Ankyra Sound Walking on the edge of something bigger

the words he’d used seemed to have troubled her for a moment. illidan’s hawkish gaze flicked to her features with a crease in his brow and a thoughtful frown having worked its way onto his dark lips. there was silence between them for a moment or two. he wondered if he had crossed too far and made her uncomfortable about stepping into rusalka. that had never been his intention. the ghost had only assumed that everyone had to endure the harshness that he had experienced. was it not natural to share these griefs with friends?
 
not until her answer sounded, did he think about how his words had come off. she stated that he was the cleverest wolf that she had met. this, he felt, was something that might not have spoken very strongly of her experience in the world. then again, cadeau had stuck around longer than he’d thought. she had done well to make a life for herself out there, in spite of all the fears that she had felt regarding the wilds. even the advice that she offered him was sound enough to have made sense, but illidan believed that his situation was too complicated to simply excuse it in that manner.
 
“it matters what they say about me when i’m intended to lead them,” the ghost returned to her in a sullen voice. his vision was pulled from her features and latched to the ground in front of him. he was leading them toward the blackpine inside the territory. “they should have faith in me and my ability, and when they don’t… that means i’m not a very good leader, cad,” illidan then explained to her with a shrug that he had hoped would seem nonchalant. instead, he simply looked bothered by all of it.