Blackfoot Forest MEET · Once In a Lifetime, The Suffering of Fools

Even as Pied seated herself, a fourth wolf arrived, the first male to join the group. The piebald she-wolf glanced over her shoulder at him, noting his cowed approach. Behind him, others arrived, one by one. Pied bobbed her snout upon recognizing Hawkeye, whose eyes seemed rather fiery this morning. She did the same when Lecter stalked quietly onto the scene with an offering clenched in his muzzle. None of the others were familiar, though Pied gave each a lingering look to memorize their faces, her nares a twitch to catalogue their scents.

When it seemed the entire pack was present and accounted for, Jinx addressed them and Pied faced forward, her gray ears pricking to take in the Alpha female's every word. And Jinx spoke many of them. She began by describing Sos and Atka, the bear gods, and then went into an in-depth description of the various Loa. Pied maintained an internal commentary as Jinx spoke, drawing parallels between herself and, particularly, the mentions of the Agwe'en.

By the time Jinx finished, Pied felt she'd made the right decision for herself and her Loa, in which she decided to believe fully. She knew that ghosts existed, of course, so she did not have trouble accepting gods and becoming a spiritual disciple. It gave her a sense of purpose she'd never experienced elsewhere, least of all the very secular Flightless Falcons. And, unlike in her grandmother's pack, Pied felt that, when the time came to reveal her special gift, Bon Dye would embrace it faithfully, rather than scoff at it. She loved her family but she had never felt a sense of belonging like she did just now.

Pied started gently when she saw Mag suddenly spread her wings, tip her head back and open her beak, presumably to send a cry toward the heavens. Pied heard nothing—she never heard Mag make a sound—but the bird's emphatic behavior was notable. She blinked curiously, then allowed her lips to twitch into a smile as her heterochromatic gaze wandered back to Jinx and her half a dozen acolytes.