"We're finally here," Leila cheerfully said as Chokepoint A started appearing on the horizon. She was looking out the window of the flying transport.
Aranea and her pack were assigned to join warlord Martyshkina and travel to Chokepoint A in order to reinforce the defense of the location. It took nearly eight hours, but five flying transports finally arrived at the location.
Most wolfkins were spending this trip in silence. Members of the Wolf Tribe dislike being torn from the ground for a prolonged period of time. Olesya briefly contacted Aranea and reported that the warlord spent most of her time drinking to cope with the situation. Aranea never expected Martyshkina to be afraid of something, but there's a first time for everything. The wolf hag herself felt quite relaxed, she had nothing against the skies. The hardest thing to deal with was sheer boredom. To deal with it, Aranea summoned a video of their destination on the screen of her helmet.
Chokepoint A was made from two mountain ranges, the western and the eastern. The western mountain range had a smoother surface, so engineers from the state managed to build a shield station here. An energy shield covered the entire eastern and western ranges, protecting state forces in front of and behind Chokepoint A. There was a large road, almost a kilometer wide, that connected the two mountain ranges. This road was now filled with defensive construction and bunkers.
Behind mountain ranges were temporary command centers, barracks, warehouses, and hospitals. Almost an entire small city was constructed behind the lines of Chokepoint A, built with the sole goal of supporting defenders. When transports arrived at their assigned landing pads, massive steel machines gently touched the ground, unleashing the wolfkins inside.
Aranea stepped outside, taking a deep breath of the harsh and hot air of the Ravaged lands. Leila and the shaman accompanied warlord Martyshkina and Olesya to the command center, a three-story gray structure. All signs of worry and alcohol were gone from the warlord, she was as collected as ever. Olesya noticed Aranea's gaze and quickly winked. According to Olesya, Martyshkina had to spend two days in the hospital after her checkups. Her wounds were truly grievous. Her back was literally cut open by the saws as doctors removed parasites from inside the warlord's body. Olesya told Aranea that the entire medical room was covered in blood after the operation was finished, and the janitors had to spend quite some time cleaning it. She only took the last of the bandages off before going on the transport, and Aranea was worried that some of the wounds of the warlord still bothered her. Doctors assigned a whole host of medicaments to the warlord, but no one could tell for sure if Martyshkina actually took any of them.
Warlord Janine met them inside the command center, grabbing the fellow warlord into an embrace. Aranea noticed the strained face of Martyshkina, and Janine released her friend a bit too quickly. Some of the wounds still bothered the warlord, perhaps she was drinking to keep the pain down.
"How are you feeling yourself?" Janine addressed Aranea.
"All is well, my warlord." Aranea deeply bowed, feeling a sense of home. Ironjaw has been near Aranea since she arrived in the Wolf Tribe. The warlord was one of the pillars in her life, she felt safe around her. Janine nodded and looked at the shaman for a brief moment. A wide grin appeared on the warlord's face.
"How long has it been?" Janine forcibly hugged the resisting shaman, leaving one hand wrapped around the shoulders of the shaman. "Aranea, Marty, let me introduce you to my…"
"I am just a shaman who is currently serving wolf hag Aranea," The shaman stopped her, pushing the warlord back. Janine's face was in confusion at this, she looked genuinely hurt. "If you want to address me otherwise, you may use my nickname. Scarred One."
"I see. Thank you for your introduction," Janine said slowly, turning to Aranea. Ironjaw briefly glanced at Leila before continuing, "Your orders are to guard the shield station."
"But I expected to serve alongside you." Aranea said, surprised.
"We all expected this. But orders came from the blue wyrm: you and your pack are to guard the shield station alongside the forces of warlord Valerye. The warlord and her troops will arrive soon, but for the time being, you will be there only with regular soldiers." Janine turned around, putting a heavy hand on the shoulder of her fellow warlord. "Marty, you are to follow me to my room. Let's see what bothers you so much." Martyshkina attempted to persuade Janine that everything was fine, but it appeared phony to everyone, and Janine dragged her friend away.
Olesya excused herself and went away to help her pack arrive at their positions. Meanwhile, Aranea and her pack took seats in the transport, which was traveling along the road leading up the mountain. It was a simple-looking, six-wheeled, armored all-terrain transport that usually carried goods up the mountain. Today, the pack played the role of these goods. Inside the goods' chamber of transport, there were still smells of old oil as well as tiny smells of half-rotten food in the air. The walls of the vehicle were slightly rusty. Yet this chamber was vast enough for all twenty wolfkins and a half-wyrm to comfortably sit.
Tiny took off her helmet and sat near the huge black-furred wolfkin. His snout was scarred, and he was busy checking his shardgun, attempting in vain to ignore the warrior. Finally, Tiny took his paw into her own and quietly started to talk with him. The male shuddered as if from a hit, but then relaxed and put the weapon aside. Aranea remembered his name now—Gin, the supposed friend of Tiny. Leila wanted to sit near them, but the shaman pushed her aside, looking with disapproval at Gin, but saying nothing. She landed her massive form near Tiny, becoming still like a statue. Scarred One disapproved of the treatment of Gin, considering it to be too soft. It was inconceivable for a male to win against a female in the Wolf Tribe, even against someone who was so small and strange-looking as Tiny. The shaman believed that harsher punishment was needed, but she obeyed Aranea’s will and now simply waited for Gin to slip.
Aranea thought Tiny was a bit of an odd person. It was customary in the Wolf Tribe that warriors clashed with each other, trying to find out who was stronger among them. Without Yuki around, Aranea was worried that Tiny would be beaten up in secret. And yet, according to Sonya, it never happened. Tiny was often seen speaking with warriors, making pictures of them, and even stopping fights between them. Whatever it was—because Tiny was undeniably inferior to all warriors or because of her personality—no one raised a paw against her.
Sonya sat on the floor, pressing her back against the metal wall. She quickly glanced around her, ensuring that her pack was not fooling around too much, before reaching into her backpack and taking the book in her paws. The scout returned the books that Aranea had brought her to the library, insisting that reading books about anger control does not help her in any way. But at the same time, she once picked up some fantasy novels from the store in the fortress and liked them well enough. Sonya was old, her eyesight was not what it once was, and she used the lenses in her helmet to help herself read. When Aranea asked her why she bothered reading fantasy books, Sonya honestly replied that she liked the idea of a more peaceful world.
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Leila took off her helm and put it on her knees as she lowered herself near Aranea. The half-wyrm was a source of worry for the wolf hag. She was afraid that Leila might use her power on pack members, but the half-wyrm showed restraint in this. Instead, she was pestering each and every warrior and male, trying to get to know them, trade secrets, and become friends. Sonya told the wolf hag that she was already tired of Leila after just spending several days with her. Initially, no warriors spoke with the half-wyrm, but with Tiny's help, Leila and warriors were frequently seen drinking together by this point. Aranea wanted to ask the half-wyrm if she knew something about their assignment when she received a call from Kaleb.
"Sorry for bothering you, wolf hag." An image of Kaleb appeared on the screen of Aranea’s helm.
"Cut it off, Kaleb, you can call any time. How are you feeling? How is Kate?" It will be some time before they get their new limbs, and Aranea was worried sick about them. Leila's ears perked up when she heard a wolf hag speak.
"I'm feeling fantastic. I no longer feel my missing leg, the nurse taught me and Kate how to play chess, the doctors allowed me to help with other wounded… All in all, I am all set," Kaleb sounded pleased with himself. Then his voice changed, and he whispered, "Kate had a nervous breakdown at the start of the eighth day…"
"I can speak for myself," Said an angry voice, and the image of Kaleb looked to the side before shifting the camera to show Kate, "Hi, there, Aranea. I hope you are doing well," Kate almost had to force herself to say these words. Aranea was surprised at the greeting, the scout all but refused to see her after the half-wyrm messed with her mind, "Is that bitch near you?"
"Kate, she can hear you." The wolf nag murmured as she noticed Leila's guilty expression.
"Hook her in, I have words for her," Aranea gestured for Leila to put on her helmet, which allowed her to join the communication channel. "Listen here, wyrm spawn. Two days ago, I had the worst set of nightmares ever. Surprisingly, they began immediately after the expiration of the seven-day course of your 'therapy'. I could barely breath for nearly an hour, this scared Kaleb to death, I pissed and dirtied myself at the same time, cried away all my tears…"
"I am sorry," Leila quietly responded, "If you want to, I can ask Wyrm Lord to…"
"Listen to me for once, you shit for brains," Kate's voice was fuming with anger. "All my previous breakdowns expired within ten to fifteen minutes, sometimes even less, when doctors helped me. And they were getting shorter! Yesterday my nervous breakdown lasted for an hour, and the doctors failed to put me asleep…" Kate took a deep breath, forcing herself to be calm, "I have no idea what is in your head. Maybe you really are a good person. But you screwed me up really big this time."
"I am really, truly sor…"
"Listen to me, just listen!" Kate’s voice cut off Leila’s apologies, stopping her mid-sentence. The scout still sounded deadly calm, "I asked the doctors about you and know that it is pointless to scream at you. But please, next time you try to use your power on someone, think of the potential consequences. What you did to me only put my memories 'on hold' so to speak. And then they were released, all at once. This hurt me badly. It scared Kaleb," Aranea blinked at these words. Since when did Kate start to speak so calmly? Kate took another deep breath, "What you did to me only caused my pain to happen at a later date and be more painful. Listen, I am angry at you, but you are one of us now. I can’t really forgive you for what you have done to me right now, but I must learn how to work with you. I am also not without sin, I hurt my team with my self-loathing, hurt the man I love by ignoring him… But I got better since my friends gave me time and refused to give up on me. Now it is my turn to try the same with you. I am not your friend, but please call me later and we will talk more."
"Who are you, and what did you do to real Kate?" Aranea asked in genuine shock.
"Screw you. It’s… hard to admit that I was such an annoying piece of shit," Kate responded angrily. She took another breath and continued, "I am sorry for how I treated you, Aranea. I was afraid you'd kick me out if you found out about my power."
"I am the one who should be, and I am sorry!" Aranea almost shouted back, causing others to look at her. Leila quickly gestured to the others not to listen, and the pack pretended to do something else. The shaman only rolled her eyes at this gesture, Tiny smiled, and Sonya simply kept reading, "I was the one who left a scar on you, who hurt you, not the other way around. What are you even sorry for, you idiot?!"
"Ok, then let’s just forgive each other and live on. Anyway, I am tired and must sleep now," Kate said, with a sorry tone. Aranea was sure, she heard notes of fear in the voice of the scout as she mentioned sleep, "But I can’t just lie here and do nothing, so I will try to help you in my own meager way. I requested intelligence reports and will..." Her voice slowly went silent, and Kate fell onto the pillows, snoring loudly. Kaleb returned the image to himself.
"What happened to her? Why is she being so… nice to me all of a sudden?" Aranea asked, quietly, in confusion, while Kaleb was busy reaching for syringes from a nearby table and taking a walking stick into his paw, "And what are you doing?"
"Preparing stuff for the doctors if her nightmares hit again. I asked them to teach me a thing or two about medicine. In case…" Kaleb stopped and looked into the camera with a worried look. "Who am I kidding, it's just a matter of time. Each time she falls asleep, nightmares hit her," He returned to preparations after pressing a button on the table and sending a message to the doctors. "As for your first question, she asked me to help her become a more normal person," Kaleb quietly chuckled at this. "Now I don’t know why she asked me of all people, because I am… well I."
"Show some pride in yourself, Kaleb,." Aranea almost snapped at him, "You wanted Kate to trust you? You wanted her to "loosen up"? Now she trusts you. You helped her the most, not I," She smiled happily, "Good luck to you and…" She stopped when a loud moaning came from Kate’s mouth, and Kaleb quickly turned off the camera.
Aranea let her hands fall on her knees in a surge of impotent anger. She wanted to find Blaguna, she wanted to rip out her throat. Along with that blasted Yasen. They caused this. They took Yuki… They were dead men walking, both Blaguna and Yasen. The Reclamation Army took the torture of their own troops very seriously. There was no need to play hero, someone would get them. What Aranea needed right now was someone to watch over her pack. So she took a deep breath and calmed herself, standing up and checking the gear of her soldiers. Two male soldiers had no safety on their shardguns, and Aranea took her time patiently explaining to them the correct way before assigning them to the charge of cleaning toilets until the end of the week. These two were from Kate's and Yuki’s packs. No matter how much she wanted to rely on Sonya, she simply needed new scouts to watch over warriors, the wolf hag herself could not be everywhere, and Sonya was old. She will have to promote the new scout, even if this means coming to terms with the fact that Yuki is dead.
Realization hit her like a truck. She was alone again. Tiny, Scarred One, Sonya, Leila… All of them were relatively new to her, all competent in their own way, but not part of her 'family'. Her original pack, the people with whom she drank, trained, fought side-by-side… All of them were gone for now, and some of them were gone forever.
She examined other wolfkins' equipment and spent the rest of the journey in silence, trying to come to terms with changes in her life.