fail you to the core

I, also, apologize for the delay with this.

“You are with child,” Ragnar spoke as if it were the most simple and complete explanation in the world. To him, it was. “If they cannot pick up the slack, as you put it, for a couple of months then they can get out of my pack.” He had no room for those that did not pull their weight, and sometimes circumstances arose in which more was expected than they might be given. It was life and that was that. On the subject he would hear nothing more from her. Thistle would focus on taking care of herself and his sons growing within her – as was her duty as their mother. He had no interest in her arguments that, should they arise, he fully intended to ignore. She did not need to patrol, there was more than enough of subordinates to do that for her. “I do not tolerate wolves that do not contribute and neither should you.” And if they had an issue with it then they could come take it up with Ragnar. He might not have been a leader any longer but the Bay was his and anyone who could not respect that was more than welcome to tell it to him to his face. Whether he would take it with a cynical smirk or with outright violence was hard to tell these days, but regardless, it would not be a pretty encounter.

“I can call it,” Between the two of them it was likely better, despite that Thistle was the sole leader of the Bay, at this point. She did not have Ragnar's experience with war or battle in general, he knew, and thus the effort should be led by someone who actually knew what they were doing. He would not jump to the automatic conclusion that a war was going to show up at their doorstep at any moment but the possibility was real, and he needed the Bay to be prepared for it, nevertheless. Caribbean blue eye studied the girl as she spoke, stating that he wasn't a man of many words. The date was surprising to Ragnar, and for a moment he was hesitant before it soothed away. It would not be the first time that Odinn had taken interest in a mortal woman, and surely, wouldn't be the last.

“Are you old enough to conceive children?” The Viking asked Spectra without so much as a bat of an eyelash in hesitation. Perhaps, he considered, the All-Father would grace the Bay with an Odinn son, and should that be the case Ragnar knew he would hold no objections to it.