Blackfeather Woods and you've seen too much

Unfortunately, Cicero was not really a wolf so easily manipulated. A smile twitched at the lips of his weary face as Pietro insinuated telling Burke and having him removed from the pack. Cicero did not care if Burke knew, truthfully, because this was part of his work as a toxicologist and it needed doing as much as all the other things he did for his trade, in Cicero's opinion. Well, yes, perhaps he could have used some guinea pig, but on the other hand, this was the only truly specific way in which to experience and find out what a poison did. Cicero did not trust his guinea pigs to give him the right answers, and besides, it would go against his personality and his work as an ambassador to just pluck random wolves off the plains and feed them poisonous substance.

"Burke needs Cicero too much to kick him out for this," said Cicero. And if he did not, then Cicero had misjudged and would go elsewhere, even though he would always return to see Damien. Yet he did not think much of it, for he didn't think it would happen. "Yet this is also for the furthering of Cicero's work as toxicologist, a more reliable form of testing than using random wolves, as well as better for keeping peace with Blackfeather Woods. And more... humane." Cicero wasn't sure why it was that word that struck him, but he was sure that it meant what he wanted it to; he did not want to press his poisons on unwilling victims not only because of keeping Blackfeather's name clean, but also because he did not generally willingly hurt other wolves, if he could help it.

Pietro was possibly too young to understand all that, and Cicero disliked squashing his dreams of being able to manipulate others. Yet he had always been an honest wolf when it came to Blackfeather Woods. And while he had grown some secrets that he did not want anyone else to know about in the meantime, this most certainly was not one of them. The water cooled his throat and Cicero felt a little more wolf again, though it would probably take a day or two to fully recuperate.

With a grunt Cicero drank some more water and shared, "Cicero will rest now." He turned away, leaving it up to Pietro whether or not the youth would follow, then trailed off.