Sick and Tired

There are no words to describe the amount of appreciation he has for his wife. He lets out a sigh of both sadness and happiness as she leans against him. Of course he is sad that she had gotten sick. From what he had finally pulled from Sakana, she could have died if it were not for him. The boy deserved a promotion and possibly to become a closer confidant to him. But he was also happy because she hadn’t died. He could still spend time with her and give her all the things she ever wished.

Her question leaves him speechless for a second. Where was he to even start? Taking a moment to collect all that had happened since Modesty had locked herself away, Gil decided to start with the simple things. “Ignis found puppies and one of his older daughters from a previous litter has joined the pack, she goes by Inferno,” Gil laughs because of course Ignis would name a pup of his such a name. “Ig wishes to bring them home, but we have no room. I have been trying to rouse the others into expanding back to the beach so we can keep some of the pack on the mainland,” Gil pauses, takes a breath, exhaling slowly before he continues. “It has me wondering if the isle is a good idea or if we should move back elsewhere,” he talks slowly through gritted teeth because he hates the consideration. He loves the isle, but was it the best for everyone else?

“Flurry has just returned from a trip to the Armada,” Gil hesitates again as he switches subjects. He knows Flurry has returned, but hasn’t spoken with her yet. There is a feeling in the Raid King’s gut that he isn’t going to like what she has to say. “Deluge and Scald still plan to leave together, but are taking their time until we can expand. I hate delaying them, but we need the help,” truthfully, there were just too many young and not enough adults currently and their own brood were a bit too rowdy to have them fully help with mature things yet.

Then it was time to get to the grittier stuff. “Sparrow wants to leave so she can hunt down Recluse’s murderer. I told her she can stay attached to the pack if she wishes, but she doesn’t,” another sigh before he continues. “Pack relations have been better. I met with a few of them during the claiming of a new pack called Norad. Valhalla has fallen, I don’t know where they went. The other alphas appear to be good wolves, but I’m unsure if I can mend what Sparrow had once broken,” his teeth clench as he lets out a grumble. Man, what a shit show everything was. Did he care for enemies? And did he even care for friends? The safety of the pack was more important than his own feelings, he knew that.

“I spoke with Corbie and have sent Rexx and his girl, Rheum, over there to learn some skills,” Gil is definitely hesitating on the most grittiest of subjects, but knows he can’t avoid them any longer. “I also perhaps have taken in a few… stragglers. I can release them whenever, but feel they may be of some use at some point. One, her name is Creature, I have her holed up in one of the out buildings. She had tried attacking me and as punishment, she is now uh what one would call a slave,” the word feelings gross on his tongue, but there’s no nicer way to put it. “She’s a bit on the strange side, but if Sakana or you have use for her, let me know and I can fetch her,” Gil isn’t keen on letting the girl loose on the isle anytime soon, but if it meant working for her keep, he didn’t see why he shouldn’t.

“The other, Valerie, she was alone, weak, and has a pup, and apparently my heart has grown soft since becoming a father. I didn’t want to leave her out unprotected so I have allowed her to stay within the isle until she wants to leave. I believe she has since gotten herself pregnant so that is a whole different issue to address at some point,” Gil lets out another grumble, his nostrils flaring slightly as he steels himself for the last bit of news.

“The last… Her name is Jael. I found her near dead in the archipelago. She has proven to be a hard worker since healing from her injuries. I think she will be of value to the pack,” he pauses before saying the hardest part of all. The part that is making his heart drum in his chest and his throat feel tight. “And something about her makes me want to protect her. We have grown… close, but she knows exactly where I stand with you and if you ever don’t want me around her, I understand,” Gil stares at the fire as it pops and sizzles. It was a lot of information for Modesty to take in and perhaps the most important news of all he had dropped on her last. What would she say? Think? Do?