Don't get him wrong though, having Alice snuggle up next to him was nice, and familiar. Small talk just gave him a reason to put a foot in his mouth, however, which was something he didn't like to do, and really didn't do often. Awkward situations didn't happen to him, like ever.when they did, he was waaaay out of his depth.
"She's... Good. Kind of cranky." As usual. It wasn't really Pickles he wanted to talk about. "She misses you, I think."