good intentions

There was so much going on outside - and inside - his field of view. The stuttering, the whining, the stranger, the ticking in his head. These were the times where he knew there was something far worse happening in his mind. Such moments called for him to ground himself. Moments where he knew if he didn't solve his troubling emotions that the beast lurking inside his ribcage would eventually heartbeat itself open. So he took the advice he heard aloud, even if the words the so-called 'alpha' rang out weren't for him. He closed those whirlpool eyes. Stopped. He took a breath. Then, most importantly, he let it go.

Upon opening his vision did he witness the weeping pup more clearly than he had the first time 'round. The little doves' eyes seemed to lap at the sun so immensely that with every tear he spilled its glow onto the land around him - searing it with his own pain, his confusion. The child had no clue why he was here or where here even was. He was tired, he was shaken, cold, and now suddenly he was supposed to trust the two figures that seemed to appear out of thin air? No, actually, the lass in front of him wanted him to trust her over anything else. He could tell by her stance, by that "better than you" cockiness she wavered about as if it were intimidating. So, she was an alpha, eh? Cute. While typically he could understand, he had no reason to trust her - as her to he - and with the turn of her head to narrow those azure eyes would she be met with a stern growl.

"I like to imagine we're both frightening him, your height and appearance don't exactly say 'welcome'." He bickered through his teeth in a tone so hushed it wasn't even audible, after all, he didn't want to cause a bigger scene than he already had, but in his mind, he'd gotten his say. Though truly, even if she was an alpha, she had no say-so over what he could and could not do, these lands weren't claimed, nor him or the pup, but he had a feeling one of those would be changing sometime soon.

Standing with his tail out and his ears forward would he walk a bit closer, finally coming to a stop as he sat further from the female but nearer to the child. He didn't entirely know what to say to the kid, but he did have a lot of questions. It wasn't certain if they were even worth saying with how startled he was, but sometimes talking about to situation helped it. So, instead of speaking to the tot as if he was some wreck to mend, he brought a soft smile to his face, a tilt to his head, and a gentle thump to his tail. "How'd ya get out here, anyway, little dude?"