This Christmas I'll Burn It To The Ground!

Casso's jaw tightened as Ignis began to address the crowd and accuse Winter of failing terribly as a leader. The rational side of his mind, the side that his mother had shaped, screamed that he was being irrational, that she was young, and she had so much more to learn. That side of him refused to believe that she couldn't be a good leader, she just hadn't been given a chance to be. So much could change and one could grow so much even in the span of a year - he knew that too well from his own experience. Who is to say that once she grew into her own she wouldn't be a wonderful leader? Perhaps not the style of leader that Ignis wanted to see, but a caring, kind leader.

The other side of his constantly torn, battling mind rallied behind Ignis and his message and urged him to follow suit. See what you could be? That could be you, but you're weak - just like that girl, they yelled, echoing in his ears and nearly drowning out pieces of Ignis' impassioned speech. He grit his teeth so hard that his jaw began to ache to force them away. He couldn't say that anything his brother was saying was necessarily wrong, but that didn't mean he was right either. It was all so harsh on such a young woman... but did his sympathy for her mean that she deserved to remain as their leader?

That question hung heavy on his mind when Ignis turned his speech toward them. Casso wasn't so sure he believed that Ignis was only doing this for the betterment of the pack and to push them toward greater things. If the clashing calamity of demons constantly trapped in his soul told him anything there were far larger influences that were most likely at play. He couldn't know that for certain, but it was still a factor he couldn't ignore. The air felt heavy around them when Ignis posed a fatal question to Winter and silence stretched between them while they waited for her answer. His ears flicked when he heard the defeat in her voice and before she even officially gave over the pack to his brother, Casso knew what her answer would be.

He shifted his two toned gaze down to Yurei for a moment, an ear flicking to listen as one of the women of the pack shot like a bullet out of a gun to immediately challenge for her freedom. He ignored the chaos that caused for a moment, instead focusing on his mate. There was a decision to make - if Ignis was even going to give them that choice. Did they stay or go? He didn't want to challenge him for their freedom the way that their relative was. Fighting had never been his main focus of study and even if it had been he wasn't sure if he had it in him to challenge his own brother. But then he had to ask himself, even if they did leave, where would they go? No... No, his place was still here. He might be the only one in this crowd that might have a chance at understanding Ignis' mind and he couldn't leave his brother alone with that plight. With a soft sigh passing through gritted teeth, he brought his gaze back up to his crimson brother with a small frown. For better or worse they would stay.

"Casso" | "Boris" | thoughts