Blacktail Deer Plateau And I don't remember all of my mistakes

Perhaps it was a lack of respect that encouraged those that had, to challenge him—they thought they were better. “I guess,” he muttered, gathering his thoughts. He wondered if he should change, and if changing might eliminate any future challenges before they could present themselves. But, if there was even an inkling of doubt felt towards him as a leader, would little changes really be able to make a difference? There was a second during which he considered asking her these questions but, ultimately, kept his mouth shut; they were questions best left for Rosalyn or Erzulie, he decided.

“Did she not say why she challenged you?” he asked, curious of her own experience. “There wasn’t an explanation?” Explanation or not, continued hostility after the fact wasn’t something he was particularly happy to hear about—truthfully, Aningan wasn’t a fan of hostility within the pack in general.

Her answer that followed wasn’t entirely unexpected, but no less disheartening. “Do you think I’d be respected as myself if they knew me better?” he asked, equally hopeful and hopeless. Maybe it was by his own doings that he was not respected as an individual. After all, he tended to keep more to himself and a select few pack members, rather than the pack as a whole.