Looking back on it, now, Ragnar knew he had been right when Pump and him had quarreled over the whole incident with the bear, that if more of the pack had bothered to answer her call they would have had enough wolves to kill it. Pump had dismissed their unwillingness to help and, in a way that had the fur on his neck bristling with it it felt prophetic how Pump had passed on. They should have killed it because he had believed the wolves who hadn’t bothered to assist should have been punished but she had not seen that way. “I will not be sad to leave it,” The Viking admitted. “I have never liked it ever since the landslide. I tried to convince Pump to relocate to Ravensblood Forest but obviously she refused.” Though it was no time for an ‘I told you so’ and he didn’t want to disrespect Pump’s memory in any way he murmured, “I wish she would have listened to me.” Because for once being right was definitely not a smug or joyous occasion. In a way, Ragnar wished he’d been wrong about staying in the Ridge, about the bear. The Gods alone know how much Ragnar wished he’d been wrong because if he had been wrong then he was confident Pump still would have been with them.
It was weird not to see her on the borders, not to have to report to her. It felt weird to leave her body behind where it had been buried by Surra and himself but they had no other choice and it was foolish to heave a rotting corpse to Stavanger Bay. She had died on the shores of this place, it was only fitting it be her final resting place. “There is a Festival we hold every year, we sacrifice to the Gods to thank them for what they have given us,” He took a deep breath and looked at her then, wondering if she really understood what ‘big sacrifice’ entailed. “Can you keep something a secret, my love,”He inquired remembering how he had conveniently left out a part of the sacrifices when he had spoken to Julooke about it. “One of the sacrifices that is required is a wolf and I cannot not do it, not after all Odinn has done for us, for this pack. To suffer the All-Father’s or anyone else’s ire would be to magnify our problems here tenfold and then moving to Stavanger Bay would be for nothing.” He figured it would bother her. “I’m not saying one of our own, and…if need be I will sneak off to perform it in seclusion where no one else will know of it,” The fear and love warred constantly in him for top position when it came to his Gods.
The change of conversation: to Julooke and Verrine, was a reliving topic change and he took it with relief and good grace though he eyed his wife carefully, knowing she probably wouldn’t approve; knowing that none would approve but that he found he feared his Gods more than them and that: they didn’t have to know about it. He would take precautions, or maybe the Gods would do it for him. “I think we can handle it,” It was hard to tell though, given the mess they were sort of in now, but each wolf had stepped up to the plate and Ragnar was impressed with them more than he had ever been before. “But we will see.” As she pointed out it was only as good as if they took the advice from the pair and admitted their feelings to one another.
