---

He needs to leave the stranger alone, so they’ll leave him alone. But curiosity has always been a dangerous thing, and the part of him that wonders if they were somehow part of his old pack is just as stubborn, just as determined to get answers. The longer he watched, though, the more he was sure he couldn’t make out anything familiar about them.

It was just a coincidence. A horrible, anxiety-inducing coincidence, but one after all. With one last glance at the stranger, he turned, planning to make his quiet leave now that he knew for sure he was fine. And then the stranger calls out, and Cyris is stopped in his tracks again, wincing at the idea of having to interact with a stranger. But he had gotten himself caught, and there was no way to get out of this as easily as he’d like when the other wolf knew he was there.

Bezalel, maybe, would have known what to do. But Bezalel wasn’t here, and Cyris had left for a reason.

Yes. His answer was quiet, hesitant, barely more audible than the noise of surprise he had made before. Regardless of if or not he had been heard, he took a fw hesitant steps back toward the stranger. Just enough that he was only half-hidden; enough that, should he need to, he could slip back into the dark.