Redtail Rise morendo

She was angry and he didn't understand why at first. Perhaps she did not believe him when he said he would stay. Or perhaps she felt he was not suited to fatherhood, even the absent kind. Ashlar's face fell further with each and he sank smaller into himself. He had nothing to face her anger with.

Chacal. From Sapphique. He answered quietly, then stopped.

He had no excuses for it, so all he could do was apologize. Sorry. At... they wo.... He needed to be calm. Ashlar breathed. They won't bother the Rise. They'll be hers. His weakness wouldn't spread, if that was her worry. It hurt to think it but it wasn't the first time. She'd gathered Prophet and Tulimaq and Augur and their like with a purpose that Ashlar knew he was not suited to. He knew this even more because despite the pain it caused, he was grateful - in all of their conversations, Chacal had never once spoken of warriors, nor of war. They would grow up with songs instead.