Noctisardor Bypass What would I ever do with a rose?

Welcome silence spread between them. Anslem was glad for the distraction of the children. Their calls rattled through the den and faded out by the evergreen forests. 

After a time Druid spoke again. Anselm received the news with a sharp turn of both torn ears, the stoniness of his features replaced with bristling shock. 

He vhat? He supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. He had his own scars from the man — and look at Druid. Vhat vould cause him to do such a thing? 

As if the boulder needed reason. Anselm weighed this thought with a grim expression. I should join them. Maybe getting out of Rivenwood for a while would clear his mind, and dispell the tension between him and Etienne. And possibly even heal the open wound that lingered between him and Heda.  

But it would mean leaving the children.  He was already basically absentee; the children did not address him as ‘papa’, they barely knew his face. 

Maybe it was for the best.