That's not who I am

The bristly, defensive nature Cináed took on as she began to explain how she made the connections of who he was caught Satira way off guard. She hadn't expected such a volatile reaction from him around something as basic as knowing who he was. It did make her begin to question if she really knew as much about Ciná as she thought she did. For one, this unexpected anger was not something she had ever seen him display before. What would he behave like when he was truly angered? He didn't scare Tira, but it sure as hell made her much more wary of him, especially when he glared at her and snapped back that he was not a Praetor. Tira recoiled a bit, but remained where she was, fixing him with her own narrowed gaze as her confident smile slipped from her face. "Okay, jeez. Settle down, testy..." she muttered in reply, folded over ears turning back a smidge. Gods, if he got this defensive over his family, what else would he get triggered over? Satira watched the giant red brute while he composed himself again, remaining quiet and giving him the space he needed while he settled himself down again. When he looked back up at her, his golden eyes would not find fear, but he would definitely see the apprehension she looked at him with. Her walls were back up again.

Ciná apologized, but Tira said nothing in response. She hadn't decided if she was going to accept it yet or not. She did permit him to speak and explain himself, however, listening while he told her how he'd spend two years trying to distance himself from his toxic family. It was why he hadn't given her his full name when she'd asked him for it during their first meeting, or why he never explained where he had come from or who his family was. She understood, but that didn't really make it any better. Her family life had been shit too, but she didn't get upset when it was brought up. She had long since accepted that her family was seven flavors of fucked up and had come to terms with knowing that was just how things were. Granted, she wasn't considered a social pariah because of her family, so she couldn't fully understand where Ciná was coming from. Maybe that was for the best. Eventually he did thank her for standing up for him, but by now the mood had been soured. Tira was, for better or for worse, her mother's daughter, and that meant she was stubborn and headstrong. Forgiveness did not come easily from her. "Don't mention it," she remarked, her voice passive and indifferent as she turned her gaze to look out over the land instead of at him. "Just don't make me regret it. My family isn't very big on the whole second chances thing."

Satira fell quiet for a few moments, brooding on her own thoughts and family. "Y'know, you're not the only one with a messed up family dynamic. I get why you're trying to hide that part of you, but you know it's never going to go away, right? Not until everyone who knows who you really are is dead." It was a grim matter of fact, but it was the truth. Ciná could do all he wanted to try and hide his past, but all it would take was his father waltzing up to the pack borders and calling him out to undo all of his efforts. Ciná was living in a house of cards praying that it didn't collapse around him. Tira almost felt bad for the brute. Rising to her paws, Satira finally looked back up to Ciná, a small frown tugging at her lips while she looked him in the eye. "You know that I know now, so you have a choice to make, Ciná. You can either stay and trust that I wouldn't use this to hurt you, or you can leave and try to cover your tracks to protect yourself." Staying would require Cináed to put all of his trust in Satira and believe that she'd never use this information against him. This was an exercise in trust—the only question was whether he trusted her or not. Still frowning, Tira gave a nudge of her head back into the wild lands of Boreas. "If you wanna go, I'll come up with some excuse for my uncle so he doesn't start asking questions."

"Cináed & Satira"