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“Hypocrisy finds you once again, it seems.”

The owl’s tone was unfriendly and distant, and Faolan’s ears fell back the moment Sekuli’s voice reached her.

Faolan, who had been readying to leave with the rest of Mhor, found herself at eye level with her friend just outside the Court and had stopped to give her a few instructions for the coming trek. But it was suddenly clear that there was far more tension between them than just the nerves of the coming war.

“Do tell me, Faolan, after all your asking of me, have you changed?”

The wolf remained silent as the owl paced up and down the branch in a way the Scourger had never seen before. She’d seen Sekuli angry before, sure, but the way her talons plucked the bark and wood from the tree made her wary to even look her in the eye.

“I have changed. You asked that of me, do you remember? All those moons ago? About how I treated others.” Another chunk of the limb fell, tumbling to the ground with a solid thunk. “And you did what? Stood atop your stones to look down on me? Held information over the heads of your friends and family?”

“I didn’t-”

“You carried false words for over a cycle, Faolan. That is no small task. And no small betrayal.” The pacing had stopped now and those black eyes bored holes into Foalan’s, unblinking and unflinching in her incriminating hiss. She had never found those eyes unnerving. She’d always seen the dark, warm brown surrounding those wide pupils, but now, all she saw was obsidian, frigid and immoveable. “And your packmates? What of them? You plan on marching them to their ends now? After relieving yourself of your offenses?”

The wolf remained silent, unable to find anything to defend herself with.

“You kept it from me. With knowledge of how much our culture meant… I expect no special treatment, but I thought better of you, regardless.” The first sign of emotion and it was a betrayed croon that made her want to vomit. “If Cassiopeia is the rightful Archqueen, then so be it. But that knowledge was not yours to keep.”

She hated this. She hated this so much. She’d done it herself, yes, of course she had, but the absolute fury that raced through her at the pointed accusations, while correct, hit true. Her chest billowed with smoke, dark and tumultuous, and she felt her lips pull back in a toothy grimace.

“What was I supposed to do?! Tell them the truth - whatever that means - have the pack disband, and let them all get picked off one by one like sickly rabbits?” She snarled back, hackles raised, but just as she had done to Matthias, the owl didn’t react. It only served to heighten her frustration.

“That is one very big assumption for one very small wolf.”

“What else would I think? Most of us didn’t have faith in Rowena, do you really think we would have survived that?” The fur along her spine started to raise, and the sweet familiar feeling of anger poured adrenaline into her system.

“Oh, how terrible, harboring such a secret for so long. Faolan, our hero. You think highly of yourself for shielding us from such a horrible discovery, I suppose?” The venom was unmistakable, but the owl wasn’t finished with her just yet. “Still, I hear no apology from your lips!”

The shock of hearing the owl shout had her flinching backward, but in spite of herself, she couldn’t help but bite back.

“I did what I thought was right! And maybe… maybe it was a mistake, but I can’t take that back now.”

“No. You certainly cannot.”

Sekuli’s cold words hung in the air, and in that split second, her animosity was snuffed out. Faolan had no words to defend herself. There was nothing to defend. Sekuli had read her for filth and left it there for her to see, plain as day, no mistakes in her own wrongdoings. And throughout it all, she still just couldn’t fucking apologize.

“You will not see me again, Faolan.”

And that was it. No goodbye. No calls for atonement at the last second.

Just the silent flapping of wings as the owl lifted from the tree and faded from view.

____
Faolan finally gets what's coming to her.

Oops.
Sometimes you do what you think is right in the spur of the moment, but that doesn't mean it is right.

Another quick 1-2 hour piece, mostly because I wanted something to go with this little drabble of pain.

Description

“Hypocrisy finds you once again, it seems.”

The owl’s tone was unfriendly and distant, and Faolan’s ears fell back the moment Sekuli’s voice reached her.

Faolan, who had been readying to leave with the rest of Mhor, found herself at eye level with her friend just outside the Court and had stopped to give her a few instructions for the coming trek. But it was suddenly clear that there was far more tension between them than just the nerves of the coming war.

“Do tell me, Faolan, after all your asking of me, have you changed?”

The wolf remained silent as the owl paced up and down the branch in a way the Scourger had never seen before. She’d seen Sekuli angry before, sure, but the way her talons plucked the bark and wood from the tree made her wary to even look her in the eye.

“I have changed. You asked that of me, do you remember? All those moons ago? About how I treated others.” Another chunk of the limb fell, tumbling to the ground with a solid thunk. “And you did what? Stood atop your stones to look down on me? Held information over the heads of your friends and family?”

“I didn’t-”

“You carried false words for over a cycle, Faolan. That is no small task. And no small betrayal.” The pacing had stopped now and those black eyes bored holes into Foalan’s, unblinking and unflinching in her incriminating hiss. She had never found those eyes unnerving. She’d always seen the dark, warm brown surrounding those wide pupils, but now, all she saw was obsidian, frigid and immoveable. “And your packmates? What of them? You plan on marching them to their ends now? After relieving yourself of your offenses?”

The wolf remained silent, unable to find anything to defend herself with.

“You kept it from me. With knowledge of how much our culture meant… I expect no special treatment, but I thought better of you, regardless.” The first sign of emotion and it was a betrayed croon that made her want to vomit. “If Cassiopeia is the rightful Archqueen, then so be it. But that knowledge was not yours to keep.”

She hated this. She hated this so much. She’d done it herself, yes, of course she had, but the absolute fury that raced through her at the pointed accusations, while correct, hit true. Her chest billowed with smoke, dark and tumultuous, and she felt her lips pull back in a toothy grimace.

“What was I supposed to do?! Tell them the truth - whatever that means - have the pack disband, and let them all get picked off one by one like sickly rabbits?” She snarled back, hackles raised, but just as she had done to Matthias, the owl didn’t react. It only served to heighten her frustration.

“That is one very big assumption for one very small wolf.”

“What else would I think? Most of us didn’t have faith in Rowena, do you really think we would have survived that?” The fur along her spine started to raise, and the sweet familiar feeling of anger poured adrenaline into her system.

“Oh, how terrible, harboring such a secret for so long. Faolan, our hero. You think highly of yourself for shielding us from such a horrible discovery, I suppose?” The venom was unmistakable, but the owl wasn’t finished with her just yet. “Still, I hear no apology from your lips!”

The shock of hearing the owl shout had her flinching backward, but in spite of herself, she couldn’t help but bite back.

“I did what I thought was right! And maybe… maybe it was a mistake, but I can’t take that back now.”

“No. You certainly cannot.”

Sekuli’s cold words hung in the air, and in that split second, her animosity was snuffed out. Faolan had no words to defend herself. There was nothing to defend. Sekuli had read her for filth and left it there for her to see, plain as day, no mistakes in her own wrongdoings. And throughout it all, she still just couldn’t fucking apologize.

“You will not see me again, Faolan.”

And that was it. No goodbye. No calls for atonement at the last second.

Just the silent flapping of wings as the owl lifted from the tree and faded from view.

____
Faolan finally gets what's coming to her.

Oops.
Sometimes you do what you think is right in the spur of the moment, but that doesn't mean it is right.

Another quick 1-2 hour piece, mostly because I wanted something to go with this little drabble of pain.