Balthier had taken to helping with the den stores and preparing the meats, maybe a little too much. Ever since Allegro had left them and they found out Aranea had died, he had filled his time with anything other than sitting around with his thoughts. Nights were hard, but he had Azzurra with him to help him forget the pain and stress he felt from the events in his life.

But he had just grown so tired of it.

He was coming to his breaking point of feeling like the near father figure of his siblings. Maybe they didn't feel that way, they all seemed to take care of them selves well. But it was a role he felt he had to take. Maybe it was because of his physical resemblance to his father, or maybe that Allegro had left him with his final words. He felt selfish and guilty that his family was burdening him, but he just couldn't take living here in the place that held his entire childhood, a great life built in the paws of his father regardless of what Aranea had put them through. And now it felt it had all fallen apart.

It was hard to tell the time of day lately, it was later in the day but he had assumed it was a little earlier. Everyone should have been settling into their dens or finishing up their duties, maybe. He called for Theory, but his intentions were more than what she could accept or deny him.

"Balthier"

She answered Balthier's call a little bit later than she would have liked. The unsettling changes in weather had prompted her to redouble patrols where she could and she was burning the candle at both ends. Her eyes were deep and hollowed by the time she arrived to greet him, but she gave him a soft smile nonetheless. "Balthier," she said, dipping her head for a moment. Theory remained standing, afraid that if she sat down she'd fall asleep in front of him. "What could I do for you?" He was of age now, like his siblings. Theo was prepared to grant him any request within reason, whether he chose to leave or stay.

Balthier could noticeably see how tired Theory looked, and he didn't blame her. The changes too had him on edge though he also tried his best to ignore them. It was easy to put them behind him when he was safe in his den, or at least he thought he was safe.

But being here, walking through the past traumas of his life, remembering the times as far back as when Aranea was here with them, it was too hard these days. Everything was on his mind, he had put this heavy weight on his shoulders. He wanted to keep his siblings safe and provide for them but it was too much.

He gave her a gentle smile in return because while Balthier had mostly stayed secluded to himself and his family, he knew what Theory and the pack had done for them. "I'd like to ask you if I can leave Abaven." There were near prickles in his voice because it even hurt to ask her after everything she had done for him. "It's too... painful for me to be here right now." He didn't want to tell her goodbye forever, maybe it was just something he needed to step back and heal from. Because he knew that wherever he was, Abaven would have always truly been home in his heart even with what tainted his memories.

"Balthier"

Theo gave him a long look, that same small smile on her face. 'Of course," she said softly. She had never gotten used to this part - where pack members came and asked permission to leave. The hurt never lessened, even if she wished them all well. What was once a home - warm and safe - might now signify something else for him. Pain. Tainted memories. Abaven was the stage for many of her own life's tragedies, and so she understood the impulse to leave this place. But her heart was buried here next to Shaye on the cliffside. This land was tied to her, body and soul. "It is a brave thing, to know what your heart needs and choose that, even if it hurts," she added. "I hope you find what you are looking for and know that Abaven will always welcome you home."

He couldn't help but smile just a little bigger as a silent sigh of relief left him. He didn't want this to be complicated but he was also willing to challenge if only to show his strength for the outside. Maybe he thought that Theory would have still seen him as a child, but he felt much more than that. He was much more than that. He was much more of a man than a playful pup in previous days. But it was because he stepped up to help his father, he stepped up as his father. And while Abaven had helped him along the way, it felt like it was too much for one boy to handle.

He stepped forward, aiming to place his cheek gently along Theory's shoulder in a small hug if he would let her, "Thank you, Theory." He wasn't in a hurry to rush out of the borders though. He would pack some things and take the raft from the ocean. And he would do it in the dead of the night when his other siblings were sleeping. He didn't want them following behind him. But ultimately, it would be their own decision come time.

-Exit Balthier-

"Balthier"