I see, she had said, and he had immediately decided to let her believe that. For whatever reason, he couldn't help but feel a sting of sympathy for her. It seemed like such a normal thing to say, the kind of thing every parent told every child, yet she had looked as if she'd never heard it. Elohim felt like he'd begun to commit some kind of sin just by seeing those things about her. It was becoming harder and harder for him to see her as dangerous, but the awareness of that difficulty made him retain some kind of caution at least. He couldn't decide if it was a clever show, or if she'd truly been victim of mistaken identity.

Though he found himself amused at her antics, he held that amusement back. She had moved to speak, to accuse him perhaps, but had thought better. The metallic snap of her teeth reminded him to be cautious, especially since he had so willingly moved to jab her with his words. Elohim did not particularly like talking about Blackthorne, but it seemed like the only way to even start coming close to understanding Natiya. With Blackthorne as a topic, she had seemingly been pushed into a reaction, at least.

For a moment, he had been sure that he'd practically broken her. She had shut him off from her, turning inwards in quietness and inaction...But then, she had lashed out. Her growl crashed through the air, louder than the sea or the wind, and he could not help but feel its force against him. He had braced himself yet the impact of her never arrived. Instead, she glared away from him, yet even that hadn't disarmed him enough to let his guard down.

Only when she looked back to him did he let his muscles relax, her question indicative that she hadn't any plans to maul him there and then - yet, at least. Elohim was glad, of course, and Natiya was right, of course. He did indeed follow her, though he did his best to keep pace with her rather than fall into line behind her. If Natiya's rage hadn't been so blatant, one might have mistaken them for two friends on a stroll, the way Elohim seemed to follow her lead so willingly and so freely.

"My creed is simply to do whatever it is I want," he replied to her first question with utmost simplicity, spoken with all the confidence in the world and followed up with a shrug. It was true, anyway. It might have been a crude way of wording it, but it was honest. Elohim acted for others because he wanted to, and that seemed like the most obvious thing to him. Perhaps she had been living with that same creed for all he knew, and perhaps she had really wanted to do Blackthorne's bidding..."And to be whoever I want to be," he added with a sideways look to her. Even if she had wanted to do Blackthorne's bidding, did she really want to be the wolf others thought she was? Elohim hated the idea of that, the idea of being completely shaped by the thoughts of others rather than his own. Perhaps it was what had driven his creed in the first place, to not simply be seen as his father's son, or as a 'wolf of Glorall.'

It was hard to not seem amused at her second question though, but he did his best to keep his features neutral as he moved alongside her. "Not really, no. Most strays I find aren't often such a mystery," he said and then looked away in order to conceal the smallest grin he could muster. How could he not grin? It wasn't out of amusement of pestering her, no, but rather because he was amused that she'd tolerated him for so long. There must have been a reason for it, he thought, as he turned to face her, head tilted. "It is foolish, I agree, to assume he is truly gone, that you are a stray, and that you are simply passing through." He did not brace himself, but he suspected he should be ready to do so. "Do feel free to take some of your frustrations out on me. I've been dealt worse bites," he interjected, motioning over his shoulder before he lowered his head slightly and shook his neck, the long fur of his scruff dancing in a taunt. "You are walking into an unknown without any idea on what you're going to do, aren't you? Why? All that time on the island...Is 'leaving' the only plan you could come up with?" He furrowed his brows in true, unadultered curiosity. Was that truly the case, or had she been hiding a real plan? Her...hesitations when it came to Blackthorne returning made him confident in believing she hadn't been waiting for him, or planning on finding him, but was there really nothing more to it? He doubted she'd reveal some grand plan to him, sure, but it wasn't the words others spoke that often told their true intentions, anyway.