Arrow Lake the caretaker

"you knew what my decision would be the moment you found out about them settling there," stigmata accused him, sardonic, frowning, and increasing in haughtiness. "but can i enforce it? hardly. and especially not when even my own kapitan would refuse to stand against them. so really what decision is there left for me to come to?" he couldn't put a stopper on the absinthe dripping from his mouth, but louder than the bitterness was his honest frustration. most of it stemming from the loss of thorn, but also because takiyok seemed to be the only one who understood this, and everyone else was just being too friendly... too forgiving.

and then, maybe their respective proclivity towards exclusiveness was what had caused the fall of the pionier's mountain, and what would doom this one to failure if they continued on the same path. he didn't believe in that, truly, but the tactician had to take it into consideration regardless. "forgive me," he said quietly. "i am tired from looking, and angry... but there will be no alliance," he said finally, heavily. sarcasms gone. "those wolves decided as much when they chose to settle in the vale even after discovering our intentions." it was the only thing he could control, as he now stood in the unique position of being unable to direct his own wolves to act hostile towards these outsiders because he knew they wouldn't believe in it.

"do you think we should we give up these mountains then, mahler?" he asked now. "keep to our prized lake and let the rest of it unto the others?"