Back Again

Mercy was wondrous, at least to Lykos, at offering comfort. It was all very soothing, and he sighed softly as she spoke, nodding. "Yes, I do agree... Especially at what also happened at the meeting," his voice hardened as he spoke on, and his ears twitched back towards his neck. "A man named Vereux tried for second-in-command. My brothers Kharnage and Dragon were violently angry and snapped; my brother Gryphon was much more reasonable and gave a calm, logical explanation, of which I followed up on. Our mother snapped at us - all of us - saying we will not talk like that again. Talk like what? Giving our opinions? Talking thoughtfully and seriously?" He growled at the end, absolute anger flashing in his eyes. He paused, taking a deep breath and holding it for a moment, before releasing it. Calm down. Except, then he thought once more to the meeting and the anger returned, full-force. "And apparently this man Vereux is 'smitten' with my mother, according to one bitch who believed herself better than us, simply for being older." He struggled with the anger as it threatened to overtake him, and he shuddered even as Mercy pulled away, trying to force it down.

He let himself focus on Mercy's words, until the anger simmered down to simply lightly broiling, instead of foaming and threatened to over-spill. It was still present, but controlled now; it was less fiery, and more cool. Her first response elicited a snort from him as well. "Apparently not," he muttered derisively. Mercy went on, and Lykos nodded along in agreement - those who did not defend themselves and relied on others were weak; the only time there is an excuse is if that wolf is a pup, or is too old to fight. Even so, those that were elder ought to be able to defend themselves verbally and face the consequences of their actions themselves, and not run away from it. "I guess so. I don't even know at this point. That might be an exception, but I don't even know. I'd tell you regardless, as I think any of my brothers would." It was saying something even when he would break the rules, even if it was a rule even he wasn't certain existed. He hummed at the last few words of Mercy, and he nodded slowly. "It would, wouldn't it? They'd think something valuable is here, or someone important; they'd either try to use it against us even more than if we were transparent, or try to raid us. So in reality, this rule of my mother's does not protect anyone, let alone the person who is hiding." It was a revelation he wasn't expecting, but now that Mercy pointed it out... it was all too clear. He thought it suspicious, and he was part of the pack and he was family. Who knows how one wholly foreign questioned and found out?

And the family issue. Mercy spoke passionately, her tone starting out soft and quiet, ending in a rough growl. Lykos frowned - her words did hold truth, but there was something that bothered him about them. "Because if I abandon them, or don't be there for them, then I'm betraying them," he explained quietly. That's what it was, now that he put it into words. If he left, he was abandoning them. If he left, he was not only hurting them but also betraying them, and giving up all he stood for - loyalty. While it was true a pack gained more loyalty from him, he did have some for his family and he just... didn't know what to do. On one paw, his family. Loyalty towards them. On the other hand, the pack that he felt he had to join, due to it being family. He sighed heavily. "Damn them," he muttered, ears flattening. "Damn mother for leaving Imperium and making this mess to begin with." It was just all too much, and he didn't know what to do. He felt like a newborn, blind and helpless. Mercy's words were so true, but how could he ignore that niggling feeling that what he was thinking of doing betrayed his entire family and destroyed his own values? He didn't want to be there. He didn't agree with it. Yet, something was holding him there, this lingering sense of loyalty to his blood as opposed to loyalty towards a pack he willingly joins. He knew what he wanted - he wanted to choose his loyalties. It seemed as if all had been chosen for him.

"SPEAK"