listen here, old man

Somehow Valentine's eyes narrowed further. So this was going to be that kind of conversation. Wordlessly he stood up, turned around and wiggled back into his den. The sound of muffled clattering could be heard and then Valentine emerged again with a bottle. He went back in for a pair of bowls and then settled down in the same spot as before. Still without a word he used his paws to pour himself a bowl. Valentine then half scooted, half waved the bottle at Jupiter. This was a conversation he knew he needed with at least one member of his family before he died. He wanted to be civil for it, so booze it was.

"For starters I didn't knock up a relative," he said after taking a drink. "But I did make mistakes in my youth. I recognize that. I think I would have done things differently with that situation if I knew what I knew now. Perhaps set a precedent years prior. Hindsight and all that. Having a separate name for the bastards of undesirables, maybe." Like that nasty little midget Rhyme had fallen into or any number of the questionable partners Jupiter had likely taken. Never would he allow the product of weak individuals to carry his name. But bastards? Perhaps he should have been more forgiving when it came to those who would wear a different name.

He fixed Jupiter with a stern look. "Make no mistake. What Rhyme did was stupid. He deserved the punishment he got; he was a danger to our family name." Valentine paused, his gaze dropping to the bowl of alcohol for a second. He huffed pensively before continuing, "But perhaps he shouldn't have been given that name from the start." If he had critically assessed the personalities of both Cascade and Rhythm, he would have had to admit that Rhythm didn't possess the characteristics he desired in Imperialis children. That wouldn't have diminished his love for her any, but it may have set things up differently now. Perhaps if Rhyme had been given a different last name and thought nothing of it, things would be different today.