Duskfire Glacier If he don't want me [J]

Adlartok's response stirred an odd discomfort in the sundry man, the product of an abstract thought not fully realized in itself. But the contemplation remained as an indescribable feeling, and Malachi let it fall with a twitching frown and a light flick of his ear.

Lowering his gaze to meet Adlartok's risen eyes, Malachi canted his head and took a moment to process the boy's words with more logical thought. The decision of Adlartok's uncle only stirred in the leader a thought of condemnation, and the sundry man left his judgment at that. He let his mind get taken, rather, by the boy's level of free-thinking. He couldn't recall having such freedom as a juvenile - though he hadn't seen it then, his parents had been silently navigating his life until he passed into adulthood, and even though they were not with him now, he still felt their hand directing his every move. He couldn't imagine a life without that, yet this boy seemed to be living such a life now. "It's what it is," he said after a pause, finding no better words to describe his thoughts. "But know that you may call Duskfire home as long as you wish to stay."