Normally he would have shied away from her touch, and his skin did still crawl, but Cancer did not pull back this time as Risaela leaned against him. Right now, she needed him, and as much as that both frustrated and terrified him, he wasn't about to let her down, not when it was his fault that she was in this position at all.

Cancer wasn't surprised when those familiar orange eyes found them, but he had to wonder what thoughts were brewing behind them as the other man looked the duo over. Would it bode well for them that they had fought together, or were suspicions being born that the two seemed to be magnets for trouble when together?

"Cancer," he filled in without any decoration or even inflection in his voice. Another joined them, a woman who the youth could only assume was the queen to Laike's deck. She looked at Risaela with warm recognition, but as per usual the stranger's eyes hardened as they took in the rougher orphan's figure.

He gave nothing more; it would be better for Risaela to fill them in.

OOC - Cade I LOVE THIS TABLE

Ris appreciated her companion not leaning away from her, and let her tail thump on the ground a couple of times in a nonverbal thank you. In her time with him - jeez, how long had they been friends now? - she had found that he was averse to physical contact, whereas Risaela needed it like she needed air or water. Can was not always willing to offer it to her, so it was like a special treat whenever he did.

Ears angled forward when Laike and Jessie approached, and Ris let out an inadvertent whine at the sight of her foster mother - the only thing in this world that kept her from being completely orphaned. And she missed her desperately - the thought of possibly being able to stay with her forever was overwhelming.

"W-we want to... um... could we st-stay?" she asked, ears lowering a bit and silver eyes casting down to the ground. "We l-left A-Askan's pack, 'n we n-need somewhere t'go... I don' feel g-good right now, but wh-when I feel better, I c-can work harder. C-Cancer's good - he's my b-best friend, an' he'd w-work hard too. He's g-good," she repeated, closing her eyes and leaning her head against the darker wolf's shoulder. "I lo-love him. Please do-don't b-be mean to him."

Cancer hoped dearly that no one could see by his expression that his heart had completely stopped within his chest. Best friend had been hard enough to hear, had pierced him with a spear of guilt and anxiety, but then she added to it. She loved him, or claimed to anyways, and it didn't matter how platonic she might mean the words. The last person that had loved him had been killed because of him. He tried to stand firm, to remain present in this conversation, but his mind was reeling.

He had to get out, as soon as it wouldn't completely wreck the Tainn to do so. For her sake.

Had he not gone completely numb, however, Cancer would have been grateful for Laike's endorsement, glad that at least someone thought well of the pair for what they had done, even if he hadn't intended on playing hero that day. And when Jessie's approval came so easily, he had to remind himself that this meant him too and he wasn't just dropping Risaela off here, as easier as that would be than what actually needed to be done.

Cancer prided himself on being selfish, but he knew he'd rather be a mess twenty-four-seven than abandon the yearling outright, here and now.

"Well..." he spoke up, thinking he should at least help out here, "when we got back from the coyote incident, Askan jumped down our throats the moment we walked in. Accused us of hiding shit from him and being ungrateful and told us we could leave. So..."

His blue eyes swerved toward Ris's sterling silver, knowing she would end the story far better than he could, as the next words out of his mouth would otherwise simply be 'we did.'

They weren't going to be turned away, and nobody was going to be mean to Cancer. Good. That was all Ris wanted, really. She would be better here - Matheo had been wrong. She didn't just leave whenever she wanted, and she wouldn't be gone forever if she did leave. She was going to be loyal and brave and strong and do everything she could to be the best wolf for the Rye wolves that she could be.

To be the best wolf for Cancer that she could be.

Fortunately for her, the dark wolf had explained most of what had happened to the two alphas. But it seemed she was expected to speak as well. "I d-don't know why he was... was so angry," she murmured, dipping her head. "I... I was m-mean too. But not b-before him." She sighed softly. "He s-said to leave, s-so we did..."