Neverwinter Forest you don't wanna be seen rollin' in my bar

it hadn't sounded like an apology at all, to kivaluk. he almost says it but wars with the swell of defensiveness that rises in his chest and creeps up his throat. it is borne of old, reopened wounds from his cubhood. seeing his father, here and now, rehashing the past as if it would make any difference ( though both men are aware it did not ), raises a lot of emotions in kivaluk and all of them feel childish.

he was not a child, anymore.

he takes a deep breath, steeling his shoulders.

he needed time to think, to mull over this. all of it.

he needed to seek @Chickadee's council, see what she thought. her perspective might offer him one that he cannot consider.

fine. it wasn't an answer. wasn't accepting or entirely dismissive. it was a placeholder; a 'maybe' placed on a knife's edge. balancing precariously but able to fall either way. i should return to moonglow. a neutral goodbye offered.