wrong side of heaven

Having Njal leave here. :3

He was a patient creature on most days, able to rise before the sun to do his work. To follow the light throughout the morning, return to his den and his wife at specific points throughout the day, and never miss a beat of his patrol. He could sit and wait for hours at the riverside for the perfect catch; rather, the warden used to. Since his appointment to Beta there were other duties that took him away from his most favored of tasks - but he could wait, he could bide his time. What bothered him now was Cutthroat's lack of information. Yes, he eventually caved and sputtered a few words, but it was not enough: just the talk of a mother, but that was no name, and Njal was growing impatient. He wanted to demand more from the black-skinned beast but at the same time, he would not upset the established order to any great extent. Not more than he perhaps already had. So with the boy's words curdling in the air around them, Njal decided to withdraw.

A tense moment slipped by where his teeth, shining and grit tight, aligned with the captive's face - a rumble of irritation slipping out the gaps between them. But the sound did fade, and Njal pulled back from the boy and the river's edge. Without a word he began to march again, taking that tiny morsel of almost information and sticking it somewhere safe within his memory. As much as he loathed the manner in which Cutthroat kept his secrets, Njal knew it would place too much strain on everyone involved if he were to continue.

As he passed from Cutthroat's company and in to the open air of the plains, the warden passed by a few straying subordinates - and pointedly told them to keep an eye on the boy at the river, for he had his own work to do. As the figures swept to take guard of the captive, Njal returned to his patrol route.