Mount Apikuni go then, there are other worlds than these

Illidan was silent as stone, as usual. He almost ignored her words, only glancing at her and frowning. These actions had become commonplace during their interactions. Grezig did not mind or really care. In her natal pack, the entire group had spoken very little, mostly relying on body language to convey meaning. Perhaps that was why she liked the boy’s company as much as she did, even if he was grumpy all the time, and pretty much pretended she wasn’t there. In the silence, there was understanding. She turned her head away from him once she realized he was not going to respond to her.

Silence… then…

’Why haven’t you guys left me?’

The question made her feel as if a rivulet of cold water were rolling down her spine. For all her logic, this boy made her feel things she did not know she was capable of feeling. What a question… How on earth was she supposed to answer this? The real answer, at least for her (she could not speak for the others in the group) was that leaving him could cause him to become mentally unstable.

Illdan was old enough now to live perhaps long enough to find a new pack to join. There he might grow up, and maybe, he would be happy. But you never knew. Maybe, if he lived, he would grow bitter and angry with the group of wolves who abandoned him. He was not a young pup, not newborn. Grezig had no trouble killing newborns if there was no one to properly care for them. Illidan was too old to be abandoned without possible repercussions. He might find them again, later in life, and take vengeance. Grezig could not allow that. She had put too much time and effort into helping this founding pack. Illidan was a part of that now, whether he wanted to be or not. He was a member, therefore he was family. Therefore, Grezig would care for him as she might a son—even if he was depressed and refused to eat and could slow them down.

“You are a part of this group now,” she said, finally, after many long moments of silence and struggling thoughts. “We will not abandon you.” A pause, a skip of her heartbeat, a risked emotion. “I will not abandon you.”

Yes. Her reasons were both logical and emotional. In caring for Illidan, she was caring for the entire group… and she was allowing herself to feel. But even this was logical. Cutting off one’s emotions could make one unstable as well. So she allowed herself the time to get to know the others, even the boy with the shadowed heart.