Wapun Meadow Ease my Mind

"I do enjoy the flowers."

Bazi nodded. This felt ridiculous - like asking a distant relative to punish a dog several weeks after it committed the crime. She had no problem with a single Vale wolf enjoying the flowers, and Fox probably didn't either (nor would anyone want Bazi to throw herself into a stupid fight that she wouldn't win, and damage relations further). But Fox was young and new to the job, and having the Vale troop in had been taken as an affront to her leadership. Things had spiraled out of control from there. Shar-Kali would have greeted them with an entourage of her strongest wolves - Zambiya and Zimri, most likely - and agreed on a set of open-ended, mutually beneficial terms. Hunt while the goings good, but when it isn't, expect to fight for every scrap. Packs clashed violently in the sparser months, but they had been prepared for that eventuality, and accepted it. Disputes were settled in the field, and tensions never rose.

Bazi desperately wanted to share her thoughts with Xi'nuata, but it would not have been appropriate. She was still on probation, and disagreeing with the alpha - however young - was a good way to get exiled. The yearling shifted uncomfortably, but wouldn't sit. "I do, often," she assured the Vale Gamma. "Just not today." A moment of tense, ponderous silence followed. "I -.. she doesn't.. " There was a deep sigh of exasperation. "I have to follow Fox," she said finally. "I have to do what she says, I have to." Her gaze yearned for understanding, pleaded for it. "But I like flowers too, and there are plenty of flowers in spring for everyone. And if I find a flower in the winter, and you're sitting on it... then we'll deal with that fight when it comes." It wasn't a particularly elegant metaphor, but Bazi was a woman of many words - not necessarily good ones.