- Influence
- 3,722.00
Dusk accepted the bandana, looking at it in momentary horror before gingerly using it to dab at her eyes. "Thank you," she managed, returning it gingerly, some of her fussiness reasserting itself as she regained her composure. "It... It means a lot to hear you say that." She sighed before admitting, "I wish I'd done more for my other four; there were times I simply couldn't stand being cooped up in Talinn's castle, and I had to leave, at least for a while. Go off and be my own person for a bit. Of course, if I'd taken any of the kits, he'd have hunted me to the ends of the earth, so..." She paused, then shook her head. "No," she admitted quietly, "that was only partly it. I wanted to experience what it was like to just be me again. That... that was selfish of me. There were so many times I should have been there for my kits, but I wasn't. Those are wounds I'll be spending the rest of my life trying to bandage."
She sighed before straightening up, fixating her attention on Tanya. "Details from the Keys have been scarce," she admitted. "There's been a series of woodlander uprisings there across the past three decades that have left the Imperial presence marginal at best. There have been scattered reports of Red Fleet activity between there and Valles Mensa, but it would be extremely bold for the Fleet to attack an Imperial settlement. The navy may no longer be what it once was, but to provoke the wrath of the Imperium would still be extremely unwise." She mused on this before adding, "Still, with the Hide up north, they might have been feeling particularly impetuous. And," she added with a sigh, "my source within Alkamar has indicated that there may be movement of some Alkamarian weapons into the paws of proxies. We may be facing a proxy war on our doorstep soon."
She sighed before straightening up, fixating her attention on Tanya. "Details from the Keys have been scarce," she admitted. "There's been a series of woodlander uprisings there across the past three decades that have left the Imperial presence marginal at best. There have been scattered reports of Red Fleet activity between there and Valles Mensa, but it would be extremely bold for the Fleet to attack an Imperial settlement. The navy may no longer be what it once was, but to provoke the wrath of the Imperium would still be extremely unwise." She mused on this before adding, "Still, with the Hide up north, they might have been feeling particularly impetuous. And," she added with a sigh, "my source within Alkamar has indicated that there may be movement of some Alkamarian weapons into the paws of proxies. We may be facing a proxy war on our doorstep soon."
