Phoenix Maplewood Hello?

From his prone position, Reek listened along and made mental note of the key details.  The life Scarlett described was one full of misfortune, thus spurning a rare moment of empathy from Reek. There were just too many parallels between the two. They had walked the same path. Rejected by family. A flighty, absentee ex-mate.  A refugee.  All were roles that Reek had experienced in his relatively short life. He shifted his gaze downward toward his paws and his ears flattened back in a shared sense of sadness.  An apologetic whispered begged to come forth, but it hitched in his throat to only be replaced by another fit of dry coughs.

Composing himself once more, he caught her gaze as she expressed guilt for killing the trespasser. Guilt? What? Despite Reek's ailment, his expression became hard. "She died because of her own stupidity," he wheezed.  "There are consequences to our actions Scarlett— some good, some bad.  She lived and died with the consequences of hers." He sighed and his expression softened. "You're not to blame. You only did what needed to be done."