Blacktail Deer Plateau The Elevation of Trust

Pied gave a quiet laugh at Hawkeye's observation but said nothing, letting the Alpha speak first. Before her friend even mentioned the promotion, Pied suspected something along those lines was coming, based purely on her Alpha's opening lines. Although not entirely surprised by the offer, it still made her heart flutter in her chest. She wanted to accept right away, yet she felt like she should let Hawkeye know a few things about herself first. There was the fact that Pied didn't feel cut out to hold such a high rank but, much more importantly, there was her secret.

The offer flattered her but Hawkeye's concern was even more appreciated. "It's just been a long night for me, that's all," she replied, then paused. "I really appreciate the offer but before I even address it, I want to tell you what I have to say. You're my leader and my closest friend, so I don't want there to be any secrets between us."

She paused again, sitting up a little straighter and puffing out her cheeks before letting out a long breath. "What I want to tell you may be hard to believe and I won't exactly blame you if you doubt me. But, well..." Pied decided to just cut right to the case. "I can see ghosts." She let that hang in the air a moment before elaborating, "Last night, for example, I saw the ghost of a young wolf. Its cries kept me up for hours; no matter how far I walked away from the apparition, they still rang in my ears as if I was two feet away from it. Hence, I didn't sleep." As she finished, her lips twisted into a wry smile.

After a few beats, Pied dragged her eyes upward to gauge her friend's reaction. "I've had this skill for as long as I can remember. Do you remember when we first met? There was a ghost behind you then, whispering things to me..." She mulled over the other phantoms she'd seen since coming here. "Oh, and I have a magpie that follows me just about everywhere I go. I call her Mag. I can't hear her for some reason. She isn't here n—oh, never mind, there she is," Pied said as the magpie appeared, as if summoned by the sound of her name, and perched on the bare limb of the tree closest to the nearby ledge.