William was hesitant to just leave Achelois behind. But Aceso gripped his shoulder and moved him back toward the center of the clearing. William still felt weak but at least his wound was healing. It was such an odd sensation, feeling that itching of mending muscle and tissue sped up to what it was doing now. It was hot and he would almost describe it as painful but the thought of his body healing itself seemed to sooth the idea of pain and all that was left was a very warm itchy feeling that he wished he could scratch at. But something told him that if he scratched at that itch the way he wanted to then he would just rip open the rapidly closing wound again. His steps were focused and slow. The world still rocked back and forth but instead of it being an earthquake, the earth moved more like a ship out on open water on a windy day.
William made his way to the center of the clearing. He tried to stand with Charles. Aceso, however, forced him to sit down on the ground. William tried not to show how grateful he was for the rest. He looked around trying to get a hint of Achelois’s whereabouts. He inhaled and caught the slightest trace of her scent. He knew that that trace could have been left behind from when she was here.
Moments later, Achelois was being escorted back into the clearing by a brown werewolf who had long streaks of blonde fur running along his sides. Achelois appeared to be unhurt as did the brown striped werewolf. He found himself wondering who had won their little confrontation.
Achelois made her way toward the rest of the pack. She stood off to the side with Charles. It had been very casual, but William knew that Achelois was demonstrating her distaste for Aceso by placing herself as far away from her as possible while still managing to remain with the pack. William shook his head and let his gaze shift to the striped werewolf who was making his way back toward what he assumed was his pack. Will Achelois and Aceso ever rectify their differences? William knew that it was going to be a long hard road for Aceso to prove herself and regain her worth in the eyes of her fellow wolf born.
William watched as the striped werewolf rejoined his pack. The reddish-brown female stepped in front of the grey’s and made her way toward them. She stopped halfway between the two groups. William felt that odd sense that he knew who this werewolf was, but he didn’t recognize her scent. He studied her face and fur color, but he was unable to place where he knew her from.
The reddish-brown female stood still for a moment. She made eye contact with every member of her pack. She seemed to hold his gaze longer than she did for all the rest of his pack mates. The stare was cold and calculating but not unkind.
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“William? Would you have continued to fight until you passed out from blood loss?”
William cocked his head to the side. That was an odd question, and he wasn’t sure if he should try to answer or not. He hesitated for a few moments trying to form an appropriate answer.
The female turned her attention to the all-black werewolf standing behind him. “Charles, you fought with a vicious tenacity that I would have expected from a rabid jackal or a fox. It does not become us to lose ourselves in the viciousness inherent in our kind. We must always be controlled, vicious when needed… but controlled, over who we are over our emotions, must always come first.” She glanced at the rest of the pack. “We can’t lose ourselves in our emotions. While one of the most dangerous animals is a cornered fox or a jackal, they are not known for their intelligence when they are like that, they can be and often are, out maneuvered. We must not let our emotions rule us. If that happens, we become instinctive, reactive, unthinking. That is never acceptable.”
William looked up behind him and saw Charles almost wilt under the words. He looked down at the ground, his shoulders slumped. William felt real pain for his friend. Charles shook himself and looked up at the reddish-brown female. He raised himself up to his full height and looked evenly at her. William whipped his head back around toward the reddish-brown werewolf and he thought he saw the slightest smile touch her lips. It was gone instantly as she shifted her attention. It had happened so fast William wondered if the smile had been there at all.
“Nicolas, I expected more from you, much, much more.”
William looked over at the blonde werewolf. He didn’t meet the gaze of the female. He was looking down at the ground in between his knees as he hugged his legs to his chest. William couldn’t see any visible emotions. Nicolas wasn’t crying but William knew that he was trying to hide something from everyone else. The thing that was a blaring sign pointing to that fact was simply Nicolas not saying anything. He hadn’t made any sarcastic remark, no quip, or witty come back, he just sat there taking in what the reddish-brown werewolf had said, and that was a first for Nicolas.
“Achelois,” the female said. William looked up as she paused to gaze at the white, black, and tan werewolf standing behind him. “I expected different from a wolf born.” She stared hard at Achelois. “You abandoned your pack.” She raised a claw in silence as she heard Achelois begin to protest. “You abandoned your pack. I don’t care that it was an honest mistake. You allowed yourself to be lead away in the heat of a battle situation. That is unacceptable.” She lowered her arm slowly back down to her side. “Our strength comes from the pack. We must always be aware of our environment and what is happening around us.”
It was strange to William; even though the reddish-brown werewolf hadn’t shifted her attention away from Achelois there was something in her tone or subtle body language that he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure of, but he knew that the female was talking to all of them. He wondered if the rest of his pack mates had picked up on that. Did she know that they were not a true pack? The question hung in his mind.