Kintla Flatlands Manifest destiny

Najak? she questioned, reminding Aningan that the language spoken was not necessarily understood; it seemed she would be family to him but still not someone with whom he could share the language, lest she is willing and able to learn. “It means sister,” he explained. “But… only brothers call sisters najak. It isn’t for girls to call each other.” There were often so many ways to say the same thing, he found, but only certain words worked for specific situations. “Didn’t atâ teach you our language?” he asked, genuinely curious. To him, it made sense that a mentor would teach his apprentice all he knew, including any foreign tongues. Was there a reason she was not taught?

When she commented on his home, his face lit up and tail started to slowly wag; he was proud of his home, even if a piece of his heart was missing from it. Those that lived there, too, were his family now, whether they wanted to be or not.

When she asked about another wolf, a brother of hers, he paused and thought back—but came up empty. “I don’t think I knew him,” he admitted. “The name isn’t familiar. He might have been there before me.” Or during his period of aloofness, during which he oftentimes kept to himself.