The Sunspire Stuck in Colder Weather

Njal's exit. Jace can still say stuff at him as he leaves if you want.

There was nothing more to be said, and so Njal deigned to leave the dark boy behind in the shadows. As he began to march there came a great booming voice which halted him in his tracks; he turned to watch Jace then, listening to him speak but also squaring off his shoulders in case the words became something more volatile. Hearing Jace's side of the story was not the reason for Njal's visit, but here he stood, absorbing it all. The boy was a mess of emotion. He rattled off his reasons for doing what he did, spat insults to Fox, and defended Ferdie - all the while, Njal stood there in silence. Just as his tantrum came to an end, with the breath of his words lingering on his lips, Njal took a few direct strides towards Jace. He stopped when they were face-to-face, breaching his personal space with his burly body and defensive irritation.

"You don't seem to understand." He started, containing the urge to really dominate the boy. There was a moment where Njal just stared at him, gathering his thoughts and observing again. When he spoke next, his words were to the point and empty of emotion. "You disobeyed a direct order from a superior. End of story." The man's tail lashed once against his legs, then grew stiff as it raised to proclaim a subtle dominance. He would not fight Jace physically, but he had to try and make the boy see reason. "If Ferdie was a threat to anyone in the pack, he should have been driven out or killed for even attempting to hurt a part of your family. You started out doing the right thing - you fought him," By defending the youngsters that had not been trained to fight themselves, Jace had proven his worth to the pack; he had proven to Njal that he could be a strong ally and an asset to the ranks. He had earned enough brownie points for Njal to doubt Fox himself, to speak against her decision, but now he understood. "But you let him live. He cannot be trusted among our family any longer. I don't understand why you would choose him over us, but you did."

Finally, Njal withdrew. He had no interest in lingering, or even to speak further on the subject. If Jace continued to defend his actions then it would be made crystal clear, both Jace and Ferdie were of no use to the creek. It did bother the warden that he had lost a friend, but he couldn't let his own selfish needs come before the needs of the creek - it was the fundamental difference between the two of them. He gave Jace his space back, and as he turned to leave, he paused for one final say. "If either of you come near my family again..." But he didn't need to finish that promise aloud, the look on Njal's scarred face should have been enough.

He began to march his way back through the forest, paying only enough attention to his surroundings to pick up on a follower, if he had any. So far the forest was silent, the mountain slumbering beneath the heavy clouds; however, there was always a chance that Jace's accomplice was out there lurking.