Tiny takes the chocolate and eats it in two bites. Sure it restricted his transformation, but First Speech lacked the elegance of English. And if Galina really wanted to bring trouble on them, some chocolate would be the least of his concerns.
"good points." He points to Galina, "Age is a substitute for experience. The old have lived longer, so they have seen more. It is good you recognize that experience comes in many forms beyond age, but do not discount the experience of age itself. The old have seen things, yes, but they have also seen time slip away." He points to Bleeds Well, "A strong hierarchy is invicble. A strong alpha leads, and strong packmates follow. But its strength can lead to brittleness. If the alpha is shown to be weak, if the pack is humiliated, that strength can destroy itself as the pack seeks to recapture its image of strength. The Hierarchy that you cleave so strongly to, it allows for a back and forth between the pack and its members. But the oath is far bigger than that."
He sips more of his drink.
"You've both come to the same solution, to define what high and low were, and then explain how to follow in those examples, with the addition of a purpose. That it is a practical matter, that we do this because it makes us stronger and better wolves. But you have skirted my question. You have explained what the oath means, but I want to know more. So for a moment, I'd like you to step back and not try to define what is high or low, but just use them as they are given, whole concepts. The high are honored, the low are respected. Was the high honored and the low respected in Galina's ritual today? Was the high honored and the low respected in her admission into the pack?
And most importantly, what more could have been done to more fully embrace the oath?"
Tiny turns to his alpha,
"And for you boss, a different question. As I insinuated, this oath goes larger than just the pack. How does one adhere to this oath outside of the pack?"