Redtail Rise I'm like the Kanye West of humility

Her audience turned out to be more visible than previously thought. Smash started when a voice cried, "Encore, encore!" but she didn't miss a beat. She turned toward the speaker, bowing a second time, so deeply that her nose brushed the earth. She then promptly sat, though before she could unleash a witticism or two, a second wolf joined the first. They were both familiar, though Saena stood out for rather obvious reasons.

"I was actually going to ask you that," Smash replied to the Alpha's question. Forgetting that she should probably check her privilege, she made no conscious effort to display submission for several beats. But recollecting her first encounter with Reek served as a reminder and the two-year-old lowered her head and flicked her ears to the side deferentially. "I figured y'all had some fancy custom ranks or something. It sounds like Reek just maybe stroked out while he was introducing himself."

Unaware that she'd just joked on the woman's mate, Smash turned to face the agouti stranger. "Hey, I'm Smash but you can call me Smash," she quipped, tapping her dark tail against the earth and then giving either of the other two ladies a chance to get a word in edgewise.