Porcupine Ridge Discontent is the First Necessity of Progress

Title comes from this quote, by Thomas Edison, "Restlessness is discontent and discontent is the first necessity of progress. Show me a thoroughly satisfied man and I will show you a failure." No need to match the length. Ellie wanted to think a lot and she sort of took over here...

Ellie was restless today. Her meeting with Peregrine, despite ending in a terrifying run for her life, had put some kind of need in her for her to prove herself. This both pissed her off and made her secretly... well, she wouldn't call herself happy, but at least her life had some kind of aim now. She was beginning to feel the itch of non-belonging. She wanted to be part of a pack again. She wanted to be part of something larger than herself again. But first she needed to figure out how she could contribute anything to her pack. She knew she would never make the best fighter or hunter, but no one in her future pack needed to necessarily know that, as long as she was doing something.

She had climbed this mountain as a testament to her newfound determination. And as a reward, she got to see the beautiful view below, though her muscles screamed angrily at her. To be truthful, she didn't give a rat's ass about the view, and she kind of hated herself for climbing up here, but she had done it. And, if nothing else, it had proven that she could put her stubbornness to good use if she really wanted to.

Ellie lay down to rest then, and to think about her next move. Where would she go? She had no idea where the nearest pack was, or what she would tell any Alpha she met in order to gain entry. Obviously, she needed to avoid telling anyone that she wasn't good at what most wolves were good at. She would tell them only of the skills she did possess, determination being one of them. She was also a good Outrider, which she already knew, since she had been plenty of places and enjoyed exploring. She could be a good Caretaker. She'd watched over pups before and knew how to keep them out of trouble and entertained. And she knew how to be blatantly honest with people, which might make a good Counselor. Those were the skills she had, and those were the ones she would flaunt.

Satisfied that she had found an answer to her problem, she gave a short howl of delight, secretly hoping it might attract the attention of any nearby wolf. Because -- first and foremost -- she needed to work on her being-nice skills.