[ it's good to be back here, despite all of the terrible things about scawwy. alfyn is clearly reacting to it differently from pickles, finding comfort in the proximity of people, perhaps starved for it.

but he'd still take the contact even if he wasn't. ]

Yeah. It's just... I was goin' from the village to the island, first thing in the mornin'. We were together for a little after we got through the fog, then got separated, and I was alone for a real long, long time after that.