Silverlight Terrace Don't hold your breath

Maybe she should have been intimidated by his approach - he was huge, after all, and looked and sounded aggressive. But she'd had wolves intimidate her before, and there was no sense in getting worked up over it. So she just lay there, listening to him talk about her, her family. And it was conflicting, because though he was being harsh, it wasn't entirely off-base. Affection was hard to come by, and often Mintaka wondered what it'd take to get her mother to just touch her - care for her like Keres had when she had been sick, or play with her like Bronco did. Hydra loved her, she knew that, but there was such a divide in their own personal needs that it was difficult for them to connect. Not like the connection Mira had with their mother - this sort of aggression and protectiveness that set them apart. 

Come to think of it, the only true time Hydra had shown pride in her was... well, when Mintaka was trying too hard to get her attention, to change her personality into something that she wasn't really. 

She really didn't belong there. 

And she didn't necessarily agree with him, that she was better. Because in her mind, Hydra and Mira were the ones who were better. But she was too different, and she didn't know if she would ever be able to make the connections she needed in order to stay there.

"I... think I'm afraid," she whispered, throat tightening around her words as she looked to the side. Avoiding eye contact as her own burned with tears. "I don't fit in there. I know that, when there's no more room for us in the pack, I'd probably be the one they expect to leave. I don't even know what they want me to be." But what they wanted her to be wasn't who she was. "But I'm scared. If I leave, she'll hate me. She might not ever want to see me again - I'd be alone." Her cheeks were wet - she couldn't remember the last time she had cried. But this would do it.