Herbalists' Cache faithful john

A full immersion into Wintersbane’s company had done wonders for Thade’s vocabulary in just a few days’ time. The foundling had learned many terms, and gotten away with asking more questions than he ever could have hoped for, which in turn made him more relaxed; open to the male’s opinion of the world. He could suppose rest was useful — he certainly needed it now — but that didn’t mean he couldn’t still hate it.
 
Thade huffed slightly, drawn out of his moodiness only by the warrior’s clandestine demeanor. His tail wiggled a little, and he scooched closer to hear this secret:
 
…better to take the longer paths…
 
He was disappointed, if only because he didn’t understand it at first. For him, it was impossible that such a statement could be true. Not when being faster had always been necessary; not when the whole point of growing up almost felt like an inescapable need to become the strongest, fastest creature there was. He was especially motivated to become stronger, and no part of that included taking a longer path.
 
The boy wanted to refute his guardian, but something about the way Wintersbane had revealed this advice gave him pause. Why would it be obvious if it was also supposed to be a secret? Maybe there was something to consider here… though Thade was quick to put it out of his head. His brain felt nearly as depleted as his body, and he couldn’t find the energy to decipher it now.
 
When they moved on to the adult’s demotion — which ended up being more of an extended absence turned expulsion — the badger-marked child made a face. Does… does that mean we’re not packmates? The implication of this would be world-shifting.