Redsand Canyon sepelio

He allowed her outburst, her cool and collected dissent of his opinions that had governed the entire pack and it was that reason that despite her irritation and anger, she still felt safe to remain in Mereo. This was not the life she had known before, and such words would have been otherwise met harshly.
 
She could not help but snort at his words, rolling her eyes though her back was turned to him at the time as she placed the lavender stalks carefully in their rows within the notches that had been established in the tablinum during the winter. “And some promise of being husband and wife is supposed to be different from the emotions that overcome during courting. Does the nature of marriage somehow change the effect the season has on men and women alike when they are committed to exploring each other and only each other to begin with? I am a healer, proudly trained and talented at what I do, Imperator, and I find the excuse to hold minimal bearing under the weight of my studies.” She could not help the sharpness of her tone as a result. Controlled. “Controlled in title only.” She responded because it meant little to her. His reasoning did not make sense, but perhaps it did to him. Either way, she was not the one in charge.
 
Chastity. It felt like such a foreign concept, another way for a leader to extend control and push down those who think differently. “Courtship has never been casual in my mind, Imperator. Perhaps our definitions simply differ.” For her, it was a step taken only with someone she could see a future with… she took that step with Kallik because she genuinely believed it would end in marriage once they had gotten to know each other fully and honestly.
 
And then his voice softened and she turned once more to face him, having finished organizing the peace offering amongst her stores. “Good, because I do not agree and I doubt I will ever, and I find your logic and strategy flawed against the nature of my own position and experience.” She stated simply. She did not know if she would ever agree with the man that a social construct such as marriage which in her life had simply been a means to force women to submit to the will of the men who could dominate them would ever change the nature of men or make them easier to control. That being said, she sighed softly. “And despite my disagreement, I could not imagine having my home and my duty be anywhere else but Mereo…” She did not want him to doubt her regardless of the ire and sharp words she used to defend herself and her opinions. “Emotions are not logical, and the premise of a relationship built out of care and not duty is emotional… with that, not everyone is fully compartmentalizing the two as you do.” She was the distraction. Their care for each other was the distraction and try as he might, the Imperator would not be able to change it. She had marveled at the way the Imperator so easily separated his emotions, and sometimes she couldn’t help but wonder if he truly had any at all. Either way, it was not for her to judge, merely to remind him that not everyone could fit the cookie cutter mold that he had been so keen on fulfilling.