There was no reason to allow her to pat at him and yet, he allowed the action without so much as flinching; instead, he took it as graciously as he could despite the strangeness of the action. Yet, perhaps it was her strangeness that kept him present and slowly becoming more invested. Strange, he thought, that she had not made herself known to the pack earlier or at least more openly. For a moment, he was inclined to wonder if his father had known about this small gem and yet, he dismissed it just as swiftly. She, by all accounts, was his gem now. He had found her, or perhaps she had found him, and so, he had decided resolutely that he would be the one taking ahold of the situation. His father might have control over the pack but that did not mean he had control over everything in it - not entirely, at least. Elohim wanted some fun too, especially now that Erebos had decided to begin doing so himself. After all, Elohim figured he best not be left behind.

Lifegiver. Other. Mother. Father. He narroed his eyes in thought, her words pleasant in their simplicity. "Maybe so," he shrugged and then, he followed through with his own paw reaching out to tap gently atop her head, "maybe Elohim will be your New Other." She was quick though and it seemed like only seconds had passed before she beamed and darted away and yet, he stayed. He did not know why but nonetheless, he stayed and basked in the sun as he pondered her over and over.

What had he to gain from her? She was small, unable to hunt or provide and unlike the toys of his youth; she was young, too young to know the world once over. Yet, perhaps he sought something else in her - connection. His memory was filled with distant, blurred faces of a family now gone and yet, he found solace in being able to remember the girl's own face so distinctly. Eros was gone, as was his own Lifegiver, and now, he had found something that fit near perfectly in their place. She was, this girl, the right kind of strange to fit the puzzle that was his kin.

He had been deep in his own thoughts when she had charged across the beach once more. Near mechanically, his head twisted and tilted as she came forward to place her trinket by him. Instantly, his eyes locked onto the skull, his lip twitching as his mind traced the contours. Like his mother, like his youth. Bones, flesh and the mist of death. His tail instinctively seemed to wave behind him. "Favorite thing, too." He locked onto her eyes for a moment before he leaned down to nudge at the skull, gently placing his teeth over its cranium to feel its smoothness across his tongue. He remembered it well. "We share?" He inquired stoutly before he pulled away from the skull, flopping down onto his stomach and nudging at it idly with a paw - an offer of idle play. He had a sister once and yet, she had gone. He had a family once and yet, they had scattered like leaves in the wind. Now, he had the opportunity to begin crafting something for himself. He only had to hope she was as eager to adopt some kind of makeshift connection, some ragtag attempt at making sense of the world.