Driftwood Surge healing old wounds

He was still frustrated. Not with the china doll, of course, as that wasn’t even capable of happening, no matter the situation. Their friendship was much stronger than that.

No—the ghost was frustrated with the older Baranski. She was no longer a member of his pack and she was still throwing sticks into the mix. It also showed him that she still did not understand why she had been punished, and was using her emotions as an excuse in order to pit others against him. He hoped that, in her time alone, she would reflect on her past mistakes and look to move forward. Dwelling on them, and Lachesis’ ”wrongfully assigned punishments”, wasn’t going to do her any good.

I know, I’m sorry. His tail thumped against the ground, the irritation he felt still written clearly across his pale features. She… she just refuses to believe she did anything wrong. That I wasn’t in the right for punishing her. Any other leader would have kicked her out immediately once they discovered she had bred. That was our first mistake. After that, she felt as though she could do no wrong. And that the punishments were unwarranted. He couldn’t keep allowing her to slide by. He didn’t want to be seen as the leader who let their subordinates do whatever they pleased. The Stark had grown tired of being a doormat.

His brows immediately snapped together at Anastasia’s suggestion. Let Inna visit? It appeared the dove was taking a page out of his mate’s book, as the sparrow had wanted Lachesis to allow Inna to re-join after her time away. I can’t promise that, he answered quickly, his tone level as he struggled to keep the venom in the back of his throat. I will not stop Oksana from seeing her mother—I will not drive a wedge between them. But I do not want Inna visiting the Surge. Again—what kind of leader would he be? Allowing the wolf he’d half kicked out, half left behind walk along the border as she pleased? Even stepping past it? No—he wouldn’t allow that. I promised Inna I would keep her daughter safe. I intend on keeping that promise. But that also means keeping her safe from her. Another sigh caused his chest to heave. I do value your opinion; thank you. It is a topic we can revisit again in the future, once the dust has settled. Maybe.

There was some imminent degree of curiosity that had struck Anastasia about her current friendship with XIX. Something that was daunting and relieving at the same time; eventually, Ana had come to remember Bastet being an important romantic figure in Lachesis' life and yet she was nowhere to be found. It caused concern but more or less, it made her wonder why she had been forgiven so easily. While she would continually argue that nothing had changed between her and the pale boy, somewhere deep within her heart she knew that there was some barrier. It was thin and easily crossed, but it was easy to say that it was just how busy he was and how out of the loop she had been.

So to see his frustration and attempt to understand it, she held her posture as best she could while remaining somewhat submissive. It probably would have saved a lot of trouble to simply let Inna take her leave once she had broken pack rule by breeding, she danced around the subject lightly for it was becoming a rather sensitive topic in her head. However, it was very clear from the moment she said it that Lachesis wasn't at all interested in making any agreement to let Inna come to visit. Well, she tried... but Anastasia would keep fighting for some balance.

In the very least, I think it would be wise to talk with Sana about her future in the Surge. Present and future. Express to her that she is valued here, that she is not being judged by what happened to her mother. That she is as much a member as all of us. Some part of her felt this to be true for herself. While she might not have needed vocal recognition, Anastasia understood that she wasn't being judged by the fact that she had left on purpose once and she had been welcomed back easily. Oksana could have been turned away just like Inna but instead, Lachesis showed mercy.

He flashed his friend a tired smile at her comment, his shoulders shaking in silent amusement. Of course it would have saved them heaps of trouble if they had kicked Inna out of the pack for breeding. But things were never easy—not for the river wolves. That wasn’t my call, he hummed, his tone light; almost disinterested. Kisla had discovered Inna’s… unexpected news first. She didn’t want to kick her daughter out of the pack. I don’t blame her, but it still should have happened. He sighed once more, his brows pinched tight. He had never thought about arguing with his tawny co-lead. Not over her daughter. He was still learning how to be a good leader at the time; he couldn’t go against Kisla’s decision to keep her daughter in the pack.

But, if he had… perhaps this could have been avoided. Maybe they’d still be living amongst the cedar giants in the Kingswood…

It didn’t matter. He couldn’t reverse what had already be done; there was no use in dwelling on the past. All he could do was continue to move forward.

The ghost gave a soft nod in response to her suggestion, his chartreuse gaze meeting her pools of cerulean. Of course. He didn’t want the ebony Baranski to think she wasn’t valued. Before she had broken pack law Inna had been an important member of Hearthwood—a model subordinate. There was a time that he had wanted her to be his advisor. I will make sure to seek her out. Thank you for speaking with her. He paused, his gaze tightening as he remained focused on his pale companion. And for speaking with me. The corners of his mouth fell into a soft line. I missed having you here. You were always the reasonable one. His rock.

She was going to make an excellent advisor.

Ana pursed her lips in dismay, always hopeful that things could be fixed but things had happened. They had escalated and communication had gone astray, perhaps. Anastasia adored her XIX but she couldn't immediately site one way or another. She had to keep herself separate and have her own opinions, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't holding back her deeper thoughts. She valued her friends and wanted them to work it out on their own rather than take immediate sides. Kisla didn't want to separate herself from her daughter, just as Inna is now separated from Sana. Was it fair to say that karma came back? Anastasia would never say such cause it was awful but the circumstances pointed in the direction.

A very intricate smile worked its way upon the doves face as he thanked her for her commitment to speaking to all parties involved. Though, his compliment and his down-to-earth admittance certainly made her feel a lot of warm fuzzies. I'm here for you.I want to make the Surge thrive and it'd be nice to see less bridges burned. She wasn't extending the blame to him, but she wanted to be able to be able to smooth over any and all issues that arise now that she was an aspiring advisor. It would be better to analyze the situation from a distance and that was exactly what she wanted to do as an Advisor.

With that, she felt that there wasn't much left to discuss. As long as he ended up talking to Sana, things would hopefull be a lot smoother and more open-ended. You have time for a walk? Anastasia would greatly appreciate simply walking with him, even if it was just in the Surge, and even if it was dead silent. It would be nice to breathe fresh air and not worry for just a second.

He did not know if he would mirror Kisla’s actions if one of his own daughters had broken pack law, for he understood the importance of family, but there was also a precedence to be set. If Inna had approached them prior and confessed that she was planning on breeding, or sought permission to breed, things would have ended up differently. Even now, if two wolves had pleaded their case to Lachesis and Lilya, their opinions on the leaders only rule could be swayed. He just didn’t want to be blindsided—not again.

Was family worth sacrificing the future of the pack?

I know, he breathed in response to the china doll, his chartreuse eyes soft as he offered her a half-smile. Anastasia had always wanted to see the best in everyone and selflessly fought for the underdog, just as she had done when he was a yearling. He couldn’t fault her for that. She was just trying to keep the peace and do her job, just as she always had. I will talk to Oksana and see how that goes. Then I’ll figure out the rest. With her and Lilya’s help, of course.

You have time for a walk? His smile widened as he nodded, his pale plume swaying gently behind him. With you? Always. He nudged her cheek with his nose before motioning for her to take the lead. There was still a lot of Driftwood that needed to be explored… he wouldn’t mind patrolling the area with his oldest friend.

That was another point that Anastasia had wanted to bring up but felt it was too much of a risk to point out. Lachesis and Lilya had lost their son and their daughters were important to them, that much she was certain. They wouldn't want to punish their daughter for breeding, but at the same time they couldn't allow one to break rules as it set a bad example. It showed that leaders will willing to let anything slide and Anastasia understood Lachesis' reasonings entirely. Emotionally, though, Ana thought that this could have been handled better.

That's all I can ask of you, she commented and gave a confident, thoughtful smile. She likes to be called Sana, by the way. It would help if Lachesis understood what the girl liked to be called, so that she might feel a little more within the bedrock of the Surge. Anastasia desperately wished for the dark girl to know that she was just as important as anyone here and that her actions were not being judged or compared to her mother. She had to be the one to set herself aside and be herself.

Of course, XIX goes and briefly touches his nose to her cheek and while she expected to feel pushed to the ground, no feeling comes. Instead she feels comforted knowing that he was going to try this not just for her but for the pack. For Sana's future. So with a cheeky grin, the pale dove moved off into the depths of the Surge prepared to find some new, unexplored place of the pack to inspect. Fade Ana.