Emberwood [m] You already know that it's hard to find gold in this crap disco

The coywolf gave a slow nod, nonplussed by the confession. He kept forgetting she hadn't been raised like him, even though it should have been obvious. He was quiet for a moment, gazing steadily back at her before he spoke:

"Where I'm from, a pack is one set of parents and all their kids," he told her. "No one else, because no one else is as important. You have your partner and your hijos and everyone else is dinner. A threat, a lotta the time. Rovers."

He looked to their tangled forepaws.

"When I met you, I decided I would stick around. But it wasn't a pack to me. Not in a way I could be part of. I've been trying 'cause of you, and I'll keep trying and all. But that's how it's supposed to be. In my mind, anyway. You're all I have. You and your lil parasites. I'll do anything, Fireflower. No question. I'll tear any motherfucker to bits to keep you all safe and healthy."

It was simple, to him. It was the law in his homeland. A coyote protected his own.

Nothing personal.