A Love Like War

Manea knew she could always count on Alastor to give the truth to her straight even when it was hard to hear. It was what made him more than just a good romantic partner and why they had been able to transition into their positions of leading this pack together so easily. He was her sounding board when she didn't want to confront the answer that was in front of her. She knew he was right in his assessment of being worse off with someone unprepared for the role rather than waiting for someone to prove themselves worthy of it, but that didn't make it easier to hear. She frowned a little as he assured her that he was willing to take on the work if that was her concern and she replied, "I know I can count on you and I trust you to do it if you had to, but I want you here with me and our child. I want you to be able to enjoy their earliest moments too without worrying about keeping up with both of our work." Unfortunately, this time at least, it seemed like they wouldn't be able to fully avoid that, but it was still something that weighed on her mind that she wished there was an easier answer for.

She tried to push the worries to the side in her mind for at least a moment as she leaned into Alastor and he wrapped his foreleg around her again, letting the feeling of his paw brushing over her swollen belly soothe her a bit. Being in his arms and snuggling like this did make things seem at least a little less pressing. However, when Alastor spoke again and questioned her dislike for the previously mentioned pink-marked warrior her temporary peace was disrupted and her ear flicked with a bit of irritation. She did honestly wish she could pinpoint one moment or one thing that had caused her to have such a bad taste in her mouth when it came to Relm, but it was difficult. She had been indifferent to her when Alastor first started bringing her around the band and hadn't had much more interaction with her other than seeing her in passing or perhaps some sort of introduction so having her first real encounter with the woman be pulling her rage induced husband off of her put Manea's opinion of her in a rough place right from the beginning and it hadn't improved any since then.

"Her willingness to disregard your direct instructions and put herself in the position I found you two in certainly didn't put me on the right foot with her," she told him after a moment of trying to find the best way to put her impressions of Relm into words. "I'm still not convinced that she didn't do that on purpose out of some twisted desire for you to fuck her and I don't appreciate anyone touching you without my involvement. Besides, when I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt and I tried to build some sort of relationship or bridge between us she gave me nothing but short, bitchy answers that told me absolutely nothing and gave me no reason to think any differently of her." Manea huffed with annoyance, a snarl twitching at her muzzle as she stared out the cave's entrance over the rest of the island in the distance. "Why do you care so much? I know you brought her to us and you... what... saved her from her father? If I didn't know any better I'd think that pink thing is sucking your dick or something."

"Manea Mendacium"