Bramblepoint Leave this blue neighbourhood

Lagan's breathing was ragged again by the time he finished his account, and he was staring warily through the trees when Freyja spoke again. The darker lines at the sides of his face crinkled up as he squeezed his eyelids shut, took another deep breath, then nodded and opened them again. It'd been a long time since he felt this hysterical, even though the situation was very different. He was 6 months old and ought to be well beyond this, developmentally, but the memory of Lucy being snatched by a red-eyed beast right in front of him kept him from behaving more maturely about it.

"I don't think so," he said, more to assure himself than Freyja, who seemed perfectly levelheaded despite his claim that there was a monster. But even Lagan in his panic knew the difference. Whip was not the same as the monster that stole Lucy, but Lagan was nevertheless deeply troubled by his adoptive cousin's rash behaviour. What if that was him next, or Elwood, or Liffey? His heart plummeted in his chest. Whip had never shown any violent tendencies toward the Blackthorn twins before, but suddenly Lagan felt terribly guilty about leaving Liffey behind with him. Elwood, Finley, and Eljay could all probably hold their own against the unpredictable Redhawk, but little Liffey...?

"My sister," Lagan said weakly, peering back in the direction of the Caldera, but feeling too weak at the knees to go back for her now. He had to go back, he knew, for his parents and his brother and sister would be waiting for him... but how could he sleep at night, knowing what Whip was capable of doing, and fearing that his family would be next? "He attacked a pack mate just 'cause he said he wanted to be the leader! My dad's a leader, what if he attacks him next?" he wondered aloud, paralyzed, as if Freyja somehow had the answers. Lagan didn't want to leave Elwood or Finley to Whip and his murderous intent, but he also didn't feel strong enough to face the wolf again.