Roux shook her head again, flaxen forelock splaying across her forehead. "Then why do you keep him?" It was a rhetorical question though, and she didn't necessarily expect an answer right away. Family was a complicated business, which was why Roux had never been in a hurry to start her own.

Her green eyes rolled at Snapdragon's next comment and she snorted softly, offering a wan smile with a shake of her head. "Very noble of you, Snapdragon, but not really practical. As long as I am in your herd, I am an asset. So is he, believe it or not. All of us are." Her tail cracked over her hips and she shifted, letting one dark stockinged leg tilt to rest. "It's your job to know when to trade us, fight for us, leave us alone, protect or sacrifice us. It's all well and good to say that you'll never make me do something I don't want to, and something else someday if me being unhappy saves the life of your child or lover." She huffed a soft laugh, some gentleness coming back into her no-nonsense face. "There's a reason it was never a job I wanted for myself."

She let the silence sit for a moment before she tilted her head inquisitively toward Snapdragon, eyes narrowing as she spoke about Rutger. "Do you really think he's gonna shape up? 'Cause if not, he's dead weight and more hindrance than help." Roux had no personal stake in the matter. Rutger hadn't so much as said hello to her, and she wasn't about to seek him out for conversation after the leaf-chewing episode. What mattered was whether Snapdragon thought there was more benefit to keeping him or if there would be more benefit to her seeking someone else out to fill the role of her second. Sometimes family came with ties and obligations that one couldn't shake, and sometimes it was better to pacify a problem with a little power than it was to deprive them totally, but Roux didn't know what their situation was. Perhaps this was the least problematic path.

maresilver baylove