Blacktail Deer Plateau The Elevation of Trust

Pied laughed quietly when Hawkeye ran with her joke, though her expression clouded at the Alpha's next words. It wasn't that she didn't want to hold a high rank, just that she knew her weaknesses and idiosyncrasies well enough to admit that she wasn't leadership material. She wondered if Hawkeye thought she was just being weak or stubborn and felt slightly wounded at the thought. Hadn't she made it clear that she would give all she had to give, regardless of her status in the pack?

Choosing not to give voice to her concerns—especially knowing how tired she was, which might mean she was taking things too personally at the moment—Pied nodded her acknowledgement. "Thank-you, Hawkeye. I'm happy to serve as the pack's Delta." It seemed like a good compromise, in any case.

"I like the plateau a lot but I miss my log back in Blackfoot Forest," Pied mused as she climbed tiredly to her feet. "I have yet to find one like it here. I might have to knock down a tree and hollow it out myself," she quipped, her small smirk soon peeling apart as a great yawn overtook her, forcing her jaws wide open and her pink tongue to curl over her lower fangs.

"Well, I'll check in with you after I've gotten some sleep. Thanks again, Hawkeye. See you later," the newly-appointed Delta said, stepping forward to give the Alpha female a nudge beneath her sooty chin before the piebald yearling turned and padded slowly off into the woods.