"I want you to join us. Not as a soldier, but as a captain," Bassinger said, leaning forward on the wooden crate and holding his wooden cup of ale in both hands as he made his earnest request.
"Commander Bassinger," Milo said, his whiskers twitching in shock as he was momentarily stunned by the offer. "I, I'm sorry, but I can't" he said as soon as he recovered. "Perhaps there's someone else from my village, or one of the other Heartwood clan villages that's further away and didn't suffer like we did, but…. I can't do this."
"Why not?" The bearish commander asked, surprised by how quickly Milo had rejected his offer. "Is it because you've had enough of war? I thought that you and your clansmen still wanted a chance to wash away your hatred in Lothian blood. Have these few days changed your minds?"
