Something something something Law & Order DUN DUN

Artur continued to meet Geoffrey's gaze for a long moment after the smaller boy stated that it was a risk he was willing to take. Geoffrey clearly meant what he said, it wasn't just false bravado. It puzzled him that the brother who'd seemed to get queasy at the thought of blood in battle remained unflinchingly firm in the face of possibly losing the only home he knew. Even Artur, who hated it there, was wary of losing that safety net, or he'd have left already. He looked away when Geoffrey went on to say that they'd talk about the band later. It was such a... Mother thing to say that it was surprising to hear it in Geoffrey's voice instead of his. "Yeah," he said simply. "We can talk about it later." He didn't need to tell them right now that the reason he hadn't told anyone was because he couldn't be certain it wouldn't get back to Aurielle. He wasn't ready yet to lead or protect a band, and the faster she found out the faster he was likely to be out on his ear without having gotten the training he needed to support his goals. Worse would be if she took it on herself to punish his disloyalty by keeping him from that training by confining him to pack lands - then he'd be stuck in the pack without any of the benefits.


He kept himself from gritting his teeth - barely - and instead listened attentively as his siblings worked on the problem of what gifts to bring to Abaven. "Hunting's a good idea," he said. "I don't think we should do it here though, even if it is exotic for them. It's not because I can't pull it that far, I could do it with a travois," he added defensively, sending a sharp glance at Viviane. "But we'd have to spend more time here preserving it just enough that it won't spoil by the time we get to Abaven and that means we run more of a risk of getting caught."


He thought for a moment, though, to show that he wasn't just dismissing her idea out of hand. "Maybe Aurielle wouldn't think anything strange about us hunting and smoking something a few territories over from Valhalla, but she might wonder why we didn't contribute it to the rest of the pack when we were done. I don't think it would be something that we'd get in trouble for but it might get her watching us more closely. I think that some good furs with a deer should be fine. Unless you guys think Abaven might think it's strange that the pack didn't provide us with something locally before we left?" Like Geoffrey, Artur worried that they knew too little about their allies' expectations. He was confident that he could make it work anyway, but not knowing what plans and agreements Aurielle already had in place with this pack definitely added to the risk. Greater risk, greater reward, he reminded himself. Regardless of what risk there was, his siblings needed this training. So, they were damn well going to get it.