Word Count → 368
Vesper, used to others judging her for her “feral” nature and four legs, had been too hasty to judge this female. The other’s face shut down, an indication that she was trying not to emote, and with slightly lowered ears the coywolf wondered if she was going to be berated for her snappish words. She blinked then looked down at her feet when the woman stated that most of her family had been non-luperci, too, and she could not hide her shame at the revelation.
She wished she could have taken her hand back as the yellow eyes settled on it in confusion. Inferni had already proven to been a clan where the luperci were more wild than the ones outside it; while many lived in the mansion, they did not have silly ideals about copying human culture and often visited all forms, unlike some of the extremists that refused to even take off their clothes. But the handshake commenced awkwardly, even though Vesper was more comforted by the touch of another. She wasn’t an especially cuddly coyote by any means, but one who was prepared to live a life completely alone often found herself relieved by companionship.
“Yeah, it was,” the tawny hybrid muttered at the other’s comment. “It still is, but I’m not going to just shut down because of it. I want to practice.” Practice doing anything, really, from walking to climbing to holding things in her new hands. If she was going to be part of the clan, she wanted to be on par with them; perhaps she could ask for a sparring partner whenever she joined, someone to teach her how to defend herself in her optime form.
Talk of beads returned, as Alma tried to make an offering that would please the scarred woman. Vesper knew that she wouldn’t be able to wear them in hair, and she didn’t know how awkward it would be to have a necklace, either. She shrugged slightly, about to say that she didn’t want for Alma to waste the beads she’d made to replace her lost ones, but the next suggestion gave her pause.
“I…” Vesper frowned, looked at the wood, swallowed. “I would like that.”
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