As much as he wanted to, he couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. It really didn't matter anyway. They could hear his thoughts on the matter. "You're serious about this, then?"
The two wolves sat before him both nodded in unison. Cold and Myrth. One thin and pale, very much his namesake, and the other sturdy and weathered, with a thick brown coat. It wasn't just their appearances that were total opposites, either; he couldn't think of two personalities that could be more utterly distant from each-other. Distant and abrasive meets playful and curious. Light against dark. Over time, they'd eased into positions of importance in Nir'weis pack, earning them spots as the two key Betas that ran things in his absence. He could recall moments of clashing personalities when there were difficult decisions to be made... but now, as he looked back, he supposed there weren't nearly as many disagreements as he'd really expected. Their unique perspectives, and most important of all, their respect for one-another and their inputs, made them an effective duo. That was nothing compared to what they were talking about, though. Relationships? "You know, it's really not any of your business anyway," Cold interjected, derailing his train of thought with an audible crash.
"Hey, trust me, I know that," he immediately responded, defensively raising his hands! "I'm not holding you here against your will and you're free to do whatever you damn well please. I'm just confused on... the logistics?" After all, his awakening by Saoire, and the discovery of his Coalescence powers, was still something he and the others were adjusting to. He was them. They were all him. Therefore, if they wanted to be with each-other, did that mean that he was... with himself? What happened if they produced offspring, would they also be him? Or would they just contain some part of him? "Y'know what, this is making my brain hurt. If you want it, you... have my blessing." That was what they said in these situations, right? He didn't really know. "And yes, I'm staying out of it. Way out." Apparently that was the part they really wanted to hear, and he was glad to hear it.
Apparently this was just another part of shared consciousness. Cold and Myrth, while certainly the most unusual, were not the only ones considering such a union. It was still quite difficult to think of Squeak as anything other than the small, innocent pup that he'd plucked from the Stormwastes... but that had been two arcs ago now, and while the wolf that lounged under the shade of a nearby tree was as playful and mischievous as he had been back then, he was no infant. Castile, lying next to him, was absolutely no-nonsense and practically bullish... but she alone could match Squeak in energy and drive. Personally, he would have thought a pairing with Kin would have suited better, given her equally optimistic disposition, but clearly he made for a shit matchmaker. He'd done nothing but scare her, as it turned out, and made her retreat even deeper into herself. Instead, her natural pairing with Sovar, the only other wolf to be drawn straight from the Spectral Forest of Karem, held solid. It looked almost comical at times, since Sovar utterly dwarfed the Omega, and yet if they thought that an obstacle they certainly didn't show it, one sat in the hulking shadow of the other as they watched the sun rise through the trees.
"Before you ask, absolutely not," Nir'wei said to Greyhide as the Alpha wandered over once the others had found time amongst themselves. "I'm sure there are plenty of other wolves in Scalvoris you'd have no trouble courting. Matter of fact, any of them would - am I just some kind of genius that picked three perfect matches without even realising it myself?"
He didn't really want the answer, but Grey gave it anyway. "They share a perfect bond. Every thought, every memory, every trait. You really think they could ever replicate that with a common wolf?" Well, okay. That he sort-of understood. Even if it raised uncomfortable questions for the future. "Yes, I imagine the same would be the case for any other pairs that become Aligned," Greyhide answered directly to the idle thoughts in his head. "Why wouldn't it be? The connection is too intimate. To attempt to foster a relationship with anyone else, after feeling it so strongly... would feel empty, in comparison." There was a strange, long pause. "You're seriously worried about this, aren't you?" Damn mind reading.
"I don't know how this works!" Yes, none of them did, but that didn't make things better - in fact it did the exact opposite! "What if I want a life for myself too. Should I just start Aligning people now, see how that works out?" Admittedly, he'd been wondering on the usefulness of Aligning with members of his team back in the Office of Natural Affairs... if only to see if it was really possible at all, since currently he only held such bonds with the spirits he'd held at the moment of realisation... and Traveller, but that had been a no-brainer and their minds had synchronised in mid-air, too. Flight being the one moment where the two apparently felt exactly the same. Powerful. Liberated. Every time they took off, there was that tiny lingering possibility that they just keep climbing and never stop. That they just keep flying and never stop, leaving behind Scalvoris forever to explore distant mountains and shorelines across the distant oceans. "I guess it just has me wondering. About everything."