It felt so good to laugh and joke, a simple thing such as a few jokes at the expense of their boss even if he also happened to be Mira's boyfriend. Tetra was undeniably a capital-f Force within Sacrosanct and not to be trifled with. "True, it's hard to imagine anyone ever crossing him and living to tell the tale." The fact that she herself had come close to being on the wrong side of the Nightshade pack once upon a time never quite forgotten even though those first few weeks she had come to this city seemed like a life time ago. Being a part of that tight-knit and undeniably capable group was a much better option to be sure, and they were very liberal with their alcohol which was a big bonus as well. Security and stability had been a foreign concept to the leopard for so long, despite all the time she had spent aboard the Ark and getting to know its inhabitants it often still took her by surprise at times like this. There was a time Carolina had never expected to have any type of normal again.

The southern woman knew it was an oddity to most of the pack that she hadn't joined in an official sense yet, despite spending most of her time both working and non with them. They were the closest thing she could imagine to family, something else she never thought to have again after she had left those of her birth far behind. But it was true, she had found that among the group that was together by their own choice proving that perhaps blood was not thicker than water. Wasn't the family you chose for yourself somehow more special? She expected the question from Mira long before she finally asked it as they worked in comfortable quiet, and while her answer was honest it had begun to feel less and less applicable the longer she spent time around them all. Her words were true, she never stood a chance against them as they welcomed her with open arms time after time. Acceptance was all she had ever truly wanted, and they had given her that without question even when Raven had specific reason not to truly trust her. How did someone say no to that? "Never been so happy to be weak." A wink of her turquoise eye belying the weight of those words.

At the natural pause in their conversation and as they both realized their first round of drinks had gone by Mira so astutely pointed out that it was her turn to pour. They were on the same page when it came to the strength that the drinks needed to be, the blond too quick to agree to the bar manager's request as she surveyed the nearly endless option available. Deciding on what had become one of the more popular drinks as of late, and while fashionable it was also one she rather like. Light and refreshing, the girls had the whole night to work toward harder drinks if the last couple of hours was any indication. Raising her glass to toast her friend Carolina mirrored the wolf's smile at her approval, both falling silent for a moment to savor that concoction. The leopard looked up from her own glass with a chuckle at Mira's response to it. "Never tempt a Southern girl with a good time" Her own light laughter following the statement. She had learned how to pour drinks at her parents lunch parties, and then later at the ones the elites children threw afterwards.

Setting her glass on the bar Carolina turned and took a few moments to sort the remaining bottles, each in its own familiar place. Without anything immediate to do the were turned and leaned against the back counter with hands splayed on either side as she looked to where Mira herself worked away as well. It took her a moment to find the courage to continue that conversation, opening up a bit of herself even as she asked for Mira's own reasons for finally choosing to stay. She reached forward and took that glass back in hand, sipping on occasion as she truly listened to what the she-wolf had to say. The reasons, it seemed, were many as she began to explain what had drawn her to the Nightshade pack. How closely those motivations closely mirrored her own in some odd twist of fate. She had experienced first hand Tet's tendency to always offer options, choices leaving the decision ultimately up to herself. He had never so much as pestered her for an answer to his original offer and yet she knew it was still available. Carolina found her head nodding as certain comments struck a chord to her own thoughts.

As her friend finally wrapped up her train of thought the leopard was quick to return an easy smile of her own. "It was exactly what I asked for." Those long fingers thrummed against the side of the copper mug momentarily as she digested her words. "I never thought I would find a place to belong, or people I could actually trust to not have hidden intentions or motives beyond just being there for one another. But I see that here, every day. Like you said, with no manipulation or expectation." Those oceanic eyes turning down to study the ice still floating within her drink for a moment. "Like you said, feels too good to be true." It had always been her experience that the things which felt that way so often were, and yet she had all the proof in the world otherwise here. It was just getting herself to believe it.