Sunspire Mountains all the butterflies have turned to vultures in my stomach

As was customary, a silence enveloped Riley as he walked.

As far as they had walked, he had not yet put the burning shame of his rejection behind him.

If anything the closer they came to the willows, the more he felt that crushing blow snake around his neck like a noose.

Why was it no one liked him? What was it about him that had first made Laurel lose her love for him, and then outright hate him? What was it, that turned Donovan against him, and Renard and Derg and Colin -- and now, the elusive Esme he had put his life on hold to find?

He swallowed, the unfairness of the world going down his throat like glass lacings. Of course, much of the contempt surrounding Riley could arguably have been well-earned; but Riley was Riley, he did not think like other wolves and therefore, did not act like them either... It perplexed him that he was constantly the pariah in any group -- even those he had taken the pains to make himself.

Esme blew raspberries into the air and groaned, professing boredom. Riley trudged on in soldierly quiet, the hardness of his gaze making it look as if he was outright ignoring her (and he was, for a time).

After a few steps, though, Riley turned and limped in an about-face. "What's wrong with me?" He asked, unabashed in holding her gaze. "Why don't you want to live with me?"