Blacktail Deer Plateau Dissolving the seeds of a moment

Zombie didn't really know what to say in response to Pied's assurances, because as much as she wanted to believe that they were true, in her heart she simply felt that they were wrong. She hadn't wanted to leave the forest, or vote Hawkeye into leadership. Not that she thought anyone else would have been better—Leto had turned out to be a total flake, after all—but she found the dark woman to be a little strange and even annoying. Truthfully, Zombie found most of her pack mates a little insufferable... but that was mainly because she wasn't exactly emotionally mature, nor could she really understand how they could all be so happy all the time.

So, after a moment of awkward silence, Zombie simply nodded politely.

The yearling positioned herself on the opposite haunch, directly next to the one Pied had taken hold of. Being smaller, somewhat malnourished, and definitely weaker than her pack mate, Zombie struggled to keep up even when exerting all her effort. When Pied motioned for a break, the yearling silently thanked her—Zombie's sides were heaving just a little too quickly for her to really say anything.

After stretching and allowing herself a few minutes to calm her lungs, Zombie shook her head. When she spoke, her cadence was interrupted on occasion by uneven breaths, "N—no. I was... I wasn't there long enough wh... while Jinx and, and the... others were. I wan—wanted to learn," she shrugged. "They all left al—almost as... as soon as I t—took the... oath."