It was the lack of true darkness that perturbed her the most, Litra thought to herself as she and Gamir crept through the red lit hallways of the shelter. Everything about this place seemed off to her, from the strange smelling liquids that the metal things used to clean the floors and walls as they scuttled about, to the taste of the air and the almost too bright lights. As off putting as it was thought, she put on a stoic face to calm voice to sooth her people as they healed, while inside her own mind she was screaming about the insanity of everything that had happened in the last moon of time.

Shaking her head to clear her cyclic thoughts, she focused on the purpose of tonight. They had spent much of their time confined to the Medical rooms where their people had been recovering under the watchful gaze and powerful presence that was named M’ria. Indeed, the two young Matrons had been firmly chastised, confined to their beds and treated like misbehaving children by the aged healer, and Litra could see her point.

The two young Matrons were just as sick as everyone else and in no condition to lead or oversee anything really. It was only accepting the knowledge that the healer was right, and that she would likely have tied them to their sick beds, that had made the young Matrons stay and heal properly rather than try to run around and see to their people or attempt to take control of the situation.

It was a sobering thought, as she reflected on the weeks spent with strange vines, no tubes, connected to her arms.

“Only the stupid try to lead when they have no knowledge”, was what M’ria had told her sternly after she had tried to crawl out of her bed while explaining that as a Matron, she had a duty to her tribe.

And now, well their tribe was on the path to recovery. Every day they grew healthier with the elderly healers help. The steady supply of clean food and water, plus the medicine that the Human provided was saving the tribe, just as Delvik had said.

The two paused at a large door, faded yellow lines made it stand out from the others they had passed by. It took the two of them, grunting with effort to pull the door open, revealing a large cavernous room bathed in crimson light just like the hallways they had passed through. They could feel the chill air from within the shelter rushing out behind them, causing the exposed fur on their heads and arms to move in wavy patterns. Carefully they closed the door behind them, and continued on their trek.

That thought did cause a frown to appear, already there were whispers that it had been Delvik and the Human who had either brought or created the sickness. That they had released it to weaken and destroy the tribe so that they could swoop in and save the day. Other rumors had also begun to sprout up that the Human was plotting to sell the tribe to the other Human settlements, that he was just fattening them up to be sold as food or slaves or whatever demented things Humans did to others.

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Litra smoothed the fur on the back of her neck that had begun to rise in agitation. The idiocy of some people, she thought, how quickly they forgot that Delvik had been held captive and tortured by his own people, before being rescued by others from within the tribe.

She wanted to physically hit the idiots who whispered the second rumor, it was one Human that they vastly outnumbered. Yes, they were in its lair, and yes there were many of those metal creatures scurrying about, but what would be the Humans motivation to do so. Its every action thus far had been to help the tribe. If it planned to sell them as food or slaves, then it was doing too good a job in healing the tribe, returning her people to full strength and health.

No, those rumors and the others were nothing but fear mongering, and the two of them would put a stop to that soon, and tonight would be the start of those plans.

The two Matrons paused by a large metal door with a large wheel set in the center. They could faintly hear noise coming from the other side, but even pressing their ears against it, they couldn't make out any detail.

“Are you sure this is wise?”, Gamir asked, her voice quiet with apparent nervousness. .

Taking a deep breath, Litra turned to face her fellow Matron. “Yes Gamir, it is wise and necessary. We need to speak to the Human, Delvik and the elders who rescued him, and the voice from the box said that they are all up here, which makes this more convenient for us.”

She reached over and placed her paws on Gamir’s shoulders, “We need information and answers, so that we can do our job and help our people. You've heard the whispering thatls been happening, the rumors spoken in hushed voices. Our people are hurt, confused and lost and this is the first step we need to take.”

Gamir nodded along, the words making sense to her and firming up her resolve. This whole past moon and situation had been terrifying and left her feeling out of her depth. Now it was just the two of them, the youngest Matrons of the tribe to care for those that had been abandoned and left for dead.

They needed to know what the whole situation was, she thought. What the Humans plans were, what the Elders and Delvik planned to do. Would they help the tribe, or cast them out? Why did they help in the first place? So many questions, and the only way to get answers was to go and get them from the ones who were at the core of the whole situation.

She blinked slowly and refocused on Litra, “Thank you,” she said, “you are right, as usual”

The two females stepped back and took in the imposing door once again, both putting on their serious Matron faces and taking a deep, calming breath before together reaching out to grasp the wheel in the center.

They both jumped back with a yelp of surprise as they received an unexpected shock as they touched the metal wheel.

They both turned to each other, and seeing the shocked expressions on their opposites face, began to laugh. The absurdity of the situation, of their working up their resolve to take the next step only to be stopped by a bit of static electricity was too much.

So they laughed, and felt some of the stress they had been holding trickle away.

After a few moments, they both managed to regain a semblance of control and straightened up before once again reaching to grasp the wheel. When no shock occurred, together they spun the wheel and opened the door onto an unexpected scene.

The room was quiet but not empty. Three heavily cloaked figures stood in the center of the room, while several Rakus pointed spears and knives at them.

Standing before the figures was the Human, his pale skin looking even more drained of color.