sigh no more /open

[[Midnight]]

How many times had Justyn heard this speech? He could probably count it on his toes, and even though that sounded like a tolerable sum to other wolves, you may as well multiply that number by one hundred thousand. They always seemed lengthy and definately favoring Caerwyn's side and Justyn had learned by now to tune them out. He kepy his expressions to a minimum and bit his tongue.

Nobody had any idea. Taku had no clue what real kind of monster he was. Maybe he would if it was his father who was the sociopathic one. Ah, it couldn't be helped, he realized. Justyn was understanding now in his older days that even he didn't fully understand his creature of a father - after all, he had been so young at the time, everything that he had seen for himself was a blurred memory while everything else had been hearsay from the pack and Midnight, his mother.

"You seem to know a lot about insanity. I could go on about it all day, but I don't want to waste the time," he responded to Taku, with a slight tone of bitterness. But he forced his irritation and anger to disappear, not wanting to ruin this peaceful conversation. He was thinking of his earlier thoughts, about how he snapped at the slightest inclination of things gone wrong. He needed to fight the urge to snap.

He looked Taku in the eye as the male spoke of being impressed with him. Actually he hadn't heard that one before, but Justyn knew that everyone else who knew him had thought it once or twice. It was true; Justyn didn't honestly comprehend how it ever worked out that he made it to the new Falling Moon pack, tolerated Duke's rulership, and even behaved himself enough to become the Beta. Like everything else in his life, it just...happened naturally. He wasn't ambitious, just ferocious.

"We clash a lot, Duke and I. I won't lie," he started, with a small smirk, glacing upwards while recalling memories, "there have been times when we butted heads, and I thought I was done for."

He felt another flicker of honesty, urging him to tell Taku the truth of what he really thought of himself. He heard his voice before he comprehended that he had given in.

"I'm not impressive. You are the impressive one. You followed your mother loyally," he noted, while sitting back on his haunches. "I don't know the circumstances, but I'm sure you were scared at the time."

[Fire]

It seemed that, yet again, Taku had said the wrong thing. Normally it was because he wasn't paying much attention to the situation, but this time he'd actually tried and appeared to have just made Justyn a little irritated.
Deciding he didn't want to conversation to regress back to unfriendly terms, Taku held his tongue and ignored the tone of Justyn's first comment. He wondered what it was about his words that had hit a nerve with Justyn, though. A few moments ago he'd been laughing about Duke, and now...Well, something had changed. In all fairness, Taku couldn't really blame him. If he'd had a monster for a father, he'd probably act the same if he was brought up in conversation. It couldn't be pleasant, to have that kind of cloud hanging over you your whole life.
More uncharacteristic sympathy. It hadn't worked last time, so he attempted to ignore it and was glad when the conversation was brought back to Duke.

"It sounds like a love-hate relationship," Taku replied with a chuckle. "Can't live with him, can't live without him." He paused. "Maybe just hate, on second thought. I don't suppose it would be too difficult to live without him. Have you ever considered that?"
Taku stopped his verbal train of thought before he went any further, seeming to have forgotten that he needed to be careful about what he said. Justyn had worked hard to get where he was, he probably wouldn't give all that up just to get away from Duke.
"Never mind, ignore me. Now that I think about it, that was a stupid question. I mean, what're you going to do, overthrow Duke?" Taku laughed a little, but his smile faded a little as he realised the gravity of what he'd just suggested. Going on what he'd been told, Duke was xtrong, ruthless and had a loyal following, not to mention his years of experience. But Justyn seemed just as strong, and just as capable of running a pack, and had youth on his side.
If it ever came down to it, Taku wasn't sure who's side he'd be on. Sure, Duke was his grandfather, but only by blood. He was closer to Justyn than he would ever be with Duke.
For his mother's sake, he'd probably have to go with his blood relative.

Impressive? Taku frowned disapprovingly, slightly confused. Being called impressive was a first for him, too. He'd certainly never seen it that way. Normally he would have grabbed the compliment and run with it, emphasising how hard it was to leave his family, and how much he missed them, but he didn't feel arrogant enough to do that now. Instead, he snorted with amusement, and shook his head.
"It wasn't impressive at all, it was selfish. I was a coward." Taku looked at Justyn with a calculating, but not entirely cold look. He wondered how much he should divulge to this total stranger, but continued anyway, looking up at the forest's canopy. "I would come back. Being a loner is so dull, but I haven't been there in so long, I'm not sure I belong there any more."

Taku shrugged nonchalantly, dismissing it and moving the conversation onto something more comfortable and not about himself.
"So do you have a family then? Any little Justyn's running around in the pack?"

[[Midnight]]

A love-hate relationship.
Justyn inwardly recoiled at the idea of having any love for Duke. Taku obviously didn't mean it in such terms, so Justyn took no immediate offense to his idea. Besides, he had quickly reconsidered his words and took them back. Rightly so, Justyn thought. His eyes were curious as he said not a word and continued to watch Taku. In the meantime he had stepped sideways to edge closer to a tree, where he began to itch his back against the rough bark. It was then that Taku posed the question of Justyn's life; Have you considered leaving the Moons?

Only every day since I first followed Duke, he wanted to say, but in that moment he listened to his head, not his heart, and wisely kept his mouth shut while Taku once again dodged the conversation and moved on. He wasn't at all offended by it and took the moment to stop his itching to focus all of his attention to Taku's next indirect question.

Overthrow Duke? Boy, Taku was good at hitting the nail right on the head. He was starting to remind Justyn of Rose and her perceptiveness. Taku, however, seemed far more innocently guessing than purposefully observant. Justyn knew that Taku had no idea that everything he had said so far was near close to the truth about Justyn.

He really was dying to say that he was more tied down to the Falling Moons than willingly staying under Duke's command. In the beginning it was survival with the Moons; now his life had evolved to something more grown up and entirely mushy. Simply put, he had made life-long friends. His desire to stay and protect them in case he was needed was all he could satisfy.

But Taku had already moved on, and Justyn thought it best for his own sake. Something about Taku's talkative personality and listening ear was making him turn soft rather quickly. Taku was, after all, still Duke's grandson, and could possibly have far more ties to the old mangepelt than Justyn realized.

"I haven't sired a single pup. I wouldn't say I'm popular with the ladies in that aspect of life," he finally responded, his eyes bright with amusement. He'd never thought much about it before, but he knew nothing of romance and hadn't even tried wooing a female in the mating season. When the time had come around in his first able year, he'd been too angry to be approached by anyone. And this last Spring...perhaps there was a small chance, but he simply hadn't taken it. He was wrapped up in the fact that Rose was having pups again, and that he desperately wanted to be a part of their lives even if Raiden hadn't wanted it that way. Funny how things had been reversed so quickly in one season's passing.

"I haven't bothered with it yet. What about you? How are the pickings out here in No Man's Land?"
He hesitated, lifting a brow in contemplation while picturing any loners he had encountered before. He couldn't really think of a single female he knew of.
"I can't imagine a loner female would want to be tied down.