Hushed Willows It's wrong of me to want to better myself when I'm already the best.

Khali did not beat around the bush and, Olive thought, was very forthcoming with his concerns. The shakti woman respected that, deeply. Though the mother was a little alarmed to hear that Ibis had almost drowned [this was news to her], Olive trusted the Khali had been the responsible adult in this situation, and Ibis had been the child. Sometimes, these things happened. Olive was quiet for a moment as she mulled over

Olive met Khali’s gaze, sincerely. These were serious concerns, and Olive did not want the rock of Elysium to become destabilized. The thought of fatherhood, and the fear of it, sometimes drove men up the wall.  “Ibis is… volatile,” she commented thoughtfully. Ibis was not the only one who was prone to these sort of outbursts — Eleuthera was also susceptible to them, and then there was Delight’s entire brood — so for Khali to blame himself was not a victimless crime.

The sylph took a deep breath, and then exhaled fully.  “Seabreeze and I have similar issues with Mali, so trust me. I hear you.” Olive took a step closer and, if she hadn’t been so petite and he hadn’t been so tall, she might have raised a paw to place upon his shoulder.  “Not all children are the same. We must treat them as the individuals they are — we, as their parents, cannot control that.” The woman tried not to sound pedantic, but Khali had come to the right wolf to voice these concerns. In the not-too-distant-future, Olive too would consult Lily on the exact same subject. It was cute, how genuinely these two wanted to do a good job raising their children.

“As long as you are present — in their lives — and genuinely wish for and seek their happiness, you can not be considered a bad father.”