Mostly Cloudy — Current Temperature: 34° F/1° C. Dusk.

Physically Indru was in fine condition—any previous wounds from before were healed and had long become memories, the pack had a healthy stock in their cache and Indru had been fretting to make sure it stayed so with Corinna's pregnancy and until recently he had slept soundly and without worry. Yet, internally, it was a much different story for the oldest Tainn.

While the shock of Ruiko's news about Kinis had faded, the agony and grief it left behind had not and Indru knew that it would be something that hung over him for a long while. His brother had been out from Indru's charge and into Ruiko's for a while now, unlike Triell, yet it did not release Indru from the inevitable feeling of guilt he knew only his littermate would understand. It had been natural for Indru to adopt responsibility for his family's welfare with their parents passing and Indru still felt each disappearance and each departure like a fresh sting of guilt.

Yet, it was perhaps Borlla that he felt the strongest throb of guilt over at the moment, for it went against Indru's very nature to push his family away when they had come to him. He had felt torn in two directions but inevitably, the decision he had to make was clear—no wolf could be pack without the acceptance of both leaders, and nor could he willingly leave the pack weakened by such tension between he and Cori were he to force it. These were all things Indru could have coped with for the guilt at what was necessary would have been directed internally, however it was the hurt he felt at Corinna's swift departure, her inability to see through the decision he had in many ways been forced to make, that would take much longer for him to get over. His heavy heart had left him restless and wounded and even though it had been a couple of days it had yet to passed.

Evening would be on them soon but Indru was not in the mood for gathering with his pack, he could find little desire in it unlike normally and his usual source of comfort was instead the source of his frustration. With a gentle sigh he turned and instead headed towards the borders, for it was these menial, familiar tasks that the leader felt most relaxed.

His black nose was held to the ground as he sniffed gently at the scents that littered the ground on his way to the borders, his musky scent hung over Swift River like any dominant male's should, yet underneath his were the submissive scents of the rest of the River wolves. While it was his and Corinna's which acted as the main offensive scent, it was the subordinates that showed the pack's true strength—Swift River had grown and he was eager for others to know it.

As he had wanted it too, Indru's work had allowed him to get lost in it and it was with ease that he missed Corinna's approach into his solitude. At the call of his name in her familiar voice he tensed, his hackles rising in his surprise, before it registered, but unlike normal when it would have made his tail wag with joy this time he hesitated over whether to answer. It was fruitless though, he knew, she would know he was nearby by the smell of him. After a slight sigh under his breath he turned, his fiery gaze drifting towards where her voice had come from, yes? The leader's voice was barely a whisper and though it felt foreign and unusual, he couldn't help the fact that it was not as infused with the same warmth and affection as it normally was.

The Tainn was sure that his distance would not be lost on her, after all while his absence from her side when they slept could in part be explained away by his restlessness, it could not be used to explain why that when he did sleep he found somewhere else lie. Silently he moved towards her voice until she fell into his sight and his eyes met hers quickly and briefly before he pulled them away and looked faintly to his right, into the depths of the forest, as he waited to see what she wanted.

With curiosity Indru watched her hesitant step towards him, confused by it. Was it welcome? He wasn't sure and that surprised him, for there wasn't a time he could remember since she had joined Swift River he had ever found her closeness unwelcome. The feeling felt alien but none the less he couldn't shake it and slowly his eyes roved from her paws back to green eyes and quickly words tumbled from her. Her voice shared the same hesitance as her movements had and Indru's ears twitched in response to the question that wasn't really a question and then the silence that fell after. Did he want her to leave? Again, he wasn't sure, but for the first time in a long, long time he wasn't sure he wanted her to stay.

Soon he was solved from his dilemma as she broke the uncomfortable silence, yet as she spoke his sister's name he visibly flinched and his once curious gaze hardened instinctively before he turned his fiery eyes from hers again. If you'd have stayed you would have known, the words rumbled from him quickly and it was with a little restraint that he hid the growl that wished to escape with them. For it was obvious what she wanted to know—had Borlla left under her own emission or had he done as she had bid and rejected his own sister when she had wanted him? Though the bitterness in his voice was clear, along with the hurt, his voice was still calm and he didn't wish to change that for it was not in him to speak rudely to those he cherished.

While Cori started to show her aggression towards him Indru felt no incline to return the favour, where would that get them? He had no wish to fight or challenge like she was seemingly gunning for and neither did he feel threatened by his mate—as especially while she was pregnant there would be little contest between them on the extremely unlikely chance it came to one. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at her display Indru continued to drift his gaze else where and it only returned to hers as she began to speak and the anger in her voice was not as restrained as his had been.

You told her to leave and thereby cemented the decision of the pack, he stated calmly when she had finished, being sure to keep his breathing steady and his tone still mellow. You knew what the choice had to be as soon as you refused her, there was no other option, at least he hoped she did as it was fairly common knowledge no wolf could become pack without the acceptance, and thus mark, of both it's leaders—and neither would Indru risk such a tear in the hierarchy by trying to force it for it would undoubtedly wouldn't have left them both as leaders. Indru's act of dominance had been unnecessary and out of character for him to express on both new joiners and his family—his process of doing so had been part of the act of the refusal. He had given Cori the chance to dominate Borlla, chasing her from his borders, and by doing it himself first had expressed his willingness for her to do without him harbouring bad will and yet, instead, she had fled from them herself and instead festered this mess that they could have avoided. It was your duty to see that through as much as mine—you had the opportunity to refuse her, to chase her from the borders and yet you turned and left it for me to do alone. Her decision had been brash and not thought out and more than anything it had stung that she was so quick to flee from his side when things got difficult and was so unwilling to face them as a leading pair like he thought they would have.

You ran from me without a second thought and left me to do it alone—the thing which you had insisted on in the first place, it had been a bitter pill to swallow and one he struggled with even now as the hurt look in gaze showed. Rejecting Borlla from his land was hard enough and at least he could have sought some comfort from Cori, but she had taken that from him too.

Her angry voice didn't rile him, whether it was meant to or not, and still as he went to respond he refused to talk to her with anything but his calm voice—he respected her as his mate and he wouldn't talk to his Corinna rudely if he could help it. Of course I argued, he responded, confusion mixed in with his soft voice as he met her gaze for gaze, what did you expect? She's my sister Corinna, no, she's more than that. I was responsible for her since she was a child, she's like a daughter. It felt unfair, extremely unfair, if she had expected him to jump at her say so and go along with anything she said without have any protest or opinion of his own. If the situation was reversed Indru knew he would not be angered by her defence of her family, and part of him doubted whether he would have pushed for the same decision as she had his. Do you really think me so callous and unfeeling that I'd chase my sister off and send her away without a second thought? Especially after Kinis, especially after that. Emotion crept into his voice now, but it wasn't anger, his voice weakened at the end as he spoke of Kinis and Indru felt a throb in the back of his throat at the thoughts of his lost brother and his now lost sister. Distraught and overcome with a gripping sadness his head dropped to hang towards his paws and it was with a deep breath he had to steady himself.

You must have known when you made your decision—especially when only you knew how unmoving you were on it—that I had no other choice but to reject her. Of course Indru would have been tormented at the decision, Corinna might not care for his sister but she was not taking into consideration that he did, that for him shoo'ing her away was not something easy. Yet, you still went, you still left, his voice was quiet and he watched her with uncertainty. He wasn't even angry at her decision, at her giving him not other choice but to push his sister from him when she wanted him, but it hurt that she had left him to it. She had made her argument and left no consideration for his opinion, not compromise, even knowing how much he cared for her and then hadn't even waited to see it through when he had no choice. You say I didn't care what you thought, but how have you cared about what I thought, Corinna? If I didn't care wouldn't my sister be standing here beside me now? No, the fact of the matter was Indru had given her his way, he had done as she had wanted and as she had asked and even after all that she still felt she had done nothing wrong.

His ears twitched as she spoke again and he nodded his head and rolled his shoulders in agreement, as if he had thought of anything else either. But this time his eyes were on his paws once more as he tried to steady the emotion that had overcome him. Again, not anger, but an overwhelming sadness and hurt. He loved her more than anything, yet at the moment it didn't feel returned. Indru would never force her to do something she felt so strongly about like she had him (as evident by him chasing Borlla from Swift River), yet even though he gave her what she wanted, he was still accused of apparently ignored her opinions. Where did she to consider his want in this matter? Even after Kinis, even after losing another sibling so recently and with the pain so fresh she had still not given him ground.