Moonspear And into the fire we go

It was official. He was a Moonspear wolf now; lowest in rank, and with little standing, but still. Somehow he felt lighter with the decision having been made. The Caldera could go on without him, as they seemed to be happy doing, and he could focus on the relationships he would make here. Hydra, Liffey, Rannoch, Wraen... these were his pack mates now. He liked the idea of that.

Gannet stood at the base of the mountain, looking up. He could not climb yet, but he couldn't wait to explore now that he had leave to do so. Maybe Liffey would go with him when he could! He would have to ask next time he saw her.

Liffey hadn't been certain of her emotions when the announcement had been made of Gannet's acceptance into the pack's ranks. @Rannoch had told her of her friend's distress at being apparently abandoned by the Caldera, and truth be told, Liffey was rather bothered by that as well. She knew to become an official member of Moonspear had the potential of being a comfort to Gannet. But on the other hand, the Blackthorn simply could not shake the sinking feeling of something being so very wrong about it.

And that was why Liffey was quick to seek him out so soon after Charon's call had been made. It hadn't been easy - Rannoch was watching her like a hawk these days since her run-in with the cougar. Her wounds had been superficial - a cut on her muzzle and scratches on her flank - but they were still rather visible reminders to her mate of how close he had come to losing her. Liffey could sympathize; She would be just the same if something like this had happened to him. And she suspected that he would be just the same if roles were reversed as well and would sneak away from her helicoptoring when the need arose.

Liffey found Gannet gazing skyward up the mountain's face, as she so often did. In spite of her nerves, she found herself smiling at the fact that he was so clearly getting around better. It was with that smile on her face that she approached him, calling out a greeting to him as she neared. "Good morning, packmate," she said without preamble, her voice a little tighter than she wished it to be though she trying to keep an open mind.

When Liffey spoke, Gannet's eyes shot open to look at her, and he smiled, taking the few short awkward steps forward to greet her. He enjoyed the words she used, but there was a quality to them that caused his ears to tilt curiously.

"Hi Liffey." He said, tail wagging a tad uncertainly. Yes, packmates now. Just like before. Maybe she was just confused on how it had happened? It was unexpected. "Charon offered. To let me make up for taking me in. I said yes."

Liffey watched his face and so she was quick to recognize that he recognized her tone. Gannet hid nothing, and apparently neither did she. At least, not from him. They had grown up together. He was as close to her as Lagan had been, and when she'd left the Caldera, she'd been just as upset to walk away from him as she had her own siblings - moreso in fact than her other cousins. And I'm not entirely sure he was even around when that had happened... but that's neither here nor there. She and Gannet had always had a special connection. Liffey knew that she could be honest with him, and also that there was no point in trying to be anything less.

So, without preamble, Liffey lowered the floodgates.

"Are you sure though? That this is what you want?" she asked, lowering her voice anxiously, "I mean... I don't know, I'm just worried for you. After what they did, I can't stop feeling like you aren't safe here. I'm sorry." She didn't know why she was sorry, really. For doubting his decision to stay? For being so paranoid all the time? For feeling so uncomfortable with the way Gannet had just said to let me make up for taking me in? For speaking badly of her packmates? She didn't know. All she knew was that she'd been anxious and frightened for him for weeks now and she just couldn't hold it in anymore.

She was worried about him, and that alone made his heart swell a bit as she talked. He moved forward and pressed his head against her shoulder, hoping the contact would help some. It helped him some too. Staying like that, he tried to think of the words to use to explain it. He still wasn't sure she'd understand. But, for once, he was really gonna try.

"They don't want me back, Liff." He said quietly. Then he took a halting step back and looked at her. They'd been friends forever, and he knew honesty was best here too. "Charon does. He said I could gain their trust." Gannet paused, then resolved. No holds barred this time. "Lyra said it's not gonna heal right." He glanced at his back leg. He had some use of it now, but was still nowhere near up to speed. He was beginning to realize that his gait would always be off; it was just the work now of adjusting for it. "This might be the only way. And you're here." What other pack was gonna want him? He finished, looking at her questioningly. Did she not want to be packmates maybe? He hadn't considered it, but... he supposed she could be a bit upset he had followed her here as well.

The touch did help, but it may have been better to leave her feeling anxious and afraid rather than more comfortable sharing her anxiety and bitterness with him. She knew her feelings were safe with him, but they were not safe in the open air of the pack's territory. But it's okay, she was whispering.

"How do you know?" Liffey challenged him, still unwilling to believe that her family would have just abandoned Gannet like this without reason, "Has anyone even really told them what happened?" It was her paranoia speaking again, and her mistrust. She didn't have any faith that the Caldera had been giving the real story, especially not if it had been left to the Cerberus to send the message. Not for the first time, she felt a pang of guilt for not going to the Caldera herself. They couldn't know the whole story. They couldn't know just how serious the situation was.

She looked sadly at her friend. She had no response for his leg, for she had no real reason to doubt Lyra's diagnosis except for the little voice in her head that said the dark sisters were all manipulative liars. Truth be told, they were the whole problem here. She trusted everyone else, including Charon. She adored their father! But not them. Never them. She couldn't clearly even define why. Except for her very first experience with them, things had been quiet as she went about her day avoiding them and they - presumably - did the same to her. But she couldn't shake the way they had looked at her when she'd reunited with Rannoch. It was a look fueled by emotion not soon forgotten, and she wouldn't soon forget it either.

Plus, there was the possessive way the one (she still didn't know which) had spoken of Rannoch. No way in hell Liffey would ever let that one go.

She smiled faintly at his mention of her being in Moonspear, though she was still concerned about all of this. It didn't occur to her that he might doubt her affection for him - the idea was too unthinkable. In any other situation, she would have been thrilled for them to share ranks in the same pack again. But not this one... Not at the moment, anyway. "Did they say how you're supposed to regain their trust?" she asked, still bothered by that point.

How did he know? He didn't for sure, but it was the only conclusion he could draw that made sense, and there was a lot of logic to it. He wasn't angry at them; he didn't hold it against them. He just felt it. Perhaps he was wrong, perhaps not. But it was enough that he was no longer comfortable banking on return, not when his survival certainly depended on support, now more than ever. Support that Charon had offered freely, even when he had no reason to do so. "They haven't come, and they shouldn't. I left them." Gannet shifted awkwardly, unsure. "I didn't mean to for this long, but maybe this is better." He'd barely been there even when he was there; He couldn't name a single friend in the Caldera that meant to him what Liffey did, what Hydra or even Wraen did. And his siblings where there; but they were Finley's family, Lagan's and even Liffey's.  Not really his anymore.

"No.  But I don't think it will be bad."  He said, somewhat uncertainly.  Charon had seemed genuine in the offer.  His guess was that just by getting better and no longer being a burden, maybe he would.  But now he wondered.  "What d'you think?"

Liffey wanted to say more, but she could see that this conversation was hurting her friend. She couldn’t imagine how he felt, though... maybe she somewhat could. She had left the Caldera once. She had never once wondered if that meant she had lost the support of her parents if ever she needed it. She’d never had a reason to wonder. But now it occurred to her that she would never have a reason to need them at all. She would need Rannoch. He was her family now. And Gannet... well, Gannet needed one too. It was suddenly very clear to her that that was what he was looking for here.

It made her sad. To know that he was feeling so low and forsaken by his family that he was actually looking to make one of the wolves that held him prisoner. How could she have so meekly stood by and watched this happen to him.

Liffey didn’t answer his question, uncertain of how. Frankly, he was crippled now, so what exactly was it they were expecting him to do for Moonspear? What could a wolf that would struggle to hunt or struggle to fight really do for them? She personally saw a great deal of value in her friend, but she hasn’t really gotten the sense that the Ostregas valued the same in their members. And that’s why this worried her so much.

”I think... that I can’t begin to guess what it is they want from you,” Liffey answered softly, ”And I think it kills me to see them lording this over you when you didn’t do anything wrong. Titmouse didn’t hurt Galaxy. He’s a stupid, scared little boy that saw trouble and ran. All you did was act like a loyal brother in trying to stop them from hurting him. They would’ve done the same if roles were reversed...”

She paused, taking a breath before continuing miserably, ”I know that they’re angry and hurting. What happened was terrible... and I can’t blame them for acting irrationally out of grief. But this is too far. This is just... wrong.”

Hydra had been thrilled to hear the news. Frankly, she was certain Gannet, even with a limp, would do well here once he recovered. She was eager to see him again, to welcome him into their ranks personally. Hydra moved to the place of his recovery with plenty of pep in her step. Things were looking up for her friend, she felt. He really was getting back on his feet again. After catching a congratulatory rabbit, she headed to him. 

The scent of Liffey was in the air. She was no longer in the practice of actively avoiding her, especially not when the entirety of her family was on the same page as her. Appearing on the scene, Hydra could only catch the tail-end of what was spoken by her. Hungry for proof that Liffey was loyal not to Moonspear but to herself and her own personal convictions, Hydra felt her own timing was impeccable. 

She could be wrong, though. There was some small piece within her that hoped for Rannoch’s benefit that her loyalty wasn’t so... so... self-serving? No, maybe that wasn’t the word. But Hydra didn’t care to define it. 

She entered the scene, tossing the rabbit to her friend companiobaly before asking: What’s wrong?? before looking to Gannet with a broad grin. Heard the great news and wanted to welcome you myself, clearly more eager to see him here among them than Liffey was. 

o:) ILL DELETE MY POST IF THIS ISNT OK!!!

She seemed deeply unhappy as she spoke her response, and for the first time since making it, Gannet second guessed his decision. It was plain from the way she spoke she didn't like the idea of him staying, and while he did not take it personally (she was his friend; how could he?) it did shake him some.

She didn't see in them what he saw. But Gannet did always have a knack for seeing the other side of things. It was why his friendship with Hydra had blossomed despite all of this; it was why he held no anger towards Lyra or Alya or Charon or any of them for this. He knew why they had done what they did and it made sense. As long as that was true, he could handle it. "They don't know us. Redhawk. They don't know Tit." Gannet's ears tilted back with the difficulty of putting his reasoning into words. "I can't make them. But they can know me." He matched her voice tone, keeping his quiet as well. "I'm glad I saved him. But they don't know. They can't." It wasn't fair, in his eyes, to expect them to. It wasn't any fairer than expecting Gannet to let them just kill his brother.

"You think I should go back." He said, looking at her. Was it because of their punishment of him, or was it because she thought he belonged there? He hadn't felt like he did in a long time; even while he was there, he'd been more of a border ghost than a packmate. But back when Liffey was there, things had been different. He wondered if she knew how much his disappearance, and then hers, had changed everything. The new came in; the old left. He was just slower than she and Whip on the uptake.

editing bc SHADOWPOSTED OMG

Then Hydra was there; he hadn't heard her approaching, he'd been so intent on his conversation. He returned her smile, though it didn't quite reach his usual enthusiasm, and wagged his tail in greeting. "Hey Hydra. Thanks."

Kit, if this isn't okay, just throw a brick at me!

Oh, Gannet. Liffey couldn't help but smile softly as he spoke such kind and understanding words. He always tried so hard to see the best in others, and she reasoned that in this, he did have better perspective to do so than she did. They had given him shelter and taken care of him after all that had happened... But then again, they had been the one to injure him in the first place. And if Gannet had protested them taking him into Moonspear's territory, would they have let him go? No. They would not have. Gannet may have been able to reason himself into being optimistic about this situation, but there were certain things about this that Liffey couldn't forget.

But in the end, this was his life, and his decision. She looked at him, tilting her head thoughtfully to the side.

"I just want you to be happy, Gan. And--" 

Footsteps.

She turned.

Alya.

(lol)

"--safe." she finished, then fell quiet as the black female greeted them.

In hearing only the tail-end of things, she could see how uncomfortable things had become with her arrival. Hydra, not one to skirt around issues, was tired of the games Liffey played when she was not around. Alright, so they weren't games—Rannoch really did love Liffey, and that wasn't blasphemy, unfortunately. But she was up to something. Alya, unsurprisingly, had been right to suspect a traitor in their midst. 

Hydra looked to Liffey, who had fallen completely silent upon her arrival, and then to Gannet, who greeted her without his usual verve. Then back to Liffey, then back to Gannet. Puzzled, she looked to the wolf she trusted most here. Fill me in? She requested. She knew Gannet enough to know something was wrong. But she was referring to the last few words she had managed to hear, or, thought she heard. And she trusted him enough to think he would be nothing but honest with her, as they had always been to one another.

Hydra seemed quick on the uptake, and Liffey to fall silent, once Hydra arrived. The pale wolf sensed his friend no longer wanted to speak openly, and he felt a moment's regret that it had been interrupted, albeit with a happy encounter. He felt like there was more she would have liked to have said.

Hydra seemed to sense it as well, and asked to be filled in. He looked at her questioningly; why would she want to know what he and Liffey spoke about? It was as odd as Liffey wanting to know the opposite. These knowledge games he did not understand, but because she was his friend and she asked, he would try.

"We were talking about why I joined. Wondering why he asked." Gannet looked down. "I can't yet but; I'm gonna try and be useful." It was he felt the most important part of their conversation that Hydra would want to know. He truly believed it; he would make himself valuable to them, now that he had promised to stay. He'd make them trust him.

Liffey felt the tension rising in her. There was something light-hearted about her regard of them, but the Blackthorn was incapable of feeling completely relaxed around her or either of her sisters. The request she made caused a prickling of unease to slip up her spine. It hadn't been made at her, so she remained silent. She looked to Gannet as he responded in earnest. Once again, she was struck by his optimism in this situation. He had so much faith in them... It was a little bit infuriating. But, Hydra had specifically asked him to fill her in, and so she held her tongue, even though it irritated more deeply to do so now than ever it had before.

Hydra didn't want to downplay his response but frankly was relieved to hear of his own concern. But that did not stop her from looking back to Liffey. If Gannet had wondered it, she knew he would have asked her father. How? Because in every single meeting the two had together, Hydra was informed what went on. Gannet had never held his tongue before. 

Because you're healing, she said to him, quite frank. Because Winter isn't over, and the storms have come. You've taken resources, and you're on your feet again. I know when you can contribute, you will. You're also my friend, and that had its benefits, fortunately. That was what she had rationalized his acceptance as. Hydra looked to Liffey. Actually, that's also how Rannoch came into our ranks. He was injured pretty badly, too. We patched him up, and then took him into our ranks once he had recovered a bit. Or had she forgotten that Moonspear was capable of kindness? That they truly did care for those that ran among them? Gannet might have some work to do, but really, what was so bad about that? 

Hydra did not know Liffey well enough to sense there was something she might want to say. She had only answered the question they had both been entertaining, thinking this to be the source of the restlessness.

He nodded; the healing was not enough of a reason, not with the ire that Charon and Amekaze had shown with his first meeting with them. Nor was winter. If they had wanted to cast him out, they would have in a heartbeat, Gannet knew this. It was that he was her friend. This was what Gannet guessed made her father willing to give him a chance. Rannoch's situation might have been similar, but Gannet guessed he hadn't had many terrifying interrogations in his time there. His injuries hadn't been inflicted by the very pack that took him in.

This time it was Gannet's turn to keep silence. There was a coolness between the two women that made him decidedly uncomfortable, so he waited, looking uncertainly between the two of them.

Hydra's answer was succinct. And, on some level, rather fair. They had taken Rannoch into their ranks once he had healed, so this didn't seem terribly different. The circumstances of Gannet coming to the Spear were not the same as Rannoch's. There had been no reason to resent Rannoch for what had happened to him that brought him here. But there was a reason for them to resent Gannet, and they had made that bitterness clear in the way they had kept him here. And that was where the whole issue rose... Where was Gannet's choice in this? Where was his freedom? Gannet may have found a place in his heart where he could have faith in the cerberus and optimism for his future here, but Liffey couldn't. Not when she still suspected very deeply that if Gannet asked for a different way for his own life to go, they would deny it. They would keep it from him. They might even kill him for not accepting their so-called generosity.

"The pack has been very generous to him. I know Gannet is grateful, and so am I, of course, for all the kindness you've shown to him and to Rannoch," she responded, trying to remain tactful in her search to have that nagging question answered, "I can't lie though - I had always thought, and hoped, that once Gannet had healed, he would get to go home. I mean, I know the choice is his and Gannet--" she glanced at her friend in earnest, "--I hope you know that I support you in whatever you want to do. But I'm curious still... If he pulls his weight through the Winter and gives back what he was given.. Will he be allowed to go, if he wants?" 

Her ears had fallen before she'd begun to speak, her muzzle dipped and posture shifted lower to show respect. She knew her words to be impudent and thus she wanted to convey that she didn't mean to offend. But still, her eyes rose to peer at Hydra's face as she looked to the female to give an answer, looking for a hint of the lie her gut told her would come.

Hydra blinked. She did not need for them to feel grateful. She did not even want it. What she wanted was their earnest loyalty. Their trust in them to do the right thing, even when it was the hard thing. They always had done so. So where the hell was all of this coming from? What had they ever done so wrong that Liffey was asking these questions? 

And what good would answering them do, if Liffey did not trust her?

All Hydra could do was try. Out of the last shred of respect she had for her father's decision to add her into the ranks at all, and also for the respect she had toward Rannoch and his choice in life-partner, Hydra would answer. Ask your alpha these questions. He alone can tell you that. I want to say that once he feels he has been repaid, and much time has passed, then yes. But I speak for no one but myself, she informed. Sighing a little, and looking back to Gannet, her ears twitched. What I can say is that you are Moonspear, now. I really am happy to have you among us. I know you're a good wolf, but you do not need me to speak on your behalf. And when you are strong again, I look forward to hunting with you. Liffey sought to poison the water with her words, she felt. But she was certain her father must have been explicit with Gannet to make this impossible. Though she did not yet know word for word what transpired in that exchange, she did not doubt her father had made it perfectly clear to Gannet his potential longevity, if he did make the choice to join them...

A thought struck her. 

Was this the test her father had laid out...?

Liffey's question piqued his interest, and for the first time, he somewhat understood why she was concerned. It wasn't that he was staying; it was that he was staying, in her eyes, out of necessity. He remembered Charon's words, 'a life for a life', and he knew what she said was wrong. He wasn't leaving, not until Charon said he could. That was what he'd agreed to.

He'd forgotten Charon's call didn't include that.

He turned to Liffey and lowered his tail, knowing she likely would be unhappy with what he was going to say. Hydra's answer gave a prickle if discomfort as well; he didn't like the way their exchange was going, nor did he like being in the middle of it. He hadn't asked her to speak for him.

"I promised to stay. However long they want me. I don't want to go back." He was surprised to find that this was the truth. He took a step closer. He didn't want to leave Hydra hanging, but he sensed that Liffey needed reassurance, and he intended to give it. But he did look back at Hydra, and he gave her a genuine smile this time. "I'm happy."

Liffey might not understand it but when they had come after him, even then, they'd come after him as one. He'd been traveling so long, and kept apart so long by distance and by habit, that he'd forgotten how good it felt to run with a pack and have friends his age who were going to stick around. He wanted in, and now he had a chance to be in. And now he and Liffey could hang out all they wanted, without fear of her looking bad because of it.

last post for me unless you guys want to stop her!

The dark female didn't answer her question. Instead, she hypothesized about what Charon would do if the situation arose and encouraged her to seek him out. In that moment, Liffey was quite certain that she would do just that. Charon was her friend; She could trust him to be honest with her where she could not trust the woman before her or her sisters. And once again, she was struck by the fact that they were the entire problem here. If she could somehow just bury the hatchet between her and them, then everything would be alright and she could make a life here for herself. But then all of their wrongdoings flashed through her mind and she once again couldn't see her way through this. For all the care they had given to Gannet and to Rannoch, they had given her none.

And seriously, why was everyone just okay with the fact that they had crippled Gannet for life. Speaking of which...

Liffey looked at her friend as he spoke words that felt like knives in her heart. He was trying to reassure her, but it just bothered her more. She reasoned that she had no right to tell Gannet how or how not to feel. She was bothered by the fact that they had taken his freedom, and to insist he be angry about it was just another way of doing just that. If he was happy, then that should be all that mattered. And maybe that was the problem - she wanted to be happy too. She wanted to accept what had happened and let go of her bitterness. She wanted them to accept her as they had Gannet. She wanted them to like her. But they wouldn't.

She felt hopeless again. With a great deal of effort, she gave Gannet something akin to a smile. "Well then I'm glad for you," she said in earnest. She did want him to be happy. And while him being happy didn't necessarily alleviate her fears for his safety, it was a step.

She looked at her paws briefly before glancing between the two of them, nodding to them both. "If you'll excuse me.." Liffey said softly, standing to go. She needed time to think on her own, and she simply couldn't stand being there anymore.

Charon was just passing when he heard voices coming from close to where he'd last seen Gannet. Wary that the new pack mate might be stirring shit up (and unaware that he was actually being a prime class pack mate instead) Charon made his way over, hoping that nothing bad was going on and the feeling in his gut was totally wrong.

As he made his way towards them Liffey looked like she was headed his way. "What's going on?" he asked as he approached the trio, eyeing Gannet briefly before looking over to Hydra, then Liffey again. Everything looked sort of okay, but he still couldn't shake the feeling that there was a tension in the air. And if there hadn't been any tension among them of yet, everything about Charon's tense (though not necessarily dominant) body language showed that he'd just brought it to the party.

Liffey was leaving. Hydra almost wanted to stop her, but felt that nothing would be gained from it. For whatever reason, she wanted space. She was reminded of Korei Julia. Liffey was making everything about her, and Hydra found that utterly ridiculous. Hydra would say no more on the matter, at least not today.

Her tail twitched idly behind her. She was about to ask how Gannet was feeling as Liffey moved away when her father emerged. Hydra had never been tense, and even now was not. She exuded her own at ease mood, though lowered her head a measure to relay subservience to him. Her tail waved, glad to see him here for his own written test.

Hydra answered his question. Nothing much. I came to welcome Gannet to the fold, she informed, glancing to him with a grin. It was clear that between the two of them nothing was amiss—and so she looked back to him. Everything about her answer would let him know tha the issue did not rest between the two of them. Hydra had plenty of issue with what she imagined were Liffey's supposings but now was her golden opportunity to speak on them if she really did not have faith in Moonspear and its patriarch.

Oh... his face fell as Liffey congratulated him, but her expression failed to clear. She seemed to be sincere in her happiness for him, but he could tell she herself was not, and it pained him that he was obviously causing her distress with this. He wanted her to be happy too.

Then she was leaving. He watched her go without saying anything, recognizing and respecting the need to get away, though his look when he glanced at Hydra was pure confusion. He was beginning to get the sense that his two friends were not, in fact, friends with one another, and this puzzled him. How could they not share a similar relationship?

When Charon showed up, Gannet didn't miss his look, and he kept silent, not wanting to interrupt or cause issue. He let Hydra speak, as she seemed eager to, mostly wondering what the alpha was doing there. What had started a simple conversation between he and Liffey was evolving faster than he could keep up.

Liffey had thought to beat a hasty retreat after excusing herself from Hydra's and Gannet's company. Her mind was a chaotic whirl of emotions in that moment and to stay seemed as though it would only make things worse for her. It wasn't the fault of her companions, not exactly. That their words gave her such intense feels was no reason for them not to speak them. Liffey just couldn't take any more of them; she needed to digest what they had already given.

Charon's appearance stopped her in her tracks, though. Or, it paused her at least. She felt mixed emotions over seeing him arrive - tension, guilt, anxiety, and yet still some pleasure and comfort. Charon was her friend, and her ally, and that she was confident in if nothing else. It was a tumultuous confidence though, for there always loomed the recognition in her that if push came to shove - Liffey against his daughters - she would not be the one boasting his support, no matter the circumstance. It was nothing he had ever done, really, or shown, exactly. Just a feeling she had, supported by the notion that her own parents would have sided with her come hell or highwater even if she were the one so obviously at fault. That was just what parents did, and Charon, so bold and caring and infallible, was likely no different.

Hydra answered the question he had posed while Gannet remained silent. Liffey considered what the dark female had said about questioning Charon directly about whether or not Gannet would be free to leave if one day he wished it, but she had lost her passion for knowing that answer when her friend had confirmed that he didn't want to go. Who was she to argue for his freedom when he didn't want it? She couldn't understand his happiness and contentment living amongst those who had crippled and detained him, but did that mean he didn't deserve to live with the joy he'd managed to find in the gloom?

Maybe she needed to work harder to see the world more like Gannet. Or maybe their situations were simply too different. She didn't know. She needed to go.

Liffey nodded as though to suggest that she too had come to congratulate and welcome her friend, which she had in a way, just in a more suspicious, roundabout way. Kinda. She looked at Charon and offered him a smile. "And I was just headed to see Rannoch. It's my turn to bring dinner home," she said, dipping her muzzle respectfully to him. She paused then before attempting to leave, looking at her alpha. "Let's chat soon? It's been a while," she said, turning the suggestion into a questioning request with the lilt of her voice. As much as she wanted to leave to have some time on her own, she knew it would be a brief thing and soon enough, she would be longing for company again. And she hadn't spent much quality time in his since before Galaxy had died.

There was unmistakable tension in the air and Charon found it hard that nobody would tell him what the fuck was going on. Hydra just said that she was here to welcome Gannet, Gannet remained silent and Liffey... She was just about to leave, it seemed. She didn't say anything about Gannet at all, which was a bit suspicious, but then she said that they should talk one on one together sometime.

"Yes, let's," said Charon, feeling suspicious of the way she was acting — why not talk now? — but also understanding that maybe she felt wary of Hydra's presence. His daughters had never got along with Liffey, after all. He still couldn't shake the feeling that all of this was leading up to a big explosion sometime soon, and he wished that it was over already.

Then he turned to Hydra with a quirked eyebrow, silently asking 'the fuck was that'. To both of them, he said, "Well, that was a hasty exit..." Trailing off and hoping that either of them would fill him in on some of the details, because he still thought it was all pretty weird at best.