Perhaps misreading the vibes, the leader used his tail to gently smack against his co-lead’s flank playfully when he saw the grin. Sometimes when his son joined him on his patrols it was just to chat and unwind and sometimes it was more serious work related. In this case given how the smile drained away to something more strained it was clear this was going to be the latter.
Viorel dropped the playful demeanor and nodded, humming to acknowledge that he had heard Eros and was thinking. The coming moon, it would be critical to set things out now given the disasters that had occurred last year. They continued walking before he finally spoke, ”Well as you know, both leaders have the right to breed and raise their litters within the pack. Were you planning on exercising your rights?” It felt a bit awkward to have this conversation with his son, but this is what happens when you lead alongside your children he supposed.
He kept walking, but yellow eyes glanced sideways at the man walking by his side, trying to gauge his reaction to the question. He had not known Eros to be an overly romantically inclined wolf, but now that he was a leader and a little bit older maybe things had changed.
![[Image: s38i5ZS.png]](https://i.imgur.com/s38i5ZS.png)
The clear disgust on his son’s face and the automatic response took Viorel off guard and he couldn’t help but let out a loud chuckle. Well, that settled that then. He quickly smoothed his expression back into a contemplative one, especially since the next question was not an easy one to answer. His paws slowed a little as he mulled the words around, there was no easy way to respond.
Eventually he came to a full stop and let out a sigh that seemed to come from his toes, draining away the happy visage he was able to keep up the majority of the time. In its place there was a wolf who had been worn down by the world. He shrugged, ”I don’t know. I also don’t have a partner, but I recognize how important it is for the health and bonding of a pack to have a litter of cubs every year.” It might have been so simple as to give his litter away, let someone else raise their children but, ”After last year with Sharlee and Reade abandoning their litter I don’t think I’m comfortable allowing non-leaders to breed and I respect that you’re not ready…” He trailed off, the implications clear. Viorel felt like he had to, that it was his duty.
The leader could see that his son was not taking this conversation all that well - and that was truly how it felt in this moment. It was a fine line they danced, between co-leads and father and son, what had started as a conversation between heads of the pack felt like it was slowly blurring the lines. Yellow eyes watched the grimace on Eros’ face and allowed silence to stretch between them as he thought about picking his next words very carefully.
He shifted on his paws before beginning, ”Being a leader isn’t always fair, unfortunately.” Wasn’t that the truth? ”It’s not just about this year and having yearlings, but the following year, and the ongoing legacy of the Backwater.” His voice was a little softer now, ”But, if you are more comfortable handing out a total breeding ban to the pack - including ourselves - I will back you up on it, just think about it before you make a final decision.” Viorel did not even think that he would have necessarily had a litter anyways, it wasn’t like there was a woman in his life, except Clover and Vayko would kill him. If Eros really wanted him to abstain, he would do so.
That brought them to the next part of the discussion, ”And, if you are decreeing a breeding ban we need to discuss what the… punishment will be if someone breaks the pack law.” Yellow eyes watched his co-lead closely now, watching for even the slightest change in expression.
Eros had a lot of thoughts, and seeing the way that his son’s mind began to work to word them brought a proud smile to the Valle man’s eyes. So much had changed in the last two years and to see him think things through as an empathetic and strategic leader felt like maybe Viorel had done something good in his life. But, that quickly got ground to a halt when the younger leader brought up Andy and suddenly the salt and pepper wolf felt like he had been struck hard across the face.
The smile wiped away, and pain in his eyes he was silent, waiting for his son to finish his rambling and even after that. He needed to answer each point, and the first word was flat, ”No.” Then he forced himself to expand, ”Clover is no longer leader and doesn’t have the right. As it is, she’s still injured and Vayko is…..well, he’s Vayko.” He loved his cousin and they were family, but he would be lying if he said there wasn’t some distance between them now, a lack of trust. Frankly, Viorel thought that Clover deserved better than the surly, sarcastic, quick tempered man. So, maybe it was less about keeping Clover from breeding but instead about stopping his cousin. He wasn’t ready to say that part out loud so he quickly moved along.
The next topic was not any easier and he kind of felt like he might throw up, but swallowed it down hard. Exhaling sharply he asked, ”Is there something you had in mind?” He wasn’t in the business of trying to punish innocent children, and had thought that he had offered a way of punishing only the parents last year and it had not gone all so well. ”It’s a hard balance to walk, having punishments for the laws we set so that our decrees aren’t just empty threats but living with the consequences of what that might mean.” It weighed on him, heavily, almost every single day. But that was his job, and this was what he had signed up for.
The salt and pepper leader had to wrestle with his first reaction which was defensiveness, as if Eros was accusing him of being the reason why Andy had died. Like Viorel was happy living with the consequences of his own actions, like anybody was proud of the outcomes of that day. He wasn’t, he was sure that Archer wasn’t either. But, he took a long slow breath instead of lashing out and pushing his partner away. He was learning, he was growing, little by little.
Eros continued talking, clearly displaying that he blamed himself and the father opened his mouth as if to interject but instead closed it, allowing his son to continue. In the end he only said quietly, ”that burden is not yours to bear, it’s mine. And it’s Archer’s and Kateri’s.” Eros had been just reaching adulthood and he didn’t hold the same position he did now. Archer and Kateri had been the ones to break pack law, and Viorel had been the one to decide to banish them and neither of them had come back when Andy got sick. Eros was just another wolf hurt in the fallout.
He hummed again before answering, ”Inger wasn’t exactly an outsider, she still had people delivering food and checking on her and had the protection of the pack, but I don’t want to have the blood of any more children on my paws.” Sephrina and Andy were more than enough. But, it gave him an idea, ”I propose that the fathers are ousted, and mothers demoted to lowest until their children can be weaned. At that time the children can remain in the pack and the mother must leave, but both parents are allowed to return to visit their children as often as they would like.” That way the parents were punished, but the children could still be safe. He looked at his son, waiting to see if this would be an acceptable compromise.
Sex: Male