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"Move!" Neira growled at the young male, her lips curling back in disgust, anger and impatience. To say her evening had been ruined was probably an understatement - she had definitely not imagined arriving back to her den to find a male there. She didn't even like the slaves to be around when she was there - they could do their thing when she was out.

Less favourable had been the snapped words afterwards. Her daughter seemed to think this male was to be a pet of hers, that he was here to humbly submit himself, and even if he'd stood there like a dumb mule Neira did not believe he didn't have bad intentions.

She didn't really know what to do with him, though, so she had demanded he follow her to the alpha. Penthesilea would sort him out - perhaps set that vicious sister of hers on him. Heh. Much as she was sure the pack wouldn't be hurt by a few more slaves, she still disliked having males around - she still hadn't gotten used to their subservience yet and so mistrusted their motives.



Corinth really wasn't sure what to do or say or even think. He had, it seemed, reached his goal - the pack from which his mother came - and yet he was terrified of being dragged before the alpha. Scared of asking her to stay, really, that she'd turn him down. He didn't want to go back, even if this place was scarier than he'd imagined so far. Tail between his legs, stumbling as he rushed along, he tried to comply as best he could with the snarling female who urged him on.

Neira felt more irritated that this male had made her disturb her alpha. She thought of Pen as such now - she'd come to greatly respect the pale wolf who tempered her power with a good deal of common sense and had taken the grey wolf in when she was so close to birthing her daughter. She made sure everyone knew their place but wasn't as whip-tongued as Varia could be. She was everything, Neira thought, an alpha should be. The grey female nodded back, deeply, a wolfish bow to her superior.

And so her stay, whilst burdened by pregnancy had become a longer stay. She had begun to train with the sisters once she'd gotten over the birth, and sent her daughter to do the same.

Corinth visibly cringed when the huge female said his name. How did she even know it? He had always figured himself beneath notice but if this female knew his mother or, worse, his father, would she send him back home?

Corinth cowered, head down, eyes staring at Pen's feet, tail tucked as he stood between a veritable rock and hard place, finally asked to account for his presence and speak what he wished for.

"I..." he licked dry lips, tried to work his dry mouth so that his voice didn't crack as he spoke "I came to see if I could be of help.. of service" he squeaked out all at once.

He tried to look strong, look worthy of what he was asking but, at the end of the day he was a slightly roly-poly teen, cringing and scared. He wanted to be here but he was terrified of the unknown situation. I just want to be useful, his inner dialogue quailed.

Neira grimaced. She had hoped not to have to mention the circumstances though shed known it was unlikely. "My daughter found him wandering nearby, apparently she decided to play at being a grown sister and decided he was to be her slave to carry her things. He was alone, they both said so but I can't be completely sure". Neira was very protective of her daughter, sometimes smotheringly so, and she didn't like the idea that the pair had been off in the woods together - no matter how young they both might be.

Corinth's ears flattened as Pen's gaze came back on him, a whine stopped dead in his throat as his future was talked about by adults above his head. He gulped, clearing the lump in his throat and tried to answer as best and truly as he could, stammering the answer out.

"I I don't know exactly what you need of me but I know that uncle Iosef would help clean out dens, tidy, do work for others. I.. I know I'm not fully grown yet but I can work hard. I want to work hard... I want to be useful..." his tone towards the end was almost pleading, pathetic. He felt, deep down, that he was useless, that he could not be useful as a member of the YMCA pack, but that in serving another he might become useful, good. It had almost certainly grown, in him, out of the fact that his mother did not care for him as she had for her adopted daughter, that he constantly had craved approval from her and never had but now it was part of who he was, to the core. "I.. I can learn quickly" he added, after a few moments, daring to look as far as Pen's knees before his eyes slid back to the ground.

The worst thing about all of this was he almost enjoyed the feeling of being here, being looked down upon - it almost felt like a challenge to his being, a trial to his mettle. He was terrified but also exhilarated.

Neira simply nodded and backed off a few steps as the pair spoke to one another. She'd leave, if asked, but she wanted t be sure that this little ragamuffin, no matter who his parents were, was put in his place if he was to be a slave or run off if he was not to be allowed to stay.

Corinth chewed on a lip, worry lines forming around his eyes once again. He had no problem with hard work, he imagined, though he'd never in reality experienced it. Everything was still an ideal, a dream to him. He was in love with that ideal - imagined himself to be the best slave he could be, imagined he'd never give cause for Pen to discipline him. That, in itself, was perhaps something he'd have to get over - the idealisation of the situation - but for now he meekly replied.

"I want to be like my uncle. It would be nice if mother felt that I had chosen the right path, but I don't expect it and I would do it even if she did not". That was what he had brought himself to believe - whether he truly believed in his heart of hearts that he didn't care what his mother thought was overridden, at the moment, by his willingness, or his need to be useful, to be worth something - even if that something was, essentially, worth nothing in and of itself. He'd rather, to his mind, be a slave who contributed something than a pack member who contributed nothing worthwhile.

"Yes!" came the eager reply, though the voice was still pitched quietly. His tubby little body couldn't hide a shiver of pleasure at a goal attained, his eyes gleamed and he tried to suppress a smile - it would be unseemly, he thought. He had taken heed of Pen's every word of warning, though it couldn't be said that he truly understood them. Her harsh tone almost reminded him of his mother and the discipline therein felt good.

He was very glad he wasn't going to be assigned to the stripling who'd 'found' him, much as he'd be happy to do what was needed it might have been a bit demoralising to have started off as a glorified nanny.

Neira gave a satisfied nod. She was new to the pack and didn't know anything about how slaves were 'portioned off'. Being able to tell Andraste that she could not have him by the alphas own words would make things easier. Best leave out that she might be able to claim the boy later - she'd whine.

"Th..thank you" he chirruped quietly, seeing a future stretched before him in a way he never had before. He almost wriggled in delight, in eagerness, but kept himself calm when he saw Neira's red eyes flick over him disdainfully. He had heard that many of the females here actively disliked males, though he had never really understood why he knew he would have to tread carefully around them, do his best to assure them that he was not someone who was untrustworthy or useless.

Neira nodded and indicated with her head that Corinth should get a move on or there'd be 'consequences'. She thought she remembered where Iosef's den was, vaguely. He was a fairly innocuous slave, she had thought, until she learned he had spawn. He'd obviously managed to wriggle his way into a sister's affections to get them so he was perhaps more manipulative than he appeared. She hadn't met the mother, yet, so she didn't know whether it was truly Iosef who was devious or the mother who was lackwitted.

Either way, she was going to get this... nuisance off of her paws as soon as possible. She directed the male with coarse commands, still unsure why in the world he'd decided to come here and enslave himself. Stupidity, she eventually decided. Typical male.