An Envoy Approacheth

Corbie tilted her head, listening as Modesty outlined all that had happened. Much matched as Saga had admitted to her initially, but Modesty's outraged self-righteousness colored it all, making Corbie glad she'd insisted on hearing it all separately. It made her sad to hear how Bellamy had fallen into a trap of her own rage and lack of self control, but hearing it from Saga first had made it impossible to disbelieve Modesty's rage towards the former Avalon member - something truly had broken in Bellamy. How had she missed it while they lived in the same pack? It was a consistent pattern of behavior, she saw now, though until now it had been too easy to justify and explain it away. Bellamy was a problem that needed to be addressed, for her own safety as well as those around her. And Haydee herself had told Corbie back when she'd taken over from her mother that Bellamy had snapped and needed to be treated in the Hallows. She was surprised Haydee had put Bellamy back in a position of power after that, but... "It can be difficult for children to believe the worst in their parents," she said carefully, though sadly. "No one wants to believe that their parent doesn't deserve another chance to be the hero we all want our parents to be when we are young. We both know that Haydee is not a malicious wolf, just naive." Naive enough to trust that all the alphas she'd befriended would act in the same way she would have, a failing that Corbie knew she shared that had burned her before as well.

She shook her head. This had all gotten quite ridiculous very quickly, though she wasn't surprised given that the conversation with Saga had been equally puzzling. "Gil isn't dead," she said baldly, though her tone was gentle. "I am sure that your son thought he saw his death, but our minds often trick us in the moment, making us misinterpret what we see. Gil is a captive, not well, but alive. When I spoke to Ethne's representative Haydee was already seeking medical assistance for him. There were many witnesses to that." And frankly he was lucky it was Haydee or he'd have been enslaved on top of the injuries, having trespassed into another pack's territory and attacked their alpha. She could not imagine many packs would have been so merciful if she'd have done the same. And it was such an easily confirmable thing that she was puzzled that Modesty had not already learned that for herself - anyone who showed up at Ethne could confirm it for themselves. It all seemed so irrational. She wished that Ethne had sought arbitration sooner... so much of this would have preventable from the start.

"While I'm pleased to hear that Gil thought well enough of me, he knows well that Avalon is a neutral pack," she continued, her voice still gentle. "Surely you can see that this course of action is not a reasonable one for your pack to take, given the facts of the whole situation. Bellamy was wrong to maim a child - and that child should not have been put in that situation to begin with. Laying Bellamy's and your own guilt at what happened on Haydee rather than where it belongs solves nothing. Blaming a cat for scratching you when you've chased it into a corner isn't rational either, and frankly," she squared her shoulders, shaking her head, and added sadly "I had believed better of Gil myself." She sighed. "This can be ended without further bloodshed, Modesty. But the give cannot be all from one side."