When the meeting broke he walked, just walked because if he had stayed in that clearing one breath longer something was surely going to come out of him and he wouldn't be able to stop it. He could feel it; sitting there high in his chest hot and pressurized. He couldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing it. So he walked out without another word until the treeline swallowed him going until the sounds of the pack dissolved into nothing, there was only an internal decision that he would not follow Euphemia.

Kin.

The word rolled over in his mind like a stone with something rotten beneath it, he'd heard the word for as long as he could remember, traded between souls like it meant something, a load bearing word that held weight when you leaned on it. We are all family here; all of us kin. He paused, staring into the forest which was dark and indifferent as he stood with his sides heaving.

Because Euphemia had stood there, she had stood there folded into herself and chosen neutrality while Aurelia 's name waited for her to do the obvious thing. Aurelia who hadn't hesitated. She had stood up when it was Euphemia's name was in the air because that's what you were supposed to do because that was the whole point. If it didn't work both directions, it didn't work at all.

A sound came from the youth, low and involuntarily as his thoughts reeled.

And then. Then. The room had turned on him. Not toward Euphemia, or the abstention sitting there in plain sight. Toward him. His tone, his timing, Monty who couldn't conduct himself, Monty who couldn't let it go, Monty who was the disruption. He dropped his head, brows furrowed and jaw tight as his breath expelled in a long visible cloud in the cold air.

The cold settled into his fur and he stood and let it, because it was better than going back. Better than looking at any of them right now, than letting them see what was underneath the anger, what the anger was actually made of, it was something he had no intention of giving Dawnbreak a clear look at.

He even regretted letting Tiberii see it.

They'd gotten enough from him.

—

OOC

Skill: 

The events of the day took some time to wash over her. The waves of emotion crashed into her, steady as a drum. And each pulse brought with it something new for her to digest. It was, as of late, her natural state to be angry — perhaps a bit unhinged — with the flickers of emotions tickling the edges of firmly set lips.

The sun, as hot as her anger, would slowly settle into the horizon. And Tiberii, too, would quell ... her anger waning into a few other distinct emotions: confusion and concern.

Confusion towards a sister who withheld loyalty from their twin. And concern for a youth who had quite nearly imploded from the emotional impact of it.

She barely had time to process the strangeness she felt within herself (she did not yet know how to lead without Aurelia's Wisdom), for she had taken to following after the youth in question. It was not hard to follow him, his pawsteps placed erratically in the snow, and a series of unhappy sounds lay in the frosty air in his wake.

A teen, much like she had once been.

As angry as she had once been.

As angry as she often was.

She saw a lot of Hexx in him. But, perhaps more concerningly, she saw a lot of herself in him. Monty, the bull would call after him, voice drifting into the inclement darkness that now surrounded them. Oi, she'd chirp, long strides carrying her through the drifts of snow as she neared him. She could feel it, the heat of the silence he carried. The heaviness of his anger.

She drew silent as she neared him, ears flicked forward as her twin golden eyes glanced over him. She felt a heaviness set in her own chest, like a weight. Ya wanna talk about it? It was his choice. The bull could fully respect if the teen needed time to cool off, but she wondered ... oh she wondered ... if things would have been different for her if someone had just ... listened.

---

"Monty" he stopped when the sound of his name caught him by the scruff, one forepaw froze half sunken in the snow claws biting beneath the crust. "Oi," His ears tipped back, and for a moment he said nothing at all, standing there with his back half turned shoulders rigid beneath his dark coat breath steaming hard from his nose.

Of course she’d followed.

Of course someone had to.

His jaw worked, teeth pressing together until the muscle in his cheek jumped "Ya wanna talk about it?" talk about it. The words should have made him laugh something sharp and ugly, something that would make her regret asking. Instead it came through gritted teeth What's there to talk about? it was thrown like an accusation, his gaze fixed ahead into the trees as if they might offer him somewhere to put all of this. She made her choice, they all did It was the way the moment had turned. The way everyone had looked at him like he was the wound instead of the thing bleeding from it. Like his anger was uglier than abandonment and speaking up was the problem, not the fact that someone had needed speaking for in the first place.

Aurelia stood for her he said finally, his voice cracking around the name before he smothered it beneath a scowl. She didn’t hesitate. Didn’t sit there acting like it was hard to decide whether her own sister mattered. he turned just enough for Tiberii to see the fury in his face and the awful shine beneath it. And when Euphemia couldn’t do the same, I'm the problem.

The words came faster now, spilling past the place he’d tried to keep shut. And you boast about kinship! About family! he gave a small shake of his head Some family, what the fuck was that? he ripped his gaze away.

I don't need them to like me he muttered I don't care what they think he paused, breath pushing through his nostrils roughly

But don’t stand there and call everyone kin if it only matters when it’s easy.

—

OOC

Skill: 

His laugh cut sharply through the quiet air, his body language terse as his shoulders remained rigid with the tension he held. Tiberii watched him, flames brewing beneath citrine eyes, yet unfazed by the lapping flames of his agitation. Fire looked toward fire, and where Tiberii remained contained, Monty searched for a match.

"What's there to talk about? His words were sharp, pointed, and accusatory. They were laced with fire, aimed to hurt. But Tiberii's armor was thick, steeled to perfection from years of running away and avoiding emotions with an equal amount of ire and anger. And the bull's single question seemed to trigger him, and it was quite clear that even though he did not want to talk, he needed to.

Tiberii, perhaps, had made herself a willing punching bag.

Better her than Euphemia.

She listened. She heard him. And she saw it — the anger that masked the hurt so that it could be swallowed down and buried. She could feel it in his eyes, brewing from the deepest pits of his chest. His words flooded over her, scorching across her skin like hot desert sand. And through it all, she couldn't chastise him for his feelings — not when she understood them.

Yer not tha problem, Monty, she'd tell him, knowing well enough that he likely wouldn't believe her. She'd flick her ears, furrowing her brows as she looked toward him, looking past his anger and seeing down to his hurt. They made their choice, just like we did. An' we may not understand it, but ... The bull frowned. It. Politics? Power? Family? Euphemia? Dawnbreak? The purpose of everything? I just 'ave ta believe Euphemia acted fer tha good of Dawnbreak ... even if it hurts Lia right now. And me. Her frown deepened, a flash of her own protective anger threatening in her gaze.

But instead, she'd sigh, pressing her ears back toward Monty. Took me a long time ta learn ta trust anyone. Tiberii was loyal and protective, of that there was no doubt, but when it came to trusting ... well ... the bull struggled with that, preferring often to take on problems on her own. Fer a long time it was just Lia. When I ran off, she was tha only one who knew what my dumb ass was doin'. An' she never told a soul. Not even their father, not even when threatened, not even when punished.

Tiberii had been so selfish.

That kinda stuff is where ya build trust.

She'd keep her gaze on him, trying to smile softly. Dawnbreak was built fer sharin' responsibilities. Maybe a silver linin' that Aurelia can focus on herself, too. Easier said than done. Tiberii would like to see someone try to pry her job away from her. Hexx had been an awful lot like that, too. Steadfast. Loyal. A soldier. A friend. (Also, very tolerant.)

Tiberii's heart would ache, her smile quaking ... wishing that he could have seen his son grow.

---