She didn’t even try to hide her anger. Her eyes darted around, scanning the field of flowers and the sheet-covered bodies behind you.

“Okay, first of all, what the fuck are you two doing? Are you at a funeral or something?” Her voice grated on your nerves, loud and intrusive. You felt your jaw clench. You wouldn’t let her talk to you like that. But you also wouldn’t stoop to her level.

“No. We’re burying some corpses. These people died, and they deserve at least that much.” Your vision sharpened. The pain dulled. Adrenaline was a hell of a thing. Conflict always made your senses sharper, especially against someone as… detestable as her.

“I…” Her face twitched as her eyes locked onto yours. She was trying not to explode. “I can’t fucking believe it. What a stupid fucking idea. And you, Taylor? Why didn’t you tell her the same?”

Taylor stayed quiet, staring at the ground. You knew those two had a history. If he decided to side with her, you wouldn’t hold it against him. It would still sting, but you could deal with that.

“You know what? I don’t fucking care.” Carmine kept barking. “You two can fall head over heels for each other and do whatever stupid shit you want. I really don’t give a shit. Not even a little bit. Not at all.” Her voice cracked near the end. She turned away, her hands moving to her face, rubbing her eyes. It was obvious what she was doing. When she turned back, her expression had reset, hardened.

“That isn’t why I’m calling.” Her tone was serious again. “I want to talk about the meeting you had earlier.”

“It went… well.” Taylor finally spoke, still looking at the ground. There were no words that could explain how awkward and uncomfortable all of this felt. “We’re officially allies of the Black Sheep. They’re going to send us instructions on how to deal with—”

“Yes. I already know that. My question is, why?” For the first time in the entire call, she turned her attention fully to Taylor, still showing clear anger and disdain.

> Focus on the bodies. Would that be disrespectful to her? Yes. Good. That would be good. These people were more important than her. And even though she was technically your superior, you didn’t recognize her authority.
> Intervene. She avoided talking to you as much as she could, which meant that speaking up would only annoy her further. That alone made it tempting. But beyond that, it was also the proper thing to do as ‘comrades’ inside the White Fang. And if being proper happened to piss her off, all the better.
>Stay mostly silent. Watch her. Study the way she spoke, how she moved, the words she chose. She was unstable, but smart. And if she so much as tried to turn on Taylor, you’d step in. You weren’t about to let her trample over him.
> Other (Write in)