Stick Stickly

He listened, face expressionless as she divulged herself. In a way, it saddened him to see someone give up so quickly, particularly on their own offspring. However, not everyone had grown up and been raised on the strong values he had.

Would it be better to ask her to stay, and see if Paladin could help in some way? Or would it be kinder to let her go and possibly kill herself going up against the Talis boy that had attacked her and blinded Acapella so viciously? There were political reasons to be hesitant to let her loose. She had been seen at the raid.

If she left and killed a member of Talis, who couldn’t possibly know that she was acting of her own accord, it would be an act of supreme war. Not that Talis itself had any ground to stand on, with a raid, damage to his pack, and kidnapping of a yearling to boot.

There was the impact on her children to consider, as well. He was under no direct obligation to keep any of them beyond their first year, should they not pull their weight. Would her leaving affect their drive to succeed and rise in the pack?

Finally, he came to a decision. It wasn’t one he was overly in love with. “Very well. I do feel you will come to regret this decision, Marina. But if you must go, then you must. But if you go after that Talis male, I request that you make your lack of affiliation with Celestial very clear. While they have as good as declared war on Celestial with their actions, I refuse to have murder accusations thrown on my pack’s doorstep.”

He waited patiently for her response, fathomless sapphires reflecting the honest regret he felt.