Lake Rodney i will not be commanded.

he set on his haunches, observing the girl in the snow. she was stronger than she let on, he concluded - and while this spar had been quick, he believed praimfaya was no spring fool.

as it turned out out, she wasn't. she revealed her reason for doing so, and arcturus thought it sound enough logic - at the very least, he could follow the lines of thinking that gave her such conclusion. he had his own reservations and spoke them, gently. "that is true - but maybe wiser, to not pick a fight at all if you know you are not to win. lie down like a lamb, and you are unlikely to rise again." he commented darkly. any time he was roused enough to truly fight fang for fang, no amount of submission would stay his course -- if he had an enemy, it was best to be put in the ground.

"your mother sounds wise." arcturus appraised, a hint of jealous longing betraying his own grief - for his mother was dead. how he wished he could learn anything from her again. it did not occur to him that praimfaya shared his loss in a similar way.