Nian’s smile would only make his stutter worse, he knew it. Whenever he felt awkward, uncomfortable, ashamed, or guilty, his stammer presented itself with such a strong force that it made it tough to properly say anything at all. Luckily, it was not too bad today; however, the more he thought about it, the worse it would get. Claudius nodded quickly in response when Nian ran through the pleasantries much more elegantly than Claudius could have ever hoped to. He winced when Nian tried to placate him and brought his right arm up to rest his hand on his left elbow, clenching it uncomfortably. He knew Nian was just trying to make him feel better, but he still didn’t really feel too comfortable around other males. Dawali was probably the only exception. Nonetheless, he kept nodding until Nian stopped speaking, trying to act respectful.
“O-okay,” he replied, a little late. He turned to see the thin branches Nian was referring to. He flicked his ears back and then forward as he walked toward them. He crouched down and gathered them in his arms, straightened up, and then sought out the other wolf. He walked over to where he was and quickly added: “now what?”