Gallus could see what was coming his way from at least two sentences before it was said. A part of him was afraid that this was going to happen. Up until that point, he had mostly hung on the idea of a casual relationship since Ri'vashi described it so on the night before the assault. Now, however, his jaw began to clench again.

"Ri'vashi, I..." There was a hint of a second thought that didn't follow through. "...No, I can't." Gallus gently pushed Ri'vashi's arms off his shoulders and looked away sadly. "I just can't do something like that right now. I'm sorry. I know I'm going to regret it if I do." Gallus scrunched his eyes shut and raised one hand. "There's just too much happening right now."

Out of sympathy, Gallus placed a hand on Ri'vashi's knee and peered up at her. "I will say, though, that if a mate is something you want...try not to force it. If you try to make a relationship with someone for the sake of it, you may find yourself in trouble." He brought his hand back to rub his opposite shoulder. "Take it from me, I've made more mistakes than you ever should."