20. Discussion

                                    

                                          
Throughout the day, Harvey woke up a couple of times.  He still wasn't all that alert, but physically he was healing well.
	I invited him to rest his large, furry head on my lap as I sat down Muir and Shuu for a talk.  We needed to have a plan in case my stripe was revealed.  I expressed my concerns about trusting the ape king to them.
	Muir considered everything and Shuu was quick to defend the ape king. 
	"Wouldn't he find it amazing?" Shuu asked with sparkles in his eyes. 
	I liked Shuu's optimism, but I wasn't so quick to agree. "Maybe.  But his feelings aside, what will he do in response to knowing about it?" 
	Shuu cocked his head and joined Muir in deep contemplation. 
	"Maybe he will try to keep you close?" provided Shuu. 
	Muir added to that.  "If he does, he will try to bind you to the apes."
	Shuu wrinkled his nose at that.  "But it's Grace's choice."
	"It is, but he might push for it..." With his hand on his chin, Muir thought aloud.  "If he sees it as a good thing, he'll want Grace to birth cubs while hiding the mark."
	Shuu growled lightly.  Yes, Grace would have cubs one day, but he didn't like it when someone else decided that for her.  Shuu caught the last bit after a moment.  "He'd want her to hide it?"
	I felt like I was being left out, so I joined.  "I think so too.  A female with a stripe will cause an uproar.  Even if a lot of beasts look at it as positively as you do, Shuu, there will also be those who don't.  Or worse..." I could picture it now.  "It's seen as a great thing and I will be targeted and or harassed by males over it.  Including ferals."
	Shuu silently snarled at the thought.  It did sound possible.  
	I let him have time to digest that and faced Muir.  "If it wasn't a secret, how do you think the ape king would respond?" 
	Muir was happy that Grace was asking him, but sadly, he did not know the ape king all that well.  He was too ashamed to admit it, but he was thinking more of what he would do in that situation.  But he couldn't not give Grace an answer.  
	"Keeping you safe would be priority.  I think he'd ask you to take more males or bring you to live in the castle."
	If the ape king never heard of a female with a mark and decided to keep me around anyway, I think he would want to monitor me closely.  The other option I could see is getting rid of the unpredictable variable.  The second was a real option based on the controlling tendencies that he displayed in the novel.  That was part the reason I hid it in the first place. 
	I was tempted to sit on this and come up with a solution myself, but I wanted to hear their opinions. "So, what can we do about it?  What do you think is best?" 
	Neither answered immediately.  Both were surprised and thoughtful.  
	Shuu was the first to speak. "Maybe we can ask my father for help.  The ape king trusts him and living in the wolf castle will keep you protected."
	For Shuu's sake, I didn't shoot his suggestion down immediately.  But it wasn't a pleasant thought.  I know I prioritized safety over privacy, but that's a little too much.  As dangerous as it might be, I will selfishly cling to my freedom.
	Muir shared his thought.  "We can leave?" His suggestion startled those present.  "If you are in danger here, we can go somewhere no one knows of you and your mark."
	Shuu expressed his displeasure.  "But the city is the safest place.  Villages are always attacked by ferals."
	I put my hand up to silence Shuu.  "If we leave, we might be pursued.  What then?"  Muir was strong, but thinking he could outrun a city with me on his back would be arrogant.  Then again, I really doubted it would come to that.  Not unless the ape king needed a scapegoat to throw under the bus like he did to Bai.   
	Muir's feathers ruffled.  "There are no tetra-striped hawks in the city..."
	I shook my head.  "You are strong, but you will be carrying me.  You won't be able to fight well while defending me."
	Muir pursed his lips and envisioned the scenario in his head.  Indeed... it would be difficult for him alone to keep Grace safe under those circumstances.  
	There was a thought that came to his mind, but he was unable to voice it.  Grace could take another flying male of three marks to increase their chances of success, but he was reluctant to suggest that. 
	The two of them grew quiet, so I thought with them.  The go-to approach for safety in this world is always taking strong mates.  I know that, and surely, they do too.  But I understand why neither one of them would suggest it.  And while our reasons are probably different, I don't think that's great idea.  Helpful, yes.  A sure-fire fix?  No.  
	I think this is where I use my golden favor.  I don't know if the ape king will accept it, but he needs to.  To insure that he doesn't play dirty, I need to keep this secret at least until Winston comes back.  The ape king will hesitate to force his agenda on me with Winston at my back.
	I told them as much.  I had two plans. The first was to hide the secret until Winston came back, which is when I will call on my favor and expose my mark to the ape king.  The second plan was one of avoidance. Depending on how things go until that point, I may not expose myself at all.  We could move and eliminate the need for a confrontation. 
	The second would put me more at risk from Mitchell since I won't have the city's protection, which led me to another conclusion that I didn't share.  If we moved out of the city, I needed to find another male, three marks or more.  And that was at the very least.
	Harvey listened to the whole conversation.  He didn't have any energy to respond and found himself dozing in spite of himself.  The gentle strokes of Grace's hand on his head were making it difficult for him. 
	But he did catch the heart of the matter as well as the solutions that were thought up.  He had no ability to protect Grace from either of her two biggest threats, thus had no right to disagree.  But he was less pessimistic of the idea of Grace's family increasing in size than the other two and felt that was the most realistic approach. 
	No matter how well-thought up a plan was, unless the future could be seen, things could go awry.  In those cases, having more protection for Grace was always better.  
	Maybe he would say something when he could shift or maybe he wouldn't.  Grace would surely have considered it already.  Harvey believed she did not bring it up for Muir and Shuu's sake.  His female was truly considerate.