mom's dear old friend!

She could feel his tempestuous disappointment fall on her like a rain storm. It was brutal and palpable. A churning began in her gut that she mistook at first for anxiety, because that feeling was familiar, but as it spun and twisted and tightened, she was surprised to find it was rage. Makara stoked the feeling, nourished it, felt it grow powerful inside of her. Maybe she had spent too long being afraid of him - maybe she could hate him instead. After all, what had he done to ever earn her respect? Contributed some small amount of genetic material? Why was it always she who had to prove herself?

He rushed forward to grab the trinkets she'd been given, buffeting her backwards in the process. Makara stumbled but tried to put some grace into the motion and pass it off as if she was sitting neatly back. She watched the trinkets fly off towards the shore where the tide might eat them up - she had expected to feel more attached to them, but the sight of them being thrown away caused her no sorrow. The feather was quite pretty but it had caused an itch deep in her nose that she knew would trigger an allergy attack if she kept the thing around for long. Mak gritted her teeth as he flashed his, fighting the urge to reflexively bare them. Tell me everything. Of course, now he wanted her to speak. Makara drew herself up to attention and began, using a more careful voice she reserved for speaking with her parents or superiors: "I was scouting nearby lands for resources and stopped to inspect a lake of liquid fire. When I was inspecting the area, a stranger came up to me and asked if I was from the nearby pack. There is no disguising my scent, and I found no reason to lie, so I confirmed I was from Armada. She had said that she knew quite a few of you and asked after who my father was" - excluding, of course, the joke she'd made about him never laughing - "and again, I saw no reason to lie. She said I was Hanako's daughter and that she was an old friend of mother's... then presented me the feather and rock, added that you are welcome to visit your god kids, and left. I did not pursue her."

Of course, she cut out all of the meat of the situation and left just the bones. The absolute necessary information. It was bad enough that she was clearly in trouble.