Horizon Ridge JOIN · The soul felt its worth

Going to have to be vague because I'm not sure what Jinx and Akhlut will have discussed by this point...

Akhlut wondered if he had managed to discourage the woman entirely, or at the very least, to offend her with his near-dismissal of Hawkeye. But, after all, his comments had only been hypothetical, and from Pied's defense of the dark Blacktail leader, unfounded. It didn't mean he had to like Hawkeye, and indeed, his only reaction to her defense was a shrug and the vague statement, "Time will tell." The tale of Blacktail Deer Plateau was not so remarkable as all that. Rallying under a leader only meant that somebody stepped up and took charge when their former leader fled; it said only that Hawkeye had been the most assertive out of a particular bunch at a given time. He'd have been more impressed if she'd fought her way to the top and overthrown the former leader, then chosen to move the pack out of a sense of rebellion and just to spite her predecessor. At least that would have been a daring manuever. Still, time would indeed tell if Blacktail Deer Plateau and, by proxy, Hawkeye, would be loyal and staunch allies of Horizon Ridge, and Akhlut was hardly going to fawn over how wonderful they were until he saw proof for himself.

Admitting a love of the sea, however, and pledging her loyalty to pack and leader before boyfriend, the last of Akhlut's doubts were dispelled. He shook his head at Pied's offer to take up the Omega rank. "I wouldn't shame you like that. Truthfully, after our first meeting it was you I wished to know better, and I envied Hawkeye for having a capable Delta like yourself." For himself, he'd yet to get to know any of his followers well enough to consider their strengths and weaknesses in such a capacity. "In time, perhaps you will serve Horizon Ridge in the same way. I had no real intention of turning you away. I only wondered about the force driving you to come here. A love of the sea is much the same as what drew me to this place," he told her, a smile flashing across his features, warming them. It was a hint of the man he was in private life, though he had no one with which to share that private life. Well, perhaps his young sister counted, not romantically, but in a family sense. Around her, he didn't seek to present any particular image or persona. He was simply Akhlut.

"The guiding principles of Horizon Ridge are simple, but your actions should encompass them always. Show loyalty, courage, honor, and honesty. Work hard and reap the rewards. I see these as the domain of Light, in my faith, but they're virtues no matter what you believe." This speech was more than he had yet officially given to the rest of the pack, but as their numbers swelled he planned to bring them all together and make sure they all understood what he would and would not tolerate. The Light within him could be gentle and warming, but it could be scorching and angry and cleansing as well, if need be. "And whatever your qualm with Jinx," he added suddenly, recalling Pied's question and his later encounter with the ivory female, "keep it between yourselves, and keep it honorable." Disquiet within the pack was not something he wished to foster, and if the two females couldn't sort themselves out, he'd be forced to intervene.

The light snow that danced around them had been nearly forgotten during their discussion, but Akhlut watched it now with a light smile on his features, his mood clearly improving. "You will be Omicron for now," he determined. "I would ask you and Kisu to wait before calling yourself mates," he requested. "I'll call a meeting within the next turn of the moon and hold a small mateship ritual then, if it's still your wish to be joined. What is it they say, 'love is patient, love is kind?'"