Ravager led Janine to the south of the military camp, stopping right after the outer minefield. A few patrol parties and recon teams noticed them with surprise, inquiring about their purpose here, but Ravager only sat still, looking to the south. Janine was forced to explain their reason for being here. The two of them ended up waiting for hours in total silence, standing still like statues on the windy plains. If this was Ravager’s petty revenge for making her wait, or if this is how she usually goes on about her things, Janine could not say. After four hours of waiting, other warlords from the first generation joined them.
“Welcome to the inner circle.” Dragena, clad in full power armor, gave a simple nod to Janine.
“You owe me a coat,” Alpha growled, looking ridiculous in her cargo pants and a white shirt that quickly turned black in the acrid winds. Alpha sniffed Janine over and left a scent mark. “Took you long enough.”
“I’ll aim to be better.” Janine shook Alpha’s wrist, making sure not to touch her incredibly sharp claws, capable of shredding armor and bodies with the merest touch. “And, uh, can I pay you for the coat?”
“No. Give me a new one.”
Zero jumped to her next, encased in her highly advanced pitch-black power armor with an elongated helmet that had neither lenses nor an opening for a mouth. Janine saw her face once, when she and Alpha had invited her over to tell the truth behind the origins of the Wolf Tribe. And there Janine understood why Zero never took off her helmet.
She and Ravager were one and the same, two sisters in blood grown in the same vats. Indistinguishable in looks; only their size and characters were different. Just like with Ravager, no scar ever lingered on Zero’s body; when Dominator punched a hole through her, the warlord regenerated her lost organs in under a week. So close was their likeness that some soldiers started worshiping Zero as a Blessed Mother, leading Zero to forever hide her face behind a helmet in public to make everyone treat her as her own person.
“Congratulation!” Zero warmly said, grabbing Janine by her paw and taking her into a spin like a young and expressive girl. Where Ravager was all about doom and gloom, Zero has always been friendly with everyone and looked into the future with hope, only ever darkening in mood should someone mention Iterna. Her power armor was a masterpiece of technology; every joint worked soundlessly, and its alloy provided enough protection to withstand the fiercest explosions and fastest projectiles. Zero would always be in the back of the field of battle, hiding behind her black cloak and firing her rifle at the enemy’s leaders. “I always knew Big Sis would start admitting new gens closer to her eventually!”
“Sucks it’s not my girl,” Ygrite chuckled, drawing closer. A Wolfkin, easily as tall as a Warlord, waltzed in behind her, looking at Janine inquisitively. “Welcome to the circle. Heard that, Kalaisa? Janine outsped you!”
“Adorable,” the Wolfkin replied casually.
“You are not a Warlord,” Janine said icily, hugging Ygrite. Kalaisa smelled like a Wolf Hag, but she was huge. Easily a Warlord material. “Address your leader with respect befitting her status before I beat it into you.”
“You can try.” Kalaisa rolled her eyes, catching Ygrite’s look, and lowered herself to one knee. “Warlord.”
Ah, so this is why you constantly drag the girl around. Janine chose to ignore the implied disrespect. Small wonder Ygrite has been so stressed lately. The girl was, what, sixteen or seventeen years old? And is already prime material. Rapid growth without proper experience, backed by countless easy wins… Too valuable for the tribe to be broken, maimed, or killed, too volatile to be left alone. Yes, had Janine been in Ygrite’s shoes, she would’ve chained the idiot child to herself until she got tempered enough to survive.
Come to think of it, Terrific has allowed Janine to get away with tons of weird shit back in the past. Janine openly challenged the Warlord several times, refusing to accept her cruelty against the civilians, and lived to tell the tale. All because Terrific had seen a talent in Janine and nurtured it in the beast of her cruel character. She even gave her a pep talk once when the young scout felt down.
“Keep your protégé on a leash, Ygrite, before someone cuts her down to size,” snapped Ashbringer, coming closer. She said nothing to Janine, simply grabbing her in a bear hug. Janine returned the favor, matching her muscles against Ashbringer’s. With a grunt of admiration, Ashbringer let go of Janine.
“Blessed be, sister.” Lacerated One said simply, going to stand by Ravager’s side.
“Always knew you had it in you.” Predaig gave Janine a pat.
“Saw your girls recently,” Onyxia whispered in Janine’s ears, catching the warlord by surprise. Out of all Warlords, Onyxia looked the most unique, beating even Alpha to the punch. Her body looked like a dark shape, always shimmering in the sunlight and sometimes becoming translucent to the eye. Tall as Zero, her fur, her skin, even her pallet—everything was shrouded in darkness, leaving just two amber irises gleaming dimply in the pools of darkness. Evil tongues whispered that the woman existed in several worlds at once, hence she never mated. Janine always dismissed these rumors; Dragena hadn’t had any cubs yet, but no one ever whispered behind her back about it. When Onyxia spoke, everyone heard two voices: one that sounded unpleasant to everyone’s ears, like a knife slicing against unbreakable bones, and another that was a normal whisper following the initial words. “How do they stack up against my Anji, huh?”
The Wolfkin behind the shape of darkness bowed, dropping to one knee and baring her neck to Janine. With a pristine white mane of hair coming from her head all the way to her waist and bulging muscles barely hidden by a greenish overall, Anji looked stunningly beautiful to the eye.
“They’d lose.” Janine grinned, patting the respectful Wolf Hag. “You grew up quite a nice replacement, Onyxia! Many healthy cubs to you, girl.”
“Thank you, Warlord,” Anji replied in a serene tone.
“Thank you, Warlord. Bootlicker,” Kalaisa mockingly grumbled.
In the next moment, she gasped in pain, holding her sides as Janine’s elbow got planted straight into her solar plexus, sending the woman back a few steps. Kalaisa had to release her claws to arrest her movement, letting out a low growl of infuriation.
“You are wide open and too slow for your temper, girlie. Don’t drop your guard around those you wish to insult, lest you’ll gain a whole swath of new scars,” Janine advised Kalaisa, not really feeling anger. It happened sometimes. When a sister grew in strength too quickly, her judgment would often get clouded. No biggie; Ygrite will turn this rough gem into a diamond eventually.
“Slow? Wide open?” A fire burned in Kalaisa’s strikingly deep amber eyes. She has let go of her sides, making an accidental looking crisscross strike with both forearms forward that drove Janine a step back with sheer might behind it. Kalaisa clenched her fists, breathing hard, and looked at Janine with a mix of excitement and eagerness. “Why won’t you show me how it’s done, granny?”
Sorry, Ygrite. Janine thought, bulging her muscles. This wasn’t a challenge, not really. There was no hatred, rage, or anything similar behind Kalaisa’s eyes; her scent also betrayed just a desire for a brawl rather than a dominance match. The youngster wanted to test her fangs. Yet Janine has noticed the hungry look in Ashbringer’s eyes. If she steps down, Ashbringer will step forward and maul the fool.
“Stay calm, Wolf Hag,” the voices whispered behind the woman, and she froze, feeling a paw on her shoulder and a black claw on her neck. Onyxia’s smile grew wider, showing pitch-black fangs in her mouth as she leaned against the Wolf Hag’s body, putting her snout on Kalaisa’s shoulder. “There is no shame in being pointed out for a mistake. You easily lose track of your surroundings. Own your mistake, and let’s not look like fools before our comrades, shall we?” The claw pushed, piercing the skin, and Kalaisa shook from an unnatural cold entering her neck.
“I obey, Warlord.” Kalaisa bared her neck, and Janine took the invitation, asserting her dominance by biting the woman and pushing Kalaisa to her knees. Out of respect for Ygrite, Janine refrained from leaving any scars on her successor, only showing might rather than drawing blood.
“At attention!” Alpha barked, and everyone immediately stopped bickering.
The ground beneath their feet trembled, followed by the noise of falling avalanches from nearby mountains. Soon after, hundreds of engines chimed in, and through the thick poisonous clouds whirling across the plains, the Wolfkins saw lights coming from projectors. The first to break from the clouds were the light vehicles carrying the recon team, followed by rows of heavy tanks and troop carriers. Rows of soldiers wearing power armor marched behind, like on parade, holding their rifles to their chests.
Where the Third Army had three primary colors: black for the Wolf Tribe, white for the Order, and finally brown for their troops, the Second Army proudly wore the silver color in honor of their mighty commander. Their tanks and vehicles were in pristine condition, unmarked by bullet holes and free of repair scars. Their armor and weapons came directly from the foundries of the Core Lands instead of being produced in the newly conquered lands. Most of the soldiers serving in the Third Army were children of the former raiders and barbarians, people of all sizes, quite often changed by the remains of the glow at the state’s outskirts. Soldiers from the Second Army were volunteers and recruits from the Core Lands, brave men and women leaving the safety of civilization to bring peace and order to those lacking it. Their discipline and steady approach put even the Third Army to shame, but there was no arrogance behind their movement, just calm assurance that the allies have come and now everything will be alright. What they lacked in experience, they made up for in dedication.
Three crawlers came into sight, three massive behemoths carrying the rabbit emblem of the Second Army, followed by rows of trucks carrying fresh supplies, food, and medicine to support the army’s advance. Drones, a recent addition to the military forces, flew above the armed forces, mapping the area and alerting incoming troops about any potential hazards. Some of the drones carried small-caliber energy weapons beneath their round forms, ready to add their fury to any struggle that might befall their allies.
Ravager spread her arms, standing on two feet. Immediately, the Sword Saints came from within the camp, standing to the left of the Blessed Mother, while Janine and the others stood to her right, leaving Anji and Kalaisa behind. Janine caught Bertruda’s look but ignored it, only giving a single amiable nod to enforce an image of unity. Fuck the ice boys. Never again will Janine allow herself to be tangled in any mess involving them.
Cristobo Bulwashnikov, a tall and broad man wearing a brown captain’s uniform and a rebreather in his mouth to withstand the harsh air of the surrounding lands, joined them. A small entourage of officers and bodyguards flanked the man as he stopped next to Ravager, saluting the incoming forces.
“Put on the helmet, Cristobo, before you burn your lungs,” Ravager hissed.
“It’s fine, commander,” the highly tanned man responded, shaking when the tip of Ravager’s claws left a bloody mark on the back of his neck. Janine barely saw the Blessed Mother’s movement; to the eyes of the normies, she must’ve never moved an inch, still standing with her arms widely spread in greetings.
“You have cubs back home, idiot.” Ravager smirked, noticing the captain’s widened eyes. With a trembling hand, the man took out the rebreather. “Congratulation. You are now a new breed. No poison can harm you. Ignore the voice; it’ll disappear in a couple of months.”
Ravager herself was strong enough for many soldiers to revere her as someone mystical and divine. Seeing her collapsing down a mountain filled people’s hearts with nothing short of pure awe. But there was one thing that Janine had always been afraid of when it came to Ravager. Power grafting. At the touch of her claw, Ravager could give a person power once per day. Sometimes she could control this process and give it the exact power she wanted, but most often than not, it was a lottery. And sometimes, very rarely, it could trigger an involuntary change into a skinwalker.
“Greetings, comrades!” Ravager roared to the incoming soldiers; the corners of her mouth twitched, trying to form a strained, warm smile. The recon vehicles stopped, and soldiers roared back greetings, sounding genuinely happy. “We thank you for your loyal support! Now, with you here, the Third Army is finally able to march on anew!”
“Greetings to you too, Commander Ravager.” A pleasant voice boomed across the plains, and finally Devourer showed himself from within the clouds.
A giant slithered forward, whose body could stretch all the way to the sky—longer than a crawler—his immense weight leaving new tracks in the stone ground as Devourer slithered toward Ravager, circling around his forces. Once he was a man, born after the Extinction to a normal family. According to the official history, as a child, Devourer became exposed to the glow, and his skin came off his body, revealing scales beneath. He was one of the first new breeds to join the state, right after Outsider and Ravager. Back then, he was just a rival to Alpha, having a similar build, a mouth filled with fangs, and tough claws on his fingers. His fierce nature and indiscriminate eating habits had earned him the name Devourer. Atop his bike, Devourer led his forces to victory like some barbarian.
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And then Devourer changed. His arms merged with his body, his legs joined together into a single tail, and he himself grew in stature. And grew. And keep growing, becoming larger than most vehicles in the state. His jaws could stretch to an unimaginable size, swallowing sand reapers whole. The sound of rattles at the end of his tail sounded like an artillery barrage, instilling fear in the enemy before his massive body came crushing down, opening wide holes in any and all enemies’ positions. His scales became tougher, his eyes could spy satellites in orbit, and the weave of his coils could put an entire brigade to sleep.
And above all of this, Devourer has become a match for Ravager. The two of them sparred with each other, leaving behind ruined mountains and newly created canyons, with variable success. The sheer stubbornness of the commander of the Second Army had earned him the respect of the Wolf Tribe.
“Brave men and women of the Third, I greet you all,” Devourer said, raising before them but positioning his enormous body in such a way to prevent his shadow from falling on troops. “Through your sacrifice, an entire city has been saved! Bravo Ravager! Glory to the Third!”
“Glory to the Third!” his army roared.
Devourer let the thundering shouts subside and extended the tip of his tail to Ravager, allowing her paw to grasp it for a shake. His snake eyes found Janine, and a warm smile came to his lips.
“Ah, Janine, it’s been years since I last saw you! You have become a Warlord? Well earned, I say!”
“It warms my heart to see you in good health, Commander Devourer.” The tip of his tail stopped her when she attempted to bow.
“”I will have none of this on this joyous day, Warlord! Just call me Devourer. How are the kids? All is well, I trust?"
“Just fine, thank you.” Janine forced a smile, hoping that Devourer would finally look away.
She felt herself drowning in his eyes, her very soul was about to leave her body and be snatched away by these gigantic pools. Janine worked with Devourer once to take down an irrecoverable apocalypse class. Against all rules and commands, Devourer came upon the girl they had been ordered to kill and talked with her, trying to convince the kid to step down. Upon hearing that she wasn’t needed by anyone, Devourer only nodded. And his tail came down, preventing the apocalypse.
“Superb, simply superb. Zero, Alpha, First, Camelia!” His eyes moved to look at the others. “My dear friends, I have missed you so much! We will speak at length later, but for now I must steal Ravager away for a time; we have some matters to discuss. But don’t think I am leaving you dry, my friends. I brought enough refreshments for all. Today we celebrate our reunion!” Noticing the captain’s movement, the commander shifted his head, lowering himself down. “And of course, everything mine is yours too! Resupplies, medications, and personnel—we will help however we can. Please give orders to my troops as if they were yours, Captain Cristobo.”
“I thank you for the courtesy, your lordship.” The captain fell on one knee, only to be prompted to stand by the tip of the tail. For a human capable of leveling mountains, Devourer could be surprisingly gentle when he wanted to.
“Janine, with me,” Ravager growled, leaving toward the mountains on the west.
The warlord followed, surprised at the sudden call. Previously, Cristobo or Alpha would accompany Ravager during negotiations between the commanders. For what possible reason could the Blessed Mother need her?
*****
Ravager and Devourer travel leisurely across the land, forcing Janine to run to keep up with their simple movements. A hill, a sticking out stone, or a steel pipe—anything that ended up in front of Devourer had become a paved road, being bulged down and compressed by his incomprehensible bulk. Ravager followed suit, punching a hole in anything in her path rather than simply jumping over it. Devourer soon shifted his body, coiling to the side of Ravager and leaving her exposed to his troops. The commander picked up the game, standing on two legs and walking with her paws behind her back. A show of solidarity for the lower rank.
The illusion has been shattered after they traveled ten kilometers. Ravager leaned upon the mountain, and Devourer hissed, casting his shadow onto her, dancing with his upper body. It took a moment for Janine to understand that the commander was shaking with rage.
“Are you trying to upstage me?” He thundered, the pleasantries and warmth gone from his voice, leaving barely hidden hatred. His voice echoed from the mountain range, resonating with his movements.
“I simply followed the Dynast’s order, Devourer.” Ravager released her claws, licking something off of them. A nod of her head made Janine step aside. “The bitch was a threat. Now there is no bitch.”
“Aside from one I see before my very eyes.” He struck.
Janine had seen city walls fall, some crushed by her own axe. She had seen entire mountain ranges bathed in flame and collapsing under the weight of an intense artillery barrage. What she did not see was a mountain disappearing from her field of vision. And Devourer did just that. His lower half moved so fast that her eyes simply failed to record the movement; only her eardrums pulsated with pain because of the sound wave created when the tail connected with Ravager’s chin, causing the mountain behind her to shake and Ravager herself to spit out blood on the ground.
“Dynast gave us the order to take the city together!” His voice silenced the fallen avalanche, and a single move of his tail beat aside the stones that were about to bury Janine, leaving Ravager to fend for herself. “You were to wait for my arrival…”
“Your fault for being so slow, weakling.” A splash of blood has landed between Devourer’s eyes.
He froze, giant eyelids closing the massive pools serving him as eyes. Hearting the rattling sound of Devourer’s tail and seeing the fur raising on the back of Ravager’s neck, Janine lunged forward, landing between the commanders and throwing herself on the knees.
“Blessed Mother, Commander Devourer, cease this aggression! Our armies stand near, extending a hand to each other. It won’t do for either of you to shatter our sisterhood out of pure childishness.” I am dead. Janine decided, feeling their aggression focused on her. May as well go all out. “Yes! For what reasons do any of you act like a cub denied her first treat? Commander Devourer, your genius has seen the creation of some of the greatest cities in the state; why should you bother about being denied taking down one minor shack, unworthy to be called even a settlement? Commander Ravager, I understand your dedication to keeping our allies safe, but Commander Devourer has a point! If the Dynast gave the order for us to work together, we should have been working together!”
She felt their looks. Two god-like beings, angry at the ant busting in their business. Janine could almost feel Ravager’s lips spreading out, showing deadly fangs ready to be buried into her skin for the crime of taking a lead. Devourer’s silent disapproval was just as palpable. But she didn’t care. Soldiers have to see their leaders acting as one, never attacking each other in the open. What was allowed for Warlords and lower ranks wasn’t allowed for the Blessed Mother or Devourer, and by the Spirits, she will make them see the reason or perish trying!
“Janine,” Ravager said, putting one paw on the head, calming herself. “Our duty demands the utmost sacrifice from us all…”
“Oh, be silent for a moment, gnat,” Devourer hissed, taking a deep breath that felt like a hurricane. He closed his eyes, looking calmly at Janine. “On principle, I do agree with you, Warlord. However, there is a bigger issue at play here. Do you see these things?” Devourer’s head came down, stopping before Ravager. He turned his head to the left and right, looking with unblinking eyes at the commander. “Do you know what they are called? Eyes! Anyone with eyes can see that you are reflexing, lashing out on everything and everyone in your path in a misguided hope to get destroyed, I believe.”
“How dare you…” Ravager’s muscles bulged, forcing the skin on her arms, legs, and neck to expand like balloons.
“Stay silent I said, the teacher ain’t finished yet! Sure, I would’ve wanted nothing more than to see your wreck get its comeuppance, but alas, the men and women who were so foolishly given under your command deserve none of this shit. Look at the state of your forces, open your eyes, and look, Ravager! Power armor is in disrepair, you Warlords wear some rags, medicine is in short supply, wounded and dying everywhere, and soldiers are forced to forage like some marauders! Where are your supply lines? For once in your miserable life, look around and see what you are causing for the people under your command, insolent child!” Devourer inhaled the acrid air and rose in the air. “I have no idea what the fuck has happened in your life to make you like this, and frankly, I do not care. The past had come and gone; only now and the future matter. But if you want to act like a petulant child in need of a punishment, fine, I’ll treat you like one. I had a little talk with Dynast, and you are now grounded, bitch! You may speak.”
“What do you mean by this, Devourer?” Ravager asked carefully.
“Why, the Second Army, the entire army, mind you, is to locate in Houstad. It is time for you to see what you have been helping build up.” A hint of genuine warmth came into Devourer’s tone, replaced by a mocking tune nearly as fast as it came. “The Third Army is to help the regional defense forces keep peace, resupply, and refill their numbers. And you are to rest. No killing allies, no prowling into the other regions to hunt or fight; just stay, sleep, or finally start acting like an adult and try to educate yourself to become a person worth looking up to. You can even call me; I am a good listener and won’t judge, truly.”
“You have no right doing this to me, Devourer. You owe me for Houstad and the other cities! I had supported you! I helped however…” Ravager stepped forward, looking madly at the gigantic serpentine body before her. And Janine saw pure fear in the eyes of the Blessed Mother. The fear is not caused by Devourer but rather by something entirely else.
“And for this, I am infinitely grateful to you, Ravager. Yet my debt to you does not absolve me of allowing you to grind your army into nothing to satisfy your pathetic desire to be hurt. Sort yourself out and leave the war to the professionals.”
“Professionals? Ha! Cusackshit! Had you been here, the entire city would’ve gone the way of the Old World! You need me,” Ravager pleaded, pressing both paws to her chest. “I… This is all I am good for.”
“Learn something else.” Devourer said mercilessly.
“You don’t get it! You haven’t seen what people do in these regions! You have no idea how they operate and what they can do to your soldiers!”
“People are the same everywhere. Just because fools here take pride in their brutality does not make them anything special. Civilization has always trumped barbarians in the end.” Devourer cut her off, smirking smugly. “Take Crimson Plague, for example, and his fire cult. They have been burning hundreds each month, raiding and pillaging everything in sight. So I have burned Crimson Plague and made his forces bend their knees on the way here. All without a single shot fired.”
“But.” Ravager sucked her claws like a cub, drooling uncontrollably on the ground. “Crimson Plague is immune to flame.”
“Flame is not the only thing that can set your body alight, my friend. Poison will do just that, specifically a very carefully delivered poison into his food by my agents. This led to him feeling a searing pain in his entire body, rolling around, and screaming for mercy. Since he denied it to others, it too was denied to him, and he perished ignobly by slicing off his throat after reaching a climax of suffering.” The commander let out a laugh, focusing once more on Ravager. “I am Devourer. The one who will become a Grand Commander of the Reclamation Army, the one who was born to command our forces and bring the will of the Dynast’s to all corners of the planet! No one is my equal! Not Outsider, and certainly not you! I will save humanity and bring it under the Dynast’s rule! Tales of my glory will ring forevermore! Now go and sit on the sidelines and watch how the true professionals prosecute the reconquest, swiftly and efficiently.” Devourer turned aside, stopping at the last moment to look at the Blessed Mother. “And never again dare to steal my thunder, Ravager. Oh, and Janine, sorry for the pompous speech; I kind of looked a bit too full of myself. Say, you want to serve under someone competent, by chance?”
“My loyalty is to the Blessed Mother and to the Tribe, Commander,” Janine responded. “The Blessed Mother delivered us from demise, and to her and the state we owe our very existence.”
“Ack, this stinks. Oh well, let’s go back, everyone! Drinks are on me! The one who falls first loses!”
“Challenge accepted, Devourer.” Ravager said.
****
“How are you?” Janine asked, coming to Martyshkina. She wanted to ask, ‘Are you okay?’ but that question felt hollow even for her.
Marty wasn’t okay. It was as clear as day. The warlord had ordered her pack to board the crawler, forcing herself to joke and brag. Her laugh sounded strained even to Janine’s ears, who followed after Martyshkina the moment their pack had found some peace.
“I… have no idea.” Martyshkina stood before the guardrails at the top of the main crawler’s spire, looking at the moving ground beneath. She raised her trembling paws. “I feel cold. And void. Pain too.”
“Your daughter,” Janine stated, coming to stand next to her. Marty lied to her earlier, claiming that everything was fine.
The crawler was preparing to move and now took a circle around the city. So vast was the machine that making a simple turn in place needed a far greater birth than the small place could have provided without risking the soldiers of the Second Army.
Laughter and cheering filled the air. Following the advance of the Second Army came great vats with nutrient paste, hermetically sealed. Devourer rarely lived up to his name in the current day and age and preferred a regular cuisine, bringing his own food from the Core Lands. And along with building-sized armored vats came sealed bottles with strong alcohol. Champions of both armies took to the challenge, and now the ground has been littered with drunken bodies, leaving just two fighters to keep on fighting, surrounded by the awe of soldiers from both sides.
Ravager and Devourer were gulping down bottle after bottle, threatening to empty the stock of the Second Army. The Blessed Mother’s belly had bulged forth, creating the undignified image of a fat barrel of flesh. Still, she persisted, somehow managing not to burst while keeping up with a vastly more gigantic opponent, her body digesting the alcohol almost as fast as it was coming.
“I can’t stop thinking about the last battle… About… My cubs, Jani.” Martyshkina forced the words out of herself. “I promised my soulmate to look after the cubs, and they all… I outlived them all.”
“You kept your promise.” Janine put her elbows on the rails. “I have seen your granddaughters back in the village.”
“Have I?” A flash of anger ran through the amber eyes. “Have I really, Jani? A moment doesn’t pass without me thinking about all those times I failed her as a mother. I knew of the possibility of my taint in her blood, yet I admitted, I fucking admitted my beautiful princess into the pack. I could have kicked her out and sent her far away to live safely as a hermit, away from danger, away from war, away from…”
“… from making her own decisions,” Janine reached out to grab Marty by the shoulder, turning the woman toward herself. “You can’t live your life for her, Marty. I…” She felt something in her throat and bit it down, allowing words to flow quickly and passionately. “There isn’t a day that I haven’t thought of my cubs and where I went wrong with them. Each morning I am afraid of never seeing them again; this is why I tried to push some of them away to safety.”
“You too?” Marty smiled. “I’ve saved some tokens, offering her a place at university…”
“And an apartment in the Core Lands,” Janine finished for her, and the two women let out a grieving laugh, embracing each other in a hug. Like in their childhood, Janine found her snout on Marty’s shoulder and Martyshkina’s snout on her own. “It’s a most fucked-up feeling, Marty. To know how to save, yet having to let go,” she whispered. “But we can’t enslave our cubs; we can’t just force them to act as we want their entire lives. All we can do is guide and support them, whatever the situation, and always be in their lives when they need us. And you did that. You have never abandoned your family; you watched over your cubs at every step of the way, and they have lived their lives as they saw fit. It’s time to let them go and live up.”
“It’s hard, Jani.” Marty replied in a strangled voice, and Janine felt something wet on her chin.
“It will never get easier. Not to my knowledge.” Janine felt water in her eyes as images of her dead sons and daughters flooded in, threatening to overwhelm her. “But we have to live. And walk our own road, getting new scars and healing, learning how to be happy once more, Marty. One day we’ll see our families again, but for now, we have to live for the ones who remain, Marty. Our strength can save thousands. And our pain is not special.”
They kept hugging and grieving together while the contest kept going, filling the air with laughter and cheering.