Blacktail Deer Plateau She said shut up and dance with me

ramble ramble but good chance to cement Dante's mindset a bit :D

He hadn't felt it was his place to tell Saena what to do, she was old enough to decide and he would afford her that.  He wasn't about to beg her to stick around if she would be happier elsewhere, and it was obvious she didn't feel she could be content here or she wouldn't be bringing this conversation up.  After her justification, however, he kept his mouth shut even more decisively, not wanting to sully this gathering.

Her argument against Koda was justified.  However, if she was to let problems with one wolf make her leave, then she would have some serious learning to do once she actually tried running things.  There would always be wolves whose opinions differed from yours. His criticism didn't stop her from hunting, nor from holding the trade she did.  And if it had really bothered her that much, she could have come to him.  But she did not.

Her other account, though, was the one that made his jaw clench.  He was careful not to let his irritation show visibly, but internally he'd thought perhaps they'd moved past this.  He saw hypocracy in her words as well as serious naivety.  She spoke as though he hadn't considered Junior a packmate when punishing her, and said his judgement was clouded on Osprey.  From where he stood, hers was irrevocably clouded though when it came to her sister, and he would stand by his judgement in that instance with a steadfast hold.  Osprey's actions harmed no one but herself.  Juniors could not only have killed Finley, but could have incited problems with Redhawk that could have brought a world of trouble to every member of the Plateau.  The punishment he'd given had been lax, a simple demotion until he felt she would not act so again.  A few weeks, tops.  It was a punishment Koda had taken without complaint for the simple act of missing a meeting, yet somehow he was out of line for imposing it on Junior for actions much worse.

This aversion to being demoted showed him a complete lack of appreciation for the wolves who filled those ranks, as well.  In his eyes, there was nothing wrong with residing in the lower ranks.  It did not mean that they were any less important than the higher.  Not everyone could be a leader, and it wasn't as though they were badly treated.  He'd have gladly stayed within the lower tiers had Peregrine not requested his promotion, and he felt Saena was showing many of the traits Junior had... so eager to gain respect that she was forgetting it was a two way street.

Her words convinced him more than anything else so far that she was making the right choice... if she wanted a position, she would need to look elsewhere.  Because unless she gained a little insight, there was no way she'd ever rise here while he held the helm.

This was not the place to be defending his actions, though, nor to be getting irritated with her.  He let it fall away, for it would be petty to let that spoil the parting.  She was an individual, harsh and quick to judge yes, but also one who he felt would do well once she figured out her own place in the world.  Surely there would be others who shared her perspective, who would be willing to follow.  And maybe once she held the responsibility she'd realize kicking out a long-time, loyal, and hardworking member for a single mistake was harder than it looked.  And despite their differences, he did hold quite a bit of affection for her, just as he had their sister.  Brotherly, exasperated affection but it was there and strong all the same.  He would miss her once she was gone.

"Take the time you need," he agreed.  "And you will always have our friendship, for we'll be sad to lose you."  He knew, out of the three, that this parting hurt Blue Willow most.  He too would have been upset had he known his lack of argument hurt the Beta female, but he would not have changed it.