Stavanger Bay towers and shadows

Raptor tipped his snout up and peered at Smokestep from beneath his brow as the pale Captain told his tale. His expression softened in disbelief as he listened, and he could not keep his tail from weakly wagging in the sand as the tiniest sliver of hope dared to work its way into his broken soul. It was fleeting though. Raptor was still burdened by uncertainty about his future, and doubt about himself and his place in the crew.

"I only ever wanted a family," he murmured, casting his eyes downward again and letting his ears and his shoulders droop. It was not that the sable wolf yearned in particular for a mate and pups, but rather for a sense of belonging; to care and to be cared for. It was that desperate want that had driven him to try to make himself a pirate.

"But I don't... I don't even really know her," he followed up. "I don't even know her name. I just feel bad for how I treated her... and if she's going to have my pups... I don't want her to try to raise them alone. I want to fix this."

Raptor bit his lip and brought his gaze back to Smokestep. His expression was stony and serious, even as his next words carried a tinge of dark humor. "I thought you'd just kill me for tellin' you this stuff. You could've saved me a lot of trouble if you did."

Because now, now he had to face the coming days.