tongue and didn’t sit well in his mind, dragging out memories that he’d much rather forget—but there was no other way for him to describe his relationship with Reigi.

An accusation was made and an attempt to leave followed right after, intensifying his focus on her; her turn sparked something within him, which he tried so desperately to ignore, reminding himself that he was there solely to fix things—which worked, sort of. And rather than outright saying you’re wrong, Alexander opted to just follow after her. What started as a walk slowly turned into a light jog as he tried to close the distance between them, after which, should he get close enough, he’d nip gently at her hocks.