Heron Lake Plateau Is it for the best? My reputation's never been worse

Sorry for the hold-up! Been out of town with spotty service. I'm back now! :)

As Fiadh protested the prospect of leadership, Raven saw glimpses of herself in the girl. I always said the same thing, little one, she thought to herself. The healer had never once envisioned herself in the role of alphaship. There had been a time, long ago, that she had envied Towhee's promotion into lower leadership over herself, but it was born more out of a desire to be acknowledged and appreciated for her contributions to the pack than it was out of any lust for authority or power. No matter who you were, it was hard to see a kid you had helped raise get promoted over you when you had been serving the pack for far longer, and in much more meaningful ways (at least that's how it was in Raven's opinion -- anyone could inflict wounds, after all, but not everyone knew how to heal them). But that was all water over the falls and downstream, so to speak, and it hadn't crossed her mind in many moons. Things sure were different now.

She giggled as the girl narrowly avoided dropping the F-bomb, and wagged her tail. "Thank you, Fi. That means a lot. And don't worry about cussing around me -- it doesn't bother me." She winked to her young friend, as if to say what happens between us, stays between us. "So tell me," she continued after a moment, batting at a fat, slow bumblebee with her paw. The bee easily dodged her -- surprisingly, really, consider its size -- and buzzed off over the water. "How are you liking this new place so far?"