The Clydesdale

(All criticism is greatly appreciated)

(Enjoy~)

There’s plenty of reasons why minor and major alphas are treated differently. Why some are the center of attention, while others are hidden in the background.

There’s plenty of interesting and fascinating stories that have to do with every single alpha. Each and every one of them were specifically picked by Mira and Zios to rule over their own species. There were things Mira and Zios saw in them, that others didn’t. There was a reason for everything, a reason for each alpha. All of them were special.

That didn’t mean they should all be treated equally. The first six alphas to ever come to Jamaa were the ‘main six’. They interact with the townspeople the most, it is them who work on all the projects, them who manage the whole town, them who always make a move on the phantoms. It’s them who decide on Jamaa’s future. They deserve to rule over the town they saved, after all.

And there is nothing to complain about- Greely sits on his tail all day studying phantoms, Peck acts as the ball of sunshine for the newcomers, all inviting and welcoming. Liza and Cosmo help teach the jammers how to fight, while Graham helps with anything involving mechanics or machinery.

Tavie is on a whole other level, managing to control and keep track of everything in the underwater world. She was by far the most admirable of them all.

On the other hand, the ‘minor alphas’ were just a face carved in stone. They were just a name engraved on a statue of their head.

Sophia grimaced at the memory of that hideous sculpture. She specifically asked them to not add any stupid details, but they had to throw in a flower or two. It bothered her.

It bothered her that nobody really knew her story, never really knew how she came to be. I bothered her that nobody ever cared enough. It bothered her she was no more then a name, no more than a title.

There’s plenty of things she liked and disliked about her job, but at the end of the day, this was all still a job. This was what was keeping her afloat, what was keeping her alive. Who knew what she’d be doing without it. She’d probably be dead in some ditch back at home.

The horse alpha was a bit jealous of the main alphas, but she felt thankful for all the privacy she had. She didn’t want to wave her life around for everyone to see.

Nor did she want to be too involved with the phantoms and ‘adventures’, as others called them. It all seamed very troublesome.

Sophia did think she was a bit underestimated by everyone, just like the rest of the minor alphas were, but she was fine with it.

She had no right to whine about anything, it was her job after all.

The first time Sophia saw the Clydesdales, it was snowing.

Hailing, even.

Looking back at it, it was probably the largest snowstorm she’s witnessed thus far.

The weather was horrible, but all the alphas (including the minor ones) had to line up to meet with the newcomers as they entered Jamaa through the mountains. It would be unprofessional to welcome new jammers with only the main six waiting for them- or at least, that’s what Sir Gilbert said.

Sophia would much rather sit around in her barn, camping out in front of the warm fire. Instead, she found herself standing in her armour, only a thing scarf around her neck as her hooves were slowly turning into ice cubes. She could hardly bend her knees.

But she was the horse alpha. She had to be there to greet a new horse specie. Had to be there to take them under her wing, had to be there to take care of them.

A panda- as much as Liza loved to pretend to love and understand everyone- couldn’t be much help to any of the new species. There had to be some sort of alpha, some sort of leader who would relate and understand their kind’s needs and wants.

Greely was a great example of that- back when he wasn’t so cold to everyone, he actually did a great job taking care of the arctic wolfs. He gave them a home, helped them by explaining the land’s rules, climate, and anything that would make it easier for them to live in Jamaa.

Although Sophie saw no use of declaring the artic wolf’s their own alpha (seeing as Greely could easily handle all of them) Juno was still an amazing, hard working and talented leader. Sophie had nothing againced the fellow alpha.

Same with the artic foxes- Amelia took care of them until Aurora was picked as alpha.

But Aurora and Juno- they both owed a lot to their mentors and teachers. They owed a lot to Amelia and Greely, who helped them with finding their place in Jamaa. Helped them out with the new job, taught them everything they need to know.

That’s why Sophie stood frozen in the middle of the open field, somewhere to the left of Mt. Shiver, gaping.

As mentioned before, it was cold. Freezing, even. But that’s not why she stood, staring blankly at the clearing.

At first you could see the snow flying around in the distance, like a cloud of dust on a dry desert. Then came the sounds of stomping hooves, which was obviously familiar to Sophia’s ears.

Lastly, you could see the outline of a group consisting of maybe a hundred, or two-hundred horses slightly larges then the alpha. Now was her time to shine- her time to take someone under her wing.

It was finally her moment to be responsible for something in this world.

She waited and watched, puffing out her chest. It was cold and her armour was freezing, but her face showed no sign of discomfort. She stood in the middle of the plains, the main six a few feet behind her, hiding in the trees to get away from the wind.

All of the minor alphas already retreated home after an hour of this torture.

She couldn’t wait.

The other horses were galloping, clearly having caught sight of the alphas waiting for them.

They ran-

-towards Sophia.

Even from this far away, she could see they were Clydesdales.

She wasn’t told what specie this was beforehand, all she knew was these were jammers who would be taught and taken care of by Sophia. By the horse alpha. And she couldn’t have been happier.

They were strongly built, clearly work horses. Beautiful white socks decorated their legs, their black and brown coats clouded by the snow.

And as they ran, one of them met her eye. And for a second, they looked at each other as the newcomers came closer and closer, and she was ready to call out, to welcome them, to say hello-

-but they passed her.

Every single one of the Clydesdales passed her, running towards the woods behind the alpha.

She turned around, the tight and freezing armour scratching uncomfortably againced her skin as she did so. The Clydesdales- she thought they might have been freezing, having ran into the trees to find shelter from the wind. But instead, they were still out in the open, talking to the main six. The leader of their ‘pack’ was standing, all proud and confident as he addressed Liza and the rest.

They all ran past her, they all ran passed their own alpha to-

-to do what, exactly?

Did she not look like an alpha? She glanced down at herself- no, her armour was still beautifully golden (even if it was partly frozen) and the alpha stone shined brightly againced it. Had they not noticed? They had to notice, there was no was they didn’t know she was their alpha.

They didn’t notice. Even the six alphas, who chose to cower in the woods to escape the wind (which Sophie wished would just blow her away, preferably somewhere far, far away) seemingly forgot about her.

Only when the Clydesdales were being led away by Gilbert, descending deeper into the forest to get to Jamaa Township, Liza’s eyes met hers and something triggered itself within the panda. Her smile flattered as her eyes widened. She glanced back at the already disappearing newcomers, then back to Sophia.

The alpha sent the horse an uncomfortable smile, before gesturing her to follow.

Why didn’t they notice Sophia? The leader- the one on top of the pack of Clydesdales, the one who led the newcomers here even met eyes with her.

Why didn’t they stop? Why-

Sophia shook her head.

She had no right to whine about anything, it was her job after all.

-tbc-