Ragnar was not the type of man to fill his head with foolishness or lies by thinking that if he ignored the problem and kept barreling forward that everything would magically be solved. It was never the kind of mind set he had and he had no intentions of taking up such an idiotic (to him) outlook on life now. He was partially blind not fully blind and he would not allow himself to be blinded by such unwarranted hope. Stavanger Bay was struggling. I was the fast, cold hard truth of it; and Ragnar could not cause its downfall because he was too greedy to take the action that needed to be done and step down from leadership to add another able body to their non leadership ranks. Too greedy and too proud. While the Jarl was undeniably both of those things there was a very fine line between ambition and greed though they reigned within the same vein, Ragnar knew. He had prayed that Odinn taking his eye would have helped and yet so far it had done nothing. Thus far, Odinn had taken without giving something in return. There had only been one other time when Ragbar could claim he had felt anger at his God when Dagmar's litter - his children - had been born still born. He felt the familiar unrest within him now, that seethe of hot anger user thick, platnium silver fur but he worked to control it. Swallowing it felt like swallowing poison but he dared not invoke the wrath of the Allfather upon his precious Bay. A Bay, Ragnar felt inclined to remind Odinn, that was precious to the Allfather too; for it had been Odinn that had led the Viking there initially.
Stifling his own ambition for the good of the pack was no easy feat but it was necessary, he believe in order to breathe life back into the dying embers of their home. The large territory they claimed felt so empty now, barren. Devoid of life as if the ancient thickets of holy ash trees and pines has sucked those who had left into their dark abyss. Never before had it seemed so dark and perhaps menacing even to the Northman.
Thistle claimed his attention when she arrived on the scene in a timet fashion. He saw her soft smile, yet, did not return it. The stoic Jarl instead inhaled and let it out in an lengthy exhale, ears slicking back to rest at half mast atop his skull. In a few moments, Ragnar suspected, she would not be smiling either. The pack was not happy, and neither was he. As far as Ragnar could see he had no reason to be joyful. He was partially blind for absolutely nothing, his pack was a dying thing and he could do nothing to save it. Ragnar felt helpless and he hated the feeling. He saw little sense in beating around the bush, having always favored to make his points by striking hard and fast with them. For a moment the words stuck in his throat, refusing to spill forth from his lips but he forced them out, his accented voice harsh "I am stepping down from leadership." he choked on them slightly, even though it had been his decision to begin with. Facing this truth and choice, however, was not nearly as easy as he had hoped it to be.
