Windsong Fjord under the midnight sun

Reyes' piece of advice wasn't all that helpful. It was something Askan knew, his mother had raised him not dragged him up after all, but it was so difficult for him to defy his nature. Or at least what he pretended was his nature. It was a habit he couldn't shake, not that he had ever really tried to. It would be a stretch to say he liked who he was but what else was there? What else could he do? It was either this or that, and honestly who he was now was a league better than who he used to be. Then again, of course Askan would say that, he was rather biased in that regard.

Rather than argue, Askan merely hummed in acknowledgement. But then the loner went onto continue and he couldn't stop his ears from twitching as he listened. Was that an apology? It sure sounded like it, or at least it was the best he was going to get from Reyes. And as stubborn as Askan often was, even he could see that Reyes was trying here, that he was making an effort. And maybe he felt a little, a tiny bit guilty of how callous he had been. How he'd kicked up such a fuss when he was just trying to help. It wasn't as though Askan had done it intentionally, but that was likely irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. The point was, if Reyes was trying then Askan should do the same, right?

"I get it now. And I wasn't...I didn't mean to make it sound like I... didn't want you to." Askan squinted, a little confused at how that had come out.

"I mean it's way better than being cold. Not that I enjoying being close. Not that I dislike it either. It's okay. I guess." Well, wasn't that lame? Askan groaned aloud and covered his face with a paw.

His face hidden, he couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise at the added little comment on the end. Wasn't so bad, huh? That sounded like a compliment. It wasn't as quite backhanded as Askan's compliments tended to be, in fact despite his gruff voice it sounded pretty damn genuine. Like Reyes meant it. Hmm.

"Same goes for you. There are worse wolves to spend the night with."

Fortunately, for both emotionally constipated males, perhaps, Reyes had kept his head safely tucked beneath his tail, guarding both his nose from the stinging chill and his face from Askan’s prying eyes. Perhaps it was his own weary expression that was guarded from the stranger, too, for the tired ache of his bones came a drop in inhibitions, and the loner simply acknowledged the other shadow’s admission with a soft grunt. He wasn’t asleep, not yet, but given how difficult it seemed to be to wrangle just that, Reyes was not interested in chasing in down and finding himself with an argument instead of catching a few hours of rest.

In fact, the only hint that the loner was still interested was the perk of his ears, keenly tipped towards the sound of Askan’s voice as he continued to struggle with explanation. Whether he enjoyed social touch or not, it seemed they’d at least settled on a position for the night – for this, Reyes could be grateful. He did not mind blocking the wind with his bulk and his ruff as long as he got some warmth in return, and he settled in for the next few hours, offering only a soft hum in return.

“Duerme bien, amigo.”

Fade.