There was nothing more than a sincere and friendly smile from Gallus as Ri'vashi spoke. He was going to play it off with a comment on how he has it worse from his boys, but the hug took him off guard. The side of his wide-eyed face was pressed suddenly against Ri'vashi's collar. In response, he let the wooden sword fall from under his arm onto the ground and tried his best to wrap his arms around to her back, giving her a couple of comforting pats. "It's no problem, Ri'vashi. That's what friends are there for," he said as if he was not being hugged at all. Ri'vashi was surprisingly gentle. "Anyone in a pack knows this, but you do not need to be ashamed of yourself with friends," Gallus added. "We all need a spot to tear up or be insufferable every now and then."

Gallus motioned to separate eventually and gave Ri'vashi an encouraging smile and a pat on the arm. "Now, if you're done fighting, how about we catch up with Meesei and Lorag and see what we can find out about this Do'rhajul fellow?"

[hr]
Sabine lifted her opposite arm until her hand was over Peiter's over her waist. At the same time, she smiled and peered eyes between points on Peiter's face and body. "I like how it feels," she said after a pause, "I will get used to the look." Sabine's coy response purposely did not give any strong hints as to her opinion.

On the other hand, Tzirret was at the same time amused and overwhelmed that Peiter was the one in the embarrassing situation for once. With tall ears and and tiny snorts emerging from his nose, he looked to Ma'tanza. "What does Ma'tanza think?"