'Cause I'm Just A Girl

The way the boy quips back just as quickly as she doles out her dry witticisms thrills Andy in a way few boys have managed to do, yet. Truthfully, she hasn’t met many boys who weren’t part of her far-reaching family and she was beginning to believe that all the wolves that make up the opposite sex are full of stoic silence and droll talks… not that there is anything wrong with that. It isn’t that she doesn’t love them, quite the opposite in fact, it is just… she likes to be challenged on an intellectual level. This fire-hued boy has her sparring in ways that don’t involve the traditional ways or weapons and teeth and the girl is thankful for that.

As she admits that he probably isn’t that stupid, the boy gives an amused snot and returns her words, in kind. Andy lifts her brows in mock surprise as she swiftly rebuttals, “Did it? Guess I will have to be more careful in the future… Hotshot.” Lips begin to lift in the beginning of a grin before she shakes her head and stifles the happiness that works to betray her. If she wasn’t so dead set on keeping him at arm’s length, the girl might have considered that they could be friends. But Azure hates pirates and the boy isn’t exactly someone that she could ‘bring home to dad’… yet.

Laughter, genuine and filled with actual humor escapes and Andy finds herself surprised that he has managed to pull it out of her. Not that she don’t think he could but… well… you know. He speaks, tone trailing off into a sigh as he avoids direct eye contact calling her ruthless and, while she might have been alarmed if the words had come from anyone else, the girl cannot help but issue another laugh. The teasing glint in his amber gaze has not wavered since they started talking and she isn’t worried about hurting his feelings… not really.

Words slip past her lavender lips as she says, “And here I thought all pirates had to have thick skin since they are the most hated pack in all the lands.” Then she pulls up short as the talk shifts to villains and fairytales and her heart picks up speed at how close he is and, even this close to him, the girl feels no disgust or anything even remotely similar to it. Instead, she notices his scent. It is rich with the salty spray of the ocean, deep with the smoke of countless campfires, and softened with the hints of the pine needles that surround them.

Maybe that is what has her guard slipping, allowing her to admit that they are all villains in someone’s story. Something about him keeps disarming her; his ability to keep her on her toes, the way he doesn’t give up… in that minute, Andy admits to herself that she might actually, like him. His words pull the girl from own internal monolog and she snorts a laugh, shaking her head as she says, “Yeah, that would be tragic. Maybe try to stick to the morally gray area. Seems more like… you.”

Actually, the girl sees the ability for great goodness within those amber eyes just as she knows that there is a dark well deep inside her that she must never tap into. In her short life, Andy has come to the conclusion that all bad wolves are capable of great kindness just as all good wolves are capable of truly evil things. It is the complex reality that they all live. The talk moves on to her hunting and she explains that she saw a need and filled it. He calls her a girl of her people and she cannot help the eye roll that follows.

However, she does not retort just yet, instead allowing him to explain what his pack believes. Head cants to the side as she looks at him, assessing the boy in a new light as she now has this new information. As he finishes, Andy allows silence to follow between them for a moment while she orders her thoughts. Finally, she slowly begins to explain, “Well, in that Armada, it isn’t everyone for themselves. We believe that we are stronger, together. Each wolf is unique and comes from a different walk of life and that means that they all bring something different to the pack. Everyone is expected to pull their weight because, not everyone can do everything.”

“For example, there are wolves who cannot hunt, either because they don’t know how or are physically unable to. We have food stores that they are allowed to eat freely from and it is up to other wolves to fill those stores. Now, the wolves who cannot hunt are expected to give their talents in other areas by doing something like, picking herbs or running a patrol. We work together to keep the pack stocked with everything that is needed and, because we work together, everyone is free to take what they need when they need it.” Andy suddenly realizes that she has gone off on a tangent and she falls silent she feels heat beginning to creep up her cheeks. For a girl who doesn’t like to talk, she seems to have a lot to say to him.


"Andromeda Fatalis"