Once inside the safety of the crevasse he let himself relax. He couldn’t see, or hear, or smell anything in the vicinity. He thought it amusing to think of himself as being blind because his sense of smell was nullified here in the underground cavern. He could smell his pack mates in the close quarters of the den. He had to dig a little, the strong smell of pine trees and cedar was still very strong in the enclosed space. He entered the den proper and identified each of his pack mates by smell. He recognized Aceso and Katherine. The musky smell of Nicolas was present even though he had done a good job of burrowing into the deep chippings of the den floor. He smelled the light coating of dirt on the walls. He just wished that there was some wind out there to help him in the forest.
He settled into his place in the den. He chose to sit with his back against the cool stone wall. The dirt rubbed off the stone easily to be caught in his fur. He didn’t mind that either. If anything, it would mask his natural scent somewhat, but if he couldn’t smell anything at any kind of distance, then neither could those that might be hunting them.
He heard the others had fallen into various stages of sleep. Nicolas was out cold, if werewolves snored, he would be sawing logs. He looked over to see Katherine had also fallen into a more fitful sleep. Her left leg kicked out periodically as if she were having a nightmare. He leaned forward and peered over his wooden partition to find that Aceso was staring right back at him. William leaned back against the wall, smiling. Of course, she would be awake. Aceso was their Alpha and after everything he had witnessed her do for him on the journey here, he wasn’t the slightest bit surprised that she would continue that diligence here in the City under the Mountain.
William’s mind wondered to all manner of things that might happen to them here in the forest. What could this test be? How will they stay prepared and alert for it? Where would the test come from? Ares? the Elders? Questions about who Nicolas was and why he was acting the way he was acting. He knew that he wasn’t going to bother having a heart to heart with the man tonight. No, that would have to wait till later. Tonight, was a time for preparation and waiting.
He heard Aceso get up and prod Nicolas awake. William knew that it was time to take over the night watch. He stood up as he listened to Nicolas’ protests at being woken up in the middle of the night. Their watch would be less than three hours and William would have just as soon gotten it over with. He stood over by the crevasse entrance waiting for his partner.
Nicolas slapped the ground in frustration and slowly got up. He stretched broadly and his mouth cracked open in a huge yawn. His tail was limply hanging between his legs and William knew that it was going to be hard to keep Nicolas’ attention on where it should be and not how much he wanted to get back to sleep. Nicolas started walking toward the crevasse entrance to the den and William preceded him out into the night of the cavern.
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The crystals in the cavern ceiling were dim enough to pick out the individual lights. He could almost believe that they were stars. He saw patterns in the cavern ceiling. He saw the big dipper right where it should be. He followed the familiar lines to the little dipper. He found Orion and Cassiopeia. Why hadn’t he noticed this before? The entire night sky was copied here in the ceiling of the cavern. There were thousands more crystals in the ceiling than he could count but it was a perfect replica of the night sky that he slept under many times in his forest.
Nicolas pushed past him with a grumble and started walking off to their right. William decided to take advantage of the distance and started running on all fours. It felt good to get his blood circulating again. He moved through the still air around him causing a faux wind to ruffle his fur. He didn’t care that he left Nicolas behind, he would catch up sooner or later or they were going to have a little talk tomorrow.
William passed through the trees of the forest. He soon found the mock den entrance but there was no sign of Charles or Achelois. It gave him pause for a moment. They must be patrolling the far side of their route. He leaped up on the pile of rocks and waited for either of the werewolves to return. He hid himself as best he could among the rocks and shrubbery that had been piled high to simulate the den opening.
The den opening itself was subtly done. It wasn’t too obvious that this would be a den opening. Then again if you were looking for a den in the area this place was a glaring neon sign screaming ‘wolf den’.
William turned his attention to the forest around him. He couldn’t hear anything out there. The night forest was still. He knew that if Nicolas kept his pace, it would take him another five minutes or so to get the faux den. What he didn’t know was why Charles and Achelois hadn’t shown up yet.
He heard the soft rhythmic sounds of something moving through the trees. It wasn’t loud enough to pick out individual steps, but the rhythm of the sound suggested that it had to be something walking on four legs. William crouched even lower on top of the pile of rocks and he prepared himself to strike if needed. He listened to the sounds. Whoever was making those sounds was good. They were quiet but the rhythm itself pointed out that whoever or whatever it was lacked experience moving in a forest.
A moment later his suspicions were confirmed when an all-black werewolf crept into view. William smiled to himself and jumped from his place on the rocks. Charles stood frozen watching the tan werewolf glide through the air and land gracefully in front of him.
“Good evening, Charles. Anything wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost?”