mother knows best

Pestilence listened quietly, not expecting a real answer from her mother. Generally with adults it was a 'because I said so', and Pestilence knew that Deathbelle owed her no explanation on their choice of territories. It surprised her to hear her mother open up about her intentions, and Pesto snuck a peek at her mother while she spoke. "I'm sorry, mom." She repeated softly, knowing it was selfish to hate the land that Deathbelle felt so connected to. "I miss him too." The pup sat in silence for the rest of her mother's speech, glancing down at her feet to re-trace the lightly smudged sigil. It wasn't easy for her to think of others feelings, to push down her own bitterness and anger to make way for empathy.

Her mother's admittance of Abraxas as a cruel god did little to help her feelings towards it, and she struggled wordlessly in response. She'd said the empire was for the Kleins and not Abraxas, but with so many of the pups bearing her father's name it made it hard to believe. One day her mother, Hari, Hannibal, Lucretia, Hela, and all the rest would be gone and remaining would be the Klein-Abraxas generation. It was a fact that was hard for the pup to face, and she didn't like to think of what the pack would become in that future.

She was about to speak her worries, but her mother continued speaking her name softly. Pestilence looked up at her expectantly. Her ears pulled back and her jaws parted as she prepared her argument. "But, mother!" She whined. Of course she'd expected a punishment, but had hoped their conversation would relieve Pestilence of the need for discipline in the Empress' eyes. She knew it was futile to argue - after all, she had tried to run away. Pestilence sighed heavily, slumping her shoulders. "Valdis wants playdates for Alarr and I." She reminded her mother hopefully. "Can I at least see Alarr without an escort? He'll-" Her voice shook uncomfortably, and she bit her lip. "He's only a season older than me, and he's not going to need a babysitter." Pestilence's cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she spoke. "He'll think I'm lame if I need to bring an adult."

There was a part of Deathbelle's speech that Pesto had to sit on - the potential for her to leave when she grew into a yearling. Although the ability to leave was all she wanted in life, it left a bitter taste in her mouth to leave for good. At least if she ran away to Legion with Alarr she knew that her mother would be frantic and welcome her back whenever Pesto decided to return. Though if she as a yearling chose to leave Ashen, would she be allowed to return? It was a hard decision to make, and Pestilence didn't know how to make it. "Will... will this always be my home?" She asked after a while.