Sly Fox Sand Dunes primera

S'ari nodded slowly. In the desert, she said, Coyote is never alone. Coyote is Tribe, family. All are equal and have a place. All may join. That is what S'ari was taught before she left. But Tribe follows you wherever you go. S'ari is still Tribe, and she may still gift it unto others. She sat up in the sand, looking at Mercedes, and then looking off to the east. There, she said, pointing with her muzzle, is the Ravine. S'ari lives there, with other Tribe, like us. Coyote. She returned her gaze to her friend. Mercedes may go there if she wishes. She is always welcome.

This was the calmest and most understandable introduction of the Tribe that S'ari had ever given, but it felt necessary with this particular friend, who seemed, in small gestures, often unsure of herself or others. Zoug had simply showed up there and decided to stay, without asking (which was fine with S'ari), and Kusuma had asked to come, and had not seemed the type to need this explanation. But Mercedes felt... different. More cautious. Someone who had never been playfully tossed down a sand dune before.

She pulled her gaze away from her friend, pretending to study the horizon, to give Mercedes time to think without being stared at.