Sawtooth Spire I can't get you out from under my veins

at wylla's sarcastic response, melkor raises his shoulder in a half shrug. she wasn't wrong. even melkor himself can't see anything of elixir in quellcrist. ironic, that though her conception had been a heat of the moment thing that it is the warlord tundrian she should look the most like.

i'm on a mission.

melkor expects the sentence to continue but quellcrist trails off and switches gears, repeating the name of the pack and asking where she signs up. for a moment, melkor isn't sure if she's serious but heard nothing in her tone but genuine interest. for the first time since awakening to his wife's corpse in rigor mortis, melkor feels buoyant. melkor's never been the type to mope copiously; instead he looks forward to the uncertain future and focuses his energy on that over grieving those that will never come back. perhaps in this manner, he could easily be called cold-hearted. and maybe it wasn't wrong.

though he's never been one to believe in anything he can't see with his own eyes — the exception being his brief period of following the faith of the blackfeather wolves — he feels like quellcrist being here and wanting to stay might be some boon from whatever non-existent deities that were looking out for him. in the midst of his thoughts it doesn't go unnoticed that wylla tries to make his daughter submit but melkor doesn't interfere. yes, he might be her father and he may not require that sort of subordinate to leader respect of her in private but it's not unfair of someone else to. border etiquette was important, after all.

wylla asks quellcrist what mission and melkor adds: ❝and for who?❞ would she be in trouble if she didn't return? but melkor knows it doesn't matter because if she wants to stay then he won't chase her away. ❝what skills can you offer sagtannet, q?❞ melkor asks of his daughter, intent to treat this like any other border interception — though mostly for wylla's sake. he doubts it would look real good if he just accepted her in without going thru the usual routine, daughter or not.