Sun Mote Copse the fortune lady came along and walked beside,

arcturus did not need to be a mind reader to recognize there was a wall in the way of truth between them. that towhee has never seen that side of the spear, simply reaffirmed her suspicions — and nothing arcturus did or said could ever prove otherwise.

he unfurled a long and sorrowed sigh. that was the folly of perceptions, he found — for it often deeply insulted a person’s faith in the honesty of their own perceptions when their opinions were accosted by reality.

he is not free from danger either. arcturus countered, feeling his claws tighten in the dirt. my brother was nearly killed on that mountain, and there is no stronger wolf alive than him. towhee. we cannot control those in our lives — but we can try to help guide them to safer destinations.

he knew he could not keep poking at her — not when the welt of tears still darkened her face. she would resent him soon if she did not already.

arcturus rose just in time for niamh to arrive. for the first time since he had met the gilded warrior, arcturus was *not* at a loss for words. in fact, he had a lot to say on the subject, and felt niamh partially responsible too.

lacking tact, Arcturus continued. realistic is recognizing every wolf has two sides. the one they want you to see, and the one they will hide from you at all costs. if meerkat is lucky she will never see the bad side of those that live on the spear...

but if she is unlucky, she may never come home.

you are her mother. you are allowed to say no. she is only five months old! she doesn’t need to explore the world. not yet.

arcturus was wading dangerously close to telling another wolf how to parent, but at this point it was too late.  he felt his ability to be tactful and kind ebbing by the second.

it seemed he was on the cusp of saying something else, but thought against it. now that niamh was here, he felt even less inclined to admit his feelings about meerkat were also partially derived from his faint guilt he might be her father.

ugh. arcturus had nothing else to say — and so with his ears pinned and deep unhappiness in his expression, he turned around to leave unless either had anything to say to him.