Blackfeather Woods in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock

wintersbane watches as the young(er) woman approaches him wondering if she will hold to the sentiment of her words soon. though it is of not fault of maegi, wintersbane does not expect his concerns, if given the chance to air them, would go over well. admittedly, he is sure that he wouldn't like if someone would air concerns like his to him, warranted or not; and yet the ability to listen to the concerns of one's subordinates without condemning them was something he'd learned during his brief time in the never-official the vartija. he might not've liked what he heard but in his mind, being able to accept the consequences and criticism spoke of good leadership because there was a fine line between voicing concerns and being totally insubordinate though it was, admittedly, extremely fine and the two could easily blur if not correct conveyed.

he agrees that they have a lot to discuss, but as his leader, gives her the floor to start. her apology takes him briefly by surprise because it comes at him unexpected. out of control? he inquires. was it more out of control than the mess that mou and her'd left blackfeather woods in? you chose an inopportune time to disappear on us. your visit should've waited until we'd gotten the situation with the redhawks and fire under control. which we would've, would she have not been smuggled out under my nose. a sharp look was given. try as he might to look towards the future, to hold to the fact that mou and maegi deserved the second chance that he'd been given so many times ( they do ) he has grievances that need aired out. no, talking about it wouldn't change anything.

but perhaps talking about things might help to prevent another issue like it in the future. i'd like to say it doesn't matter. that this is a second opportunity and a chance to turn over a new leaf, well, without him there: it was. it is a new leaf but it also means that because i remember that whole debacle that the entirety of my trust and loyalty as my leaders isn't going to be freely given. you both left once, visit or not, when the heat of danger was pressing down on us. what's to stop you from doing it again? the thing is, leadership isn't a game, maegi. it's not a victory. it's a commitment. it's sacrifice and it's work. you can't just disappear when things get too hard, or the heat gets too hot and then come back as if nothing ever happened. life didn't work like that, in wintersbane's personal experience.

relmyna saw your potential for leadership, i see it too. i want to see blackfeather prosper, its why i'm here; but i won't lie, i'm weary. in wintersbane's mind: being candid and transparent about how he felt was always the best policy regardless of what it ultimately meant for him.