Fightin' Dirty

He'd said a lot and not given the kid a chance to get a word in edgewise so he was eager to hear what she had to say. She seemed mouthy enough to come up with something eventually but not quite confident enough to be fast. With practice she'd get better at it. No one, as far as he knew, was born an awful shit. It was something wolves grew into over time.

"Wow," she breathed finally and Jupiter almost scooted closer in anticipation. This was gonna be good. She'd had time to think about it, hadn't stuttered around. So this was gonna be- "Who hurt you?" Jupiter couldn't help it. He busted out laughing. Alright, alright. That was cute and it was fair. He was a jackass. Even a pup could see that. "Some pretty ladies aren't born princesses," he answered cryptically.

Interesting. So her family was made up of lunatics, her sister was a freak and she belonged to a pack of sycophantic zealots. He wasn't about to dive into his own childhood, how first his mother then his pack had disappeared leaving him entirely alone in the unforgiving North. How, as a small boy, he'd wandered on his own for a season until his father had found him. Or how he'd lived in a semi feral state until his father had introduced him to their family and convinced him to join Legion. But yeah, her totally not made up story of lunatics and sacrifices was totally worse. In a voice that toed the line between sarcastic and sympathetic, he said, "That is the saddest shit I've ever heard."

Jupiter drew in a deep breath, held it for a second, and then let it out in an explosive sigh. "So why don't you just say fuck 'em all, huh? You can be family, be around and whatnot, without swallowing the bullshit they try to feed you and then when you're old enough - you're a bit young now, I don't recommend it yet - you fuck off into the sunset and only visit on your terms." Look at him being all Dr. Phil and shit. Maybe he'd add counseling to his list of services. "As for the shit kicking, that's easy. Wolves will try to tell you it takes years to be a serious opponent for someone, and to an extent that's true, but you can cut a lotta corners if you're willing to throw decorum out. So don't sweat it, kid, if you have the basics and you're a dirty fighter, you'll be fine."