The newly crowned Berserkr couldn't help but feel
odd in his role. Vehemently, he was convinced he deserved it. But never did he think he would get it that easy. And he didn't think that Caru would be a role that went empty, either.
Now, he almost felt stupid for believing Masquerade and Riley hadn't disappeared on their own volition. If something had been wrong, they would've found out somehow—right?
He felt stupid for caring this much, too.
But no—he couldn't just give up. So many faces came and went from the Rise, he couldn't just let them go like that. He'd still search, he owed it to
himself for the peace of mind, at least.
He sought for
@Redd on the matter.
Redd felt more at ease with others. She no longer worried for the rise alone, though she still worried. If she found a mate, strengthened them, her duty would be done and the pack would flourish. She would need to wander for this. Find a suitor interested.
She remained instead. It hung heavy upon her. She would not share this.
Her expression lifted seeing Mulherin. She greeted him with a friendly raised tail and a light whuff, but paused when she noted his own thoughtful manner. He wished to speak?
She waited, attention given with a focused look.
There, he catches a glimpse of the ruddy coated woman.
She greets him silently, as was her way—quiet and mysterious. Their gazes lock as he searches hers for any indicators of emotion,
You don’t think they’ll come back, do you?
A vague question, which comes off flatly; more as a statement.
No.
Her answer is quiet and toneless as well, but with a glance, she begins to walk. A simple tending to the borders of Wealda and Berserker but her flicking tail tip betrayed her unsettled core.
She wished to explain why. So far all of her answers had been partially formed and insufficient, but the true explanation was simple. Masquerade had promised to remain. She would not be back.
She lied.
Redd added, the stilted words sour on her tongue. She did not want this.
She didn’t feel it necessary to specify what. Her position as second, her sister as Wealda, her children upon the rise. The why behind the lie escaped her, but the lie was why she was gone.
It still rattled her. Redd’s hackles were tensed but her stance remained unthreatening.
He had asked this for a reason. She could ask but knew he would reveal it when ready.
A shadow, his steps align with hers; they walk.
Redd had few words, but her body language spoke of the tension. But one word, lied—stood out to him like a drop of blood in clear water.
They shared that sense of betrayal in a way. Though, Mulherin still had it in his capacity to forgive.
Nonetheless, he presses further.
What'd she tell you?
Perhaps she should not share this. But it did not speak of weakness to her. She had not taken this role of her own volition but she had embraced it by choice. This was enough.
To be Wealda.
Masquerade had been the first to proclaim her as such, just before abruptly rejecting this blessing. Then that she would stand beside.
That was all.
She had shared nothing else, and Redd had shared nothing herself. For the best now. Her worries were her own to carry.
She watched him, wondering what he would make of this. Redd did not seek to turn him against Masquerade, only to perhaps explain her own lost hope. Their sister was not coming back. She had chosen a different future.
Mm.
is all he mumbles in reply to the information.
Most of it he already knew. He wished there was more, but there was nothing else. No traces. If anything, Redd was not one to be chatty either—he'd figured Masquerade wouldn't share the whole story. They had gone and that was it.
Was the Rise really that awful?
Finally, he reveals what's on his mind.
I wanna find her. I wanna know.
Redd was not surprised to hear this, though disappointment silently filled her. She regarded him silently for a moment, but could read little.
We lead. We do not follow.
He was Berserker now, and his duty was here. He no longer chased approval. Yet she would not, and could not, prevent him. What followed he would decide.
She had little else to say and no reassurances to give. From the start she had known her own place; she could not follow without abandoning their home herself, something she would never allow to happen again. If he too had nothing further, she would leave him to his thoughts.
She rebuffed the idea.
And he ruminated on her words for a moment.
They were wise.
Yes, she was right—right in all senses. This was his responsibility, his future. But—
She's family.
He counters—nothing could change that.
Mulherin still took his role seriously. The boy sees no reason he has to pick one over the other.
My loyalty is here. Always.
It was his to choose. She did not argue, though in her own mind, family was pack. When Masque departed the Rise she had chosen a new family. Blood did not call to her the way it did him.
She would not stop him, nor would she shift his responsibilities. If he could not do both then the pack would question this themselves; until then, all had been agreed.
Impassive externally, though within, doubt. Sorrow. She wanted to believe him, but in this moment, she could not. If his loyalty were here he would stay, but still, blood called to him. She would not be surprised if he did not return.
A nod of acceptance, dismissing both of them, before she would turn and depart. Wanderer had not returned either. Of Avicus’ children only she and Carrion would remain. Even if this was temporary, it did leave her feeling strangely bereft. She would spend some time in the quiet to let it pass.
Uncertainty lingered in the air between them.
She did not fight to make him stay, she did not forbid him from leaving. But it was clear where she stood on the issue. We do not follow.
Still, he's never been able to get a good read on Redd.
He feels a twinge of guilt for sowing this rift between the two of them.
A soft sigh, he watches as she turns and leaves him to his thoughts.