A large, white ear turned forward when Aiden heard his own name from the stranger’s mouth. It had been over a week since he’d struck out on his own, and, he couldn’t lie to himself, it was difficult being so alone. Very alone. But the boy had spent the first three and a half seasons of his life in a safe, family environment where he had friends, and caretakers, and just all the security in the world. Back home, he was a regular social butterfly, but… There, in the dark cave with a complete stranger, the boy had no idea how he should be acting. He didn’t trust the red wolf—not yet, at least—and part of him was just waiting for something to go wrong. Gosh, was being on his own confusing, and maybe a tad bit scary.

“Um, yeah,” Aiden mumbled a bit awkwardly, “Nice to meet you, too.” Staring at his paws wasn’t helping him fight the urge to lay down and pick the ice out of his toes, all vulnerable and the like, so the boy decided to lift his gaze and let it wander around the cave instead. Admittedly, aside from the hanging death spikes mounted to the ceiling, it wasn’t a particularly interesting space. Just dark and quiet and warm. Not much to look at, but it was comfortable—save for the small concern that one of the spikes could fall at any moment. Aiden figured it was either that or he could try his luck out in the snowstorm, and suddenly the death spikes weren’t all that bad. Unlike the snow, none of them had fallen. Yet.

Halcyon was politely dismissive of Aiden’s thanks, and the boy had to wonder on the words a bit. There was logic in it, he supposed. If the red wolf didn’t own the cave, then it wasn’t his to defend, but still... There was more to it than that. Even if it wasn’t Halcyon’s land, it was still his space—his presence—and he was sharing it with Aiden. Maybe the red wolf didn’t see it that way, but the boy couldn’t not see it, and he also couldn’t not be appreciative of it, even if he felt wary and uncomfortable. Emotionally uncomfortable, of course. The cave was very much a comforting embrace after the cold, harsh wet of the snow.

Aiden gave a nod of agreement at the mention of the storm looking like it wasn’t going to die down any time soon. The part about Halcyon not stopping him from leaving once it was over—that was a nice sentiment, but he’d think about that more when the storm was actually over. Maybe by then he’d have this stranger situation figured out. That was kind of the more pressing issue.

“Moladion?” The question slipped from the boy before he’d given any thought, and he instantly felt stupid. Moladion, of course, was probably the “where” he’d gotten himself to. “Oh, uh…” It was a two part question, and he honestly had to think of how best to answer it. “My feet, I guess? I just sort of walked here, from there—there being the pack I used to call home, but it’s not my home now, and that’s a long story, so…”

Too much. Way too much. Aiden leaned a little more heavily into the cold stone wall, closing his eyes as he mentally winced. He was just so…flustered? Maybe that wasn’t the right word, but he decided against thinking about it too much and, instead, went for the basic deflection tactic. “H-how about you—are you from here? Moladion?”