Redtail Rise jade

a voice that should not be here,

a challenge that should not be uttered.

mulherin finds himself dumbfounded at the sound of redd’s voice, a whirlwind of emotions nipping at his heels. 

he’s confused, mainly, and dwells on this as he makes his way  to redd. had she not made her position clear? she was the one who had refused to take wealda, and furthermore shunned them all in the coldness of her departure.

yes—it was that coldness that turned him beyond bitter.

there might have been a place for her here on the rise once more, and mulherin unwittingly found himself to be sympathetic to the idea of reuniting with kin, but what he could not ignore was flagrant disrespect, paired with something even worse, a sense of entitlement. unlike avicus, she had not built the rise—wealda would never be hers in the way it was her mother’s.

still—redd and he were two sides of the same coin, yet he felt there was something inextricably different between them. a disconnect, or maybe they had never built the connection in the first place. both were avoidant in their respective ways.

she would have never even called him if he hadn’t seized wealda.

and maybe, all along, he sought to replace masquerade in a way redd would never live up to.

his hackles are on end and his teeth are gritted as he approaches the scene. few precede him; cambria, new snow, mountain boulder, and he acknowledges them with a low woof, but his sights are set on redd alone.

and he lets his vexation show in a snide lift of his lip, a growl gurgling from within him.

his sympathy manifests itself in a moment’s pause; he would let her make the first move, 

and if not, 

in a heartbeat he’d be at her throat.