Unatsi did not quite understand the concept of turning strangers away for being near a border; it was the point of having neutral and pack territory in the first place, setting those lines and agreeing what was on either side. He guessed that smells weren’t exactly lines, though, like the kind you literally draw in the dirt, and so there might be a bit of a grey area. On second thought, he could understand the point of being a bit overcautious, especially if something was going on at home.
“Oh, no, you don’t look suspicious,” the red wolf said brightly, missing the point of the joke and believing that there was sincere concern there. “I mean, you’ve got those scars and everything, maybe a bit suspicious, but you shouldn’t really judge someone for a scar, I mean—I mean this one right here, this kinda gives me a twitch, which isn’t the point, but it doesn’t mean I’m a cold-hearted killer just because I got hit.” Quite the opposite, in fact, but he didn’t feel like painting a portrait of his cowardice for his new friend. “But, other than the scars—not really a reason to be suspicious. You’re friendly, and a kinda outsider around these parts, and anyway I wasn’t suspicious of you, not at all.” He beamed, then frowned, then shook his head. “Of course, your unsuspiciousness might be a good trick to use—make someone think you’re all nice then blam! you’ve got them right where you want them. Sometimes I wish I could be like that, but that’s because I’m not really all that scary.” He laughed as if this were an ironic observation and not the pathetic and blunt truth.
He was back to the perfect audience member as Harvey described the great buildings of London, and understanding dawned on his narrow face before he continued to more or less miss the point. “Oh, buildings like huts? Big, arty huts? I can see why that’d be great, I mean, we have our town hall and—well, maybe it’s not too much to look at, but it’s big and safe, and a good carpenter can do a lot of things with his home.”
Word Count → 367
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