Firestone Hot Springs Pride comes before fall

It was an uplifting tale that Osprey shared, but the story did not ease Basilie's mind too much; she was seeking Hadrian in order to prove something to herself. To judge him in his leadership, most of all. There would be no happy family reunion, not really.

I never told you my name, the lady suddenly realized, and then introduced herself. Osprey was a fitting name according to the half-breed; she resembled the bird quite closely. With a slight cant of her head Basilie's features softened. I am called Cassia. It was a lie that slid from her lips as easily as a breath.

Does such good fortune follow many, in this place? She asked of the gray woman, her brow raising slightly as she took on an impressed expression; charmed somewhat by the other wolf. So far I have met only men, and terrible men at that. Your brother - he is not a ghostly fellow, is he? Basilie had no intention of angering a family, if the families of this wilderness were as extensive and powerful as her own.

Before Osprey could respond to this, Basilie corrected herself - a lapse of propriety. No, of course not. What a presumptuous question. I meant no insult. Yes, because implying that a new friend's family might be a crude, weak-blooded cretin was the greatest way to make friends.