From the looking glass a dark haired girl stared back at her. Black ringlets spilling over her shoulders, a pale face marred by a steadily purpling bruise on the right side from where her betrothed had backhanded her. Her bright, pale blue eyes reflected all the burning frustration she felt at her lot in life. Affina wished for nothing more than to be lowborn. She would take poverty and the freedom to marry for love or not at all over all the riches her father had. The Lords owned all the land… the lowborns had no need to trade their daughters in order to expand their own territories.

          Gingerly, she touched her fingertips to her cheek. It was not the first bruise her betrothed had given her. He was a man who wanted his woman silent and obedient and Affina… Affina was neither. Raised amongst a brood of older brothers, she had wrestled with them when no one was about to tell them no. She had run wild with them in the woods that surrounded their home. Her mother had died giving her life and had not been there to teach her a lady’s ‘proper’ place, as her father often said. Her betrothed, the Lord Delhun, was determined to teach her now.

          The man was twice her age and though she couldn’t say he was homely, he had a terrible aura about him, one of cruel ruthlessness. He was a warrior, and very strong. This she had learned firsthand from his blows every time she spoke out of turn or so much as looked at him the wrong way. His first wife was dead, her father had told her. After a series of miscarriages and stillbirths she died within the past year giving him a sickly daughter. The healers all said she would be lucky to see her first year… and so he’d left her out for the wild Dire. He was a man who detested weakness, detested failure, and Affina was quite certain he had detested his late wife. She wondered if he hadn’t killed her himself, but there was not even a rumor about such a thing to go on and she wasn’t certain he was that cruel. She liked to hope he wasn’t.

          Dropping her hand back to her side, she straightened herself out and pushed her hair back behind her shoulders. Men bragged about their battle scars, the wounds they received fighting Trolls and Wyrms. This bruise was just that, something to show off, something to own to show that it, that the one who had given it to her, did not own her. If Delhun wanted a meek woman he could look elsewhere. He would never change her; she would die before she allowed it. But she did not have to endure this….

          Running was something that had crossed her mind, but something she had tossed away as the coward’s way out. She had hoped that Delhun might give up, might change his mind about her and look for a bride elsewhere, but she knew now he would never give up. He would not quit until he broke her if he had to beat her to within an inch of her life. She was determined not to sit about and wait for that to happen. Sometimes a strategic retreat was the best and only option. She had heard her father say this, once or twice, even if he had hissed it through gritted teeth.

          She had decided to run, at long last. And tonight was the night.

          Running was a relative term. She did not run. She left as night fell, clinging to the shadows until she reached the woods beyond. Running would have been more than foolish. The BlackWoods were aptly named, especially at night. The Everblacks with their black bark and smoky gray needles let no moonlight through their branches to reach the forest floor below. They hardly let sun through during the day, the softer light of the moon had no chance among these trees. At night, the forest was pitch black. She could not see her own hand in front of her face. Had she run, she would have run herself straight into a tree or broken her ankle tripping in a hole or over a root.

          So she walked. Calmly, slowly, with her hands stretched out before her. She worked her way from one tree to another, hoping she was not leading herself in circles. She fought her fatigue as she slowly worked her way onwards, stopping once for a bite of bread and cheese she had brought with. She was terrified, who wouldn’t be? She was not afraid of being caught… no one would be coming after her until the next day, if they came after her at all, but of the things that might find her in the dark. She had no weapon but for the knife she had taken from the kitchens; a sharp thing but not entirely useful against the beasts that roamed the wood. She had brought it more for protection against her own kind, should she be found.

          Some sympathetic goddess must have been with her that night, for she made it through safely to the dawn. She fought a bout of panic as she looked around and saw nothing but trees in every direction and not a thing to indicate where she might be. What had she expected, really? She’d hardly even been into the town half a day’s walk from her home, much less very far into the woods. Leaning back against a tree, she sank down to rest. She really should have been using the daylight to try and figure out where she was and where she was going, but she found herself to be much more overwhelmed by it all than she had originally thought.

          She had no idea what she was doing. Where could she possibly go? What would she do when she got there? Hugging her knees to her chest, she took a deep breath and simply sat, resting, thinking, but her fatigued mind was coming up with no solutions. She looked about her at the woods. Perhaps she would just stay out here as long as she could. If she was going to die, let it be on her own terms, not at the hands of a man she hated. As this thought came to her, a strange calmness settled over her. Acceptance. That’s what it was. Acceptance of what would befall her in this fate that she had chosen for herself.

          With a light sigh, she used her small wrap of food as a pillow and allowed herself to drift off to sleep. She would live her final days out in complete freedom.

          She had wandered, on and on through those dark woods with no idea where she might be or how she was still alive. Why had something not appeared to hunt her down yet? She had rationed her food out, but it lasted her only seven days. She drank from streams when she came across them, ate berries and roots and mushrooms when she found them, never knowing if the meal would kill her. Some made her wish she was dead, giving her horrible cramps, causing her to lose the contents of her stomach in one violent heave; while others made her see strange visions, some of which were pleasant and amusing and others horrifying. But her goddess was watching her still, apparently, and keeping her alive. To what end she did not know.

          But the end was very near, she feared. Had she wandered for one month, or two? The days and nights had all run together and she no longer knew or cared. If anyone had come after her, looking for her, they had not found her. For this at least she was thankful as she lay beside a stream. She felt fevered and frozen at the same time. Shivers wracked her body as chills ran down her spine. Her skin burned to the touch. But she had always been a quick healer. Her cuts and bruises healed much faster than most, she got over her illnesses sooner than others. The healers said it might be magic. Some humans were born with magical abilities, perhaps hers was to heal. She was certain, whether the ability be magic or her own will, it was why she had not yet died of this sickness.

          A cough wracked her body and pain screamed through her very bones as she curled in on herself. When she had finished she rolled onto her back to look up at the trees. Movement caught her eye and she turned her head to see a gorgeous, pure white Dire standing across the stream, staring at her. Their gazes met and she had a moment to wonder over the curious violet of this Dire’s eyes. As the Dire stepped easily over the stream and padded toward her, calm and leisurely, that peaceful feeling settled over her again. Acceptance. Her death was finally here.

          She watched as the creature grew near. An overheard conversation came to her. One her father had once had with a Bondedman, a warrior who ran with Dire. Ivory was the rarest color of Dire. This one, her deathbringer, was Ivory. The beautiful, huge white head lowered over her. Saber fangs protruded from its mouth as long as her whole hand from wrist to fingertips. Alpha. Alphas had the largest fangs. She reached up with all her remaining strength and rested her hand against the cheek of this massive, magnificent creature. Her hand fisted in that soft, snow white fur and she was happy, happy her life would end with this last wonderful experience.

          She closed her eyes as the Dire lowered its head to hers, ready for the end. A wet warmth swiped over her face and her eyes flew open to see that the Dire was… licking her? It was tender, gentle. Her gaze blurred and she wondered why until she realized she was crying. “Why?” She blinked in surprise. A thought had entered her mind… but it was not her own. She cried out as suddenly feelings, thoughts, memories, emotions, senses that were not her own flooded over her, overwhelming. She witnessed the pleasure the Ivory female had had in her mate, the tender warmth she had felt while carrying pups within her, the pain of birth and the fierce protectiveness and love she felt for those tiny lives as they squirmed against her belly for warmth and milk. She watched as her pack brought back huge chunks of meat which she knew, somehow, had belonged to men. She saw blood, so much blood, as men hunted them down and her pack fought, was slaughtered before her eyes, as her pups’ heads were dashed against trees and rocks, and she felt the pain and the horror of losing all she had ever held dear. She felt her own body, beaten, bloody, but her heart still beating, barely alive as she had watched her pack’s destruction, her healing ability keeping her alive. Her hand dropped from the Dire’s fur and she gazed up at that glorious face as tears streamed down her cheeks.

          “I have seen enough death between yours and mine. Enough.”

          The Dire was… talking to her? Her voice was beautiful, like a song, and so full of sadness. She remained silent as she sorted through what had just happened to her… the Dire had shared with her, mentally… in her very mind, she had shared herself, her story. Men had killed her pack, her pups. She had survived because she could heal herself, but she was alone. She looked up into those strange violet eyes and found a vast wisdom staring back at her. She had not used her voice in so long, but as she spoke now, a croaking sound reminiscent of what her voice once sounded like emerged, “I-… I’m so… sorry.”

          “Compassion.” That voice came again, not out loud, but the words and the sounds formed within her very mind, somehow. “I wish only for compassion.” With that she curled her white form around Affina and nudged the girl toward her belly, where her teats were still swollen with milk for the pups she had so recently lost. “Drink, little one. You will not die today.”

          Her name was Trelgr. Or at least, that was one of her names. Her other name was the frozen crispness of a winter’s night, moonlight sparkling on freshly fallen snow, a stiff, insistent breeze that blew right through you to your very bones. Her other name was a scent, a sight, a feeling. It was hard to describe how a name could be all those things at once but have no sound to it. When she’d questioned Trelgr about it she had been told that every Dire had a name like that, unique to themselves, and that no Dire before nor after them would ever have the same SenseName. They were born with it, and it could not be chosen or changed. Trelgr was her HeartName. A name she chose as a young pup for herself, as all pups do. Most rarely share their HeartName with anyone, she was told. It is a special name that has special meaning, but when Affina questioned further the Dire refused to tell her what special meaning her own name had. That was a private matter that no Dire ever shared. It only served to make Affina more curious about it however.

          Something she had found even more interesting was the fact that she had a SenseName all to herself. She was the smoky thickness of burning logs, flames lashing at the air, a steady heat that warmed the soul. Through Trelgr, she sensed herself and a deeper awareness of who she was came with it. She mused that their SenseNames were so completely opposite from each other and Trelgr allowed her the knowledge that her former mate’s SenseName had been very similar to Affina’s own, but his had been a raging wildfire, a heat that was almost painful. She was like a gentler version of him.

          They both mused on many things as she recovered from her illness. Trelgr was well known amongst the wild Packs in this area as a great healer and with her help, Affina recovered in but three days. The Ivory Dire hunted for her and she ate the succulent meat raw and washed it down with Trelgr’s nutrient-rich mother’s milk. She had been so desperate at the beginning the thought of suckling from a Dire had not seemed strange at all. Trelgr had taken to babying her as if she were her own pup. The Dire would often wake her by washing her face with her wide, pink tongue. Affina could only imagine that her own real mother would have loved her as much as Trelgr seemed to. She shared the knowledge of her mother’s death with Trelgr, but she already seemed to know.

          “We are meant to be, you and I. I will never take another mate. I will bear no more pups. But you shall always be mine. You will be the last thing I love in this life, and no harm will ever come to you so long as I live.” She had bared her fangs protectively at that, as if daring anything to come out from the woods and try to take her Affina away.

          Affina stroked her hands through Trelgr’s thick white fur, “I will repay you for all you’ve done. Somehow.”

          That giant head lowered and her violet gaze leveled to meet hers, “I want only your love. It is enough to be loved.” She stood then, as the first light of dawn lessened the darkness around them, “Come. We have stayed at this place long enough. The prey has fled from my extended presence here and you are strong enough to travel now.” She crouched beside the girl, looking over her shoulder, “Onto my back, I shall carry you.”

          Affina blinked stupidly up at the Dire for a moment. Leave? She supposed it would come to that eventually but it had seemed such a long ways off. She fisted her hand in white fur and pulled herself up, leaning heavily against Trelgr. A cold nose pushed her upward and onto a wide white back, where she leaned forward and grasped fur with both hands to steady herself. “Are… you sure about this?”

          “Your males ride my kind often. You should have no trouble. But I will go slow for now. You are not used to movement. You must retrain your body before we can run.” With Affina clinging to her back, she padded forward at a calm pace, head up, ears perked and alert. “I will teach you. You will run these woods as a Dire when we are done. Only the strong survive here… I shall make you strong.”

          Affina did her best simply to stay on the Dire’s back as she walked and couldn’t help but laugh, “I will run the woods like a Dire?” She thought back to her blind flight through the woods on her first night out and how lost and terrified she had been when dawn broke and she realized she had no idea where she was or where she might be going.

          “You are not the lost pup you once were. The Pack is a Dire’s greatest strength. We are stronger together. You share my senses, as I share yours. You share my knowledge. You are already stronger and better prepared for life in these woods.” Sensing the girl’s doubt she lifted her shoulder, causing Affina to yelp in surprise as she nearly fell off, “Do not doubt yourself Affina! You are fit to be an Alpha. Where is the courage I saw the day I found you? You are Bonded to an Alpha, you must act like it.”

          “Bonded…? Like the Bondedmen of the Halls?” She asked as she attempted to steady herself atop her mount.

          Trelgr snorted, “What did you think this was? We are Bonded, you and I, just as your males Bond my tame brethren in your… ‘Halls’.”

          “Tame? You call them tame? My father has told stories of them-”

          “They are tame. They are born within the dens of humans rather than beneath the trees and sky as is proper. They shelter within from the wind and rain and cold. The know not what it is to run free with a Pack of their own kind, with no humans by their side. They obey their Bondeds like….” Here Affina felt a strange sensation and realized Trelgr was searching her mind for the right word, “Like servants. They are tame.”

          Affina found it hard to think of any Dire as a tame beast. She had seen but two in her life, before Trelgr. Males, both, gruff and sturdy, scarred from battle against Trolls and Wyrms. But no… she could see it now, in comparing her memory of them to Trelgr. They had seemed… so much smaller.

          “I have seen your memories. They were not Alphas. But even their tame Alphas are smaller than we who run free. Those born with the walls of human dens surrounding them are stunted from the start. One needs the sky stretching above forever to grow properly.”

          “So if humans had their babies outside we would grow larger?” she found the thought amusing.

          Trelgr snorted once more, “Perhaps. The Trolls birth their young under the sky and they grow much larger than your kind.”

          Affina looked down at the Dire in surprise, “How do you know?”

          The white female cast a short glance back at her, “The Trolls are no friend to my kind. They bring Wyrms, who are our greatest enemy. Any ally of the Wyrms is our enemy as well. We take great pains to know our enemies as well as we can, all the better to fight against them.”

          Resting her cheek on Trelgr’s neck, Affina mulled this over. She had never realized Dire were so incredibly intelligent… just as intelligent as humans, maybe some of them more so. Like Trelgr for example. They had simply been… beasts to her before, just another weapon men utilized in the endless war against the Trolls.

          “Humans often underestimate us. It is a great flaw of your kind. You underestimate your enemy often because you see them as inferior. All creatures have strengths and weaknesses. Your kind never seems to take the time to understand this.”

          “How are you so wise, Trelgr? How can my kind think of yours as mindless beasts when you are clearly so very intelligent? I don’t understand.”

          “As I said. Your kind too often overlooks the strengths of others and focuses only on their weaknesses. Because I do not speak like you or walk on my hind legs or build dens and weapons I must be stupid. But there are other ways to do things, other ways to live that your kind so often closes their minds to. Doing things differently does not make us less intelligent.”

          Shaking her head, Affina watched the trees pass by in silence for a while as Trelgr continued onward. Then she raised her head, “Where are we going?”

          Affina sensed great amusement rolling off the Dire, “I was wondering how long it might take you to ask. You are still like a pup, the world around you so new to your eyes.” She paused to scent the air, then continued, “I told you the Pack is our greatest strength. We must find ourselves a Pack to ally with.”

          She almost sat straight up at that, “A pack!? Won’t they… kill me?”

          Trelgr’s ear twitched backward as if flicking the thought away, “All Packs in these woods know of me. They come-… they came to me for healing. They trust and respect me, and they will know I would not Bond a human unworthy to partner with me. They will respect you as well. They will help me teach you. You cannot become a proper Dire without a Pack.”

          Still nervous about this new idea, Affina’s grip on Trelgr’s fur tightened.

          “Do not be afraid, little one. No harm will come to you. I will not allow it. It is the right season… most Packs should have pups about. You shall learn with them.” There was just a hint of sadness in her voice and this time Affina’s tightened grip was meant to be one of comfort. Trelgr shook herself lightly, mindful of Affina on her back, “My story should gain us sympathy from the mothers and I still have milk to share with their pups, and besides that my healing. We will be welcomed.”

          “I wish I could have met them.” Trelgr stopped so suddenly that Affina nearly fell off again. A low whine emerged from the Ivory female and Affina carefully slid from her back and wrapped her arms around her neck, “I’m sorry.”

          Trelgr closed her eyes, her ears laying flat against her head, “Wishing will not bring them back. Nothing will. They hunt in the Moon’s Shadow now.”

          The Moon’s Shadow? That would be another thing to ask about. But not now. She released Trelgr from her embrace and stroked her great head, “You should have killed me… for revenge.”

          Trelgr pulled back, causing the girl to lose her balance and fall backward. Luckily she landed sitting, staring up at Trelgr with wide, confused eyes, “No. Revenge…. You had nothing to do with their deaths, you were as innocent as my pups. What purpose would killing you have served? It would not bring them back. It would only be more killing of innocents. Even if you had been involved… it would only bring the humans back, hunting me for their own revenge. It has to stop somewhere. I chose for it to stop with me and I do not regret it.”

          The look in her dark, violet eyes was so intense Affina had no idea how to respond. She managed to nod, though she hadn’t fully understood. If she had witnessed someone killing all she loved and held dear… she knew she would want revenge. She would stop at nothing to return the favor, to steal away all they loved in return. Trelgr seemed to sigh, a slow outward breath from her black, glistening nose, and lowered her head, “I have already mourned. I am done. There is nothing more to be gained from this. Let us go. We must not lose ourselves in a past that cannot be changed. We must continue to move forward. The past is done, but we may shape the future into anything we wish it to be.”

          They met each others’ eyes for a long moment before Trelgr stepped forward and Affina reached up to grab onto her fur, pulling herself up like a toddler learning to walk and managing to settle herself atop the Dire’s back, “Teach me then. I am done being the helpless female my kind expects me to be. Teach me to be strong and wise like you.”

          “You are already strong of heart and mind. Soon your body will match. I cannot teach you to be wise, that you must do yourself.”

          Affina frowned slightly, wondering how she could teach herself to be wise. Trelgr began to walk once more and Affina’s attention returned almost fully to simply keeping herself atop the Ivory female.

          Trelgr made her walk short distances, though she allowed the girl to steady herself by clinging to her fur with one hand. They traversed the woods slowly as Affina regained her strength and Trelgr pushed her to walk on her own more and more rather than ride. Three days passed and with a steady diet of fresh meat and Trelgr’s milk coupled with both of their healing abilities, Affina’s strength had soon returned.

          It was on the third day that the Pack found them. Trelgr had seemed eager as she scented the ground and when she lifted her head and let loose a glorious howl, Affina was mesmerized. Not two heartbeats later more howls answered her, farther off in the distance. Affina watched Trelgr, her ears perked and her tail waving slightly behind her as she listened. Affina waited for the howling to stop before she spoke, “What did they say?”

          At first, Trelgr’s only response was to twitch an ear at her, but then she seemed to snap out of a sort of dazed state and turned back to the girl, “We are to await their arrival here. They wish to see you.”

          “See me…? Why?” a flash of nervousness swept over her. Would the Pack not accept them after all?

          “They wish to see your character for themselves. You will not disappoint them, do not worry.” With that Trelgr sat, curling her tail up against herself, relaxed but still looking as proud and noble as Affina had ever seen her.

          Affina, on the other hand, was not so at ease. She stood where she was for a time, but not for very long. She began to pace, unable to stand the waiting. Luckily Dire travel quickly and she did not have to wait long.

          The first one to appear was golden-brown, large, but not as large as Trelgr, with the same impressive saber fangs that marked it as an Alpha. Trelgr stood when it appeared and lowered her head respectfully. Around it were a half dozen others in varying colors of brown and gray. They seemed to form from the very shadows of the woods, appearing from nowhere and everywhere. The golden-brown padded up to Trelgr, snuffled around her ears in greeting, and took a step back. Trelgr lifted her head.

          Suddenly Affina’s senses were heightened. Trelgr was lending her own senses to her, “What do your senses tell you?”

          Trelgr lent her senses, but none of her thoughts. Affina surveyed the Pack before her briefly before her gaze stopped on the Alpha. A male. Through Trelgr’s senses she knew it, somehow. He had a scent about him that vaguely reminded her of her father and brothers for some reason. The Alpha male turned his golden gaze to her, meeting her eyes. Affina took a deep breath and stood her ground as he padded toward her. As he drew closer her senses were assailed. The bitter aroma of Everblack needles heated by the sun, rays of light filtering through branches, the gentle prick of those same needles brushing over her skin. His SenseName.

          As he stopped before her she bowed slightly in as much imitation of Trelgr as she could manage without having the body of a Dire. He leaned toward her and snuffled about her hair much as he had done with Trelgr before stepping back again. She righted herself and Trelgr padded over to stand beside her, her tail level with her spine, erect and confident but not overly dominant. The males ears tilted forward and the six others moved toward them. Trelgr padded past the male to greet them all and Affina followed her. Cold noses poked curiously at her and warm tongues laved her skin.

          She felt it. She was welcome here.

          She reached out and brushed her fingers over the fur of the smaller Dire greeting her, much smaller than Trelgr and a good deal smaller than the Alpha male as well. After the initial greeting was over the male padded into their midst and the others all backed off. After a quick look around at them, including Affina and Trelgr, he loped forward, back the way he had come. His Pack followed and Trelgr nudged her, “You must keep up. The den is not too far.”

          With that she loped after them and left Affina scrambling to follow. She was all right at first, but eventually the Dire began drawing ahead of her as her lungs began to scream, her heart pounding at the workout she was most certainly not used to. Steeling herself, she pushed her legs to move faster and managed not to fall too far behind before they were slowing to a stop and another half dozen Dire appeared.

          She panted where she stood, bent over with her hands on her thighs. She started coughing, which turned into a bit of a fit. When she’d finished she noticed all eyes were on her. Straightening, she managed to meet every gaze without looking away. She could do this… Trelgr believed in her.

          After a rather awkward moment of silence and stillness she heard high pitched yips which sounded distinctly excited if you asked her… though perhaps it was only though Trelgr that she knew.

          The pitch black Dire that appeared with a herd of pups tumbling about her paws was almost as impressive as Trelgr herself. Her long saber fangs and enormous size marked her as an Alpha. As she padded forward to greet Trelgr, Affina took note that they were very nearly the same size, though the black female seemed more muscular and solid where Trelgr was slender and graceful. She was even larger than the golden-brown male, who seemed ridiculously slight next to her.

          The two females went through a series of motions with each other, another bowing session as with the male, but then they both licked each other’s faces and moved off away from the rest of the Pack. Affina took a step toward them only to find the golden-brown male in her way. He stared at her for a moment before turning toward the pups bounding his way. He nuzzled a few of them and turned back to Affina, padding over to nudge her forward. She moved toward the pups who all leapt and yipped around her, clearly curious and not at all afraid. Why should they be? She was a skinny helpless thing amongst their Pack.

          A large amber colored pup leapt up and knocked her over backward with a surprised yelp, and with that she was at their mercy. The pups swarmed over her, nibbling her fingers and hair, giving her puppy kisses with little pink tongues, tugging at her clothing. The adults of the Pack looked on with amusement, but largely left them alone. At first Affina felt rather helpless. Surely if she got the least bit rough with the pups the Pack would leap at her, fangs bared. But eventually she got tired of being used as their chewing toy and started pushing them away, which only seemed to invite more play. Especially from the largest amber pup who seemed to be their leader. For the first time she noticed how this pup’s fangs seemed to be much larger than the other pups’. Was this one an Alpha then?

          Finally she wrapped her arms around the amber pup’s neck and wrestled it to the ground, holding it down in some attempt to get it to stop being so rough with its biting and playing. The pup let out some rather piteous whimpers, which alarmed her. Had she hurt it? In that moment she had let her guard down and relaxed her hold on the puppy, and it took advantage of her. It leapt up and turned the tables, pushing Affina down into the dirt and standing proudly atop her chest, looking down and growling, though the sound was babyish and very unthreatening.

          “So you think you’re clever do you?” Affina managed to wheeze out. The puppy was heavier than she expected a baby Dire to be, and pressing its weight down on her chest made it seem even heavier. She reached up but the pup grabbed her wrist in its mouth, so she used the other hand to pick up one of the pup’s front paws and unbalance it, toppling it over and wrestling it to the ground once more. This time she didn’t fall for the whimpers. She laughed in triumph as the pup glared up at her, but finally stilled beneath her grasp.

          Then there was the scent of greenery, crisp and fresh, bright greens and dark, lush and full of life, the light of the sun bathing her skin in gentle warmth. Affina sat back and the amber pup stood, her tail raised slightly. The pup stepped forward and pressed her nose into Affina’s hand. She had offered her SenseName to the one who had bested her and now she offered her friendship. Affina stroked her hand over the pup’s head and scratched her ears, which earned her a satisfied groan from the puppy. She giggled and looked around as the other pups approached her once more, quite a bit more calmly than before.

          She sat with her back against Trelgr’s side as the Ebony Alpha female and two smaller females herded the pups away and into their sheltered den for the night. Affina had spent the remainder of the day, after making friends with the Alpha pup, getting to know the Pack through Trelgr’s senses. She now knew which were male and which were female. She knew that the black female was called an Ebony and that her coloring was only slightly less rare than Trelgr’s Ivory. The golden-brown male was of the Golden coloration, which Trelgr said could not be called rare, but it was less common than the Crimson and Azure colors that the rest of the Pack sported. Except for the Alpha pup, who was Golden like her father, but more blonde as opposed to his light brown. She learned that the Ebony and Golden (and their daughter) were the only Alphas in the Pack, not counting Trelgr anyway since Affina wasn’t at all sure of their position in the Pack at the moment. The two females that had helped the Ebony herd the pups away were Betas and some of those pups were theirs. They all helped to raise all the pups together. She was informed that the three larger males (besides the Golden) were Betas as well, two of which were fathers of the Beta females’ pups, but she wasn’t told which ones. The nine others were all Omegas and most of them seemed to act like overgrown pups. Trelgr snorted in amusement at that and told her it was almost always so with Omegas.

          Affina rubbed her forehead, “There is so much to take in and remember. And only a few of them have given me their SenseNames… even then, I don’t understand how I am supposed to refer to them on a daily basis.” Her hand fluttered like a nervous bird as she leaned back and relaxed against Trelgr’s warmth.

          Trelgr lowered her head to peer at the girl, “Dire do not need more than SenseNames, and you should not either. You must learn to project SenseNames as easily as you speak human names.”

          Affina tilted her head curiously, “Project SenseNames?”

          Trelgr shook herself lightly, her violet eyes glinting with amusement, “How do you think we tell you our own? We project it. We give it to you. You must learn to do the same. When you wish for the attention of a Dire you must project their SenseName, much as you would call out a human’s name.”

          The girl shook her head, “I don’t understand. How do you project… feelings? Scents…? Sights?”

           “You must think a SenseName. You must feel it, you must see it, you must smell it. You must see the Dire it belongs to… not with your eyes, but with your mind. Call them with your mind. Let your thoughts stretch out before you, around you, and focus only on the Dire that you wish for and his or her SenseName.” She shifted away from Affina and the girl looked up at her as she stood, “Try it with me. I will go some distance away, where you cannot see me. Call me back, but not with words.”

          With that she trotted away and disappeared into the darkening woods, leaving Affina sitting alone. She looked after her friend, then looked around, wondering how to go about this thing. She sighed and figured she might as well try. Closing her eyes, she focused on Trelgr, her white fur that seemed to glow it was so bright, those dark violet eyes that were striking and intense. Then she brought up Trelgr’s SenseName, a thing she could never forget from the first time Trelgr shared it with her. The frozen crispness of a winter’s night, moonlight sparkling on freshly fallen snow, a stiff, insistent breeze that blew right through you to your very bones. She thought only of this, only of Trelgr and her SenseName, her eyes closed tightly as she tried to push her thoughts out into the surrounding woods. After a long few moments she opened her eyes to see Trelgr standing before her, her tail waving slightly. She looked pleased.

          “Good. Your thoughts were very strong, insistent. I felt you easily, but you should only use such strength of thought when you are in dire need. Try again with softer thoughts. Bring me to you gently, with not so much force and need behind it.”

          She loped away without giving Affina a chance to respond. Think… softer? This time she didn’t squeeze her eyes shut so tight. She tried to relax as she thought of Trelgr and her SenseName, but firmly reached out toward her. She spent a few moments doing this before opening her eyes. Once again, Trelgr stood before her.

          “Very good. But it is easier with me. We are Bonded. Tomorrow you shall try with the pups, the Golden Alpha female,” and as she said the words the pup’s SenseName washed over her, reminding her, “You should always reach for an Alpha, for the Alpha will bring the rest of the Pack. If you reach the Alpha pup she will bring the others.”

          Affina nodded, wondering at how much easier it was then she thought it would be. But perhaps it was only, as Trelgr said, because she was Bonded to the one she was trying it with. She could barely see Trelgr now, the darkness of night in the BlackWoods was almost complete. The Ivory female settled down and Affina curled up by her side.

          “Sleep well, little one. You have done well today.”

          Her time learning with the Pack flew by. She had never felt more alive than now that she was part of a Pack. She wrestled with the pups, watched their and her strength grow together. The Pack brought Wyrm scales back for her from one particular hunt and with them she made herself a weapon. A long spear made from a sturdy Everblack branch, tipped with razor sharp Wyrm scales on both ends. She cut herself more than once as she was learning to use it. She ran with Trelgr and the Ebony female (she thought of her as Night) and the pups to build up her stamina. The Golden was becoming a fast friend of hers (she thought of the pup as Summer). Regardless of what Trelgr said about W needing only SenseNames, she gave each of the members of the Pack her own private nicknames.

          One day Trelgr informed her that 6 full Moons had passed since the pups were born. This meant they would participate in their first hunt, and Affina was to go with them. She said only the pups’ sires and dams would be going with and Affina had a moment of panic that Trelgr would not be there with her before the Ivory female assured her she would be. She was acting as dam in Affina’s first hunt. Relieved, Affina looked forward to proving her newfound skills to the Pack.

          When the sun was high in the sky Trelgr led her to where the pups and their parents had gathered. Summer was surprisingly calm and composed.

          “She is learning what it means to be an Alpha.”

          Affina looked to her companion and back to Summer where she stood with her tail erect, the other pups milling about her with tails lowered in respect.

          “All are learning their proper place, including you.”

          “Including me? But I… I still don’t think I really know what my place here is…. I wasn’t born an Alpha or Beta or Omega like your kind…,” the girl looked back at the Ivory female with some confusion.

          Trelgr snorted, “You were born an Alpha as clearly as I, or your Summer.” Her violet eyes glinted with amusement.

          Affina’s eyes widened, “How did you know I gave her a name?”

          The look Trelgr gave her was scolding, “You should know better by now. We are Bonded, nothing in your mind is hidden from me.”

          Affina cleared her throat, “Oh… well….”

          Trelgr’s amusement was plain. A moment later she had turned to look at Night and her mate and Affina did the same. Trelgr relayed the instructions to her.

          “We sires and dams shall track and pick out suitable prey for your first hunt. After the target prey has been identified your Summer shall take the lead. We sires and dams will only participate if the hunt takes a turn for the worst. This is your time to practice working as a Pack toward a common goal.” She turned to look at Affina specifically and the girl could tell her next words would be her own, “Pack unity is the most important tool we Dire have. You must give yourself over to the PackSense in order to act as your Pack needs you to act. Empty your mind and focus only on your Packmates. For this, the pups are your Pack. Disregard me and the other adults. The pups are all that matter. Let them in.”

          Another mental exercise? Why couldn’t they have practiced this before the day of the hunt? Panic began to rise in her again. What if she messed everything up? Summer padded over to her then with a soft whine that broke her from her panicked thoughts. She offered her hand and Summer pressed her nose into her palm. She felt a calm settle over her. She was washed in the trust and love and loyalty of not only Summer, but the pups gathering behind her. They had all grown up together, even Affina, who had grown in knowledge and skill, and even physically a little by way of building muscle. In that moment she knew she could trust them completely and she felt as if a key had been turned, unlocking her mind to those of the pups, her Packmates. She could not hear them as she heard Trelgr; humans could only hear the words of the Dire Bonded to them, but she felt with them. Their emotions and vague pictures of what they were thinking. Running and the wind in their fur, the scent of fear and meat and blood. They were anticipating the hunt to come.

          Trelgr padded away from her and toward Night and her mate, and the four Betas who were parents as well, but Affina did not even notice. She was too absorbed in finally being fully part of a Pack and knowing exactly what that meant. With a signal from Summer all the pups, Affina included, turned toward the adults and immediately they all set off into the woods, away from the rest of the Pack.

          Night and her mate led the way, alert and distinctly proud as they scented air and ground for prey. Affina walked briskly along with her Pack, double-ended Wyrmscale spear in hand. She held it in a relaxed grip, knowing that until one of the adults picked out their prospective prey there would be no reason to use it. She dipped instinctively into the senses of Trelgr and the Pack in order to heighten her own.

          After a time she became aware of a heightened excitement in the Dire around her and focused on the PackSense to find out what was causing it. Clearly prey had been scented, but she wanted to know what and how far away it might be. As the Pack picked up the pace, she loped easily along with them, catching images of the giant Elmook from the adults, and even the pups who she was sure had never seen a live one before. She certainly hadn’t. Her father had hunted one down once and its massive head with its incredible antler span hung in their dining hall as proof. That huge creature was what they would be hunting? She remembered that head well, she could have made a comfortable bed amongst its antlers with room to spare. She had thought the creatures lived to the north, in the StoneTeeth mountains of Vangarth Territory, not in the BlackWoods. She realized that her travels must have brought her close to the Vangarth border and for the first time since she had set out from her old home she had an idea of where she was in the world.

          But none of that mattered as they came to the edge of a clearing where the largest creature she had ever seen was ripping needles from the Everblacks to feed. An Elmook; long spindly legs, enormous black hooves, course and shaggy brown hair, antlers large enough to rival tree branches. The PackSense clearly said hide. The adults split off from them and Summer lifted her tail and took the lead, pausing some paces back from the clearing where the beast still had its back turned to them, grazing away and oblivious, or perhaps uncaring, of any danger about to befall it. Affina certainly thought if she was that large and well equipped with natural weaponry she wouldn’t much care about anything. Her grip tightened on her spear and she moved up beside Summer, whose ear flicked in her direction to show that she knew she was there.

          For a few short moments there was no movement as Summer assessed the beast. Affina could feel her working out the best strategy, focused and intent. The young Alpha’s gaze never left the beast. The other pups had fanned out slightly and were crouched and waiting silently for direction. She could feel some of their fear at facing something so large, but also their excitement, and their hunger, and their desire to prove themselves, just as she felt herself. As Summer thought, Affina attempted to relax her mind, to better allow the PackSense in so she would know exactly where she needed to be and what she needed to be doing according to Summer’s plan, whatever she might come up with. She trusted the Golden female, who had proven her intelligence as well as her strength many times to Affina now. Sure she had been easy to take down as a little pup, but as Summer had grown Affina had lost their wrestling matches more often than not and these days, she had a steady losing streak going, though not for lack of her own intelligence. A human could not compete with an Alpha Wolvhen’s strength no matter how much training they had. If a human was going weaponless against one, they would lose. It didn’t stop her from wrestling in order to improve her own strength however, no matter if she could never win.

          She felt a sudden tenseness in the PackSense and knew that Summer had decided their plan of action. The Golden Wolvhen glanced at her before stalking forward. Instinct drove Affina to follow and she knew the rest of the Pack followed as well; it was what Summer wanted. She shifted her spear, her gaze never leaving their intended prey. She did not need to look at the Pack to know what was needed of her. She could feel their minds, where they were and what they were doing… and what they planned to do. It was simple really, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t dangerous. Those hooves could crush a skull or break a spine with one stomp and those antlers could impale straight through a body and keep going. If they succeeded in this hunt, she planned to make those antlers into some new weapons for herself.

          Summer’s tail lashed to one side and four of the Omega pups leapt out from the trees from all different directions. The Elmook immediately reared up and lashed out with its hooves, but then one of the Beta pups leapt out to grab its leg in his jaws. Summer and Affina raced into the clearing together with the other pups as the beast bellowed and lowered its head, shaking the Beta pup off its leg easily and sending him tumbling back into the forest. Affina could not tell if he was all right or not as she and Summer separated, Summer toward the head and Affina toward the beast’s belly. Summer lunged forward and ripped at the beast’s soft nose with sharp fangs. It reared up and away from her and another of the Beta pups, a female, leapt up and dug her fangs into its flank, safe from hooves and antlers both as she clung to its backside.

          As the Elmook turned with another bellow to see what assailed its hindquarters it exposed its throat and Summer took the chance, leaping up and latching onto the exposed vulnerable area, clamping her jaws together as hard as she could. The beast reared once more and Affina waited for it to plant its hooves back on the ground before darting forward to stab at its side and belly with her spear. It bucked and the female Beta lost her grip on its flank, leaping away from the raging beast before she was trampled. One of the Omegas was not so lucky.

          There was a sickening crunch and Affina paused dangerously to stare in horror at what remained of the trampled pup. She had taken to calling him Silver. He was a pale shade of grey that glinted with pretty hints of blue in the right light. He had always been incredibly happy-go-lucky and friendly, quick to roll over in a fight but just as quick to cuddle at night. With a growing rage at the beast that had killed him Affina ran back around toward its head where Summer was still clinging to its throat, slowly suffocating it as its blood poured over her. She was more red than golden now. As the beast tossed its head in attempt to dislodge Summer from its throat Affina darted in and with all the strength she could muster thrust the spear deep into the creature’s chest with a feral scream before retreating again.

          The Elmook bellowed once more, slowly sinking to its knees. It tossed its head once more, still fighting for its life, but to no avail. Summer was not about to let go until it had breathed its last. The effort of tossing its head seemed to have taken a lot out of the beast and it fell onto its side. Affina joined the rest of the pups as they gathered around the dying creature and waited. Finally it wheezed a last short breath and the clearing went silent. Summer held its throat for heartbeat longer before releasing it at long last and taking a step back. The adults padded into the clearing with waving tails, but for one of the Beta females. She made her way to the trampled Omega pup… Silver… and threw her head back in a low, sorrowful howl. All the others in the clearing were quiet, their tails drooping in respect for the mourning howl of Silver’s mother. The dead pup’s father joined in on the howl, and slowly all the others did as well. Affina closed her eyes, wishing she could howl with them, but she did not have the voice for it and felt it would be a horrible mockery if she tried.

          Slowly, one by one, each Dire’s howl ceased until only the mother remained howling. She gave one last mournful cry to finish off the death song and bowed her head over her dead pup. She stood so for a short moment before turning to look at the living, and the pups, all of them, bounded over to her, jumping and licking, comforting. She seemed to sigh and her tail rose slightly. Night padded to stand at the head of the Elmook with her mate and Trelgr. Summer saw and joined them as well. All four looked back to the Beta mother still standing beside her dead pup and her ears perked, head tilted questioningly. She took a step forward, and then another, and finally came to stand at the belly of the Elmook. With a last questioning look and wagging tails from the four Alphas, she dropped her head and tore into the prey her pup had died for. And Affina understood, though the PackSense.

          By rights it should have been Summer to eat first for she had truly been the key in bringing it down and was an Alpha besides. Affina was surprised to know that she would have come second, for her spear through the Elmook’s chest had brought it to a much quicker death and… the Dire all thought of her as an Alpha in her own right. But Summer agreed with her parents to give up the honor of eating first so that Silver’s mother could have it in honor of her pup’s sacrifice for the Pack. The Beta’s mate joined her a moment later to partake of the meat their dead son could not.

          When the two had finished, Night nudged Summer forward and Trelgr turned to Affina. The girl moved forward and Trelgr nosed her proudly, “You did very well. Retrieve your spear and eat.”

          Affina could only nod and kneel to tug her spear from the beast’s chest. The smell of blood and meat nearly overwhelmed her as she joined Summer at its belly. She glanced up at the magnificent antlers and clutched her spear a bit tighter. This was the first meal she had brought down for herself, and her Pack, but it would not be the last… and it would help her bring down future prey as well.