Blacktail Deer Plateau woke up on the wrong side

Aw, glad to hear it :,> Hope the rest of the day goes better!

The forest changed as they moved through it, the heat of the plain giving way to a cool, shaded canopy. Finley hadn’t noticed just how humid it had been elsewhere, but this, this was comfortable. Maybe too comfortable—Donovan raised a brow at her and she quickened her pace. She still didn’t risk venturing to a side-by-side position, but keeping her head around his midsection could work. If he snapped, she would have warning. As long as she didn’t get distracted by that curly tail.

Fortunately Donovan kept talking, keeping Finley’s focus on their conversation. “Derg” also sounded like… quite a character. Back in the Helios clan, a stray like that would have been chased out without pause at best. But Donovan presented Derg’s story with confidence, making the weakling sound less like a lost soul and more like a lost pup with potential. From the description alone Finley wasn’t sure what he saw in a wolf “lying in a puddle of his own tears,” but once more she bit back any vocal judgment.

Still, he seemed to have picked up on her doubts about his partner, as Donovan explained Nemesis’ own virulent upbringing. Finley nodded, understanding now that his volatile partner more than compensated for her reckless behavior through other contributions to the pack. The fatalities were just… outlets! That was it. Yes.

Finley found herself chuckling lightly as Donovan finished his story, though she wasn’t sure what she found so funny about it. “A… trainee,” and this time she couldn’t help but slip some distaste into the weasel word, “and a bloodthirsty partner.” She hoped the musing wouldn’t come off as laughing at the fledgling pack, and quickly tried to shift focus: “Is there a particular ends for which the pack exists?”