Redhawk Caldera Fire away, fire away.

She abruptly thought of Wraen dismissing her concerns about surnames. Had she just done the the very same thing to Eljay? Before Towhee could contemplate it much further, he confirmed her suspicions. But it turned out that the specific location wasn't the only sticking point for him. It was the fact that everyone—Towhee included—seemed to give Maia's preferences more weight, when it should be an equal and mutual decision.

"There's no wrong answer here and you don't even have to answer out loud," came the Sovereign's reply, "but what's more important to you: raising a family here or raising a family with Maia?" She licked her lips. "Life is about choices and compromises. It's okay to have deal-breakers. If it's more important for you to have a family here than it is with Maia specifically, that's valid," Towhee added, aware of how blunt and perhaps heartless that sounded.

"But then there's logistics, to complicate matters," she continued after a pause, "like can we actually support another litter here? I don't mean to shit all over your dreams, Eljay, but the reality is we may not be able to support another, at least this year." And that was all a giant gamble anyway... like much of life, she supposed.