Word Count → 352 :: ;o
“Not quite bored,” she corrected, albeit gently. “Just been here many times before,” she said, referring to the situation in general. “But it is cold,” the hybrid added, now her smile remaining a bit longer. She did not wish for the newcomer to think she disliked him or greeting newcomers; there was a certain monotony to her duty, of course, but she would perform it with no less vigor, just slightly less enthusiasm. It was a necessary thing, and she would never have actively voiced a complaint. The clan needed fresh blood, after all -- there was never a time they did not. Coyotes came and went, it seemed -- the hybrid had not lived in a wolf pack for many years, so she could not accurately compare their number fluctuations with those in wolf packs, but she would have guessed it was significantly lower.
Coyotes were less social than wolves, and she knew somewhere that it was their mixed blood that had held Inferni together. When the pure-bloods had reigned over the clan, they were little more than loosely scattered allies, drifting in and out. Inferni had nearly died more times than Kaena liked to think about during those times. She, a half-coyote, had failed at leadership twice. Without question, Gabriel was their most successful leader -- he had saved the clan from the flames that had consumed their prior homeland, and he had not faltered in his guidance and direction of the clan. They had survived two wars and probably avoided another with Gabriel at the helm, and he was positively wolfish. Perhaps that was the key to his success.
“At this rate, Inferni will be one giant smoke signal,” the hybrid said, again a half-smile appearing on her reddish muzzle. “Do you cultivate it, or do you have any other skills the clan might find useful?” she asked. They were stocked full of canines with a particular skill for cultivating the green things, but with a large greenhouse, the silver-shaded hybrid did not think they could have too many. The more use they got of the thing, the better.
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