Lorag's attitude did not seem like it had changed in the slightest, even with a willing volunteer to take over his position. The meeting was evidently not going how he had expected. "Look, I can't [i]make[/i] you volunteer, Sabine. Honestly, Fendros is the one who I thought of when I first know I was gonna have to do this. Whether you know it or not, you've learned about leading from Meesei, and you've learned fighting from me. You're experienced, and I know you're not just going to bring everything crashin' down around us if you ever end up in charge. And Meesei thinks you're even more promising than I do. I expected you were going to be the one to end up takin' over for me."

Lorag turned his attention to the others, more specifically Sabine. "But that don't mean I expected everyone else to give up. Honestly, I think this is Meesei's fault. With this whole war, she's been changing how we think. How we act. She's been getting us all to work together, to focus everything on fightin' the enemy. That's all fine and great for fighting a war, but that's not how lycans act. That's not how packs act. A pack of wolves compete. The strongest get to the top and the rest follow because they know their alpha is the best they have. They don't argue...politics. They fight, they compete, and they make each other better by doin' it. The Champion should make themselves the best leader, because they have to be. They should be the best fighter, because they have to be. The Champion should be the best because they worked to become the best. If none of you have to compete, have to fight to take over my role, then when you do eventually become Champion, you'll only be a shell of the Champion you could be. Fendros, can you beat Sabine in a fight?" He asked, somewhat impatiently. 

---

Though he was still grinning and, internally, congratulating himself on coming up with a good story to tell his grandparents about his father, Julan showed some uncertainty as he looked at the house, running his hand through his head of red feathers that had started to grow somewhat recently. "Um, well...I was thinking we could just knock on the door and ask if my grandparents are there. But...if you think it would be better to try to look in there first, you can do that. Just don't get seen or we might get in trouble. Try to tell me if you see...um..."

Another thought came to Julan's mind, which furthered his uncertainty even more. "I, um...do you know what they look like?"