Broken Antler Fen lovers dance when they're feeling in love

It didn't come as a surprise to Eljay that Wraen had been tired of leading for some time. There'd been times at the Copse where she had seemed stressed and tired, like she didn't want to anymore. He'd sensed that, then. But she'd never asked him to take the helm, and so he never had (also because he was in no place to do such a thing at the time).

Eljay chuckled at the thought that Wraen might make such choices, though. He honestly didn't really believe Wraen would give up on leading that easily. I don't think she would leave a wolf in charge that she finds incapable even if she was tired of doing the job herself, he said. The thought alone was comical in some way. However much Wraen might feel tired of leading, might feel like she was pushed into those kind of jobs, at the end of the day it was her own choice to pick them up time and time again. It wasn't that anyone was forcing her; it was just that, Eljay felt, Wraen thought that maybe she was the best one for the job, and didn't trust anyone else to pick it up.

Until she did trust someone else, of course, like she now trusted Maia. It was crystal clear to him, but he understood why Maia might see it differently. It was a scary prospect. He remembered so vividly how he panicked when Wiffle had asked him to be a member of her council.

I don't think it's dumb to be nervous, Eljay said after a moment's hesitation, because he understood the feeling too well and wasn't really sure how to make Maia feel better about it. But I'm glad you're not just nervous, but also excited. Eljay wasn't sure he would've been able to forgive himself if he had made Maia sad about this thing that was supposed to be good. Which also made him decide not to talk about the inevitable subject of 'hey so when are we taking the next step' because that was scary and he knew it'd make her feel sad if he would say he wasn't sure he was ready to leave Redhawk Caldera just yet, if that was what it came down to.