Bearclaw Valley not everyone gets to die and that's just how it will be

I'm going to move this along so we can get the next thread going without having to backdate too far, and because I don't think Aventus cares enough about Bernadette or Pandora to wait for them (sorry, guys! <3) Feel free to hop in whenever you'd like! I'm also going to abandon rounds so it'll just be once everyone has posted again until a natural conclusion is met.

The smile he returned to his mate was tight-lipped and brisk; by now, he knew he was being a jerk, but didn't know how to be there for her. He didn't blame her. His insatiable lust for her in the weeks prior was what had landed them here, but that didn't make it easy for him to swallow, and it didn't make it easy to know how to behave around her when he loved her fiercely but resented what was happening to her.

He opted for saying nothing until Cyril arrived. He cast his eyes over the horizon for a sign of Pandora or Bernadette, but when he didn't see them immediately, he decided he didn't really care. Both had sequestered themselves away and become strangers. Pandora had done well with Ash and Abel, but one good deed could only carry a wolf so far.

Hello, he said quietly, glancing at Arielle and then away when another pang of guilt punched him in the gut. As you can see, we number few. With Arielle being... Pregnant... I fear we are not enough to hold the valley, defend ourselves, and provide the food we all require. It was more than that, but the rest, he left unsaid. Arielle already knew, and Cyril was not yet initiated. It would mean nothing to him that Aventus had cast his god aside and wanted away from it all.

My sister has a pack to the north, far from here. I plan to go there. Melancholy shone in his silver eyes and he ticked back his tattered ear. It was bittersweet to say it aloud. To be free from the bear, from his father's choking legacy, oh, what a relief! But this was the place of his birth and he had toiled much of his life to amount to something here. The notion of starting over was a bitter pill indeed. I will not force anyone to come with me, but you are welcome if you wish.

It made his gut churn to include Arielle in that rather than assuming she would come no matter what, but if she happened to be looking for an out, the least he could do was give her a painless one.