Dragoncrest Cliffs partita

”Eti! Chérie!” she scolded softly, but her chuffing voice turned to a light laugh and an apologetic shake of her head. ”Forgive Étienne, ‘e is so protective of Theo, Suzu an’ Requiem.” She said to Ashlar. It wasn’t a bad quality, but he was jumping to conclusions. 

To her son, quietly, she spoke. ”Etienne. Ashlar is a friend. ‘Is pack, Redtail Rise, dey ‘ave Theo an’ Requiem, to whom dey tend. We do not make demands of someone who does us a favour- please, go apologize an’ make amends.” 

He likely did not realize that every time he blamed himself for Theo’s departure, it cut Chacal like a wound. Her children were too young to take on such guilt. Their job was to play, grow and learn. And it was her job to keep them fed, safe and happy. Whenever he admitted to being a bad brother, she felt like she’d failed both her sons. All three of them, in fact. 

”I t’ink…Theo should make dat choice. 
‘E is old enough now to ‘ave a voice. 
We ask ‘Im…An’ I t’ank you for your offer.” She said.