Chapter 19: A Warning
Sahari swore under her breath, her pacing back and forth in front of the fire accentuated by her arms braced across her chest and the claw she bit as she thought. “And was there any indication of them struggling?”
Tel placed one hand on the log she was sitting on, tilting herself to rest all her weight on it. “You’ve been asking for entire suns now.” She rolled her eyes before confirming her report again. “No, not actively, at least. Nalah was bound up in a yellow plant but Harrow seemed fine from what I could see.” She replied, her voice flippant.
“So, we keep leaving them alone in their infinite generosity and they, what? Kidnap two of our pack? Confine them? Recruit them from under our noses?” Jax thumped the butt of his spear into the dirt. His figure towering over the seated Tel. “I told you that we should have acted as soon as we were able! Every sun we delay is another that they could be back here.”
The Grand Huntress snapped her head to glare him down, her voice firm. “We have next to no information. If we assume anything right now, then we are fools.”
“Fools would sit idly while we are stripped to our marrow member by member!” He shouted, growling every word, his fur bristling.
“Jax, if we make a move now in any direction and spurn them, we could lose out on sanctity or our lives.” She said, cold and measured.
Jax reeled, indignation stealing his voice before overcoming it. “Spurn them? Saha-”
“Grand Huntress.” She interrupted sharply. “Until the terms of your vow are met, you will give the respect I am owed.”
“Grand Huntress.” He amended sarcastically. “You are blinded by your ideals, bound by your wavering fantasies. We cannot sustain this folly. I care not for how love-struck you are to the aspects you have assigned the other, but we must act now so that you may still have a pack to lead. Your acceptance to the vow was built upon the promise of leading us to a better future. As of now, you have led us to our end, member by member, only to be saved by the whims of a being with no clear allegiances. My job is to ensure the safety of the pack to my utmost. I am going to do my job. Think about how you should do yours.” Jax stormed out of the shelter past the recon. Tel idly watched him leave, tracking him slowly with her eyes and an unfazed expression.
Sahari pinched the bridge of her nose, running the claws along the length of her snout. “Tel, I know you have been getting friendly with the pack.” She spoke softly. “What are your interpretations of their characters and... this mess.” She punctuated by exasperatedly throwing a paw towards the exit, plopping herself onto the log across from Tel. The recon slowly turned to face the Huntress with a placid and bored expression.
“I think Jax is going to screw us over.” She stated dryly, tilting her head. “The biped has done nothing but act in a way that would be beneficial to us and, if his monologues are to be believed as well as how Pan is treated, he would happily assist us in bearing the wilds. The insects follow him dutifully and have been nothing but welcoming to Pan.”
“Goal?” Sahari asked, staring into the embers as if they would reveal to her the answer.
“I would say surviving, but they seemed to have surpassed that basic motivation right now.” Tel leaned back, eyes fixed on the gap between the branches that sheltered them, letting her tail grip the log to steady herself. “If anything, I think he’s planning on doing what we could not.”
Sahari spared a glance, taking a moment to allow Tel to continue. When it was obvious that she would not, she prodded. “And what, exactly, have we failed to do so completely?”
“Thrive.” The answer was simple, spoken with no emotion nor cadence, but was still delivered with finality. Tel turned her gaze from the ceiling to the black-furred female. “I overheard him talking to the insects about allotting building plots for various functions. He is far beyond merely scavenging for food and warmth.”
The Grand Huntress flicked an ear. “He plans to build a settlement?”
Tel offered a loose shrug. “Perhaps. All I know is that he has been constantly occupying himself with repairs or maintenance of the facilities as well as hunting and has little urgency in doing such. Most of it seems to be just killing time until others complete the prerequisites for their tasks and require further instruction. Whatever he plans to do, it is keeping his pack busy and happy. Even Pan looks unrecognizable after her time there.” She mused, tracking a floating ember.
Sahari closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath. “And I just allowed Jax to leave and declare war. What’s the chances that they survive him?”
Tel blinked, covering her mouth with a paw in thought. “Hard to say. The biped’s trained in combat, enough so that he has been teaching two members of different species with no notable difficulty, but I have yet to see him fight. Assuming it’s a duel, I think Jax has the advantage. Joseph has denser muscles and body structure, but lacks any natural weapons or defence. He does possess a peculiar sense for danger though. Plus, I doubt Jax is going in empty-pawed.” She tapped her chin absently as she considered the proposition.
“Joseph, huh? I see you have grown quite invested in the biped.” Sahari remarked. Tel flashed an ‘oops’ eye-roll with a shrug as Sahari continued. “What is so special about his senses?”
“That’s the thing, I don’t know. He’s detected me every time, to the point that I grew bored of trying.” Tel furrowed her brow in exasperation, the expression only betrayed by the smell of amusement.
“Oh?” Sahari straightened up in surprise. It was rare that Tel was ever interested in someone, let alone impressed by them. The spymaster-turned-chef usually gauged people out of habit, that much was expected, but having her resign from her games meant that she acknowledged superiority. A rare event indeed. “Every time?”
“Every time.” Tel confirmed, tail swaying in her usual figure eight pattern, the two-tone dark and near-black grey stripes on display. “Even when I blended into the noise, he seemed to subconsciously notice me before I got close. It was only when I reached out to poke him that he reacted. Startled me, too. It was like he knew in an instant that a possible threat was closing in. He went from preoccupied to battle-ready faster than I could track.”
“Violently reacted?”
“Um... Calculating, if I had to say. He was ready to fight back if I pressed the issue. Didn’t even touch him.” She giggled. “Well, not in any threatening manner.”
“So, you escaped before he could do anything?” Sahari asked, resting an elbow on her thigh so as to rest her chin on her paw. She waved the other dismissively at Tel’s insinuation, deeming it of little importance.
Tel shook her head. “He let me go. Warily, mind you, but I did sneak up on him, so that’s to be expected. What I didn’t expect was how amicable he was to me observing.”
“The snares, the drying rack, those needles you’ve been twirling around your claws.” Sahari stopped long enough for Tel to notice her absent fidget. “Sounds cooperative to me. What changed for him to suddenly... Imprison? Two of ours.”
Tel stood up, tucking the spinning quill into her fur and out of sight. “No idea, I came back to report first since they had been gone a while. Been putting off further observation until you two figured out what you wanted to do. I’ll go see what I can find out before Jax starts killing everyone.”
Sahari watched Tel leave, calling out just as she was about to leave. “Will you join them?” She asked indifferently.
Tel stopped her tail swaying in and out of view of the entryway, speaking loudly to be heard clearly, but not turning around. “And leave the venerable ‘Tragedy’? Perish the thought!”
Sahari huffed a dry laugh. “We both know my mercenary days are long gone, ‘Phantom’.” The fire crackling was the only noise in response. She covered her face with both paws, rubbing into her eyes to ease the strain. “I am far too under-qualified for this shit.”
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Two confirmed combatants, assuming Tel’s recon is accurate. The defect had been spotted participating in their training, but she was of little worry. Jax would only need to plan for two. The larger insect may pose to be a third, but nothing in the reports suggests any combat viability. The largest unknown was the biped.
Jax had never laid eyes on it, only hearing of its exploits or features by description. He would amend that and plan out his move. He lacked the experience in scouting that would allow him less careful exploration, but that was no matter. He had hunting experience, tracking and killing the almost ethereal presence of the animals at his disposal would more than suffice. He blended into the foliage as best as his black fur would allow, slowly moving so as not to be noticed should the pack be out hunting.
First, he should procure a second spear, weapon backups were important. There wouldn’t be time to smooth it out properly, but hopefully it would never be needed. He wandered to the edge of the meadow towards the south, skirting the treeline as he absorbed the complex. The building held many windows, only three external entrances. One facing away from the building in the centre circular area and two facing towards the farm area from the wings. The end of both wings lacked a window, so those will be where he approaches from when the time comes. A skeleton of a moderately high fence was placed maybe a few lengths from the trees on the perimeter of the meadow, some spots were starting to be sufficiently constructed to hinder movement of wildlife, but would be a simple enough task to vault over. Hardly something to consider.
Jax reached his destination, heading deeper into the forest to await the moon. Reports state that the biped would often stay outside to watch a fire by itself. He would strike then. He spared one last look at the building before he started his preparations, gaining a slight glance of the creature he would have on the end of his spear as it returned from the west, barely as large as his claw from this distance, carrying a bundle of leaves. So care free. “Tonight, you will learn the spirit of a hunter, biped. Take your lesson to the Hunt Mother with pride.”
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Tel sighed, Jax was muttering to himself. Wasn’t he the one to call those who talk about their plans openly a fool? Whatever, she should go figure out what exactly happened with their members and, assuming Joseph hasn’t started operating a penitentiary, warn them that they’ll have some unwanted company. Her ear flicked as the blood pooled in her head from hanging upside down. It was fun to do occasionally, but there was only so much amusement to be had by allowing only the tip of her ear to show as a challenge for those she was spying on. Depressingly few ever noticed.
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She unhooked her legs from the branch holding her weight, letting herself land upright on another one a few branches below. Both feet planted softly despite the drop as her legs and tail eased the pressure in gradually so as to not rustle the leaves. It had been annoying adjusting to the properties of the plants on this planet, but the months of practice had gotten her back to full performance.
She brushed off a stray leaf on her arm and plotted a route that would give her access to either Pan or the two ‘captives’ so she could inquire about the specifics. The best option seemed to be to skirt around the edge the way Jax came from and stick to the stray patches of trees that dotted the meadow, as usual. She wasn’t overly concerned about anyone noticing her, Joseph would likely sense her regardless once she was within some arbitrary range, but it wouldn’t bode well if Jax knew she was about to warm them.
She allowed a second sigh, leaning forward and kicking off the sturdy trunk to the next tree, using her tail to shuffle leaves gently out of the way while her paws touched and pushed off the limbs in subtle amounts to direct her to the next sturdy trunk. It was a bit exhausting to multitask every appendage with such low margin of error, but it had long since became second nature when she gets stressed. Or bored. Or in general.
Since when was it more effort to travel normally than silently? It almost felt wrong to copy the plodding thumps of others, as if some ingrained part of herself was being denied access. A shame that others tend to dislike having someone simply appear behind them, even if it wasn’t her fault that they didn’t notice her. Except Joseph. He seemed to always know since that first meeting. It was surprisingly nice to be able to go where she wanted and not have to put so much care into how she did it. He even started smiling when he noticed her, offering a small wave even if he was elbow deep in whatever task he was busying himself with. It was a nice feeling, in a way.
Whoops. Lost in thought. She had to focus as she closed in on the compound, picking her route carefully as the available options narrowed to just a few with very passing length. A few swift corrections and she was sat on one of her more favourite branches that held a clear view of the fire pit next to the farm plot. She had never seen any plants grow, but that may just be due to the weather. She was thankful that today was a bit warmer than it had been since the frost from her breath would give away her position too easily without snow or a cold-jaw to cool the air as she exhaled.
Waiting around, she watched the windows of the compound, mostly focusing on the exercise room as she could see into the room that Nalah and Harrow were confined to. She didn’t see any guards posted near the doors, merely Nalah laid on a bed and Harrow on a chair next to her, talking amongst themselves. Pan was nowhere to be seen, as well as Joseph. Mama was in her room near the end of the right wing, carving something out of a brick of wood, and Violet was practising her combat in the first window to her left across from her pack-mates, Tel’s line of sight to them was obstructed by the insect as she shuffled in front of the doorway. Tel giggled to herself. Really there was no benefit to committing those names to memory, but she had heard them enough by now that it didn’t really matter if she wanted to remember or not.
Tel’s ear flicked towards her right. Footsteps. Light, yet favoured to one side which seems to be heavier. She looked over to the source of the noise, seeing Pan return from a hunting trip with two of those barbed creatures. That answers one question. Pan is unlikely to cross close enough to here for Tel to call out to her. Tel puffed her cheeks. She liked this branch; it was great for naps. Reluctantly, she stood and backtracked a few patches so she could make her way quietly to some trees directly over where Pan would walk.
She reached it shortly before Pan did, and a cursory glance confirmed that she could drop down without being in line of sight of the building. Joseph didn’t seem to be with her either, so it was just the two of them out here. She waited until Pan was just passing, letting herself fall to the ground with a muted thump. No need to startle the poor girl too badly by grabbing for her attention, it wasn’t conducive to getting answers anyway. Pan jolted, almost tipping over as the catch swung from its rope that was tied over her shoulder. Her expression was of surprise but not of any fear, merely reacting to stimulus instead of a threat. Curious. Tel wore a slight smile as she addressed her for the first time since she had been sent out.
“Hey, Pan. What’s up?” She greeted casually, one eye focusing on the small white Lilhun’s expressions. It was slightly more work without any markers in the air, but she was used to observing people from a distance where pheromones wouldn’t reach her, so it wasn’t much more difficult than usual to decipher what was going through someone's mind.
Pan took a moment to respond, brows lowered in hesitation before seemingly deciding on something. “I am well. What brings you here, Reconnaissance Scout Tel?”
Tel laughed, waving off Pan’s greeting. “Relax. I’m here to find out why Nalah and Harrow haven’t come back, not start trouble.”
Pan’s tension lifted slightly, her tight grasp on the rope that her carcasses were tied to loosened. “Nalah was hunted by a creature Joseph calls ‘Moss-Wolves’. Harrow injured her leg while carrying her here for treatment.”
“Oh?” Tel arched a brow. “Why here and not the shelter?”
Pan shook her head with her eyes closed. “Nalah required more extensive medical care than you would have been able to provide. Harrow barely got her to us in time as it was. If she had brought her to you, only to be told there was nothing you could do, she wouldn’t have time to get her here.”
“I never thought Harrow of all people would come to you begging for help. Too skittish for that.” Tel replied doubtfully.
“It was on Nalah’s insistence, I'm told.”
Tel’s ear flicked in annoyance. “So, when can we have them back?”
“I’m not sure of specifics,” Pan admitted softly. “But Joseph figures Harrow should be okay tomorrow.”
“And Nalah?”
Pan deflated, turning her head to the side and only glancing at Tel. “We’re not sure. She was greatly injured and had several ribs fracture. Minimum estimate was supposed to be in a few suns before she was okay to strain herself at all, but the damage was more extensive than we originally suspected. It may be quite a few suns before she will be able to work without exacerbating her injuries.” Tel swore under her breath, catching Pan by surprise at the sudden vulgarity. “I’m sure that we could offer you some supplies to assist the pack until they are well enough-”
“No!” Tel cut her off with a sharp denial. “Jax thinks you guys captured them and are holding them prisoner or something!” She ran her claws through the fur on her head, slumping against a tree trunk and sliding to the ground. “He’s planning on killing off Joseph to take them back. I was hoping that they were just being stupid and were having some sort of stupid extended sleepover, not immobile and hurt.”
Pan went wide eyed, sputtering before voicing a coherent thought. “K-Kill him! No! Why!?”
“Because he’s tired of having the smallest dick on the planet?” Tel offered mirthlessly. “I don’t know. He says he’s worried about our safety but I think he’s just itching for some action. Prove he’s useful? Sahari has been going on about merging the packs for a while now, maybe he just needed a reason to shut that down.”
“What...” Pan’s voice carried slowly. “What do we do?”
“I don’t know about you, but I'm going to relay the situation to Sahari. Maybe she’ll be able to think of something. You should go warn Joseph. Try and see if you guys can’t figure something out.” Tel replied, getting herself to her feet. “I’ll drag her here if I have to.”
Tel was about to jump into the trees when Pan’s voice called out in question. “Why are you telling me about this?” It was soft, full of confusion.
Tel glared at Pan until she snapped her head up to the branch she was aiming for. “I’ve grown accustomed to being fed snacks and napping. Can’t do that if he’s dead. Go. Give him time to plan.” She climbed the tree with a single kick to the truck, disappearing in time with the wind. “It’s what he’s good at.”
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“So, we’re just going to... What? Send him out by himself to die?” Nalah asked with a surprising amount of venom. It wasn’t like she was particularly close to the male, but he did save her twice now and was willing to feed and house her until she was able to support herself. He even spent a lot of time each sun talking to them and genuinely showed interest in what they had to say, even if Pan found it exhausting to talk so much. Jax going on a warpath more than spat at the kindness Joseph has shown, and she knew Sahari would kill him after even if it cost her life doing so.
“No.” Pan translated, still obviously shook up over the news she had to deliver and Joseph’s reaction. Or rather, lack of. Were it not for Harrow informing her that the emotions she picked off of him were likely a tenth of the intensity, she would have assumed the male near bloodthirsty. Thankfully, his expression conveyed the correct amount of displeasure and annoyance rather than the blinding rage his scent suggested. Even Pan was extending and retracting her claws as a fidget under his influence. “He’s suggesting that he go explain what happened. He doesn’t want anyone else caught in the cross-fire if things ‘turn ugly’.”
“And you’re okay with it? Just letting him face down death? I thought you were happy to have a bond, but here you are just letting it die.” Nalah spat from the bed, Harrow shifting in her seat at the raise in volume. Pan shrunk under the criticism, but offered no defence.
“I don’t think Jax will want to talk.” Harrow stated sombrely. Her leg only had one ring of healroot left applied to it and was looking pretty much healed. Even the fur had started growing back around the scars on her foot.
Joseph mumbled something that Pan further slumped over before relaying it. “He doesn’t think we have much choice in the matter. It’s either try to talk Jax down or we’ll be forced to put him down.”
Nalah barked a laugh. “He’s ship security. They’re trained in combat from the moment they enlist. Their job is killing some of the best soldiers on board if needed. He might have only been a first-year, but he’s a better fighter than the rest of us.”
Joseph perked up when Pan finished translating, abandoning his leaning on the door frame to stand on both feet and placing a fist to his lips for a moment. His eyes refocus as he snaps his head towards Pan and talks quickly. “Joseph wants to know if either of you know what training Jax has been given.”
Harrow piped up, having been in charge of the various paperwork at some point or another. “Personal deterrence, advanced striking, hard-light shield training, several firearms specialists' courses, multi-foe combat, security basics-through-masters, weapons repair, fabrication basics, patrol doctrine, heavy equipment operations, heavy deterrence equipment, and I think several years working as a private military contracted doing security.” Harrow ran out of claws to count on and resorted to resetting her paws to start anew, only to drop a free paw when it was clear it wasn’t needed.
Pan looked surprised at Joseph’s reaction, as was everyone else. “He’s asking if it is mostly equipment oriented.”
Harrow raised a brow, not knowing where this was going. “Yeah, almost exclusively, why?”
Pan lit up, though likely to mirror Joseph’s mood rather than due to her own influence. “What equipment does he use now?”
“He hunts with a spear. Not much else to use. Not like there’s free rail-guns or plasma-casters kicking around.” Nalah answered, her own mild confusion showing on her face.
Joseph crossed the hall, grabbing something before returning. He tossed Harrow a silver spear, the tip almost blackened and had two long sections that were knurled slightly for grip. The color almost seemed to shift under the lights between a glittering metal hue and a burned charcoal. “Like that one?”
Harrow inspected the spear for a long moment, eyes lingering on various details. Nalah could almost see gears turning in her head as she puzzled out what equipment was used to make it. “No, this looks... Almost machined.” She tried to bend it, the spear only flexing slightly against her knee as she applied her full force. “What’s this made of?”
Pan spoke up without needed to translate Joseph’s answer. “Ironwood. Crafted by Mama.”
“Iron wood?”
“It’s the result of various heat treatments that Joseph uses on rubber wood, those very flexible trees.”
“And it hardens like this? Our skewers always just kept getting stiffer until they broke like dry twigs.” Harrow asked curiously.
Pan nodded. “It’s a complex process to get that specific result. You heat and cool different parts for different times. That spear is the latest in a long line of revisions Joseph completes in his spare time. I think it’s twelve separate heating cycles to maintain the flexibility and strength?” She speaks to Joseph who shakes his head and gives a short reply. “Pardon, eleven treatments. Four are used specifically for the tip.”
Nalah laughed. “Jax uses the wood that shatters if it’s left near the fire.”
Joseph smirks, Pan translating for him. “It’s easier wood to work with, but isn’t suitable for a spear. Breaks too easily for its weight.”
Harrow nods, chewing her cheek before speaking. “So, we have the better weapon, but he still has extensive training using them. This might balance it a bit, but it isn’t going to win any fights.”
“He’s a melee specialist.” Nalah notes. “He doesn’t have to out-perform with his spear, he just needs to break Jax’s and it’ll even the playing field.” She looks at Joseph. “Right?”
Joseph rolls his eyes slightly, smirk becoming more subdued but still present. “He says that is the plan, but hopefully it isn’t needed.” Pan explains. “Our best bet on winning a fight is avoiding one to begin with.”
“And how do we talk him down?” Harrow asks, slightly more receptive to an answer. Her ears perked up as her tail swayed at the suggestion.
“We were hoping you would help with that, Harrow.” Pan answers.
“Me? I thought we were going to intimidate him with a show of force or something?” She asked in her confusion.
Joseph sighs, Pan repeating his response. “We would if it would work. Jax likely feels that the only way he can fulfill his duty is by either dragging you back by force or dying in battle trying to. More numbers would just press him to be more careful about how he does things, which would be harder to control.”
The response caught Nalah’s attention. “You speak from experience?”
Pan looked unsure how to translate Joseph’s answer for a moment. “He says he ‘knows the type’.”
“That type reacts favourably to his target accompanying the one he wishes to ‘rescue’?”
Harrow rubs the bridge of her snout with her paws. “I’m the only one he would listen to since you’re out of commission. Anything Joseph says would have to go through Pan, who’s technically under Joseph’s control. As far as he cares, anyway.”
“He’d still need Pan there to translate anyway.” Nalah pointed out.
Pan spoke up next. “Yes, but Harrow could verify or deny what we say. Plus, Jax will be able to smell if Harrow was under duress, adding credibility to her statements.”
“I see.” Nalah acknowledged, nodding her head lightly. “And should all that fail, we have a backup plan with the spears.”
Pan returned the nod. “Yes.”
“What about Sahari? Tel went off to update her, yes?” Harrow inquired cautiously. Pan was about to respond when Nalah cut her off.
“Sahari will probably join Joseph in kicking him in the tail.” She chuckled. “Nothing would screw up this pack cooperation like trying to kill the leader. Might even offer Joseph Jax’s head as compensation.”
Joseph looked concerned for a moment before laughing as Pan giggled his response. “Joseph says that he was never a fan of mounting heads on a wall, so he’ll let Jax keep it.”
“Ha! I like that it’s the mounting that is the issue.” Nalah quipped.
Joseph shrugged. “Ladders are annoying to make, it seems.” Pan joined him in the shrug.
Harrow chuckled before her previous nervousness returned. “So, three of us head out tonight to roast meat over a fire and hope he doesn’t just assassinate Joseph?”
Joseph exhaled, staring at nothing in particular out the window with a displeased scowl. “That’s the idea. Fucked if I know it’ll work, but it’s our best shot. Beats getting shanked in the dick when I go to take a piss.”
Harrow and Nalah’s ears perk up before they exchange a glance. Nalah was the first to speak up. “Joseph, by the Hunt Mother, do you talk a lot.”