I glanced back at Oncli and Took before looking at Shemira. She was much larger than the rest of the spawnlings around, and was a rather unique leopard print.

"So, why wouldn't Oncli be invited?"

"Simple. He is weak and injured, so he deserves to die. Further, he deserves no name. You deserve one for your ferocity, so I will call you Kreel, in honor of our teacher, which is a lofty name, given you lack his leadership capabilities." She seemed to sigh, smitten, at the thought of Greel. "Your female has yet to prove herself, so she will remain unnamed for now."

A blinking notification appeared in the corner of my vision. [Name has been assigned to you. Do you accept?]

No way am I being named in "honor" of a petty keelish.

[Name has been rejected.]

Once I got over my shock of this... infant... attempting to name me, I took note of Oncli and Took. Oncli had seemingly collapsed in on himself, his head bowed and tail drooping as well. I did see him glance at me, but, when he noticed me looking, immediately looked away. Took, on the other hand, was seething. I could hear her teeth grinding against the femur in her mouth as she began to step forward threateningly. Shemira smirked and stepped forward herself, raising up to her comparatively large 60 cm height. I gently tapped Took's body with my tail as I stepped forward.

With the notification flashing my independence, I stood tall and stalked forward, getting into the young alpha's face. "Ok, Shemira. I've got a few problems with what you've said. 1. Oncli is a great, instinctive tracker, and helped us on our hunt today. 2. He is not weak, and I plan on continuing to work with him. 3. Took has proved herself, being a strong hunter and upright and brave in the face of a greater foe. 4. These two are my subordinates, and I led them sufficiently well today. 5. I refuse to be named by you, as my name is Ashlani. Did I miss anything here?"

With my supportive words, I could see Oncli standing taller, prouder, while mostly successfully hiding his cringes of pain. Took, on the other hand, snorted derisively at Shemira and stepped back, flanking me. Shemira, surprisingly, did not bristle at my provocations, but instead continued smirking at me.

"You may see momentary success in your hunt, but it will not last. You lack the determination of a leader to use those below you. I'm sure that, if you had been willing, you could have used your 'subordinates' to better effect to keep yourself safe and ready to deliver the killing blow, instead of endangering and injuring yourself. Probably in protection of those two, am I correct?" She continued looking down her nose at me.

While she wasn't entirely correct, she wasn't too far off from the truth either. I knew that, and I think it showed, as Shemira scoffed. "You let the blood get to your head, and stopped leading, instead acting as either something like a hero, or just a fool. I'd prefer that you stay foolish and follow me, so I can put you to better use. But, if you insist on this foolish venture, I hope you live to see the error of your ways and come back to me. A true keelish such as yourself would be a great asset in my pack."

I bristled at being called a "true keelish". I never was much of an eloquent arguer, and as I attempted to collect my thoughts, Shemira whipped around and gestured for her underlings to follow. They did, the two wolfstag carcasses in tow.

"Boss... You make me proud to follow you. I really like you. I think you're the greatest, and I... I'll follow you forever." Oncli was getting emotional, and, with the newfound distance from Shemira's pack, hunched back over in pain. Took grunted in agreement.

"Alright you two. Let's get down into the den so you... well, we... can get some rest. We need to talk about and practice some communication."

We began our descent, but were approached by the two of the loners waiting outside of the den. They were one female and one male, and the larger female seemed to be the spokesperson for the two.

"C'n we folla' yeh? We wanna eat, 'n yeh seem t' treat 'tcher guys good. Awwrite?"

I blinked in confusion. What did she just say? As I mulled over her words, I noticed the flashing [System] notification and finally understood what she was asking.

"Mm. You want to follow me too?" I asked, looking at the male. He nodded, and I finally responded. "Ok then. Come on down with us and we'll give you a little to eat."

[Young Keelish Alpha requirement, 4/10 complete.]

At my words, Took began to complain, but I shut her down quickly with another tail thwacking. It was weird how easily I was adjusting to an entirely new limb.

I began to really look at my two new followers. The female had somewhat similar coloring to Oncli, but instead of deep, earthy browns mixed with the deep red, she was a mixture of reds and some browns so dark that they appeared black. Her demeanor was calm, almost unaware of the world around her. The male, on the other hand, was interesting in that his head was a pretty bright red, nearly the color of a flower, while his body was a solid, dark brown. And, while he was just as small as Oncli, he carried himself solidly, arms constantly ready and constantly on the lookout. As I looked, I decided on names for my two new followers. True to form, I stuck with my previous numeric naming sense.

"I dislike constantly calling you 'you', so you" I said, pointing at the female, "are now Treel, and you," pointing at the male, "are now Foire." Did I name Treel vindictively similar to the proposed name Shemira gave? No, definitely not. It's just because the name is close to three. Definitely not anything else. I will willingly admit that I named Foire from just a lazy combination of fire and four though. Treel seemed fine with her name, smiling appreciatively, saying, "Th'nks". Foire, however, merely nodded and continued following.

Once we got down to the spawnling den, I forced Took to give up the leg to her new companions in a show of generosity. While she did give it up, she was far from enthused about the forced charity, and, true to form, took a sizable bite before surrendering it. Treel and Foire began to tear into the leg while Oncli and Took sat down.

As I began to settle down myself, Oncli (as always) had to open his mouth.

"So, Boss, you said your name is Ashlani? How long has that been your name? Who gave it to you? What does it mean? Should I call you 'Boss Ashlani' or 'Ashlani Boss'? Or maybe... 'The Ashy Death'?!? Is it because you're gray? Is it..."

As I was about to get him to shut up myself, Took stepped forward, looming over her much smaller companion. "Shut it."

"Got it sister. Gonna shut up now."

I sighed. This was what I had to deal with now. Well, he isn't a bad guy, so I guess it's no big deal if he can't shut his mouth every so often.

"Yes, my name is Ashlani. It just is my name. You can keep calling me 'Boss' if you really want to, I really don't care. Just, if you will use my name, Ashlani." Remembering Viilor's last words to me, I reiterated in a snarl, "DON'T shorten my name."

My vehemence seemed to take my four followers by surprise, all pulling back in fear. Whatever, they wouldn't understand what the hell I was trying to say if I explained what had happened to me just days ago.

I rolled my neck, getting into teaching mode. "Now, when we go out to hunt tomorrow, here are some signals that I'm going to need you to understand and keep your eyes out for..."