Bearclaw Valley It is time to call it quits.

As the first words left her mouth, his ears fell back further against his head. It took a second for them to fully register in his mind, but once they did, he could do nothing but stare. There was a feeling in his stomach, as if he was going to be sick, but bile never rose in his throat. The feeling was one he could not identify, despite having felt he'd experienced everything. It was similar to the loss he'd felt over the death of his sisters, the death of his parents, but still different in some way. It wasn't like the woman before him was dying. No, she was still very much alive. Still, she was gone. She was leaving him, and it hurt, to say the least. The man understood he'd made mistakes in the past, that he hadn't been there for her as much as she felt he should have, but he'd been in a state of denial. He was sure that, despite all that had happened, they'd be okay at the end of the day. They'd be together and would live their lives side-by-side, but her words broke that image. They caused the illusion of what could have been to crash and burn right before his very eyes, leaving him at a loss for words. What could he say, anyways? Nothing would change the past, and he had a feeling no words could rebuild what once was. It was over, broken into pieces and unable to be restored. It was a loss without death, though the pain felt was just as great, if not more so.

She didn't stop there, either. More words left her mouth, each one hitting him harder than the last. Kove had neglected her, he knew that, he didn't need to be reminded of it. Perhaps they were never meant to stay together, though. Maybe there were other paths prepared for the both of them already, ones that took them in separate directions. He didn't know and, honestly, didn't even want to think about such a thing. The Inuit had planned things. He'd planned for a future with the albino woman. They were to live like royalty in the valley, care for their family, and then grow old with one another. All that was, however, broken apart. Things were simply not meant to go as planned, and while he was made to be viewed as the 'bad guy', they were both at fault to some degree. They'd expected things of one another, things that simply could not be, given their differences in history. They shared different origins, had experienced different things—all of which had carved them into puzzle pieces that, while appeared to match at first, were meant to be joined with others. It had taken awhile for that to be noticed, as the facade put on was one not easily looked passed, but the cover had finally fallen down. All around them, the curtain fell, revealing that the once inseparable lovers were written into a love not involving the other. The realization was sad, it was heartbreaking actually, but it was the truth in all its twisted glory. And the truth, no matter how harsh, could never be fought against.

Once the words finally stopped coming at him, silence took over the space between the two pale lupines. Words filled the man's mind, thoughts falling into place one right after the other. "I..." he tried to start, but was left uncertain about what he could say. Closing his maw, Kove looked away to collect his thoughts. After taking a deep breath, he looked back to Scarlett and opened his mouth to start speaking again. "I understand. I know I haven't been around as often as I was expected to be, and I know that no matter how many times I apologize, it won't be enough. I... I am sad that things have to end, though..." A frown filled his features, and his tongue moved out slowly to lick over his own muzzle. "I will respect your decision anyways. Your happiness is—well, it's important to me. If being with me makes you unhappy, then I will not force you to stay at my side. The only thing I ever wanted was for you to be happy.

"I will not stay away, though, and I hope you can understand why. I'm not going to abandon my children, but I will try to take them elsewhere if my being near you is... uncomfortable." He didn't know what was expected of him now. The Inuit had never experienced a break up of any sort before, and so he was left not knowing what to do afterwards. Did she want him to stay away from her? Or only stay long enough to retrieve the children when he wanted to spend time with them? Kove didn't want to ask, out of worry over what the answers would be.