Alaric
I found Bear in his usual spot near the garage's back office the following morning, and something in my own careful, deliberate approach must have signaled the seriousness of what I'd come to ask, because his easy greeting faltered the moment he registered my expression.
"You look like you're about to ask me something I'm not going to enjoy answering," he observed.
"Probably accurate." I settled across from him, watching his face carefully. "Months ago, when Dorian first started working toward reinstatement, you said something. That he wasn't always this careful. I brushed past it at the time. I need you to explain what you actually meant."
*[Watch him,]* Rook said, quiet, already reading something careful settling into Bear's posture. *[He knows exactly what you're asking about
