The Sentinels beauty means the scent of roses, and then the death of roses

“And what is 'bad'?”

He dwelled on this for a moment, his thoughts fueled by her encouragement. Though tempted to bring up his captor, he silenced himself of such thoughts and pondered the qualities that made the dark wolf “bad”.

“Bad, like, somebody you wouldn’t want coming to your borders because of the mean things they’ve done.” He suggested, keeping his pacing steady as they continued. “Like, if they've ever hurt others or … stolen.” His heart dropped at this and he frowned.

as they swam, he explained himself. deirdre found herself agreeing, for the most part--though her definition was loose. trespassers, to deirdre, were rarely good; thieves, too, on principle did not sound good. vague though it was, deirdre knew who such a comment was meant for.

you must keep an open mind, for the world is not always so black and white as good and bad. it is possible to think a bad wolf to be a good one, and a good wolf to be a bad one. why has one wolf hurt the other? is it because he thinks himself the protector? there are few in this world who think themselves to be the villain, deirdre was young, but understood this. skellige did things that were truly questionable, but she did not think him a bad man. still, to justify stealing was something even the ever eloquent deirdre did not know how to do.

she sighed a little, the sound soft but causing a great ripple in the waters. skellige is a man driven by his belief. he will not, nor will he ever, see his taking you as wrong--to him, it is meant. he does not believe in coincidence, deirdre was thoughtful as she looked to him, and the truth of it is, neither do i. he acts before he questions, it is his way. you are the prince that was chosen, rannoch; he saw something within you, and i see it, too. i do not think it right, his taking you as he did, but perhaps... perhaps, for some reason only the fates know... it is part of your Plan. there are some things written that cannot be erased, she understood this intimately, now. the loss of her father was something that, try though she had, could not be undone or changed!

Though Rannoch was eager to throw in some counter in response to what Deirdre offered, he could not find the proper words to do just that. It was as if his world had been flipped upside down with the wisdom she offered. He shuffled uneasily and looked away briefly as he thought about what had been said.  

What if Skellige wasn’t the villain of this story? What if it was Rannoch?

He did not want that role.

“Can we each be the good guys?” He asked finally, looking to Deirdre with a frown as she attempted to wrangle his thoughts. “Or is one of us ultimately the villain?” He swallowed in anticipation as he waited on her response.

you can, deirdre informed him, who we are, who we become, is determined by the choices that we make, deirdre continued to paddle along, noting that throughout the duration of this conversation he had not winced or mentioned his pain at all, and she knew distraction was what he needed to aid him in recovery. you are good, i know that you are. skellige is good, too, simply in different ways. the goodness in others can be hard to see--harder, still, when we are wronged by them, even—sometimes especially—if they do not see it in such a light. every wolf is capable of terrible things, especially when under such duress. he is a man like no other i have ever known, she admitted to rannoch, but if he were not in some ways good, if he did not care at all, you would not be with me now,

Rannoch took Deirdre’s words into account, falling silent as she offered her wisdom on the subject matter. It seemed that the woman-- a being that he believed to be inherently good-- held much faith in his captor. He was conflicted in it all, conflicted in the great Leviathan being good, despite the fact that he had taken Rannoch.

But, Deirdre brought up something that he could not deny as being “good”. He nodded once more, turning to the queen. “You’re right,” he agreed slowly, a sense of guilt washing over him in that moment. “Maybe he really isn’t bad…” Maybe I’ve been the bad guy this whole time.

these words, all of what she had spoken, were words she believed with all of her heart. she, too, was conflicted by the manner in which he had been taken. deirdre did not at all see the benefit in taking a child when they were unwilling--taking any who were unwilling--and her heart ached for the boy, for he had been taking from his family so young! eshe had been a good woman, but deirdre wondered suddenly, or perhaps for the second time, if this was the price of her magick.

all of us have the capability to be good, or to be bad, deirdre thought it right to apprise him, and continued, skellige is not perfect--though, i have yet to meet a being who is. do not close your mind to anything! it was but a recommendation for him; he was a wolf who was free to make his own decisions on the matter, as he had his own mind. deirdre would be happy to advise him, though, if it was her words that he wanted to hear. were she to know the worry in his heart, she would have sought to take it from him--but, as perceptive as she could be, she was not clairvoyant. it must be you who decides to give him a chance. to do so would change your perspective, and your experiences going forward... she fell quiet at last, and began to paddle toward shallower waters.

you have worked your leg enough, for now; i will get you some food so that you may rest, deirdre smiled toward rannoch, before commending him: you are doing well.

He felt heavy from both the subject matter and his practice, Rannoch happily obliged when Deirdre directed them towards towards the shore. He had much to take in from their conversation and was unsure of how to really digest it all, but, in time, he would learn how to. Perhaps he had been too close minded in it all-- but how could he not? After all, he had been taken from the happiness that he loved and to a strange, new world. He was conflicted-- the understatement of the century.

Nodding to her offer for food, Rannoch settled himself upon the bank, lost within his own thoughts in regards to his captor. He would remain that way for a while as Deirdre went to look for food and upon her return they feasted while Rannoch remaind quiet, allowing the queen to do the talking for the rest of the evening.