Redtail Rise israfel

Avicus didn't want to fight Augur or his kin.

That was understandable to Watcher. Augur was the backbone of Redtail Rise. He might not be a Redtail, but he had always been the steady force that held the pack together. He had kept Wealda for her mother, and he was huntlead.

In all these ways did Watcher respect Augur.

She only could not understand permitting Lilia to overstep her rank and impose her will on Avicus, and for that reason her respect for him slid lower. For all the strength and unity he represented, he allowed one wolf to shake the foundation of the pack, all for what Wanderer recognized as arrogance.

Masquerade and Avicus made the decision. Watcher stepped to join them with a low-wagging tail. She did not like it, but she could not stay here if Masque did not, for one thing was cemented in her mind:

Lilia was not the leader she thought she was, and Watcher did not know how she would react to her should the Berserkr speak to her in the intervening days once the Redtails had departed. Masquerade would not be here to steady her.

So with them she would go, but she cast a mournful look back at Redsky and Carrion, whom she would miss in the meantime. She understood their need to stay. Her soul screamed to do the same. But where Masquerade led, Watcher would follow, and she would hang her whole trust upon the former Caru's power to put things right.