Sawtooth Spire It's only been about a couple of days

Mahler spoke of faith. Wylla wasn't a big believer in faith as any kind of safety net. They would need quartermasters to keep close eyes on the deer and alert them of any significant drop in population. They would need to rely heavily on new births to keep the herd sustained, which mean hunting fawns would need to be outlawed or at least heavily discouraged. It wasn't like deer had the perseverance to climb up a mountain just to see if there was a lovely valley on the other side. Wylla's arrogant belief was that they were much too stupid for that.

These thoughts she kept to herself, if only because Mahler made an offer next that effectively tied her tongue. She'd fully intended to challenge Takiyok for her rank at some point, but as she'd told Mahler, it wasn't an urgent desire. Perhaps once her pups were born she would feel more driven to pursue a higher standing, but for right now, she was content with Pionier. He didn't seem to be overly fond of her future plans when she first voiced them, and she'd not brought it up again. What had changed now, besides their territory and their numbers?

Why? was her first question, chased quickly by, what about Takiyok? Wylla would've happily pinned the blame on the former Kapitan for any number of crimes imagined or real if only to bolster her own suitability for the rank, but that didn't mean she didn't respect the woman on principle. She just thought she would do a better job of it, and she was surprised Mahler would seemingly replace his co-leader that easily. It didn't stop Wylla from being pleased about being asked, but she'd thought the pack would be led by Mahler and Melkor with Takiyok as their second. She would still challenge for the rank, especially since Takiyok had seemed less and less present of late, but this seemed... unusual.