Blackfeather Woods Back then, when I stupidly took pride

A good killer. The sentence intrigued him, to some extent. He didn’t know what had caused her to say such a thing, since he’d never killed anything more than voles. Those had usually been on accident, too. It wasn’t like he’d ever meant to crush them, though he never regretted it, either. Chasing them down had always rewarded him with a snack he wouldn’t need to share with any of his siblings, so it had been fine by him. Did Nemesis know about that? Is that why she’d said he’d make a good killer? No, that couldn’t be the case. He’d never seen her in the valley, nor had he ever caught her scent. Maybe it was just her intuition then. “A good killer,” he repeated, more so to himself than to her. The child didn’t really know what it meant to be a ‘good killer’, but also didn’t think about it for too long. Later on, he would ask his dad about it, and figure out if the words were a good thing or not.
 
Xan paid close attention as the woman continued to speak, ears perked and mind taking in every word. He kept quiet, which was a rarity, and listened to all she had to say. There were certain words that stood out to him more so than the rest, certain words that fueled his drive to succeed. A victorious leader. He liked how that sounded, and tucked it away into his memory. Better than the warriors. The way she spoke made him want to start working towards such goals immediately. He’d been called "little warrior” once before, but being better than the warriors made that seem like nothing—though, in truth, he’d already considered the words to be equal to nothing. He’d been called such a thing by a wolf he’d never liked, which made him feel as if the words lacked a true meaning. Nemesis’ words were the exact opposite, however. They held meaning to them, they possessed a purpose and a goal that he would strive for. To be the best, even better than he currently was. “I’ll surpass all the warriors,” he proclaimed, words sincere. It was a statement he refused to ever go back on.
 
“He’s one of the best?” Alexander questioned, taking on a tone of astonishment. He had always looked up to his father, but to hear someone else refer to him as one of the best was an amazing thing. He knew his mother’s words had been nothing but lies, just a ploy to try and get all of her children to follow her. He felt some pity towards his sisters, then, hoping they would eventually come to their senses. “I’m gonna train, and then I’m going to beat everyone in spars,” he voiced, a grin growing across his maw. “Even you.” The young Inuit would do anything to live up to his words. He couldn’t wait for the day in which he was skilled enough to partake in an actual spar. It was bound to be exciting.