He had no idea about what he was supposed to do. His mother and father had done a good job at teaching him how to hunt... how to fight... how to track. But that was it. They'd never taught him about affection, or what to do when you wanted to give affection to somebody. They'd neglected that part of his upbringing. Hell, he hadn't even learnt it from his siblings and now, when he wanted to, they were all gone. He had just stumbled into what could have been the most important part of his life and now, he had no idea what to do. All he could do was stand there, right next to her, and be an idiot. He had no idea what to say and when he did speak, he felt even more lost than before. It made him want to bite his tongue off. He was born to be strong, after all, and strength manifested itself in more than just the physical aspect: he was supposed to be composed, tactical, a warrior through and through and yet, he couldn't fight his way out of this. He just... had to wait. Maybe the words would come to him. Or so he prayed at least.

It was only natural that he watched her so intensely, observing the way her eyes and face flickered with emotions. He felt bad having ignited some rather... negative emotions (or at least, he thought he had envisioned them on her.) yet, he had only said what he honestly believed. He wanted to be with her for whatever reason, even if he could not entirely understand it, and yet he felt completely inadequate.

When she spoke, however, he instantly shrunk back. He felt so small compared to the enormity of her words. Had this been how she had felt? He felt his ears run hot with anger. Nobody? Did she really think she would be nobody? It made him burn up. He could feel his lips pull back tight, his ears flattening back against his skull. "You're not nobody," he cut her off - he couldn't help it. She might have said she loved him, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that she understood what he thought. Selfish? Yes, he knew that. But he didn't care. "You're the only one that matters. That makes you more than nobody. It makes you more than somebody. You are everybody."

It made sense to him, at least. To him, she was not just Denali. Neither was she just Iromar's Raptor. She was a fighter, a survivor, a tactician who could swindle strangers into Iromar and out again. She was a healer who knew how to heal even the wounds that afflicted one's thoughts. She was everything important. He practically squirmed in agitation. How could she not see it? And then suddenly, the realization hit him quite literally. The moment he noticed, he stiffened. His eyes narrowed and he nodded solemnly to himself. So, this is how she had felt when he had said that? He thought he was nobody. But to her... he was somebody?

Her muzzle connecting with him broke his trance. Instantly, he moved forward, embracing her to the best of his ability. After all, it had always posed a challenge. He was a monster compared to her - she was petite and gentle and he was a behemoth, unintentionally brash with all his movements. With her, however, he had all the gentleness in the world.

"Then... I want to make you happy forever. For as long as you will have me." He swallowed a hard lump that had formed in his throat, recoiling back slightly so that he could meet her eyes before he spoke once more. "Is that... okay?"