Blacktail Deer Plateau A slamming door and a lesson learned

Dante took a steadying breath when Lasher asked for the full of it, the thunderstorm within still coloring the encounter with a darker tone. He knew to speak too uncharitably of the duo would not be wise, but he couldn't stop the edge that clipped the words, angry and a bit derisive.

"That our conflict with the Caldera was too much to deal with, and their home here not worth what was spoken of in the meeting." His ears tipped back as he recalled the conversation. Had it been a simple matter of wishing to branch out, a desire to take charge of their own instead of follow, things would have been different. He would have been sorry to lose them still, yes, but not felt nearly so enraged. "Apparently this has been their plan for months, yet they chose to inform us only now." He wondered if Lasher would see this in the same light he did - as a betrayal of trust that had been freely and generously given.