Sun Mote Copse Jimmy goes to space.

Somehow, she'd never really given much thought to those parallel stripes on Bronco's snout. She'd noticed them, perhaps subconsciously assuming he'd taken a bad scratch during a hunt or something. Now she peered at them shrewdly, wondering about the fight. She didn't have to wonder long; he described how he'd taken his opponent by the throat, only to release him.

Not all wolves defaulted to deadly force, as she often did, so Towhee didn't really fault Bronco for the catch-and-release. But it also depended on the circumstances. Why had they fought? Had it been a territorial dispute of some sort? And as he himself pointed out, letting go could've cost him the win and his life if his enemy had turned around and recommenced the fight rather than fleeing.

-"Here's my advice,"- Towhee offered after a lengthy contemplation. -"Work toward becoming a master mercenary. Through time and experience, you'll develop good instincts about these kinds of things, which you can hopefully rely on spur of the moment. Because there's no easy answer. How you act and react to a situation depends on a lot of factors; it's very case-by-case. Sometimes letting the enemy go is the right call, sometimes it's better to outright eliminate the threat. All you can really do is try to learn everything you can, to prepare yourself for all the possibilities, get a feel for it. Then when you have to make a tough call in the heat of the moment, you'll feel you honestly used your best possible judgment. And then hopefully that'll minimize any guilt you might feel. Does that make sense?"-