She had joined him without complaint, easily pulling herself away from her work with the Great Fire as he called the rest of the tribesmen to him. The time spent with Maska had been relieving — she found herself less stressed and more cheerful, though the nagging sound of concern still remained in the back of her mind. Dawali's health often weighed on the mind of his youngest sister, even as she tended to the needs of the Guardians in the Town Hall. She had thought Dawali had been it. She had believed Dawali to be the end of it, but as Maska cleared his throat and began speaking, fear gripped the chest of the Amara woman. Nayati. Her closest friend in this new place had done something wrong. She met Maska's gaze with one of melancholy and despair — if Nayati had turned so foolish, what would she see in the others? Those who held no true right to be called AniWayans, those who did not know the ways of the Great Tribe, what would they do before this was over?
They were going to go after them for something that Chitsa didn't fully understand. Kuruk and Saqui were Nayati's children, and what right did Maska have to keep them from their mother? Chitsa openly disliked Liliana, she had told Nayati as much, but she understood the rights of parents to raise their pups and as Maska spoke of going to Crimson Dreams and demanding the return of the children, she turned away from him. She would not. She could not. It wasn't simply that it went against her own beliefs, but that she was a useless addition to any party. Her head shook, sending a spray of firey waves and feathers in all directions before she stepped forward to address the Councilman, voice filled with anxiety. "Councilman Maska, if I might excuse myself -- this is all...too much. Nayati is -- was -- my friend; I feel I cannot...help. I would like to retire." She did not openly explain that she did not approve, but behind the anxiety, there was disapproval that was echoed in her tense posture. She would not help destroy her friend, though she would not rebel against the will of the Great Tribe, and felt her talents (and her mind) suited remaining in the borders instead.
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