a safe landing and a calm passage

[Tayui Aston]

Apologies for the length!
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[/html] Tayui froze when Zalen reared back. She tensed, waiting for an attack, but it never came. She was still unused to his mannerisms and it seemed as though he had become even more obstinate now that he was an Alpha. Even that didn’t seem like the right word, so she couldn’t quite pinpoint what was making her so uncomfortable. She recognized that she was asking quite the favour, but she hadn’t been prepared for Zalen’s anger. The moment he claimed that she disrespected everyone else, she felt herself go very cold and very still. She knew exactly what she had done and she did not need some young, hotheaded, too-good-for-himself Alpha telling her what she had done. She had not gathered scoundrels and troublemakers at all, either, but it seemed as though he was content to allow his straw man’s argument rest on hyperboles and half truths. She wondered if he thought Vesper was, therefore, a troublemaker, Attila, Jaden, or Lucia. She didn’t think he had met her other comrades, including Terra, Zana, or Ángel.

Even then, Zalen seemed content to ‘feed’ her to the Salsolans. She wondered how he could be so upset with her when it was he who abandoned the cause. Yet, he seemed to feel so strongly about it. Where was his loyalty?

Then, he seemed to sigh and change his mind. She felt herself tense and shake when he said he would ‘concede’ her request. How pompous! She stayed silent and instead glanced to Anu, who responded far more appropriately than she could. She was just upset that she was dragging Anu and Cypress into this mess. They didn’t need to hear the drivel Zalen was sprewing, but this was the only way if they hoped to stay together. Perhaps it would be best to send them on ahead and turn down Zalen’s offer. She wasn’t sure if she trusted him given how upset he was.

When Anu explained their destination, she tried not to flinch. She didn’t want Zalen to know where she was going. Not now, at least. Perhaps before, if he had not been so hostile, but now—it was not safe. She couldn’t know what he would do with such information and she didn’t want this to follow her to Vinátta.

In the end, she knew she couldn’t just turn tail now. She nodded after Anu finished speaking. She did not want to say more, but she did not think Zalen would be satisfied with her answer.

“There is… much more to the story than just that, but I appreciate you for not holding a grudge against me or my family,” she replied. As she had been trying to project an image of calmness the entire time, she tried not to snap in response. “We will do our best to be quick so as not to take away from your time too much.” [html]

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