He was surprised to realize just how much time had passed. It was already time to go and take over from Aceso and her team. He wasn’t sure how he knew it he just did. He stood up, stretching his individual muscles as he did so. It felt good to stand up and move around. He knew that after an hour or so he was going to wish that he could have gotten some sleep.
William walked out into the open common area or the den. “Charles? It’s time to go.” He heard movement as the black shadow that was Charles rose up from the warm cedar carpeting of the den.
After a moment of silence Charles said, “Where is Achelois?”
William cocked his head to side. He hadn’t even thought about her. He turned his head around to look in her space and found it empty. He turned back around and shrugged. “I have no idea. I guess she never came back.”
Charles made a low sound in the back of his throat. “We are going to have to go looking for her.”
William stood there as Charles moved past him into the crevasse. William turned and followed him out of the den. They stepped into a cool clean night. The ceiling crystals were in their usual dim starlight glimmer and once again William found that he could almost imagine that he was back in his forest by the ocean. There was no sea wind bringing the smell of salt to his nostrils and that is what ultimately killed the illusion. There was never any wind here, even on a cool night like this.
William brought his focus down toward the nearby tree line. Charles was right they did need to find Achelois but she had made it easy for them. Underneath a thick redwood tree covered by a lush fern was Achelois’s sleeping form. William and Charles walked up to her. She almost looked peaceful. William hesitated for a slight moment before speaking softly in the night’s silence. “Achelois? It’s time for us to go.”
She stirred and was on her feet in a second. The speed startled William and threw him off balance for the barest of seconds. His fatigue heavy brain couldn’t quite keep up with her speed and he backed away a step and half before he stopped himself.
Achelois looked around her immediate surroundings and brought her focus to William and Charles. “If it’s time, it’s time.” She strode off through the forest toward the fake den.
William glanced over at Charles who was smiling for some reason. William wasn’t quite sure if he was grinning at him because of Achelois or because of something he had done. The expression made William even more off balance and the need for sleep was pressing down on his mind more with each passing minute. William shook his head to clear away some of the cobwebs and followed after Achelois. Charles bent down on all fours and started to run through the trees. A run was the last thing that William wanted to do right then but he knew that it would help his sluggish body wake up. With a soft groan he fell forward onto the soft earth and tore off after Charles at speed.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
William passed Achelois who seemed to be in no hurry to reach the designated patrol area. William shook his head. He was pretty sure she was either protesting running, which for a wolf born was highly unlikely, or protesting having to be around Aceso. The latter was the most probable. William tried to arouse calm and bring forth a sense of acceptance that Charles had talked about. It wasn’t any use, his anger toward the female shot up into his awareness. He kept it under control, and it did wonders for his state of mind. He at least didn’t feel tired anymore. He told himself that he had to be patient. He knew that he had to trust that, eventually Achelois would forgive Aceso, or not. The words of Charles came to mind again and he tried to find acceptance for Achelois’ behavior. It was hard work and anger continued to threaten to overwhelm him but he was able to come to terms with the fact that Achelois was acting the way she was and there was nothing he could do about it. The truth of the matter was that his anger wasn’t going to influence the situation for the better. William shook his head and ran faster toward the clearing.
Charles was already standing in the clearing with the other three. Aceso and Katherine and Nicolas looked a little rough. They all looked tired, and he was happy to be able to send them to the dark safety of their den to rest. As the three were leaving Achelois came into the clearing. She locked eyes with Aceso and the two females watched each other as they passed. William blinked away sleep from his tired eyes and the confrontation was over. Aceso and her crew disappeared back into the thick trees of the forest. Achelois walked with all the dignity of a proud she wolf into the middle of the clearing, joining William and Charles.
Charles spoke softly to them. “Stay alert I thought I smelled…something on the way here.”
“What do you mean something?” Achelois replied.
Charles looked at her. “I detected a slight whiff of a scent and then it was gone. It could have been anything. It could have been just a left-over scent form last night but something about it felt wrong. Anyway, I only smelled it for a moment than it was gone.” Charles looked at both of them in turn. “Just be cautious.”
“We should stick together then,” William said. Charles and Achelois nodded in agreement and all three of them slipped into the dense trees around the clearing.
William fought his own tired body every step of the way. He cursed himself more than once for not going to sleep when he had the chance. He used up all of his concentration on walking through the underbrush and not stumbling too close to Charles or falling too far behind to hinder Achelois. Charles was taking point because of his acute sense of smell and Achelois had silently demanded to take up the rear. William was too wiped to argue. He couldn’t remember being this tired in his recent memory and his feet were weighed down. He trudged the four or five hours away lifting his legs over low bushes and shaking his head back and forth to keep himself awake.