Hideaway Strath now kindly behave like a gangster again

feel free to either post once more or archive as is!

Arturo nods at Hemlock’s conclusion: that she does not think it is an entirely outlandish idea to do away with the Póilín rank and if needed add a different one all together. One that does not bear the same curse that appears to plague that particular rank. He feels paranoid as he thinks it because it is unlike the gangster to believe in such things — the very first to scoff at his mother (whom adored her soothsayers and believed herself to be something of a soothsayer) — and he wonders if he has entirely killed off Riptide as he once believed he had. A thought that sent a shiver up his spine and threatened to close his throat in a rush of true fear. There is not much that unsettles the Fearghal patriarch. He is clever. He is resourceful. He is manipulative and does not fear physical threat or even, truly, death; but he fears an enemy he cannot see, cannot understand, cannot control.

“If the time comes,” Arturo murmurs with a soft curl of his lips as he effectively tunes out thoughts of Riptide and curses. He will mull upon it later, in private, he thinks. Or perhaps he will pretend like he has not been having such increasing fears and tuck it under the rug as he is effective at doing. “I am perfectly content with having you and Lotte at my side.” Besides, his trust is a hard earned thing and while it has never been easy he certainly has not sought to make it any easier in the past few months. “I should give Lotte a few hours of relief from the children.” He speaks with nothing short of adoration in his tone, accented with a soft chuckle but he does know that even the most patient parent can go stir-crazy when stuck with rambunctious children for too long without a break. He seeks to bump his muzzle gently against Hemlock’s own in a farewell gesture before he heads towards the rendezvous den, ruminating on what he has offered, what they have discussed and how Lotte will react to the idea as he makes his way to relieve Lotte of duty for a few hours.