angels fall and darkness reigns

As the mood of the conversation shifted from mutual displeasure with one another to an ever growing curiosity for the underlying intentions beneath each's eyes, the Queen could not help but let the emotions and thoughts surfacing in her mind to shape her own face into what could only be described as a chameleonic display of aversion, pride and waryness -- all at once. 
And, while it had been with tedious haste that the man, accompanied by Quicksilver at the time, had agreed upon joining the Spine's ranks, it had also been with needy willingness that Cara had accepted them.
In the middle of Winter, when their caches were at the cusp of being empty and their borders reeked of negligence Cara had accpeted the pair; and while she had seen little of them after their initial conversation (Quicksilver and Sinaaq had become equally absent after that) now that the Spine had risen from its crisis, she held really no moral obligation to keep him.
The aid he brought to the pack by hunting, that if he even contibuted at all, could be easily replaced by the work of newcomers.
Cara did not owe him anything.

Yet as he claimed to have chased out Mara, the pack's greatest enemy, after her command had been issued made the Queen do a double-take. Sinaaq, who did not avert his gaze or even care to show up to the past pack hunt summoned, was after all, not such a deadweight. 
With the paleness of her eyes mixing with his own, Cara waited for the man's answer.
Of course she would not beg. It was below her, below an individual of her caliber, a Queen to do such things.
And of course he would present a contradictory affirmation -- or denegation in this case-- when confronted with a simple yes-no question. 

He didn't want to leave, yet he didn't specify if it was truly within his desires to stay -- and if he were to stay, given that by default his refusal to leave meant he would stay, he didn't clarify why it was he would stay. His desire to stay in the Spine, within the confines of the Ouroboros did not necessarily mean that he held the desire of staying in the pack of the Ouroboros Spine -- yet that was a decision that was not his to make.
While he 'chose' not to leave, he also 'chose' to be part of the Spine -- in all and every way. 
This, was non negotiable, immutable and final.
If he; who didn't want to go but didn't comfirm his desire to stay either, who demanded respect but failed to give it back, wanted to stay he could do so. 
But under her rules, and her authority.

"Very well" she barked, her tail curling over her back as she simply allowed her gaze to slide down her subordinate's face. Knowing how things were, and how they had been when her throne had to be shared with another, Cara could foresee that this wouldn't be the first nor the last time their heads butted, or their values were questioned, yet she could also be sure that as long as during those future times her authority was not questioned his membership would not be at risk.
Life was conflictive, so were her subordinates and so was she.

"Then make your presence significant" she barked at last, the tip of her tail twitching dismissively as she slowly, leaving room for him to give another response, began to shift the focus of her ears elsewhere. 
He could stay, as an active member of the pack, or he could go --there was no inbetween.
Because for Cara, there was no room for mediocrity.