Janius nodded upwards towards Kaleeth in understanding. He stepped back to let the young hunters work the situation out themselves. He still flinched when Vaarkai turned on Julan.

For a fleeting moment, Janius was tempted to pull Julan away and put an immediate lid on what could turn into a violent tantrum for his son. He decided to stay back and cross his arms instead. Julan was young, but Janius trusted him. He was curious to see how Julan fought his own battle, to borrow Kaleeth's words. All the same, Janius readied himself to declare when enough was enough.

[hr]
Rhazii stared at his clasped hands with little obvious emotion. He stared and mulled over Ahnasha's story, only showing a hint of paying attention to the rest of the world when his ear turned at the sound of a nearby bird.

"The other thing I wanted to talk about," he said. "It's not so much a question. I just want to say something now that I know what you went through." Without looking at Ahnasha, he brought his fingers up to the uneven, scarred area of fur on his head. "I don't remember any of the fire. Not really. Frankly, the worst part about my burns is just people talking behind my back. I know people think it's ugly or unsettling, but no one bothers me about it. Probably because I've always been bigger than the other kids." He glanced up at Ahnasha briefly. "I've still got friends. I've still...well, I kissed a girl. Point is, I never really wished I didn't have my scars, so...you don't have to keep being guilty about it." He lowered his voice. "I don't want to be that reminder for you. It hurts."