Act like you don't care

He could watch the tension build in her shoulders, along her spine as he approached. But it seemed as soon as it came it would go as if chased away by the sound of his voice and the new stature he carried. He had noticed the lightness he had been feeling lately. He had noticed the change he had felt since taking a vacation, since speaking with his brother and beginning to patch the bridge that had once bound them together. He felt? Better. Not great but better. She would allow words to flow from her own lips and he would nod as she rolled over slightly and gave him some room to join her. He would study her a moment longer before haunches would fold and he would allow massive forepaws to elide forward until he was balanced on his elbows. He still kept a comfortable distance between them, toes dipping into the cool water as aqua gaze drifted out over the tide pools and then to the shoreline beyond. "On??" he would prompt, tipping his head and raising a brow as he waited for her to list her conditions, if she had them. His gaze would return back to her a moment later. His smirk had faded, a bit more serious now as he studied her. Had it really been a year since he had spent any amount of time with her? Had she seen his brother? His younger siblings? How was her family even? Funny how they had grown up together and yet he knew so little about her. What a crappy friend he was...

"Speaking"