Fox's Glade enough to just blow that roof to the pavement

The moment he departs Terance's company, he looks for @Korei Julia. Almost as soon as the man is out of sight, he begins to regret saying maybe — but he feels obligated to ask her, at least. And... maybe a pack with some eye candy would be tolerable, at least? He tries not to feel sleazy thinking about it that way; he doesn't really have the capacity for more, he thinks. Looking is nice, though.
Looking for Korei isn't as nice — mostly because each moment he doesn't find her brings with it an irrational mounting panic. What if she's lost? What if she's hurt? What if she thinks he abandoned her? He tries to stifle the possibilities, reminding himself it hasn't been long at all, and he might actually explode if he keeps getting worked up over these things. And that would be messy. Messy, Alarian. He repeats this to himself as he searches for her, because honestly, he's given up on not completely losing his mind.

Korei was busy laying there, rolling on the ground happily. Till Alarian came, and she rolled back onto her belly, giggling a bit. "Hi, Alarian! Where'd you go?" she asked, tipping her head curiously. She didn't catch any scents off him, at least not yet. Her tail wagged behind her slowly swaying across the ground.

He finds her rolling on the ground, of all things, and he can't help the sound that escapes him, somewhere between a snort and a laugh — it's just ridiculous. But he's glad to see her in a good mood, especially after all that had transpired over the last months. Hey, He greets her warmly, bending to touch his nose to her cheek in greeting when he's close enough. Her high spirits are a little infectious — but he's still slightly nervous. I uh — ran into someone. Someone who knows you. Or — knew you.
He swallows, then continues before she can react. Terance — he seemed happy to hear about you, though. Were you two um, on good terms? He can't help but sound hopeful; the last thing he needs is an upset Korei on his hands. He still hasn't even gotten to the part about the pack yet.

Korei Julia smiled upon hearing the laugh from him. Her tail still wagging. And smiling as he touched his nose to her cheek. It always gave her a warm feeling deep inside, around her heart to know someone cared for her so much. Then he spoke, and she grew nervous. Repeating in her head 'please not a sister, please not a sister'.

When she heard the name...well at least it wasn't one of her sisters but it still struck Korei. "T-Terance...Terance, I can't...I can't say I know that name" she said, standing and turning away as if trying to ignore it now. "Hey, I saw a nice spot to hunt! Let's hunt!"

Okay, that's weird. For a moment all he can do is watch her turn, bewildered — he can relate, of course, but damn. When he finally finds his voice again, it comes out a little more exasperated than he'd intended. Korei, what are you doing? He asks, taking a step toward her. Normally he'd leave it alone, but — ugh, is this how Lily had felt when he'd avoided talking about Runion, about his mother? What's wrong? He didn't seem like — I didn't think it'd upset you. If he had, she'd have never heard a word about it — but of course, his judgment isn't always the best.

Korei glanced back, feigning confusing. It was surprising, for sure. And perhaps it was a bit upsetting. "Upset? No, I'm not upset. Just saying, I don't know any Terance" she said, trying to push for it. But she was close to breaking, Korei couldn't hold it back. How the last time she saw him, how she had tried to...make moves on him.

He sighs at her continued denial, one ear flicking impatiently. Korei, He repeats, a little annoyed now; is this meant to be funny? It doesn't seem like her — but he can't figure out why she's acting like that. There can't be that many Korei Julias out there, right? Or maybe he is mistaken — but, something in her expression... You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but — do you even trust me at all? Immediately he regrets asking; he knows she trusts him, she's proven it so many times. He just can't stand that she's lying to him, now of all times.

Korei flinched at that, as if she was about to get ridiculed. Ever since she had spoken of her past, about what her sister had meant she wanted to avoid everything to do with it. And then, she turned around and her eye was a little teary. "...He was the...the only one that...that stood by me. That looked after me..."

Korei sat down, her gaze down cast now. It wasn't something she wanted to talk about. "I...I did something stupid...last I saw him." It was rough to admit. Too rough to admit.

Finally she starts to tell him — and for the billionth time in his life, he thinks that it's not exactly what he'd expected. At least it's nice to know Terance isn't a bad guy; maybe his offer of a home is worth something, then.
Orrrr maybe not. Oh, He says, frowning. Um, what did you... do? He's not sure he really wants to know, but he's obligated to ask. And morbid curiosity and all. Besides — maybe it's not as stupid as she thinks. If anyone can overreact worse than he can, it's Korei.

Korei murmured something under her breath. She didn't want to talk about it, talk about what she had tried. But, with a long sigh... "I...I tried to...I tried to...get close" She shied her face away from Alarian, almost ashamed that she had tried such a thing with him. She whined a bit even, she felt stupid. Ashamed. Embarassed.

It takes a second for the meaning of her words to register — and then it does. His expression goes blank, and he's silent for several beats. He doesn't know how he feels about it — he doesn't really want to think about it, honestly. Suddenly he doesn't really want to think about anything at all.
Oh, He says a little flatly. He pauses, then glances away. Okay. Part of him wants to make some excuse and slip off — it would be easy. Normal for him, really. Alarian, dealing with a slightly awkward situation normally? Ha! But it doesn't feel right out here, on their own. So he just stands there, not really looking at Korei but not quite ignoring her.

She sighed again. It was never something that she was proud of, not at all. And whined again. "I was stupid...I looked for comfort where...where there was none. It was the last...it was the last time I saw him" she said sadly. Now she feels she should have said nothing, she wished she had just let it drop as he fell silent.

He sighs softly through his nose as she continues; even as self-centered as he is, he can't stew long in his own weird conflicted not-feelings over Korei's revelation. She's obviously still upset over what happened — and can he really blame her? He knows the sting of rejection well enough, and Terance is... definitely worth a shot, damn.
He glances back to Korei with a softer expression. I'm sorry, He offers, swallowing back his desire to sulk. It's — not that stupid, though. He is pretty hot. But, um... you know, maybe it didn't change anything. Like I said, he seemed happy to hear about you.

Korei Julia lifted her eyes up to him for a moment as he began to speak. She still felt bad, but her face felt warm. Hot? She would have agreed if she was not so nervous and shy. "H-Hot? I wouldn't...I wouldn't say hot but uh...um..." Wait...he seemed happy? So...so did not everyone from Moonspear hate her? "But I left them? And he seemed happy?"

He laughs slightly at her reaction. Yeah. You know he's Seabreeze's ex-mate though, right? They had kids together, Honestly, it's a little off-putting. He's not exactly inclined toward men with children; Delight had been an exception. Likely the only one — if he's being honest with himself, Delight's status as a father had contributed to his decision to leave. He can't ever do that again.
Yeah, he did seem happy, He confirms a moment later, nodding slightly. A little confused about you leaving, though — he mentioned you disappeared without a word. But overall, the vibe he'd gotten had been a good one; he can't often trust his gut feeling anymore, though, to be fair.

That just surprised her even more so. So, Terance had kids then...Now that very much surprised her, it really did. She just went silent right away. Only speaking as soon as Alarian spoke of how she left. Now that, she realized that she had not spoke the whole story. She sighed again.

"Alarian...please...please don't" she said, closing her eyes. Korei could not bear to tell the whole story. Not now.

He's a little startled and a little confused by Korei's response — but he doesn't question it. Alright, He says quietly, trying to figure out what exactly he'd said wrong. Probably everything; he knows he's good at that. He sucks in a breath and goes quiet for several beats, then adds: Do you want to... be alone? He doesn't really expect her to say yes, but part of him guiltily hopes she will; he still needs time to process all that he's learned about her. And he hasn't even gotten to mentioning Terance's offer yet — maybe he won't mention it at all.

Korei Julia fell silent. So she just sighed instead, giving a slow nod. For once, she preferred to be alone now. And just laid down, huffing quietly with her chin to the ground. But before even waiting for him to leave, she just could not help herself...she began to sob. Quietly, but just loud enough to hear, her body slightly moving as she sobbed.

He could stick around, try to comfort her — like any good friend should. He knows he should. But the moment he sees her start to nod, he turns, more eager to flee than he'll ever admit out loud. Perhaps another time he might try harder to be a better friend — but right now, he can't. Too many different parts of his soul ache to name, and he can hardly make sense of the turmoil in his own head; how is he meant to deal with Korei's, so tangible and immediate?
He's gone before he can hear her sobs, and if he could know, he might just be selfish enough to feel relieved. If he'd heard them, surely he'd have turned back — but he doesn't. He leaves, and he tells himself he's going to go hunt, but ultimately he ends up pacing another part of the grove; as selfish and useless as he'd been back at Broken Boulder.