Arrow Lake Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.

slight pp hope its ok, I can edit.

Blue eyes remained fixed on the adjacent wall, his jaw clenched furiously and he felt a tremor as his muscles constricted. Silent rage simmering just beneath his suddenly chilly exterior. “Because she’s a selfish bitch—” The words came louder than he had anticipated, and he cliped the sentence realizing he might wake/frighten the children. He looked over to check if they were alright, and then slowly glanced to Takiyok. “Sorry. Are they alright?” He wouldn’t dare more than a whisper, and his ears slicked back, obviously upset with his outburst.

With the affirmation Sadiq continued in a quieter tone. “She took over, when father died. Claiming her [i]right, she said.”[/i] With a deep eye roll, and a twitch of his tail Sadiq was still agitated. “Mother didn’t care, you know her, she not much a leader. I didn’t like it, but she’s our sister. What was I supposed to do?” The brute hissed, the thought of taking over himself had never crossed his mind. Not seeing himself as a leader, it had been engrained in him that he would always remain a follower. And as the dutiful son he was, that was where he stayed. One step behind everyone else. Covering their six.

“Mother left to grab something to eat, leaving Silla and Nuniq with Shila. I came back early from a patrol, and found her… Standing there above them. She said only she had the right to breed, that our mother had broken pack law. A shiver ran along his spin, and his stricken gaze looked down at the babes. Taking a step closer, wary of Takiyok, he simply checked their well-being for himself. Although he had only known them for a few moments, he was already deeply attached. The whole family knew what family meant to Sadiq, he was often the babysitter to the youngest within the pack. His stern exterior crumbling away in the presence of children.

The ordeal had shaken Sadiq to his very core, his family was the most important thing to him. And since Shivali had left, nothing had been the same. The moment his family split was the moment his own heart had broken. “It’s all my fault Tak.” And there in lied the similarity between brothers, the words so reminiscent of his eldest brother.