Horizon Ridge say yes, say yes

OOC: I'm kind of rolling along with the assumption that Akhlut was more-or-less inaccessible even if he has been in HR just because... That's sort of the assumption everybody went with, and it seriously messes up a lot of my recent threads if suddenly the assumption is that he has been here the whole time. I don't mean it to be rude or anything, and I know it's probably frustrating, so I hope you're okay with it, I just don't want Jinx stuck in a massive hole caused by a shift in assumptions.

IC: Akhlut was missing one very crucial component of his reasoning, Jinx thought: he hadn't been there. If the Alpha rose at 2am and sat on the sands, that didn't make him any more accessible to the wolves who rose at 7am and couldn't find him in his meditation. Jinx had walked all of Horizon Ridge easily dozens of times over, pursuing her calling as a Warrior, tending the borders, and the like... And on none of those occasions had she come upon Akhlut. Not once had she seen him tend his borders or stock his caches. It was one thing for an Alpha to be there and another for them to be present, interactive; regardless what his reasons were, and regardless whether he'd technically been in the packlands or not, Akhlut had not been present by her definition of presence.

Next he chose to bring up his precious Light, to which she almost sneered. She refrained, if only in respect to Atka. "The way of your Light might be direct and honest and loyal," she said instead, "but the way of wolf is to find order, and when the Alpha is seemingly missing, it is up to another to find it. I do not fathom how you expect me to bring you my grievances when you are nowhere to be found, Akhlut. No amount of Light can justify your scarcity here." Her ears tilted forward, challenging as always, defiant as always; if just once in her life Jinx found a legitimate wolf, she would die happy knowing somebody understood the way of things. She could die happy knowing somewhere out there was someone who thought with their head instead of their pathetic, emotional hearts. But in Teekon Wilds, there was no such thing as a real wolf, she was beginning to understand; not one wolf would listen to her logic, and consider it even remotely valid. Not even this "fair" Sun Prince would give it a moment's consideration, despite being apparently honest. If he was so honest, she thought, why did he not admit to his own failures?

"Frankly, you would not deserve my advice," she said, somewhat snootily, though she believed this fully. "Perhaps if as an Alpha I had seen you on the borders alongside myself protecting them, you would deserve my advice. Perhaps if I had seen you making an ounce of effort to get to know your followers and connect with them, I would have offered you guidance. However... I cannot put my faith in a wolf who does not appear to do any of the things he expects of his followers, and who appears to be gone much of the time. You cannot rule from afar, Akhlut, your wolves lose confidence in you." She was interested when he brought up his followers; what did he know of Dublin and Bristol? What did he know of Pied?

"Pied is one of those who is concerned with your inaccessibility," she pointed out, her ears tilted aggressively now. Maybe Pied wouldn't follow her, but maybe Jinx had changed, and maybe they could put it behind them for the sake of the pack. She would've believed that wholly. "Dublin and Bristol have no reason to follow Pied and Kisu anywhere, and may well stay here, you do not know. Pump would remain with me even if you poisoned the minds of all the others, but do not forget I have proven my worth to them." Say what he would, and bring up her past all he would; Jinx had contributed to Horizon Ridge, and had done so fervently and consistently. That was why she was Gamma, why she maintained her high rank. Perhaps he too forgot that, in his mad panic to retain his dignity.

"I know them better than any," she corrected him suddenly. "I patrol them every morning and evening. I have stopped wolves on them, brought them to the sanctuary of the pack or turned them away accordingly. I have chased away those who seem threatening, and escorted away those who had no business here. I am the borders' keeper... You are naught but the Alpha, but you have done nothing to prove to me you are as devoted to this pack's safety as I am. Why, dear Akhlut, have I not seen you in any of my patrols? They are frequent enough."