Aceso nodded and sat down with the rest of her pack. “It’s not surprising. Our teachers have been training us out here in the forest for the past week or so and we ourselves have hunted these past few days. It won’t be too much longer before they send out a pack to bring back more seed pairs to repopulate the forest.”
“Seed pairs?” Nicolas allowed his curiosity to bring him out of his proud silence.
“The Elders will prohibit hunting and training in this forest section of the cavern.” Achelois gestured to the ceiling and the black obsidian wall next to their den entrance. “They will send out a pack to gather two or three pairs of deer, male and female. For the next season, this forest section will be left alone so the deer can reproduce at an accelerated rate.” She made a point to look between William and Katherine as she said this. “Once the desired effect has been reached and the deer population is adequate again, hunting and training in this forest section will be allowed again.”
“Nice system,” Nicolas replied.
“It has sustained our city since its inception.” Achelois retorted her voice lined with steel.
The conversation died and was restarted in a much lighter mood. William and Katherine told a few jokes and Nicolas couldn’t help but retell a story about him and his friends back home in Brooklyn.
“I didn’t know you were from Brooklyn,” William commented.
Nicolas looked at him. “You never asked.”
Katherine looked over at the blonde. “If you’re from the east coast, how did you end up here in California?”
Nicolas looked at her. William thought that maybe he was trying to figure out if he should answer her or not. In the end though, Nicolas shrugged his shoulders as his tail slapped the ground behind him. “I grew up in Brooklyn. When I was sixteen my dad got a promotion at work but the catch was, he had to move to the new extension offices here in Northern California to accept it.” Nicolas stopped to shove another handful of bloody venison into his mouth. He swallowed and continued. “I didn’t want to go to California so my ma and I stayed in Brooklyn.” Nicolas hesitated. His eyes faded as they focused on a distant memory. Moments later Nicolas’ eyes refocused on Katherine. There was an angry edge to them that wasn’t there before. “Anyway, I’m here aint I? What does it matter how I got here?” Nicolas ripped another piece of venison from the carcass and chewed at it angrily. He didn’t speak again.
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The sudden tension around the group was tangible. Something had happened that Nicolas didn’t want to talk about but it was something that he and everyone else agreed that it wasn’t something they should push him to talk about if he didn’t want to.
They finished their deer and William took the bones back to their faux den and buried them with the rest of their leavings. He dug a bigger hole and completely buried the bones this time under a good four or five inches of dirt. If what Achelois had said, then this forest was going to be off limits for a while. Better to let the ground have its nutrients from the dead then to leave the bones out to bleach themselves and harden into calcium in the dry underground cavern air.
When he returned to the pack the mood had lightened. Charles and Katherine were talking about what it was like for him to grow up in South Africa. “I thought the way we lived was normal.” Charles smiled at the thought. “Even though we were poor I was happy. But not nearly as happy as I was the day my parents told me were moving to America.” Charles looked around at the rest of the human born. “I thought I knew what to expect. For weeks I dreamed about what it was going to be like to live in the U.S.A.” Charles turned his head. “Then I got here and reality came crashing through all my childish dreams like a 747 through a building.” Charles shook his head as his tail rested on the ground beside him. “That’s when I found out about INS and Immigration and Homeland security.” He looked up at the ceiling of the underground cavern. “Sometimes I wonder if it was worth it.”
Katherine spoke to Charles. “I, for one, am glad to have you here, Charles.”
Charles managed a smile for Katherine, but he too fell silent as he drew inside himself at the presence of whatever memories he had dredged up with his story.
William had no idea why his experience could have been so bad. The only thing he knew about any of that was the history of Ellis Island and the mass Irish immigration in the early 1800s. He had heard vaguely about Homeland security after what happened on 9/11 but other than that he had no idea what INS was or how Immigration could be so terrible. Thankfully he wasn’t allowed a great deal of time to dwell on the subject.
Aceso stood up. “We have to be back in the city tomorrow before dawn.” Aceso looked at all of her pack mates as she spoke. “My teacher, Ryan told me that we have to be in our wolf or human forms in the city square in front of the Tower before the morning light starts to shine in the crystals.” Aceso pointed up at the ceiling. “We should all get some rest.”
William hesitated on the ground for a moment. The light around them had dimmed and it would be night soon. He looked around at his pack mates and couldn’t help but wonder what could possibly be in store for them tomorrow. Right then he didn’t really want to know. Tomorrow will take care of tomorrow. He stood up and started to make his way to their den. The rest of his pack mates followed in their own time.
Aceso was already in the den by the time William squeezed through the crevasse. He turned and slid down into the warm carpeting of the den floor in his partitioned area. Savoring the sweet smell of cedar as it washed over his body as he dug into the shavings. He was going to miss that smell, it reminded him of his forest and the freedom that he had had there. For now though he laid there in the dark and let sleep take him.