I stood stock still, confused and taken aback as the [System] notified me that the [Skill Absolute Dominance] was being exerted upon me. Before too much time passed in this confused silence, though, Sybil was next to me.
“Is there anything you would like me to prepare for yourself or these two guests?” As always, she carried herself with grace and absolute poise, but I could read the tells of tension and frustration under her feigned nonchalance.
I looked to Rulac and Redael. “Would you like something to eat?” I felt foolish asking it, but I couldn’t begin to understand how else to begin this conversation.
“I will no longer be Redael, Alpha of this swarm, the day that I accept food from a hatchling.” His tone wasn’t unkind, but it seemed like the suggestion had somehow insulted him. Redael continued, “You have earned every hair of this hunt, and you young eat more than we do anyways.” He shot a glance at Rulac, who seemed a little disappointed by being told he couldn’t take any of our hunt. “Now,” his voice changed, back to the cold, demanding tone I was accustomed to, “tell us your story.”
With nothing else holding me back or slowing me, I began the story, that the wolfstags had long been a threat to us around here, and that some of the pack had been killed by them before. When I mentioned that, I noticed Percral hanging his head in shame, but I continued, mentioning our first hunt of them, our success, and how they had faded from our memories.
Then, I gestured to Took, explained the ambush they had suffered, then our immediate and complete response. I gestured to the dead bodies of keelish and wolfstag as I finished, “There were the three that died in the initial ambush, and five more that died in our counterattack. We didn’t let any of the wolfstags live, and we brought them all back.”
I felt disappointed I’d concluded our great, victorious moment like that, but I couldn’t think of some great, sweeping statement to make. For the first time, though, I noticed Took staring, spellbound at the story and the proof laid about the den. I couldn’t say for sure, but I imagined I could hear her stomach rumble while looking at the plentiful prey.
Rulac nodded his head, “I knew I’d like to hear the reason you missed your appointment. A tale of vengeance and glory!” His booming laugh, something I’d come to associate with his mere presence, filled the den as he continued, “Those wolves bit off more than they could chew in you, I’d say!” Rulac’s loud voice continued to echo through the den for another several seconds. As his laughter faded, Redael shifted from his position, and the whole den, which had relaxed somewhat with Rulac’s words and reaction, went still and silent once again.
Redael leveled his eyes with mine and held my gaze without allowing me to look away. After an indescribably long moment, he spoke. “Next time, don’t lose any.” Then, with that, Redael stood and strode from the den. As he left and the influence of his [Absolute Dominance] faded from the pack, it was almost like a sigh of relief was released by every keelish in the den. Without speaking further, Rulac nodded his head at me in some sort of a message, I supposed, and left the den.
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With the two much larger adult keelish leaving the den, the space was almost no longer claustrophobically filled. Almost. Sybil had guided the rest of the pack to stack the wolfstag corpses against the walls and wherever they would fit, so the den was barely habitable, but it was not built to contain this many keelish and this many bodies at the same time.
“Took, go ahead and eat your fill.” The first thing I thought of was officially giving Took permission to go eat, and after a moment’s indecision and deliberation, she finally made the decision and walked off. She couldn’t help but let her feet drag as she went, but I still couldn’t think of anything I could say that might help her. Instead, I turned and was about to retire to my quarters to finally bathe myself when Sybil began walking in step with me. We walked in silence until we stepped into my personal quarters.
“Tell me why the Swarm Alpha came here.” Sybil’s voice was, for the first time I’d ever heard, burning with emotion. Anger. It took me by such surprise that I stood in shocked silence before she prompted me to answer, “Why?”
“I don’t really know. When I spoke with Rulac, he simply said he’d like to know why I hadn’t been able to go to Redael.”
“That was it?” The anger was beginning to leach from her tone and posture, but her tail continued to twitch involuntarily. I couldn’t stop the smile from beginning to crack my face. “What?” Sybil whipped to face me full in the face.
I chuckled a little before barely tamping it down and speaking, “This is just the first time I’ve seen you so… like this. You haven’t called me Alpha, you’re asking direct questions, and you’re so expressive. I think it’s funny.”
Sybil seemed to war with herself for a moment, and as she seemed about to pull herself back into her usual persona, I spoke again, “I like this in private. You’ve always been a little more relaxed when it’s just us, but I prefer this ‘real’ you, without forcing yourself to be formal.”
Sybil looked down and muttered, “It isn’t forced. It’s just… a way to keep distance.”
“And why should we keep a distance from each other? You’re my most trusted confidant and greatest supporter. The closer we are, the better, so far as I can think.”
“And if I need to give you suggestions?”
“Then you give them. I fail to understand what is going through your mind on this. But–” a thought crossed my mind. “As your Alpha, I command you to, to the best of your abilities, relax when you are around me and speak your mind honestly and openly, without excessive formality.”
Sybil blinked long and slow at me. “I think this is foolishness. And I think you should be much more careful about inviting or inciting or suggesting that the SWARM ALPHA come to the den and exert his influence over the pack.” Her tone was almost serious, nearly biting, and entirely refreshing. It was like the companionable nature of my talk with Rulac before, that he didn’t treat me as the Alpha, but as another keelish. I much enjoyed the respect and attention of the pack, but sometimes, a normal conversation was nice.
“Just like that, thank you.” With that, I dismissed Sybil and at last indulged in my bath.