Fox's Glade silver basilisk

ah, stigmata bobbed his head slightly. so she did not remain in lost creek out of love for any of her company, but rather because it was convenient and her opinion currently had some weight behind it. being valued by a leader could do that, or it could turn out like it had for him - betrayed over a bit of longstanding blood. misinterpreted and shelved, without recourse, because he did not mean anything to them.

had he not dedicated every waking hour under their stead to the betterment of bearclaw? had he not done more there, since the time he had arrived, to ensure their survival, than half of the crowned leadership? his efforts had paled only to indra's, and because she was so used to sagging beneath the weight of caring for everyone else, she could not easily recognize or accept when a bit of that weight was being taken from her. she didn't know how to exist without the hardships her own family had bestowed upon her.

he stopped reflecting. "ousting?" stigmata snorted. "if anyone would have done any usurping, it would have been me," he told her flatly. "it is part of the reason i asked to remain as an outsider at first. as you wolves were kind enough to take in the valleyers, i imagined i would repay the kindness by not lingering about to prey internally on all your weaknesses." he had no desire to lead them anyway. as much as he wanted to be king, he wanted it to be over wolves he actually cared about.

it seemed counter-intuitive to forge such bonds by starting completely over as he was, but as acridly as he had been treated by the redleafs during this transition, it felt better than remaining where he was not only underappreciated, but negatively appreciated, if that was at all possible. "the wolves from bearclaw are not progressives. they are all quite meek, and even in cases where they are not, none of them individually have the fortitude to make any bid for power without the upperpaw." spineless, the lot of them.

"you would do better watching out for abandonment. they will use you and your pack to their advantage, until they decide very simply that they no longer require your... assistance." this wasn't true for all of the wolves of his former pack, but stigmata was too wounded emotionally to make the distinction.