(306) darp!
Itzcitla was her darling, and there was a grudging fondness within the sable woman for even Molca. Sandalio was still a wildcard, untested waters -- he had taken more of a liking to her since she had started giving him bits and pieces of her meals, but Eris did not yet know if he could be directed. She had noticed a distinctive lack of rodents around her home since his arrival, however, and she thought this alone was quite the useful function; even if she could not command him or ask him to do anything, his usefulness as a vermin exterminator was irrefragable.
The hybrid detected some faint, vague sourness in the air. She was rather suddenly uncertain of Tayui, though her response was nothing out of the ordinary. This feeling lingered and gnawed at her for a moment, and passed on -- it was nothing of Tayui's doing. She had been strange since Shibboleth, stranger still since the girl herself had gone sour. Every slight misgiving indicated a looming enemy waiting to sweep down upon her; there would be more to this shadow over her life, she was certain. I made it difficult for myself with children, she admitted. Caring for them was a burden on top of leading a pack, and all this considered, Eris wasn't doing half-terribly, but this was just as likely due to lack of time to do badly.
Of course, it's not all bad, she added, placing a lighter slant on the matter. Her smile was crooked. Comes with perks, at least. Least of these was command; this was something the sable woman had never experienced even in Eterne; there, she had been liked well enough, but there hadn't been any power in it for her. Salsola was much different in that regard, or so she thought.
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