She was flawed, just like the rest of them. No creature liked to think that they were wrong; all took pride in their species, their religion, their morality. They were right, and any beast that thought otherwise was a heretic. Vesper had been on both sides of the same coin, and it was a struggle to switch it back around again and open her eyes and ears and pay attention. In short, she half expected the wolf to just bow his head and concede her point and leave them alone—but life was never that easy or simple.
His laugh made her narrow her eyes, but there were no other signs of aggression from her. She had the grace to listen, at least, even if it was only because she relished the thought of tearing apart his theories and opinions like so many refresh rabbits.
The darkness in his tone, as well as the harshness of the questions, caused an odd expression to come to her scar-riddled visage. It was not quite angry itself, except perhaps in a defensive way, and there was a little bit of something like hurt in it, too, although that quickly went away. She shook her head once, stiffly, and replied in a softer tone.
“We do not call ourselves a pack, no, but we operate like one. True coyotes are usually out for themselves, yes—my mother among them—but that is nature, and that is not unlike many lone wolves. Some of us have reasons for not belonging.” Such as herself, an independent loner, before the friendship she forged with the clan gave her purpose and became her purpose.
She took a deep breath. “I will not lie to you,” Vesper said plainly, and fixed her eyes sharply on his so that he might listen. “I have the same excuses you wolves use, and we coyotes use, to justify our inane hatred for each other—that a group has done wrong, a wolf has bullied, a coyote has scavenged, and so the entire species must be evil.” It took more control than she’d admit to keep her voice from shaking. Her chest burned with hatred taking form as hope—that this was a chance to persuade, one she might never get again. “My wolf father raped my mother, assaulted my sister. Wolves came here just recently and waged war on us because of our species, because some god of theirs decreed it, and little else. I do not blame my comrades for distrusting them, even if I have no problem with wolves, either—we’re all canines, and we can breed together, and most of us are hybrids anyway.” Her eyes hardened as she followed his gaze.
“That wolf tried to kill one of our children, and almost beat to death the child’s mother.” Vesper’s tone was devoid of emotion. “If we killed him for being 'different', it was because he was a murderer, and I’m sorry that you cannot see that.” She took a seat, continued to stare at him. “If you have nothing else to say, if you will not stop pretending to know our motives, please leave. I am again honest when I say that I don’t want this situation to escalate.”
Word Count → 536
Had to longpost instareply because I like this. And Vesper surprised me by being ubercalm about it.