Redhawk Caldera But I can't fight anymore for you

What was there to like?

He was the cowardly son of a narcissist, who had abused him on more than one occasion. He'd been groomed for a career that didn't suit him. He'd moved from place to place for the sake of his family members. He had lived a life that he hadn't lived for himself, of by his own choices. And now Fennec was asking him to be her mate because he made her feel better. Because he listened to her, and cared for her, and forgave her when she ran off or yelled at him. 

If there had been any part of him that had been a bit more aware of how others had treated him and used him throughout his life, he might've realized at some point that he needed to stop doing things purely for the sake of others. But he was too tired to make that argument. Too tired to point out that while he might have satisfied her needs, it often came at his expense. 

He could tell that she was upset. He wasn't sure why she came to ask him this so soon after he'd come back. He knew at one point in his life, he would have been overjoyed to have been asked by Fennec to be her mate but...He'd have to find that wolf again, if he even existed. 

"Can we...Take a bit of time?" He asked. "To be together...Raise Killdeer together, just....Make sure things...I'm...I need a bit more time, I'm....Not really feeling like myself. And I know at one point, I wanted you to be my mate, for sure, I just....I'm so tired right now, Fennec. I feel sick, all the time, I'm scared, and it hurts, I'm just...I need some time. But...I need your help, to get through it. I just wanna make sure..." If he could shrug off the foul darkness that gripped him and simply embrace the life he'd once been desoerate to have, things would be so much simpler but as it was, the pain he felt was too great to simply ignore.