Northstar Vale La Perle et le Suie

He turned to face his mother briefly. He wanted to see her face as she said it. He wanted to believe her, but loss of vision, even in just one eye, meant he was no longer the perfect specimen he had been. He didn’t want to face his mother every day knowing she might harbor disdain, or pity, or any other feeling she might conjure up looking at her imperfect son. 

And fuck Chaudry. He wished he’d beat himself up harder. 

”It does,” he told her, then turned to place his head back on his paws with an audible huff. 

”I guess it’s a good thing that child showed up when he did. Otherwise we might be without an Iris.” 

He was of course referring to Tousaint. He’d had plenty of time to work himself up over the wolf. But he was a child. He had no place taking his rank.