Chapter 35: A Message
“Once we open this door, you better be ready to pull a double tonight.” Harrow pinned her ear to the door of the Grand Hunter’s room, listening for sounds of more than soft breaths and muted wind of the brewing storm outside.
The two had awoken to a fairly empty den, the rest of the pack absent in one way or another. Nalah had secluded herself to her room, where as Mama was working on the project the pack had asked her to keep secret from Joseph in her workshop. The lack of the rest of the members had led to speculation into the activities of the Human, and thus, bets on the results.
Jax stood a few paces behind, his arms crossed as he watched his mate attempt to snoop, her tail swaying like a pendulum behind her in the excitement. “I think him of strong will, surely, but he is still a male.”
The abstinence that his Grand Hunter displayed was originally chalked up to cultural differences, but he was certain at this point that it was only a matter of time before he partook in the interest that those around him displayed. The Human showed not only interest in the females not of his kind, but also seemed to dwell on the concept of taking one at times, much to Jax’s amusement. Jax had wagered his shift on the tempering and general fire maintenance that Joseph had likely spent much of the night having ‘personal time’, as the human would put it.
Harrow glanced over her shoulder at him with a sly grin. “A male who would rather take a claw to the arm than let his eyes wander.”
“I believe it a form of flattery for him to consider you enough for such an incident to occur.” He shifted his footing and smirked down at her. The female assumed Joseph too timid to instigate such actions and would require immense pressure to indulge. It was a view that Jax could agree with, though the will of the Grand Hunter had proven to weaken since his accidental intrude into their room. The glance that he had given Harrow was not missed by the Head of Security.
His mate turned, advancing a few steps and allowing her tail to trace its way up Jax’s leg, her voice laden with suggestive intent. “Would you?”
Jax leaned in, his hot breath tickling her ear in time with his murmurs, the soft twitch she gave amusing him. “Of course not, though i would rather the view unobstructed.”
She pushed him away, her paw resting on his chest as she gave him a teasing kiss, her teeth catching his lip in a soft bite before lightly pushing off. “Mmm, maybe later. For now, we settle the bet.”
Jax nodded in defeat, feeling mildly disappointed but too curious to dwell. “Unfortunate, but necessary.” He walked up to the door, his paw resting on the knob. “Ready?”
Harrow joined him, her head resting under his arm as she looked at him from the corner of her eye, her tail swinging in anticipation. “Are you?”
“I will accept that as a ‘yes’. Results are?” Jax quietly opened the door as the two leaned in to peek.
Inside the room was what they expected. A table with a chair near it, several projects and prototypes laid on the surface, as well as his small collection of garments that had yet to fall to the consistent use.
Several containers crafted to hold various supplies that Joseph could work on without having to traverse the den scattered across the floor, some of those contained curio from the shuttle that he had brought back with him. Finally, a large bed on which rested a tangle of limbs and fur.
“Smell anything?” Jax whispered down to his mate, the latter’s ears pivoting around to catch any sound she might pick out to supplement her nose in its search for that which might suggest more than the mundane activity of rest. With a soft shake of her head and a smug expression of superiority, she confirmed her bet.
“Nope. Sweat and humidity in general, but nothing strong enough to suggest anything happened at all.”
Jax sighed as he inspected the pile of bodies from his vantage point, his acceptance of a double fire-watch settling in with his mild disappointment at Joseph’s lack of initiative in this department. The bed was indeed a mess of colours and appendages; Sahari’s black fur, more in lustre than his own, populated most of one side of the bed, while Pan’s white dominated the other. Tel, at some point, had found her way into the pile, taking up the head section of the bed with her gunmetal-grey and darker stripes. Violet must have observed the pile and felt it only natural that she be a part of the affection, as she lay sprawled over everyone near the foot of the bed as a deep purple blanket of insect.
Jax looked to his mate, her marmalade-orange fur standing out in contrast to the other colours present in the room. “Where is Joseph?”
She inched her way into the room, careful to land only on her pads so that the soft clicking of her claws not wake anyone. The pile had been asleep for much longer than usual, but with the intense events of the sun prior, Jax found it hard to fault them. Mix that with the worse weather that they were subjected to outside, and he found that there was little harm in allowing everyone to catch up on rest.
Harrow peered over the bundle of fluff and scaled carapace, eventually pointing to a section that Jax couldn’t see from his perspective with an excited nod before rejoining him by the door. “He’s buried.”
He raised a brow. “Buried?”
“Yeah,” She giggled as she glanced over her shoulder to a single pinkish limb that had found an escape. A raised thumb from their Grand Hunter assured them that he was fine, albeit trapped. Though the lack of any effort to remove himself implied that he was rather content to remain in his prison for now. “As you can see, he’s enjoying himself at the moment. We’ll go ask Mama to get everyone something while he waits for everyone to wake up.”
Jax shifted to peer at the bundle from an alternate angle, eventually gaining a glimpse of Joseph falling back asleep with a content smile as he nuzzled into Tel’s thigh, oblivious to, or uncaring of, whom the soft pillow he had claimed belonged to. “I think that list includes him as well.”
“Then i suppose we could all take the morning off?”
Jax huffed a soft laugh and nodded, taking care to close the door quietly behind him.
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Joseph stirred awake, the cold on his back at odds with the warmth he held in his arms. He kept his eyes closed as he tried to surrender to the groggy impulse to return to his slumber. Failing that, he tried to remember what the end of the night had entailed for him.
Sahari and Pan had come to talk with him, the event ending when Sahari smothered him in her chest and Pan straddled him. The memory sparked something in him that he was quick to discard in favour of pressing his furry body pillow into himself, the small yip of surprise not matching the voice of whom he assumed it to be.
Cautiously, he opened an eye. A quick confirmation of color determined that Pan was not the one he was currently spooning, the body in his arms nearing his own proportions. He opened both eyes and distanced himself onto his back to reveal that Tel was the source of warmth that he had been embracing, her sleepy and confused expression telling him that she was taking a moment to consider why she was in the room as well. After what seemed to be a brief catching-up of the night, she smirked and rolled to capture him in her own embrace as she rested her head on his chest.
“Um, Hi? I feel like I’m missing something here.” He spoke to the Lilhun, the recipient of his words ignorant to their meaning. Tel threw a leg over his thighs and used her tail to pull his abdomen into her as she wiggled into a more comfortable position.
He surrendered to the entrapment for the moment, using the chance to survey the room for the other occupants. Pan and Sahari were nowhere to be seen, though a cursory glance out the window told of a slowly worsening storm happening outside that obscured the time of day, so he had no metric in which to guess when they might have left. He tried to stretch out in the bed to work out a kink in his back but a muffled protest from his apparent bed-buddy and the subsequent arm that locked his own to his body rendered the effort moot with a stinging pain to remind him of the injury he sustained the night before.
“Tel, I’m up. I feel like I’ve been dead for a while and should probably get moving. Plus, i should probably change my bandage.”
Tel ignored him.
“Tel.”
No response besides a slightly tighter grip and a refusal to move. Joseph tried to act on a suspicion he had been holding for a while. Well, suspicion may be a strong word. It was more of a curiosity that was recently reinforced when Sahari finally sync’d up. Given Tel’s fondness for secrets and her general proclivity for causing trouble, it might as well have been a glowing red button. He turned his head to be level with her ear, keeping his voice quiet and leveraging the slight gravel rumble that his tired throat imparted on his words.
“If you get up now, I might make it worth your while. I can think of a few things you might want me to do.”
The suggestive implication was not lost on him, but he figured that if anything was going to motivate the temptress to free him from a possible lifetime of bed rest, then leaning into it may work. If he was wrong, then it was simply a slightly embarrassing attempt at seduction for someone who couldn’t parse meaning from his words.
It seemed that she could, however, as she was quick to dig her claws into his chest as hopeful eyes and a playful smile met his tired half-lidded gaze. It only took a second for her expression to shift from excited to surprise, then settling on an amused shock.
“You play dirty.” Her voice laid perfectly in line with his own cadence, proving that it had been quite a while since she had learned the language. The lilt of her vocalizations flowed like smooth honey with a pleasant pitch. It was exactly the voice he would expect from a femme fatale with a tendency to spy. The words sent a small tingle up his neck as the unexpected response filtered through the air. She traced a claw up his throat and placed it on his lips, her face drawing close to his own. “I like it when you play dirty.”
Taking a short breath to discourage that part of his hind-brain from taking precedence, he used the shift in posture to roll off the bed and landing with a bounce of the feet. “And, freedom!”
He gave a showman’s bow to the begrudgingly amused occupant of his bed, her head resting in a paw while the other laid on her hip as she she pouted at him. “Oh, not one to make good on your promises?”
Joseph gave her a smug smile. “I never promised anything. I suggested some things, but never promised. And you kept it a secret that you could talk to me.” He winked at her before stretching out. He wasn’t particularly bothered by the revelation, Tel screwed with him every chance she got, but he wasn’t about to let it go unpunished. Even if it was petty. “When the hell did you get in here anyway?”
Tel stared at him before sighing, abandoning her pose and deftly popping off the bed to land on her feet. “Some time after everyone fell asleep. No one was in Sahari’s room so i figured I’d find her here. You wouldn’t let her go, so i joined in.” She leaned against the table and watched as he changed his top, her tail carving through the air in their characteristic figure eights. “Considering you wasted no time in caressing me, i figured you much appreciated it.”
He pulled his shirt to fix the fitment, pausing at her implication. “I didn’t-”
Tel walked past him towards the door, pausing to allow her tail to tip his jaw upwards as she matched his earlier tone into his cheek. “Your hands are most honest when you sleep, Grand Hunter.” She finished the statement by giving his ear a soft nip and slipping out the door while his brain rebooted.
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“Do you think it will be ready in time?” Sahari asked, leaning over Pan’s shoulder to inspect the progress of her latest creation.
The seamstress quickly threaded the latest edition of their palm string through the hole in the tiny quill. “I think so. Joseph sleeping in has given me more time to make sure everything will fit properly.”
Sahari snorted. “Yes, he was rather reluctant to release Tel once you removed yourself.”
Pan giggled as she started the next stitch. “I told you he would not let go for a while.”
“How do you sleep?”
The Paw glanced at her with a moment of confusion. “Rather well, i would say.”
“Even with him being so... paws-on?” Sahari pushed the implication on her words. “He is relentless in his exploration.”
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Pan paused to get her outburst of laughter under control, the effort needing more than a few moments. “Yes, that is something you grow used to. I find it rather soothing now.”
Sahari smoothed a patch of fur she noticed had been disturbed over the night. “I am not sure if i want to.” She complained. In truth, the touch had been one she had long since abandoned the hope of experiencing again. Were it not for the nature of its implementation she wouldn’t mind indulging in it a bit more. As it is, she was mostly curious as to how Pan had not jumped the male. Though the lack of any intent within the bond would certainly assist in resisting. Sahari herself wasn’t sure how she felt about the experience but knew that he had hardly any say in what the mind wishes behind the veil of sleep. Since he seemed content to play with her fur, the tactile request seemed to simply be something soft, regardless of where it was located.
Pan smiled, the section she was sewing having been completed. With a few tugs to ensure that the stitching would hold, she grabbed a new length of string and threaded it through the quill. A curious thought crossed her mind.
“You mind not if Tel takes advantage of his attentions?” She asked while handing her another segment of fabric. Pan took it and measured out a length to be used. “I was sure you would wish to lay claim first.”
“Even her unyielding approach must falter when she speaks not his language.” She replied with a cheerful tone, a long pull tightening the material in her paws.
“She does.” Sahari corrected. “Joseph has likely suspected as much for a while. He’s somehow sharper than he seems, yet is at times reluctant to acknowledge his intuition.”
Pan’s ears drooped for a moment as she tilted her head in contemplation. After a few seconds she perked back up and continued her work. “Then i hope her efforts are fruitful.” She decided with a nod. “Though i would rather it be as you suggested, I’m content as long as he is.”
Sahari shook her head. The female held no possessiveness within her unless it came to the kit. It was cute, in a way, though something told her that Pan was suppressing the smallest hint of greed. She ruffled the fur between her ears and took a step back to inspect the project Mama had been working on, the Atmo making great progress at shaping the smaller pieces and was currently off preparing a meal in Tel’s absence.
“I take it your bond is included in the small discoveries that the pack is allowing for Joseph to make?”
Sahari was taken slightly aback by the edge in her tone. It was subtle, but present. The mate did not like keeping secrets from him, it seemed. “I suppose i should be more surprised that you ascertained that.”
“Not really.” She countered quietly. “Your words are distinctive enough to pick up on at times. Though you have more experience with it, i assume.”
Sahari went quiet for a minute, memories passing by both sad and joyful. “I do.”
Pan turned around to face her, confusion and curiosity in her voice. “Should this not be a joyous occasion? Such is unheard of.”
Sahari offered a weak nod. “Yes, though remembrance of my late mate leaves me spurned. I feel that familiar pull to a male that is not my own. One whom i feel not desire to take.”
Pan lowered her gaze to the floor as she considered something. Reaching a conclusion, she met Sahari’s eyes. “Then why not adopt Joseph’s interpretation?”
“Which is?”
“Companionship. A friendship of a substantial duration. You have began to accept the bond, that much is obvious, but you resist it because you wish not a mate of him.” She tilted her head. “Must the two be synonymous for you?”
Sahari opened her mouth to speak but found no argument in which to voice. “I... You may be correct.”
Pan smiled brightly. “It would bring him joy if you were to accept such a role. He is burdened at times being sought only for leadership.” She quieted as she fiddled with the next length of palm. “I think he would welcome it.”
“He would.” Sahari sighed before giving Pan a smirk. “Though the blame will fall not on me should he be taken by my charms.”
“And i wish you the best of luck.” She returned the look and turned to continue her project. “You should speak to Nalah.”
“I must, mustn’t i.” Sahari relented unenthusiastic.
“I believe it time to confront her, yes.” Pan’s voice cooled slightly. “Before she makes a mockery of her oath and my patience.”
The ex-Grand Huntress raised an eyebrow. “Her words skewered you as much as him, no?”
Pan paused without moving to meet Sahari’s gaze. “I will protect him as he protects me. If she becomes an issue, i will deal with her. Until then, please ensure she will not, Head Sahari.” She returned to her stitching, the conversation ended and order given.
Sahari nodded to herself, impressed with the change and embrace of her position. “Of course, Huntress Pan. I will present results.” She offered a weak salute and left the Paw to her task. It seemed that every incident that herself and Joseph encounter only hardened the bond between them. She could see the bleed over of the Aspects happening by the sun. Perhaps this was always supposed to be her personality, it muted and suppressed by years of prejudice and living the life of the downtrodden. It mattered not, the kind female under it remained, only now holding claw for those that threatened what she held dear.
She made a fine Paw.
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Tel shook her head as the door closed behind her.
Joseph openly catching her in her display had signified a lapse in control of herself that she couldn’t allow to be maintained. That was certainly an issue of discipline. The larger concern was just how strongly she felt when he proposed the arrangement, as false as it was. She was content to lay in his arms or upon his breast, another anomaly that should be reflected upon later, when his words sparked something in her, an excitement she had not felt since before her training.
Sure, she was aware that his unyielding wrath and iron will in moments of stress had a certain effect on herself, but these were not related to the primal urge to bed the strong. There was no draw in a male simply being in her presence nor upon showing a perception that continued to flummox her.
Joseph was oddly attuned to the most obscure aspects of her displays. He had incorrectly assumed her a mere assassin, though a fair share of her contracts had indeed boiled down to just that, and he was oblivious to her language acquisition. He could tell she was near in a moment of her arrival, but even then showed no caution, even since he had come to the conclusion that she was a possibly dangerous entity. It vexed her to some degree that she could never fully map his mind. He was calm, yet explosively violent. Caring, yet accommodatingly cold when required.
Now, even his effect on her was beginning to confuse her. She felt compelled to be in his presence and felt something missing when he was otherwise occupied. She had even pleaded with Jax to keep her accompaniment a secret when Pan had left him cold and alone for a spell, the insistence of her own involvement lost upon even herself. Her teasing and pranks had evolved from sultry gazes and light touches to a barely resisted urge to run her claws over him to sate some unknown desire to hold him near for as long as she had strength in which to do so. His touch fanned the flames she knew not the origin of and the constricting embrace eased her far more than even the deepest of bunkers fortified with the latest in defensive measures.
It was perplexing. Perplexing could be dangerous. She idly traced a claw over the loop of her daggers, the action drawing a feeling of ease she knew not the reason for save for the knowledge of being armed.
Sahari stood ahead of her, her back towards the cook. With ingrained motions, Tel approached and peeked over her shoulder, careful not to disturb the focus of her target. The female was rapping on Nalah’s door, a muffled response claiming that the occupant was still in the room.
“Nalah, we need to talk.” Sahari called out, frustrated that the lock had been engaged on the room.
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“I think yesterday was a big enough issue to require a conversation.”
The sound of an inkwell clattering to the ground reported through the door. “I said what i said, Sahari.”
“I am well aware of that. Just,” Sahari tried the knob again to no success. “Open the door so we can discuss things.”
The lack of response drew a deep sigh from the black-furred female. Tel figured that now was as good as time as any to interrupt.
“I can pick it, if needed.” She offered lazily, her own internal monologue still unfinished but able to be postponed. Sahari jumped, the unexpected appearance and announcement of such in her ear doing little to soften the start it gave her. Tel drew an amused smile at her successful prank. She still knew how to surprise people, that was nice to confirm. Joseph had started making her doubt her own skill.
“I would prefer to know of your presence before you are over my shoulder, Tel.” Sahari admonished her, more for the sake of maintaining the dynamics of their loose friendship than anything else. Tel produced a thinned quill from her coat and started to work on the complex pin lock.
“I take your lack of denial as acceptance of my expertise.” She cooed as she worked the mechanism. It only took a few seconds until the practise she accumulated resulted in a soft click of the lock retracting. Sahari gave her a sideways stare.
“I take it you were preparing to break into Joseph’s room?”
Tel pouted, mild frustrations aired. “He doesn’t lock his door.”
“And you’re upset about it?”
“Can’t break in if it’s open.” She replied dryly, the fun being taken out of the experience leaving her with an unsatisfied feeling. She had spent the better part of eight suns studying the locks and shaping a quill to bypass them only to learn that Joseph rarely ever applies such security, opting to simply entrust his safety to the whims of whomever decided to enter his space. It irked her that he would leave himself so vulnerable. What if something happened to him?
Why did it bother her so much?
The door swung open with a soft push of her foot so that Sahari could enter, Tel following after a moment as she had little else to do at the moment and this would prove to be more entertaining than preparing the next meal for everyone. Sahari glanced at her with a questioning look but otherwise accepted that the intruder would not interfere, her habit of soaking in gossip and rumours as much a part of her as her fur. Nalah was the first to speak, the blond Head-turned-planner struggling to remove some ink that had apparently soaked into her fur after knocking it over, the liquid leaving the affected area with a lilac stain.
“There’s nothing to talk about.” She held her ground, though less confrontational now that she was attempting to free her fur of the offending colour. Sahari took a seat on the bed and braced her elbows on her thighs while Tel claimed a corner to watch from.
“I am not here to argue, Nalah, merely to understand.”
“There’s not much to understand.”
Sahari lowered her gaze, rejection evident on her face. “Please, allow me to know what ails you.”
Nalah shrunk, though maintained an injured glare as she spoke. “I worry for the Paw, Sahari. Joseph has changed her.”
The response raised a brow on both listeners, Tel regarding Sahari for a moment as she spoke in an attempt to follow the exchange on a deeper level. “She has been freed from discrimination for a condition she had no control over. I would think you would sympathize.”
“I know the feeling all too well.” Nalah replied with venom.
“Then why are you so quick to claim it his fault?”
Nalah stood to her full height, the chair she was sat on almost tipping over in the force. “How is it not!? She was quiet and well behaved! Now she speaks with malice and lashes out in dangerous manners!”
Sahari adopted a cold gaze and steeled tone, the ex-Grand Huntress not taking kindly to the volume used against her. “You claim being beaten into submission by her peers as a favourable disposition?”
“No,” Nalah receded, her posture losing the confrontational edge to adorn a concerned voice. “But he is warping her with his bond. She almost killed Harrow, Sahari. Surely that is not something we accept as an outcome.”
“This is about more than the spar,” Sahari maintained her level lilt, though her expression softened. “You rushed to coddle her without sparing a glance towards Harrow. Joseph confirmed her health before rushing to check on his mate.” Sahari leaned more heavily onto her knees. “What is it that burns so fiercely that you test your oath?”
“I...” The planner failed to sort her thoughts, taking the time Sahari allowed her to find a coherent explanation before seemingly giving up, her voice soaked in defeat. “I needed to confirm she was still herself. That his influence had not damaged her. I don’t want him to change you too.”
Tel resisted the sigh that built in her chest. She was well aware of the feelings Nalah held for Sahari, it was a point of amusement on occasion. Keeping track of the rise and falls of relationships often held good information to be used at a later time, so she had long since made a habit of checking on on these things every now and again. Harrow being so smitten with Jax had actually came as a surprise, her attention primarily focused on Joseph at the time leaving her somewhat out of touch with the dynamics developing within the pack. She had since made an effort to remain informed and as such was worried Sahari would fall for the Grand Hunter for a while, the bond proving to draw them closer and closer, though that seems to have been an unnecessary concern as neither held a romantic interest in the other. Joseph did have a rather wandering set of eyes whenever he wasn’t paying attention though.
“Why would i change?”
Nalah dropped to her seat, the wood creaking under the sudden weight. Her words poured from the heart, pain colouring them bright shades of dejection. “You think i haven’t noticed your bond?”
Sahari flinched and averted her gaze for a long moment, conflict evident in her expression. “Pan is still learning how her mind reacts to the connection, Nalah. I have been through it before.”
“Yet you still bristle when he fears for his mate.”
“I know that i should not fight it.”
“So you just surrender to his will?” The accusatory tone added weight back to Nalah’s words.
“I embrace it as an extension of my own.” Sahari corrected with certainty. “The bond, when pressed and under high stress, will urge you to act. The moment you not treat it as a separate entity, the easier it becomes to act with it rather than because of it. Joseph is a strong bond to process. I blame her not for failing to operate under the intensity.”
“You find it intense enough to lose yourself?” Nalah challenged. Sahari took a deep breath as she considered her answer, eventually meeting her gaze with her own determined and finite conclusion.
“I know that, when time becomes too short to command us, i will hand myself over to him. I will not lose what i place in his paws. Of that i trust.”
Nalah tried to respond, several attempts ending with her slowly deflating as she failed to speak. Sahari got off the bed, closing the distance and crouching down to look up at her.
“Thank you, for worrying for me.” Sahari spoke softly to Nalah, her paws resting on her lap. “But you cannot blame him for something he has no control over. You swore yourself to him as I did. Your words wounded him deeply, far more than i think you thought possible.”
“I was just... I’m sorry.” Nalah relented, accepting the touch to her person by resting her own paws atop Sahari’s.
“Apologies are not for myself, but for those whom you have harmed.” She explained quietly. “Pan believes her mate subject of slander and Joseph tore himself apart as your accusations struck bone. Both are wounded, though different in reason.”
Nalah nodded, gripping Sahari’s paw with a weak chuckle. “I suppose i should rectify my mistake before Pan orders my head.”
Sahari smiled, returning the squeeze. “I believe that would be for the best, yes. I wish not to be the one to present the spoils of her request, it would ruin my appetite for quite some time.”
“I would accept so long as you are the one to end me.” Nalah snorted, the energy in her voice returning.
“Then i should ready myself to make it quick, no?” She replied with a wink, releasing Nalah’s paws and rising to make her way out the door. Tel spared no time in following her, making sure to close the door softly with her tail.
“I will finish my task here,” Nalah gestured to the stained desk in which a tablet rested. “Then i shall join you all for our meal.”
“Do. It would be lonely without you.” Sahari winked towards the planner, the latter’s flushed cheeks visible under the fur. Tel decided to leave the teasing for the moment and allowed the latch to engage behind her with a soft click. A few steps passed before Sahari spoke to her.
“I suppose there are few ignorant to my connection.”
Tel flicked her tail in agreement. “Harrow, as well as the Atmo, may be the only ones unaware at the moment, though none can say for how long.”
“Do you think she will be a threat for the pack?”
Tel raised a brow at the implications behind the query and the abrupt change of topic. “Would i be sought if she was?”
Sahari shook her head, her voice tortured. “I would make good on my jest, as much as it would pain me.”
Tel bumped into her shoulder. “Then rest at ease. I believe her misguided and scared. You are her saviour, after all. One can hardly blame her for her worry about the one she idolizes being bastardized by another.”
Sahari shot her a look. “But i have not been.”
“In her mind, you may have been already.” Tel pointed out, pushing the hub doors open for the both of them. “You are the only true connection to the rest of us. You are her placement in the world. I cannot claim to be ignorant of her concerns.”
“She has the pack.”
“Yet she has only become close with you. Harrow would be a distant second, i believe.” She surmised, cursing her detracted attentions to all which she should have at paw. “I believe, ironically enough, Joseph would be a third. Despite her issues with him, they seem to get along well enough.”
Sahari sighed fully, the stress of such a short meeting proving quite taxing. “Do you hold suggestions to remedy this?”
Tel considered it for a moment, her thoughts disrupted by a thumping on the exit doors of the hub. Sahari glanced at her before joining her stare, a curious expression present.
The sound repeated again, a series of five impulses on the exit. Tel scanned the hub but it was simply herself and Sahari inside. Cautiously, she signalled for Sahari to take point while she hoisted herself above the door frame with dagger drawn. On a count of three, Sahari opened the barrier to the blowing snow and howling winds outside.
“Atrox? It’s a blizzard, why are you here?” Sahari motioned for him to come inside and for Tel to hold position. Her tail twitched in anticipation of action as she watched from above with her knife readied.
“Forgive me for my intrude, but i seek to deliver a message for the Grand Hunter.” The vaguely familiar male voice replied as the doors closed behind him. Tel recalled possibly hearing it recently, but had been too invested in cleaning the wolves to pay it much mind. Sahari shifted her rear foot backwards slightly and adopted a more bladed posture. Though too subtle for Atrox to notice, Tel could easily see the kick that was silently prepared should it be required.
“What message have you for him?”
“Ah, i suppose the den is small enough for this to be sufficient.” Atrox laughed to himself, his jovial display at odds with his body language while he brushed the snow from his fur. “Grand Huntress Mi’low demands a meeting.”
Sahari narrowed her gaze. “Demand? Such a strong word for but a meeting. And if we refuse?”
Atrox nodded absently with a sardonic smile and a heavy breath. “Our pack of twenty-six have surrounded the den. Should you refuse to comply to her simple request; we will take it from you by force.”