Crete took the action of her ears slicking back to her skull when he shook his head at her offered pity as meaning that she did not like his refusal to accept her pity. Crete had never accepted pity. His muteness was not a weakness; and he had made his own decisions. He didn’t deserve pity. Hawkeye had his rapt attention when she began to speak once more, confirming what he had initially thought when Peregrine had admitted that she had accepted him into her ranks even though he had disrespected her initially. She had been trying to gain numbers, but gaining numbers wasn’t always the most practical thing in a harsh winter’s grip. It was more mouths to feed, which would mean any pack hunts would have to be done further away in attempts to catch a migrating herd. At least, this was how Crete thought. It wasn’t right of him to judge her, but he was so used to how his parents had run the show. He had learned by their example and he was finding it hard to accept that different wolves led their packs differently and that while he did not have to agree with it, he at least had to accept it. And if he couldn't, then perhaps he needed to move on elsewhere.
As she spoke about herself, Crete tucked the tidbits of information away in his mind. At least she knew her flaws, and that was important but they were both qualities that he saw that would, as she had stated she was doing, need work. He had his own flaws that needed worked on, admittedly. No one was perfect. She spoke of the burden of leading, and that it caused her to leave for a few days at a time. This, immediately, troubled Crete. She left her pack with no leader for days at a time just so she could be sure she could lead? It made him wonder if she truly was cut out for it. Brow furrowed as sea green eyes studied her with hesitancy. How did she know what was happening among her ranks during those days? A lot could change in days. She could easily be usurped, or a rival pack could charge in and take over. While Alphas did not always have to be chained to the lands of their packs, they at least had a second in command take over as temporary command until their return. As far as Crete was aware it was just Hawkeye that led. That is beyond risky. He thought, suddenly extremely dubious. You can’t just do those types of things.