Swiftcurrent Creek dogs howling at the moon

She didn't answer his former question at first. If he had any doubts that she would be able to handle him... well, he probably wasn't a good fit, anyway. Then again, perhaps those doubts were good. It would give her a chance to prove that she did have what it took to "handle a Redefin," as he put it. Deciding better of answering, she replied with a, “If you can handle a Fox.” She, of course, lacked a surname. None were given to females from whence she came, as they were expected to go out into the world and make a name for themselves by partnering with another strong name outside of their own.

The male moved himself closer, though Fox did not budge from where she currently stood. Razo followed up with another question of which she loved to answer. In fact, she often went telling the story unprompted to anybody who would listen. Now that he had asked, she held back nothing. “My voice joined that of the first alpha here,” she replied, “Her name was Lethe. She was a good enough leader, I suppose. Good enough to capture my attention and keep me here for a little while.” The timing had been right, and Lethe had been worthy of her respect. “She wasn’t well, though. The lady threw her own life right into the pack’s namesake creek not a month after I had arrived.” Jinx had only just arrived at that point, and Tuwawi had yet to join them.

“When the tragedy occurred, I stepped up, and nobody challenged me.” And still, nobody had dared. Even Njal, who could have done it if he had tried, had remained her ever-loyal comrade. Perhaps the fact that he was allowed to bear kin here had something to do with that. If he'd been required to start out on his own, it was less likely that Tuwawi would have had any children at all this year. Fox had allowed him that, if only because she was unable to do the honors of giving the creek children.