William was a little shocked by the sudden vacuum that he found himself in. The forest seemed oppressive in its size and stillness. He noticed that the ceiling crystals were beginning to brighten, and he knew that it was morning. He turned around to look at the rest of his pack.
Nicolas was still on the ground looking downward. Katherine was moving her limbs, testing her strength. Charles seemed to be slumped slightly as if he had removed a weight from his shoulders. Achelois was still. He was sure that she hadn’t moved since she rejoined the pack. Aceso however was still but in a quietly determined way. She had a set to her jaw and there was a look in her eyes that said something about her inner character. William knew that she was the right person to lead this pack.
“So does that mean we passed?” William’s voice seemed to echo in the quiet of the forest clearing. He had meant it as a joke but no one else seemed to get the humor. Nicolas didn’t move and he got a nasty stare from Achelois.
“Right now, it doesn’t matter.” Aceso spoke to the pack. “We all need to get some rest after that long night.” Aceso looked at each of her pack mates in turn. “We were told to live out here for three days. We still have one more day, today.” She shifted her attention to Nicolas and Katherine who were still on the ground. “Are you two ok to walk?”
Katherine raised herself from her place. William watched as her muscles seemed to be in perfect control as her legs raised her body to a standing position. William was amazed that she was able to exert that kind of control over her body after what she had been through. The illusion however was shattered just as she was in a full standing position, her legs buckled, and she lurched forward having to catch herself before she fell.
“I’m fine.”
Nicolas still hadn’t moved. William was uncertain of what he should do. If he tried to help him than Nicolas would think that he was patronizing him. If he left him alone Nicolas might spiral down into a dangerous depression. William could see listlessness in his eyes that couldn’t be faked. There was something seriously off about him, but he didn’t know what to do about it.
“Charles?” Aceso asked. “Would you help Nicolas get up and get back to the den if he needs it.” Charles nodded and stayed where he was.
“Let’s go back to our den,” Aceso said.
The walk back to the den was a haze for William. His mind was too preoccupied with what had just happened. William couldn’t be bothered to even avoid some of the low hanging branches of the trees. He kept going over what Derceto had said. ‘I stand by my decision, pup.’ Did that mean that he was still in very real danger of being killed? Or had his performance in the forest that day and the subsequent talk he had with Ansuya resolved the situation. If she still wanted me dead, she could have done that in the clearing back there. He wasn’t sure about what kind of laws governed this place. Whatever they were, would they keep Derceto from doing what she felt she had to do? Why did she feel like she had to have him killed in the first place? The argument was a circular one and he tried to let it go but the wheels in his head wouldn’t stop turning. He almost kept walking past the den entrance when Aceso and Katherine disappeared into the folded entry way.
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He caught himself, moved through the entry way, and squeezed through the crevasse. He was grateful to be in the warm dark of the den. He dropped himself into his niche and dug into the warm carpet of wood shavings and pine needles. It felt good to lie down. Now that he had stopped moving, he noticed that his leg was still stiff from the abuse that he had subjected it to. It was a slight but noticeable thing that pulsed in rhythm to his heartbeat. But not even that slight discomfort could keep his eyes open. He hadn’t realized how tired he was. It wasn’t surprising after the battle that he had gone through, plus the healing that Aceso had done to him to close the wound on his side. As his eyes closed and he faded into unconsciousness the last thought that flickered through his mind was that of a werewolf who had a grinning unseen face with bloody claws.
He woke up. The warmth and dark of the den was so comforting he wasn’t sure he had to wake up and that uncertainty led to a lethargic reaction throughout his body. His eyes were unnaturally heavy, and he couldn’t seem to make his mind work properly. It had been a long time since he had been this groggy when he woke up. Usually, he was wide awake and ready to jump out of bed when he woke up, not today.
He reached down and massaged his leg. There was no noticeable pain there and there didn’t seem to be any trace of the injury. He moved his body on the soft carpeting and he had the image of a worm burrowing back down into warm sand. He wanted to sleep but he knew that he had slept enough for the day. Without wanting to, he raised himself into a seated position and looked around the dark den.
William’s eyes were protesting to have to wake up. They wouldn’t focus right for a few moments. William shook his body and blinked hard to clear the insurrection from his senses. William blinked a few more times and refocused on the darkness around him. He could see Aceso was lounging in her niche. She may have been awake, but she was lying on her back and William couldn’t make eye contact with her.
He looked around the rest of the den. He noticed that Nicolas and Charles were absent. He almost called out to the rest of his pack, but he decided against it. Katherine was up. She was sitting quietly in her niche. William looked over to see that Achelois was in the same position as Aceso. She could have been asleep or just thinking about what had happened a few hours ago. William got up and made his way over to Katherine. She watched him move toward her. William stood over her for a moment and gestured to a spot near her. Katherine nodded. William sat down gracefully as he ensured that his tail was not going to be crushed. He settled in to the new spot on the floor.