‘When you do something, just doing it is the easy part. Logically explaining why you did it afterward is where things get difficult.’
Of course, even having the opportunity to explain himself probably would be elusive, as it appeared Ryan may have acted his part too well. Still, it was good to see the other hedgehog had some spark ignited within him. It was only unfortunate that subtle kindling was unlikely to flare up as a passion for life anytime soon. The guardian had an idea of what might help Ruby get a better grasp on his own self worth, but at this point it didn’t look like something he could help with, and it wasn’t exactly something his loved ones--did he have any? The other hedgehog had quite refused to answer--could help with either.
Ryan wouldn’t deny that his approach to the situation was questionable and bizarre, but from what he had gathered, a friendly approach wouldn’t have helped much more.
You know--aside from the fact that Ruby wouldn’t absolutely hate him like he now did.
So his admittedly-strange method of trying to help really wasn’t turning out so helpful. People could even argue it was counterproductive. But he’d already done it. He couldn’t change it, he had to live with it, and he had to move past it. There was quite literally nothing else he could do for the situation: apologies would be pointless for a multitude of reasons, though he certainly would apologize if he thought it would mean anything. For now, it was much easier to let anyone who knew about the incident to just believe he was a villain.
His only true regret would be failing Ruby, for the mere fact that he cared despite not really knowing him. He cared about everyone far too much. If his methods were wrong, he was sorry. If his words were wrong, he never claimed to be good with them. It was easy for him to admit he was far from perfect, but regardless, he’d actually meant well.
