Everything seemed all so... Cliquey. In a brief and moderately depressing recollection of high school, Jacqueline remembered how people gravitated towards their own small groups of two, three, five. Some even had the gravitas to gather dozens to their sway, but penetrating such barriers was nigh-impossible, especially for a self-esteem weak teenager. Even as an adult, the idea of trying to get in-between someone's heated discussion was cause for concern. Maybe addressing a crowd of small alliances and talks without anything important to say wasn't the wisest idea. She may never know.
Still, there did appear to be one response to her general address; a somewhat taller woman with a particularly intense look to her. In the back of her mind, the image appeared of a grand lineage of Royalty passing that particular glance generation by generation. Jacqueline found herself slightly unnerved, but kept a strong and confident veneer tempered with calm, walking with the Royal Wolf. "Nice to meet you, Aryana, Rahu of the Iminir. I am Jacqueline, Cahalith of... Oh, that phrase... Hirfathra Hissu. I suppose I am only a couple years into this new life and was told to get in contact with established members in Sacramento. Has anyone told you that you have a royal demeanor? It's really fascinating."
"Oh, sorry. I get sidetracked all too often. What was it you wanted to talk about?"
Ary gave the woman a grin. Calm and confident, but submissive with her words. She could work with that, despite the fact that she was getting off track and already trying to stroke her ego. At least, that's what it seemed like. But Ary could fix it. At least this one wasn't being unduly aggressive. She was apparently new to the condition though. That would help in fixing all that. "Good to meet you. And thank you, no one's said that to me tonight." She released her hold on Jacqueline, stepping back to face her and stopping.
"I'm newly arrived as well. I'm looking into the packs in town, but I've decided I'd rather start one from scratch, with some other newcomers." She wasn't going to beat around the bush. That was a coward's tactic. "Since you're the first newcomer I've seen that I might actually like and hasn't pretty much sworn themselves to another pack yet, I thought I'd ask you if you would be interested in it." Ary kept her eyes focused on Jacqueline's, making sure a message was carried through body language. It was her choice, but the rather taller woman was making sure the smaller one knew it would be a good opportunity.
Straightforward, confident. Her first assessment of royalty seemed more and more accurate. Others might consider the girl a more brusque character, or at least blindingly forward, but insults were not to be used lightly. The artist preferred to save any ammunition for the perfect time. "Oh, I haven't had a chance to check out any of the packs, but my tribemates did suggest that I join one for solidarity's sake. They received reports that the spirits have been playing havoc since the Pure invasion a few years back and I... well I was the most mobile I guess, or expendable."
Chuckling to herself, Jacqueline shakes off the thought, returning the glance with a bright smile, "The Iminir always seemed to be the ones heading packs and starting these activities. It's a good thing, because otherwise, I'd probably fall back into human habits. Still, I'm not certain how I'll be able to help. I've had some success with convincing spirits and have been picking up the traditional ritual practices, but I've only the basic training with combat. My major interest is spirits, finding out more about them and how to better handle their... particular behavior."
Ary nodded as she received an explanation as to why the woman was here. Hopefully she'd been sent out of mobility and not expendability. Although, either way, Ary was stuck with her now. She'd have to fix her. But, she had plenty of time, and it wasn't so hard to teach someone to fight. You just had to make them fight until they learned how to win. "I'm sure they sent you out of mobility. And, a pack is always a good thing to join. There's safety in groups, that's why the Wolf pushes us to work together."
"The Iminir start packs because it's our nature, and in who we want to be. To be Iminir is to announce to the world that you are, or want to be, the best. And Alphas are the best, so it is always something we aspire to." Even if sometimes they never reached that goal. But, there was no shame in being led by someone stronger. It simply meant you had to improve yourself, until you could take their spot. "Everyone has their own skills and area of expertise. All I ask is that you be willing and able to fight. Beyond that, nurture your own talents. You never know when they'll come in handy." Dealing with Spirits required tact, and that was something Ary could rarely show them.
Jacqueline was getting the strangest suspicion that this was a good idea. While she didn't seem inclined to be banded to a mobile phone contract, much less a pack, she had to concede that it was probably one of the more effective ways to handle the lurking rage that could overcome her. She had seen it once and dreaded the fact that it made nearly every Uratha a ticking time bomb of consummate rage and destruction. While she knew that her Gauru wasn't the most terrifying thing to take down, the lack of freedom chilled her to the bones. Living on complete instinct was something she was still having trouble with, for she tended to make poor decisions when she didn't actually think.
"You are swift in bringing me over to your side, and it all seems very convenient. I'm aware that the Iminir are always eager to prove themselves, but you seem to have a particular motivation, more so than a simple desire to be an alpha of your own group... It all feels so... sudden." She raised her hands defensively, fending off any counterpoint, "Not to say I'm not interested, but I don't believe in hiding secrets from one's packmates. From what I have seen, transparency is essential and something about this just seems..." She couldn't exactly place the word. Fishy? Suspicious? Nothing quite fit, so she used an idiom "Déroutant... Baffling, perhaps."
Ary sighed. Of course she would ask. And if Ary had any desire to actually get this pack together, she'd have to tell the truth. She was going to do it anyway...eventually. When it wouldn't seem incredibly selfish, to slap together a pack because someone annoyed you. "Alright, you're not wrong. I was planning on starting a pack pretty much the instant I got here, but I was going to shop around first. See if there was any Pack I thought would benefit more from me." She sighed a little again. "But, I had a talk with one of the Alphas here." She pointed over
Dale Hunt
. "Him. He made it pretty clear. I don't get any respect, or any answers to my questions, until I become an Alpha."
She spread her hands in a placating gesture, but her general body language didn't change. She was still trying to be the dominant one in the conversation. "That doesn't change that it's a good idea. Everyone needs a pack, and getting into packs that already exist isn't easy, and usually it means everyone in them already assumes you're weaker than them. Which makes it hard to get any recognition for your work."
A swell of satisfaction filled Jacqueline for a moment as she reveled in the moment. She didn't have the greatest intuition in the world, so gaining some edge was a tremendous boost in confidence. Also, it made the whole conversation seem less contrived and natural was always better. Glancing over to the aforementioned alphas, she wondered whether or not this was the entire story. Certainly the rejection existed, but possibly not for the same reasons. Auspices, for some heretofore unknown reason, seemed to be biased towards one another. A Cahalith would accuse a Rahu of only thinking with their teeth and be embittered towards the entire auspice. It seemed a little ridiculous.
"I don't see why you were trying to hide it, really. It is both common in humans and Uratha for confuse leadership and superiority for a desire to degrade the other, as if to cement their rank. It is the actions of those who lack their own self-worth to leap to insults and degradation of others, especially due to their own misconceptions." Letting out a sigh, Jacqueline slumps her shoulders and mutters, "You'd think that the threat of Kuruth would keep us from acting like teenagers. Nonetheless, I appreciate your sentiment and your vote of confidence, even if I am a choice via desperation. I would be pleased to work with you, Ms. Aryana, as you seem capable." After a moment of silence, the artist added, "Mind you, what I said earlier about insults and degradations, I keep that in mind at all times. I lose respect for those who cannot lead without bullying. Just to let you know..."
Aryana nods again, a little more confident. At least telling the truth had worked out. Spotting
Chuck
(
Teeramus
), a newcomer, off to the side, she started waving him over, before noticing the approach of another wolf. She'd have to grab him later, apparently.
She turned her attention back to Jacqueline. "Excellent. I appreciate your vote of confidence, but we'll need another member or two before we're a full pack. We'll just have to wait for a few more new arrivals and snatch them up." She paused, looking wistfully at the one she'd spotted before, before returning her attention to Jacqui once more. "Until then, we'll just have to talk and get to know each other. By the way, Ary's fine, among friends." She took a moment to grab a few questions to ask out of her mind. "So, what are your interests, beyond those natural to our kind?"
With a small smile of satisfaction, Jacqueline watched the scene unfold, noticing that the search for more packmates was well under way. It was sort of amusing how eager she was to bring people to the fold, although for good reason. It was all too easy for people to use brute strength to either bring people in or keep people out of social situations and it just seemed crude. As a more diplomatic person, she enjoyed the idea of convincing people to agree with her more than anything. It seemed the easier way, after all.
"Ary. I see. Well I like to think of myself as a fairly accomplished painter, although the work is never commercial enough to be appreciated. I prefer the stylings of Milton Resnick and Richard Pousette-Dart more than any others, really. One cannot fully understand the subject, but the surrounding spirit is there. I've always had an interest in spirits even before my change, although I never figured they'd be so... abnormal, but they make sense in the grand picture. It's sort of like Abstract Art." Blushing for a moment, she giggled, "Until I mentioned it, I never realized my hobby and my job had so much in common."
"I'm not that interesting really. I'd rather learn more about you. Do you make a habit of getting in over your head socially?"
Ary frowned slightly. A painter? It was certainly an interesting profession. But that wasn't what made her frown. The woman was denigrating herself and looking up at Ary. Ary wouldn't have minded...if she was Alpha. But she wasn't, yet. And until she was, she would assume Jacqui was her equal, and the same with everyone else in the pack. "Painting actually does sound interesting. I haven't met many Urdaga who make an effort of putting their thoughts onto paper. Most prefer song or stories." She shook her head lightly. "But that doesn't make you any less interesting. We're all equals." Until they weren't. "And don't think any different." She took a moment to think about Jacqui's question. "As for that...I don't think so? Sometimes people just find me a little rude when I ask a lot of questions. They don't really understand why I should question their right to be superior to me, I guess." She shrugged.
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