Troubles

@Jinx

Majesty padded quietly into the Neverwinter Forest. He had chosen this spot because he figured it would be a quiet place to voice his concerns to his Alpha. He sighed. He didn't know what else he was supposed to do. He was beginning to feel like a burden here.

Tipping his head back, he let out a long, low howl, calling for Jinx. He hoped no one else showed up. He wanted this to be only between the two of them. As always, he believed honesty was the best policy. He just hoped she would listen.

I had Jinx do something a lot of Alphas don't usually do -- take her time! Majesty is free to react in any way to this, I always want her to be sort of a flawed leader and saw an awesome opportunity in this thread to show it. :P

Every Alpha tried to do best by their followers. It was an instinct ingrained in wolves, be they big wolves or small wolves, intelligent wolves or stupid wolves. It was something they couldn't ignore, a requirement of their breed that no amount of defiance could ever erase. Jinx had this same instinct, and spent most of her days patrolling the pack's boundaries, refreshing stale markers and keeping an eye out for any loner or scout that might threaten her comrades.

What Jinx lacked was the trademark need to please her wolves that most Alphas had. Most other Alphas made every attempt to heed their members' summons with as much speed as they could muster, presumably to look dependable and trustworthy. On the other hand Jinx, flexing her imaginary muscles and exercising her rank as superior, chose to take her sweet time in answering Majesty, if only to see what the response might be.

Still, she did slowly make her way to Neverwinter Forest and found him after what must have been an agonizingly long wait, thanks to her general lack of punctuality. Rather than approaching in any dignified fashion, the female took an uncharacteristically casual approach: she paced nearer to her chocolate-brown Zeta, pressed her shoulder against the trunk of the nearest tree, and quipped a short, “'sup?”

OOC: LOL! I didn't imagine I'd ever see the day that Jinx used the word "'Sup" in any situation! Mind = blown. Also, sorry for the length. Got carried away. Feel free to respond with a shorter reply than five paragraphs.

IC: Majesty spent his time waiting for his Alpha by pacing back and forth. This, in and of itself, was a clear sign that he was very bothered about something. Normally, when he was stressed, he would sit quietly, empty his mind of all distracting thoughts, and meditate on the problem. Pacing was not normal for him. And the fact that Jinx was taking so long to respond to his summons was not helping the situation at all.

Finally, he scented her nearby, and took a few moments to calm himself. He sat down and took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, he saw her coming toward him through the trees. He was silent as he watched her, wondering how to begin. And then she did something he never would have imagined: With a relaxed, casual walk, she padded over to the nearest tree, leaned her shoulder against it, and said, "'Sup."

And Majesty did a mental double-take. This was Jinx here. Jinx. The ever-formidable Alpha of the Silvertip Mountain Pack, who all other wolves feared, respected, and sometimes hated. And she had just said "'sup" to him. Majesty realized, with slight embarrassment, that he had been staring at her this whole time. Quickly, he brought himself out of his "'sup"-induced trance and bowed his head in greeting.

"Hello, Madam Jinx. Thank you for seeing me," he began, and then hesitated, unsure of himself. Did he really want to do all this? He decided, with a sigh, that he did. He couldn't stay silent any longer. "I'm… I'm not sure I belong here - in this pack. Things keep… going wrong, and I'm afraid I may have gotten you in trouble with the Swiftcurrent Creek Pack, as well insulted your mate. At least, I assume he's your mate. Your scent is all over him in a way that suggests a more… intimate relationship."

He didn't know what to say at this point. His mouth felt dry, and he didn't know how she would respond, knowing that he had insulted her mate. So, he waited. He waited for a punishment or a question or both. Mostly, he waited to see if he was about to be shunned from the first pack he had known in a long time.

The right corner of Jinx's raven lip quirked up un amusement when he seemed to freeze before eventually slipping into the submission that befit his rank. Being somewhat callous, she allowed him to maintain it. She was not the sort of wolf to place friendships above protocol, even if she had been close friends with any of her subordinates.

It seemed that Majesty had some concerns, which he was quick to state. One seemed to involve Swiftcurrent Creek, which was surprising but not so much a problem as Majesty thought, and one involved Lecter, which was a bigger issue in Jinx's mind. But the chocolate Zeta was nonspecific in his explanations, which left the Alpha female at a loss for how those two situations could make him unfit for Silvertip Mountain.

“You'll have to be more specific,” she said coolly, knowing now that this discussion would either be funny or uncomfortable. “What exactly did you do to Swiftcurrent? And to Lecter?” She didn't really care about Swiftcurrent's opinions, but she did about Lecter's. Majesty was still alive, so Jinx concluded that he hadn't bothered Lecter too much, but the shaman was much gentler now than he used to be. It was difficult to say.

OOC: I apologize for the length. If it makes it less boring, you may imagine Majesty pacing back and forth and spouting the words like a lunatic, progressively getting louder and crazier about it because he's so worried he has somehow destroyed the pack just because of these two little things.

“You'll have to be more specific,” Jinx said. “What exactly did you do to Swiftcurrent? And to Lecter?”

Well, at least now Majesty knew the name of the disgusting, never-washed male. He sighed and now, here came the explanation. "About a week ago, I was on a run, as I often am. I get easily overtaken by wanderlust, so I get rid of the feeling to explore by taking runs. Well, this particular morning, I guess I had more energy than normal because - somehow - I ran all the way to Swifcurrent Creek. At the time, I had no idea that there was even a pack over there, and the scent markers were harder to pick up on being so close to water. If I had known I was trespassing, I would have left immediately. I'm not the sort of wolf to start unnecessary fights with other packs."

He took a breath. He was probably over-explaining things, but he needed Jinx to understand that he had not done anything on purpose. "Anyways," he started again, "There was a female lying under a tree beside the creek, and I have always been sociable, so I figured I would go over and say hello. Now, of course she was a member of the Creek wolves, which I didn't know, and I guess I accidentally scared her out of her wits. While this was happening, this little female wolf - stark white like you, and tiny - got my attention. Long story short, she became very angry that I had trespassed, and while I tried to explain that that had never been my intention, she called for backup."

He took another breath, trying to steady himself. "And yes, I know I should have run then, but forgive me. My honor told me to stay and stand up for myself. I wanted to prove to all of them that I wasn't a threat and that - no, I had not been sent there to spy on them, as they seemed to believe. But they wouldn't listen. Eventually, I got tired of trying to stand up for myself - and for the pack in general - and left. I felt bad about the whole thing, but eventually forgot about it, figuring it wouldn't be brought up again. I didn't tell you at the time because I didn't think I needed to worry you without reason. I thought it had been solved.

"Well, then a few days later, I hear a wolf calling for me, so I go to him. At first, I was cautious, but then I could smell him on you, so I realized he must have been part of the pack. I assumed he was your mate because your scent was on him more than the other wolves in the pack, suggesting that the two of you spend more time together. Well, he demanded to know what I had been doing at the Creek, so I tried explaining to him what had happened but he didn't want to hear it. And then he ordered me never to go back there, and that if he ever found out that I had defied him, he would throw me off of the mountain.

"Listen, I'm sorry. I know he of higher rank than me, but I was taught that leaders should lead by example, and that just because someone is of higher rank, that doesn't mean they automatically get your respect - that they have to earn it. And being threatened like that, and talked down to like a pup, that made me angry, and I may have… verbally retaliated by telling him that I would kill him if he tried. And then made it very obvious that I did not like him. And then he essentially laughed and brushed me off. And that's what happened."

Majesty took several deep breaths once he was through with his extremely thorough explanation. He sat down, feeling tired after pacing for so long, and looked at his paws, not wanting to meet his Alpha's eyes. "Forgive me, Jinx," he whispered. And waited.

Majesty's speech was long and full of details that a more fascinated wolf would have appreciated, but Jinx picked out only the important details. The speech was something along the lines of "yadda yadda ran to Swiftcurrent yadda talked to a female yadda pack got angry yadda yadda stood up for myself yadda thrown off the mountain". She managed to feign interest through all of this by carefully watching him as he paced restlessly, but she only really perked up at the end where Lecter became involved.

Jinx was perhaps not the right wolf to discuss these matters with. She was hierarchy first, troubles second, so it was no wonder she found his concern difficult to sympathize with. A younger Jinx would immediately have dismissed all his concerns and reminded him of his place... And while she fully intended to do that, she wasn't planning to treat him poorly over it.

She seated herself and lifted a hind leg to bat her paw against her ear, where an itch had begun to bother her. Her manner suggested she was still lax about the issue of Majesty's insubordination toward Lecter, yet rather than offering any sage advice or sound judgement based on that, the female instead asked, “Majesty, were you raised in a family pack or a pack of strangers?” Sos and Atka forbid he claimed to have been raised by dogs or humans instead.

Majesty looked up in surprise at Jinx's simple question. He felt sure that she would snap at him for doing such stupid things. He had always viewed her as quick to anger and tough on others, so her response confused him. He stared at her for a moment, before looking down at his paws again. He took a deep breath, his heart ramming against his ribcage.

"I was raised in a pack of both family members and strangers. My mother and father were the Alphas of the pack, and a few aunts and uncles were also a part of it. Other than that, the rest of the members were strangers - mostly from nomadic packs who splintered off, found ours, and decided to settle down. But - but why do you ask?"

She had fully expected him to say that he came from a pack of strangers. In those sorts of packs, it was common for the wolves to earn one another's respect, whereas family packs had respect taught into their children. Jinx had come from the latter herself, for although not every wolf in Shearwater Bay had been a Kesuk, all of them had been her family. She had respected those positioned above her not because they earned it from her, but because their position dictated they deserved it.

She had the same ideals for Silvertip Mountain.

“Our thinking about hierarchy is different,” she explained, “and I suspect it is based on our origins. Where I come from, those in a higher position than me were given utmost respect whether or not I knew them. That is how this pack functions as well.” She smoothed her lips into a thin line for a moment, mulling over the easiest way to put her words, and then opted for her more typical harsh approach.

“My mate is in a higher position than you, and he is also my mate, the Alpha's mate. It is well within his right to threaten to throw you anywhere he pleases when you are insubordinate to him, but it is not within your right to threaten him. He is your superior.” And she knew Lecter would do it if it pleased him, but he would need to be quite angry indeed. “The wolves of Swiftcurrent Creek are dear friends of his and you insulted his friends, but I trust you will learn from that. He will have to earn your trust and your esteem, yes, but he does not have to earn your respect. As your better, he deserves your respect, just as you deserve the respect of every wolf beneath yourself. Respect may have been earned where you come from, but here, it is given to those who place higher than yourself, as is proper. They stand above you for a reason.”

“If you disagree, then it is your prerogative to rise to his level and challenge him for his place,” Jinx invited conclusively. There was nothing really stopping Majesty from attaining the rank beneath her mate and then challenging him for it, and if he won, then he would deserve the shaman's respect instead.

Majesty took a deep breath after Jinx had spoken, and then thought of the best way to respond. He sat in silence for a moment, and then he bowed his head to her, and said, "I will do as you say, Alpha. I may not fully understand your way of thinking, because we were raised in different schools of thought, but I will do as you say."

He sighed. "I will give your mate - Lecter - the respect he demands. But not because I think he deserves it. I will show him respect because you are my Alpha and you have commanded me to show him respect. And as long as I have known you, I have respected you, even if I haven't known you for very long."

He paused. "I also have no intention of challenging his rank. If you decided to put him in the rank that he is in, then he should be there. In a pack, the Alpha's word is law, and you have done nothing that I know of that would make me question your word. Thank you for your time."

He looked up, into her eyes, for a brief flash of a moment, and then looked away, believing it would have been impolite to remain eye-contact. "If I may, I will take my leave now." He stood, ready to head back to Silvertip Mountain.

There was something jarring about the way Majesty initially claimed Lecter didn't deserve his respect and then concluded that he held his rank because he deserved to have it, but she made no comment on it. Instead, she made a mental note to keep a close eye on the males. It was, she knew, not a personal affair that Lecter should treat Majesty as beneath him. Being wolves, hierarchy was their life, their blood and soul, and they all inherently understood it, even if they didn't believe they did.

“Thank you,” she replied simply, allowing him to go with a gentle flick of her snout in dismissal. She knew Lecter could be abrasive, and she would speak with her mate eventually to learn exactly what was said and done, but she was a blatant nepotist. The word of her husband and mentor exceeded the word of all others, whether they were right or not, and Majesty was on the short end of that stick in this scenario, unfortunately.

When he had departed, she began to meander back toward the mountain, but ended up taking a detour to the hot springs. Jinx had always found the steam that rose off them calming, and would lay in their embrace for a short while to think.