Torin was very well aware of his sister's loud, public argument with her son. His nephew. There was only one upside to the whole thing and that was that outside of her other children Torin was likely the only one who had understood what toxic words they had hurled at each other. The last thing he wanted right now was to have his family's dirty laundry aired for the whole pack to gawk at. It was the last thing his nieces and nephews needed too. He'd told Célestin to be with his siblings when it had happened and then waited; hoping for things to cool down; at least a little bit, before he would seek out his nieces and nephews individually. The first would be Priscilla, his nephew having told him that she'd been the first to find Blaise when he'd gotten there. His slighted Nephew would be next, a top priority but he had been proving difficult to seek out. So he set out to find his niece; he could have called her but he didn't want to bring too much more attention to his wounded family than there already no doubt would be. "Silent Treatment" & Deep thoughts

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Leaving her brothers had been the wisest choice for now, Priscilla thought. She had things to consider… and thoughts of wanting to leave and find her own place in this world. She saw the sides of their arguments, and of her own… how the girl wished that things could be simple… that they could just start anew and be a family for each other now instead of leaving themselves broken. Things couldn’t stay this way… so why not change it for the better?

The girl sighed, keeping to herself as she traveled deeper further away from the heart of the territory. She was heading in the direction of Lirim’s borders, her heart aching in her chest. She felt out of place with her mother’s words…

She was a bastard child… unwanted…

...but did that really mean she and her siblings were unloved?

Their uncle had never seemed to show resentment towards any of them. Offering them training and company… but… Priscilla wasn’t sure what to believe anymore. Her life had been a lie, at least partially, up until now.

She paused at last, still a fair bit away from the border but close enough for it to suggest what she’d been thinking. Priscilla sat underneath one of those willows and glanced out over the lands as her ears flicked back against her skull. She could see the territory beyond Lirim on the horizon… was that where she belonged? Somewhere out there?

“Would anyone notice if I just… left?” She asked herself as she lowered her gaze with a heavy sigh.

Torin found his niece under one of the willows, Priscilla seemed to stare intently over the border and Torin couldn't help the way his stomach seemed to twist painfully as he watched his niece. She looked so dejected and Torin couldn't help but wish he'd come to find her sooner. He approached slowly, keeping his stance as friendly as possible. The vaguest hints of words reached his ears and he frowned. Torin gently approached his niece, making to sit next to her if she'd let him. He would match her stare, gazing out past the world of the pack. "Do you remember when we brought your brother's home?" He asked, his voice soft; a deep rumble that hardly seemed to leave his throat. "Silent Treatment" & Deep thoughts

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Priscilla barely noticed her uncle’s approach… but when he sat beside her she didn’t move away. The younger wolf looked up at him with mismatched eyes, a frown on her face as she considered his words. “They were relieved… but… that was cause mama wanted them back at the time, right?” ‘cilla let out a soft sigh. “I just… I feel so lost, uncle Torin. I knew mama was always a bit funny with us… but…” She lowered her head. “Do you really love us?” The question was asked point blank, Priscilla refusing to meet his gaze. “You’ve been there since we were little… but it’s not just out of pity, right? Cause we’re some bad guy’s kids?” She furrowed her brow, her heart feeling heavy and hurting in her chest. “I’m sorry…” ‘cilla apologized. She realized that her words could hurt him too. “I just… I don’t want to live in any more lies. I want to know the truth… If we’re only here out of pity than I don’t want to be here.” The female shivered a little. ‘I wasn’t meant to be here at all anyway…’ She thought to herself. ""

Torin couldn't help the sinking feeling that settled in his stomach as he listened to his niece. He felt certain that his sister loved her children, that she always had and that that hadn't changed, but then he didn't know that for certain... he wasn't inside his sister's mind. He shook his head, wanting to assure his niece that she was loved. But she asked the question itself before Torin could say anything. He gently leaned into his niece, moving to wrap his foreleg around her and try to draw her into him. "Priscilla, your mother joined my family when I was a very young pup. My mother took her in and she took instantly to my brother. We were never really close until after my mother and brother started being more distant I took up looking after her, but I never thought of Jewell as anything but my sister. I've loved her as my sister since the moment my mother took her in. When we found out what happened to her I was angry, I wanted nothing more than to ruin the life of the man that did this to her... but you and your siblings were never going to be anything but family, I loved you before you were born and I wanted to protect you, protect you all from the harsh reality of the world... maybe that was naive of me." He closed his eyes, trying to reign in his breathing. "I never meant for the circumstances of your birth to become a lie I was withholding from you, I just wanted to make sure it didn't define you. I'm sorry that I never told you about your father, I wanted to wait until I thought you were ready but I never considered that I might have already waited too long." "I have never thought of you and your siblings as anything less than family and I love you all. I'm sorry if that's ever been in doubt. But please know I'd never lie about that." "Silent Treatment" & Deep thoughts

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