AN:i'm saving a specific song for a chapter in the future... though i feel it would go well here.

so, for this chapter, i'll put my personal favorite song.

this chapter will also be shorter, but, does it need to be long?

p.s. i'm writing this while tired, so prepare your mind.

and without further ado, the tunes.

https://youtu.be/ayzrdZDtpZY

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"men who have confidence in their strength are dismayed having to bow their head. a man who doesn't need to be confident isn't bothered by such meaningless things. know this well, young one. respect the dead, and those who will soon be dead. only then, will you be a man able to kill and have no regret."

-quotes of the master, of showing respect and respecting the dead.-

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humans are worthless.

they hunt, and they steal, and they eat.

so, it's not too much to ask that they die, right?

and if they don't follow my instructions... well, we'll have a bit of a problem, won't we?

honestly. i was getting fatigued from killing them.

first the hunters, then the farmers on the outlying farms. i paid no mind to age, sex, or appearance. before my teeth and claws, all were of equal worthlessness.

of course, i'm not cruel. i give them a chance, and kill them quickly, without enjoying it too much.

at least, thats what i told myself.

of each man, woman, and child, i asked a single question.

"will you bow to the King?"

it was a simple request.

just lower your head a couple inches. that was all it took to have your life spared.

if that is the case, as i think it is, why do so many refuse? why do men and women risk their lives for a nod?

why do i find myself respecting those who refuse more than those that accept?

it seems hypocritical to me, but perhaps that is natural. after all, i respect pride. those who are arrogant in their folly are less than mindless beasts, but those who are humble in their intelligence are more than just human. is that what it means, to be human? to simply be a pawn, not doing anything, just floating along with the current like driftwood. or does being human make you an outlier? is being an outlier normal, in human society?

all of these things are too complex for a simple wolf like me. i am a pawn, too, so i have no right to ridicule those who simply go with whatever anybody tells them.

but. i'm not just any pawn.

this pawn can kill, and not just capture.

the king left me to take care of the forest... just like that. one moment, i expect to be under his watch from morn till dusk, then poof. gone. like the wind.

the wind is an adequate metaphor for shadowpelt. here one moment, taking all the pages of your life and scattering them afar, the next, gone as if never there. leaving the rest of us to pick up the pages, and put them back together, only to find they somehow got a little cleaner, a little more defined, and with a fresh coat of ink. how like the wind he is... and how unlike as well.

the wind never harms anyone. the wind is a bystander, a playful character that occasionally comes in to have some fun.

in the river of events, shadowpelt is like a rock. shaping every drop the way he wants, and damn hard to move out of the way. i have known him for... i don't know how long. it feels like forever, and i can barely remember my life from before he came into it.

haaaa, i'm getting to be a right darn good philosepher, so good i can't understand myself.

---

on and on, over and over.

ask, accept, continue, repeat.

the only break from this routine, was when a human fought back. why do they fight back? when they have so much to lose? is it because they're stupid? are they, perhaps, the mentally challenged ones, that fight me? as long as i live, i doubt i'll ever understand humans.

i talked to some, asked others questions, but it all blended together, and none of it stood out. it was like the whole world had turned grey, without a speck of color to light it.

damn boring, and a bitch to move around in.

i had been excited, extastic, and all those other fancy words for really happy. but when i took a look around, and saw the bodies... it was sobering. i no longer felt any joy in murdering helpless fools, only the pleasant feeling of accoplishing the kings work.

throughout, i kept having the same thought.

would shadowpelt have done that? what would he have done differently?

i had never thought he'd made such an impression on me.

when the village headman heard a rabid wolf was prowling about, and killing the farmers, i soon met with stiffer resistance, than the peasantry.

i waited for the militia to come at me, and watched them closely.

a boy so young he probably still hasn't got all his teeth in... a codger so old he might as well have been a corpse. a girl probably fresh from grabbing her mothers skirts, and a veteran who was missing more limbs than he retained.

pitiful. but brave, nonetheless. i would challenge them, as fellow warriors.

"come, my foe, and let us do battle."

it sounded cliche', but i think they deserve some memory to take to the afterlife. i'm guessing it'll be boring there, and a good fight playing in your mind does wonders for boredom.

the veteran eyed me carefully, and the boy shook in his boots. the four were armed with little more than sticks with pointy bits tied to them, tho the vet had a well-maintained short sword in his belt, with the ripped and torn scabbard looking more like a snaggy bush than hardened leather.

the girl had two nasty looking knifes, and the codger had a club. the boy had a slingshot tied to his belt. ha. so naive. thinking a pebble would do good against a wolf. it almost made me laugh.

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but the time for humor has passed.

i leapt forward, and bit out the vets throat, seeing as he would have been the biggest threat, since he actually knew how to swing his weapon. the old codger didn't put up much resistance while i helped him along to the place he should have been in decades ago.

the grave, i mean.

i felt a little sting, and looked at the boy who was shaking in his boots. i felt pity, that i must end such a young life, before it has the chance to gain maturity. but he did not bow.

he held his pitiful weapon up, and tried to take another shot, but his arm shook so badly he must have missed by three yards. i sidled up to him, not feeling the need to hurry an already doomed soul into damnation. he would get there soon enough.

i bit his throat out. then spat the blood on the ground. his face was soon indiscernible, as the fountain that erupted from his neck quickly drenched any and all clear surfaces around it.

what a pity.

as i said, i take no joy in death. not in my making it, and not in the risk of my own eventual meeting. but, i would not let a little thing like death stop me from achieving shadowpelts goals. thats just the kind of man he is, the kind that makes you do stupid things, for all the wrong reasons, simply because he's a bastard. a bastard who makes you like him. those are the worst kind.

i finally turned my eyes to the girl, who had long ago abandoned her suedo-spear, and instead opted to use those nasty knives.

we traded blows, and i learned that this one was made of sterner stuff than her male compatriot. all's the pity. if she had died quickly, she wouldn't have had to suffer the pain my claws inflicted. but, as i said, i respect pride.

finally, she seemed exhausted. no more left to give, apparently. i made my way in front of her, as slow and inevitable as a funeral march. there was no hurry, as it was most likely i had all day to accomplish my self-assigned task of rooting out the non-believers.

"wait!"

i paused at the unexpected voice, and slowly cocked my head to the side. what could possibly make me want to wait?

the girl spoke again, in between pants and heavy breaths, her hands on her knees and bent over.

"why are you doing this!?"

i contemplated her question, and finally replied with what i thought was an adequate answer for someone about to die.

"because i can."

the only expression on her face was disbelief.

"because you can? because you can!? oh, god help us if your kill'in folks left an right just cause ya can!"

i thought about what she just said, but was still confused, and decided to voice my confusion.

"what is your point?"

her face just kept getting more and more shocked.

"you can't get the bloody point!? does that mean i haft ta explain such an obvious thing to you?"

"if that is what it will take to keep you quiet while i kill you, then yes."

she just stood still.

"f*** it. i aint explan'in such a thing to a pussy like you."

"then can we get on with it? it's getting dark, and i'd like to be back in the forest before tomorrow."

"che, your jus' jelly O ma sweet knowledge, and your inability to com-pre-hend them. so that jus' means your an idjit."

"please tell me i did no just get called stupid by someone who says 'idjit'."

"hell no, cunt. you jus' got pwned by the f**k'in great Me'Gyre."

i was starting to get why my father had told me that women were troublesome. of course, he'd always get nipped in the behind by mum right after saying so to me, but it turned out it was all true. i have never wished something to be untrue harder in my life.

i sighed.

"whatever. i don't feel like killing you, and slaying people while not in the mood's bound to put a sour taste in my mouth, so your safe for know. just know, the next time i come to the village you will bow your head to shadowpelt, or die. tell your village that, and also that they are to send the headman to meet with us, and discuss the future."

she proccessed this, then let out a whoop.

"whoooo! looks like my plan worked! your so scared O my vo-cab-u-lary that you runn'in away! that's right doggy, scram!"

i shook my head.

i swear... if every encounter with a woman is going to be like this, i'll cut it off and live in the mountains, away from everyone. maybe, if i'm lucky, i'll get gray fur soon.

then i'll be able to say i'm too old for this shit!

---

i felt nothing. i heard nothing. i saw nothing. all was as it should be.

would you like to evolve? the requirements for the following has been met.

Pure, Noble, Alpha Werewolf, strength variant.

well, it looks like there's only one option. might as well, i mean, it's not like i have a choice, right?

i responded,

"yes."

choice confirmed, evolutuion immenient. prepare yourself.

wait wha-

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

a pain like i'd never felt before, coupled with the tingle you get on your spine when a spider craws up it, and you can do nothing about it. after that...

"MOTHER F***, SON OF A WHORE, GREAT GOD OF CUNTS, F***ING GET YOUR LONG HARD DICK OUT OF MY ASSHOLE!"

...there was the cussing.

when the pain stopped, and my obscenity calmed, i was finally able to regain control of my bodily functions.

"owww... my head..."

i held up a hand to my head, and slowly stood up, then walked over to a puddle left by the recent rain to take a look at myself.

when i saw myself, the profanity came back.

With a Vengeance.