Swiftcurrent Creek I long to be loyal

Wrapping up! :D I'm about to call a bunch of wolves in a coyote-chasing thread - I'll tag you too.

Bazi shook her head. "No, he's older. Like a young dad." She decided not to share Ferdie's penchant for grooming, though he was the reason she always looked so well presented. "He was an alpha once," she shared instead; a more impressive fact.

Jace's response to her rudeness was tactful and measured, like every other one she had received - not too hot, not too cold. Bazi crinkled her brow, watching her pack-mate with interest. It was as though time slowed before Jace spoke to allow him ample opportunity to formulate a diplomatic answer (though whether or not it was appropriate to let her get away with that particular assessment of Jinx was up for debate). Either way, he balanced out the more hotheaded members of the Creek and look to have the makings of a decent peacekeeper.

"No, she seems like the type to keep her oaths," the youth hypothesized. "I don't really know what to think. Maybe she wants to overthrow Fox and promote her own. But her submission to Fox always looks genuine.. so I don't know. Ferdie brought it up - he said there was a funky smell about the whole thing." Whatever Jace responded was met with a slow, ponderous nod and silence. Fox had told her not to gossip.

"Anyway," she scrambled to her feet and pawed the remains of her lunch into the river. "We'll find out soon enough. Fox told me not to gossip, but this seems more serious than gossip - so just be on your toes, OK? Oh - and we're right by the creek; pretty much in the center of the territory. Between two trees. So come visit." She stepped forward to seal their first meeting with a wet kiss to Jace's cheek, winked (something she had seen someone else do and practiced ever since), and took a few steps back. "See you soon?" And then she was off, bounding along the creek's edge like a sprightly cloud with legs.