Face the facts of being who you are

@Majesty

Beric walked along the shore of the island, his gaze scanning the shoreline for anything that might have washed up. It was boringly clear today, unfortunately. Several days had passed since his surprise meeting with Ragnar, and his thoughts had been on it ever sense. He had kept mostly to himself since that meeting, still doing his duties, but not socializing very much. The pack meeting hadn't been what he expected, and he knew the time was coming that he needed to tell Majesty his loyalties had changed.

Waves nipped at his paws as they sunk into the sand. A loud seagull flew overhead, no doubt looking for the same thing he was and he wondered if it was getting no where, as well. Oh, well. He changed his course to head into the forest and get out of the sun. It was midday, the hottest time of the day, and he figured he had patrolled enough for right now. Small twigs and brush crunched underneath his paws as he made his way to the heart of the trees. It was the coolest part of the island, and a spot where he liked to lounge.

His mind flittered back to Majesty, and he decided now was as good a time as any. Well, actually, he supposed the best time would have been on the beach, since the mainland was right there and he would be leaving immediately after this little talk. But, hindsight was twenty-twenty. He lifted his muzzle to the sky and called for the Alpha of the pack. Sitting back on his haunches, he waited patiently for Majesty to come.

Sorry for the short length...

Majesty heard Beric's call when he was in the middle of lying down in the waters of the inlet near the mainland shore of the island. The call sounded... troubled, and that immediately put the alpha on edge. Quickly he rose from the water and shook out his drenched coat before heading farther into the trees. Soon enough, he saw Beric sitting there waiting for him. He approached slowly, wondering what could be wrong.

"Hello, Beric," he said. "What reason have you to call me? You sounded distressed." He came and sat down across from his delta, patiently waiting for an explanation.

It didn't take long for Majesty to arrive. Until this moment, Beric had felt alright about his decision to leave, but now he was feeling a little anxious. He had never told an Alpha he was leaving the pack due to differences of opinions. And that's really what it was. However, he would not put all the blame on Majesty. He was, after all, taking back his word. Generally, it didn't matter the reason a wolf was leaving, most Alpha's considered it abandonment. Hey, Majesty, he began. I know that I pledge my loyalty to you, but I've found my family, and I think it would be best if I tried to join their pack... I feel we've grown apart in our views of this pack, and I'm no longer the asset I was when I joined. He tried to use his words wisely. He wanted this to go well, even if he was expect Majesty to be upset.

Majesty sighed as he listened to Beric. Somehow he knew something like this would happen. He knew he had lost the respect of at least a few of his wolves ever since he'd had that pack meeting the week before. He nodded without speaking for a long moment, trying to come up with something - anything - to say. But the words were caught in his throat.

Eventually, he just looked up at Beric through sad eyes, got up, and walked away. There was nothing he could say that would make it any better. He paused momentarily when his back was turned to his former pack mate and said, "Go then. I wish you well."

Then he continued on his way back to his den.

An uncomfortable silence befell them as Beric waited for Majesty's reaction. He was expecting anger, or confusion, or something. All of those he would understand, because he felt them, too. His expression portrayed mild shock when Majesty moved to leave without so much as a word. Nothing? Not a word to fight for him to stay? His heart hardened, accepting the way that this was turning out. Just then, Majesty turned and Beric's ears perked, hoping that he would say something and maybe it didn't have to turn out with him leaving. But, he only wished him well. And I, you, he responded. The words were true enough. He wished no ill-will to Majesty and hoped the pack thrived under his rule. But it would do so without Beric.

Once Majesty was out of sight, Beric headed straight for the border, wasting no time. He was no longer a member of this pack, and needed to leave as quickly as possible. He waded into the water, and swam to the mainland. Coming up on the shore, he took one look back at the island, knowing he would never step paw on it again. He sighed, and began his journey to his new home.