There was a time X might have hesitated at the sight of such a large wolf, however unconsciously. That time vanished after he read Valdis several months before. He walked up to her still form at the back of the cave like he'd known her all his life, gentle but inexorable in his movements.

"Badly," he admitted. "It's going to take a long time to fix. There's no shortage of volunteers, though, from what I saw."

He dropped his bag on the ground and flipped the top open, revealing some of Valdis's clothes. "What about you?" he asked, catching her gaze and holding it steadily. "You seem like you're hiding from the whole city."