changing of the guard [ic joining]

*Chakra* · January 26, 2014, 05:24 PM

She enjoyed listening to him speak, and when he got to the part about his mother thrashing their behinds if they didn't mind their manners, she barked out a short laugh. It reminded her too much of her own mother, who had driven good teaching and manners into them with her teeth. On most of her siblings, her efforts had been largely in vain. Children of warriors tend to grow up to be warriors, not diplomats. But in Chakra, Salene had reaped both – a warrior daughter with a silver tongue and a genteel manner, when situations called for it.

She noticed his mention of a brother named Muninn, and pondered with interest the fact that she had a Muninn here in her pack. Was his surname Frostfur? Absently, she turned it over in her mind and tried to remember.

She especially related to Hamied when he went on to tell her of his experiences as the smallest of his siblings. She too had been the smallest of her own litter, and life growing up had often been hard, especially with three larger brothers. She suddenly felt protective of the young wolf, regardless of his status as a stranger she barely knew, because of this shared link. She replied after he had finished, "I too was the smallest of my litter. It was hard growing up. I was picked on a lot, and my mother seemed to expect more of me than my brothers and sister, for some reason." She stopped walking, her brows furrowed as she thought back on those memories long ago. She had never been able to understand her mother's reasoning on some things. Salene had held her to such high standards and pushed her to be so much. She supposed, in retrospect, she ought to be thankful to her mother. But in some parts of her heart, there lived only resentment. "But I turned out fine. I became strong and earned respect, and I came here and now I lead a pack of my own. None of my siblings can claim that themselves. I think the greatest power can be found in those we least expect. You will be fine here. You will grow strong and others will respect you."

She didn't know why she said these things to him. Maybe she was wasting her breath. Maybe she was making a fool of herself, or making herself look like a simpering, oversensitive female to him. This was, after all, nothing like the Chakra she had showed any of her other packmates. But what he told her touched some part of her, the frightened little yearling who had fled her home pack and the persecution of her mother, and made her way alone into the wide-open, scary world. Perhaps, one day, if they came to know one another well enough, she would share the rest of her story with Hamied. For now, though, she would let him be content that he was safe here and that, if nothing else, he had a friend in a high place.