Frostfire Ridge She ain't going out like that

I'll go ahead and have this archived. <3

Tezcacoatl drew in a deep breath and let it out in a slow exhale. It was as he reflected upon this, this exchange of words, this goodbye that he realized it was the first time he had to say goodbye to someone he had grown to care about. The first time that one left and sought him out to explain. He desires to see Nochtli and Citali stay within the Ridge had been purely selfish — no affection had been tied to that reasoning; and the hatred Tezcacoatl had felt for Ragnar Lodbrok had erased any affection he might have once harbored for the man. It had been hatred and vengence that had brought about the Viking's end and to this day Tezcacoatl could not make himself feel the remorse he perhaps should have felt for taking Ragnar's life. This was different. He didn't hate Manauia, and he wasn't killing her. She was choosing to leave, to return to his mother, to her origins. There was a sadness pooling like lead, weighing heavy in his chest, but he had to let her go.

“Thank you,” Tezcacoatl accepted when she agreed to look after Quetzalcoatl. Even if it'd been an empty gesture, he appreciated that she did not scoff at him for asking it. For a moment his tail twitched awkwardly behind him, unsure of what he was meant to do in this situation. “Goodbye, Manauia.” He murmured to her as he watched her turn and depart, her form fading into the distance. It was only when he could no longer see her that he turned and headed back into the heart of Frostfire Ridge, hoping that his mother would take her back into Coatl Rise's ranks after so long away. Tezcacoatl surmirsed that he would have to accept the affirmation that Quetzalcoatl would take her back if only because he had no way of realistically knowing, either way.