Frankie nodded, finally looking back at her, as she spoke. He wasn't going to push for the unabridged version of her story. They didn't know each other well enough for that and he was sure whatever she left out was most likely personal. ”I’m assuming, then, that the person who brought you here wasn’t really like you?” he asked. ”Just a friend of the pack?”
"You're a clever one," She replied, smiling and nodding, "The person who helped me would be the doctor who helps our pack out whenever anything medically related is needed."
”Thanks, Selina.” he chuckled lightly. ”And I'm guessing this doctor is one of the very few humans your Alpha trusts.” he smiled back. If only… I could be a part of that club too.
Her smile grew and she nodded, "You're correct again, he's trusted by the Alpha and is one of the only ones, since again, our Alpha is quite biased about humans."
Frankie nodded. ”I understand. We're not all that great to deal with most of the time. Not to mention the general reaction towards anything that's different from ”the norm”.” he sighed in disappointment as he ran his fingers through his hair. ”There’s so much we could learn from you if we weren't such self-righteous bigots.”
"Yeah, humans tend to not like change or difference, and most of your kind isn't the friendliest, but all in all, your kind is amazing," She admitted, looking over at him and relaxing back on her hands again as she looked at the fire.
He gave a sad apologetic smile and nodded since she was right… He really wished he could change that but he was doubtful that there was a way to change the way humans saw themselves and the world. ”You’re amazing. You get to live out here with nature instead of destroying it for selfish comforts.” he sighed, shaking his head ashamed. ”If anything humans are the real monsters.”
"Both of our species have their flaws," She said with a shrug, "And in some ways, those selfish comforts your kind craves have been revolutionary. I do wish humans could learn to live with the environment instead of destroying it though." Her mind wandered to all the terrible things her kind was responsible for as a whole, and she like she was lying to Frankie when he called them amazing, since they were anything but.
He shrugged. ”I won't argue with you on those two facts… but I wish the same thing.” he smiled weakly at her, still feeling guilty. ”Honestly, I’m glad we met even if I don't deserve to have met you.”
Selina nodded, offering him a small smile back as well, "I'm glad I met you too Frankie, and I'm the one who didn't deserve to meet a human as nice and amazing as you."
”Why do you say that, Selina?” he asked curiously as he tilted his head slightly to the side. ”I mean I understand why your Alpha wouldn't trust me, and I wouldn't be offended if you didn't either but…” he bit his lip as he heard himself start to ramble.
"I mean, you're amazing. You care about the environment, you're sweet, and passionate. I feel bad for having to scare you away from our land since I have no doubt in my mind that you wouldn't have done anything to harm the land," She admitted with a shrug, "And I trust you, since you haven't shown me any reasons for me to distrust you."
He smiled softly, very touched by her words. ”Thank you, Selina. I’ll do my best to be worthy of your trust.” he hid a slight cringe as he realized how cheesy that sounded… but he did mean it. ”You’re right about two things though, I do care very much about the land and I am passionate about it. I’ve never really been called sweet before.” he admitted with a light chuckle.
She nodded, her smile returning again, "You are sweet too, even if no one has told you. You shared your food with me, you let me stay and talk." You treat me like an equal She wanted to add, though she kept the words in her head.
”I was just trying to be polite.” he admitted sheepishly. ”You helped me find an amazing place to stay and you have more right to be here than I do so, of course, you're welcome to stay as long as you want. It's the least I could do to thank you besides it was my pleasure.” he smiled.
Selina's smile grew and she looked over at him, "Thank you Frankie." Once again she went silent, her fingers drumming against the ground as she thought, "So, how long are you staying?"
He shrugged. ”I was planning on a week at least.” Though, now, he was hesitant on leaving that soon. ”But I have a lot of time cleared out for the whole season.” Should I tell her about what I had planned or should I ask if I could stay here longer?
"Are you visiting any of the other parks with your other time?" She asked, her mind already going as she tried to think of some beautiful places to recommend for him to see while he was here.
He smiled at her. ”Am I that obvious?” he chuckled. ”Yeah, the plan was to spend a week at every National Park statewide. Eventually, I’d like to visit the ones in Hawaii and Alaska as well, maybe even Canada, but for now it's just the ones that you can drive to.”
Selina laughed lightly and shrugged, "I had a hunch. You seem like the amazing person who would do that." Again, she tried to think of some good spots, eventually nodding, "I might be able to show you some places around this park if you're ever in the mood too before you leave."
Frankie smiled with a light blush at her calling him amazing again. He really didn't feel like he deserved to be called that. His smile brightened at her offer. ”Really? I would love that!” he said excitedly. ”Are you serious? You would do that for me?”
"Yeah I'm serious," She replied, laughing lightly, "It might take a little bit of work on my part, but I could probably do that."
He was practically beaming. ”Oh, thank you, Selina. That would be incredible.” his smile dropped slightly. ”You won't get into trouble over this? I mean, you already have an important job in your pack. As much as I enjoy spending time with you, I don't want to keep you from that.”
Selina bit her lip and shrugged, "I'm not sure. It's quite possible that i will get in trouble. But I want to at least try to see if I can get something together, since i enjoy spending time with you as well."
Frankie sighed softly but nodded. ”I… Thank you again, Selina.” he said unsure of what else to say. He really didn't want her to get into trouble with her Alpha but what right did he have to tell her no? It was her choice. Besides, he was very excited to see what she could show him.