Redhawk Caldera angel of mercy

Despite Elwood's best efforts to encourage his son, Eljay's opinion of himself remained low. He was quiet for a moment, seeming to consider his dad's words, then voiced a very real concern. It would have been easy for Elwood to shrug it off and insist that it wasn't something Eljay needed to worry about, but it wasn't the first time he had said something like this. Plus, there was the whole Nightjar issue hovering in the back of Elwood's mind.

So the father sat down, facing his child. He wanted Eljay to know that he had his full attention. "I understand what you mean," he said first with a nod of his head, affirming Eljay's fears. "But even though you might not be the biggest or the strongest or the bravest -- that doesn't mean that you're not still an important part of the pack. Uncle P gave you this job because he trusts you. You're the kindest wolf I know, and a great listener." He smiled faintly, then changed his tactic with a question.

"What do you think you would like to do with the pups?" he asked. Perhaps the idea of "teaching" was intimidating to the soft-hearted Eljay, but simply spending time with the firebirds would be beneficial to their development.