Stone's Throw

[NPCs]

That gets a look of concern. "Don..."

[GamesMaster]

He lifts his upper lip in a silent snarl, speaking in a suddenly bitter tone: "What does it matter if I have a heat or not? I can't make any more kits. I might as well skip them."

[NPCs]

"Because it's not healthy for you," Cadmus snaps, then coughs roughly for a few seconds. "Those tonics are dangerous to keep using."

[GamesMaster]

"I'm a failure as a father, as a leader, and as a mate. I figure, leave it in Bharnerol's hands."

[NPCs]

"You are not a failure," Cadmus insists. "You have do so much for our tribes. So much. Things I could not have dreamed possible for us a decade ago are now not just within reach but some are already in our jaws. As for mate and father..." He sighs. "Failing is not the same as being a failure. You could not protect two of your kits. That is a horrible, fearsome burden that you must carry forever. But can you truly look me in the eye-- look your Father in the eye-- and tell me that you had not made more than reasonable efforts to protect them?"

[GamesMaster]

"Yes," he says, but he doens't look at Cadmus as he says that. "I should have slept in their nursery instead of Beth's room. I should have stayed awake. I should have hired guards. More guards, my own, instead of trusting Varric's men. I should have known the hospital would be a prime target and stationed cats I can trust outside, watching the place. I should have brought all three babes to Beth's room instead of just Andreas. I should have... I should have died, rather than let them be taken." The last is a harsh, bitter whisper. 

[NPCs]

"You are mortal, my son," Cadmus says softly. "You will fail. Over and over again, you will be too weak, too stupid, too careless or blind. It is our fate. Still, we live on... until we do not. And that is all that can be asked of us."

[GamesMaster]

"I cannot be what my mate requires of me," he whispers. "I told her, over and over, that my job must, will always, come first. That the good of my people must triumph over my own family. I thought she understood that. But now... I don't know that I can be what she needs. And she will take my son when she goes. For what reason was I spared? Why has Bharnerol left me alive, to be alone?"

[NPCs]

"Alone?" Cadmus's voice has... not firmed, he's simply not got the lungs to really do that anymore. But there's a quiet strength in it that Don only rarely hears these days. "Alone, my son? You are one of the tribe. You are a leader of the tribe. You are never alone. Ever. It may be a cold companionship at times, but duty, legacy and the blood of our people are with you always.""

[GamesMaster]

"I am the leader, but no longer one of the tribe. They have shown me that. When I seek comfort I am denied. When I seek companionship I am held apart. I am too much a human now, too much a Nyran."

[NPCs]

"Then prove to them that your heart has not changed. We are catfolk. We adapt and we survive."

[GamesMaster]

"What if my heart has changed? What if  Bharnerol sees this and has rejected me?"

[NPCs]

"Has it?" Cadmus asks simply.

[GamesMaster]

Don hangs his head. "I am a shell of what I once was. I no longer... I am no longer fit to be a leader."

[NPCs]

"And is that your self-doubt or your truth speaking? It's not an easy task to tell them apart," Cadmus cautions his son, the pauses to cough softly. "Nor is knowing enough to banish the former, if that be the case."