Grow Together

Manea offered Venom a slight smile at her thanks and joined her in the soft chuckle she gave at the opinion she had expressed of her former mate. It had been easy to reject Hattori from her good graces when Venom was the one she had formed a respect and relationship with, but if the situation was different and it had been Venom that had decided to abandon the relationship then her opinion of the Empress would have been tainted as well. In this situation Venom was the victim and Manea's heart ached for her and the position she was put in. That made it even easier to side with Venom and her children and support the monochromatic woman even more strongly than before. She gave a nod of sympathetic understanding when Venom expressed how the departure had been unexpected. She wondered to herself if there had been signs that perhaps the Empress had been blind to, but she didn't ask. It was always easier to see things in hindsight and she knew all too well how blinding love could be.

Manea gave another nod as the Ashen Empress began to speak of how difficult it was to suddenly have no one, even though her sentence trailed off without a real conclusion. Any kind of sudden change or challenge was going to be difficult, but this kind of blow was understandably world shattering. She was quick to shake her head when Venom apologized for burdening her, replying, "No, you're not being a burden. I'm glad you told me. I would rather know than not... Not just so I know how to consider Hattori moving forward, but so I can support you as well." She smiled a little more genuinely as she added, "I hope our relationship continues to develop as well... For our packs and families and for our friendship as well." Manea didn't keep many friends usually, but as she was getting to know more and more wolves around Boreas and Auster she was starting to see the beauty in having these friendships. Her trusted circle was still pretty small, but Venom had found a permanent place in that select group of wolves.

"Manea Mendacium"