[Reminder, you can’t speak]
I already knew that! I was just angry!
“T-this is the sword and t-that wolf who attacked me! T-they work for the King”
Hearing him talk was annoying, but seemed to work for him. Everyone around us began to whisper and comment, and some even recognized Aspen, even with the changes thanks to her evolution.
“I thought she was a good wolf, but…”
“If she attacked the apprentice of Elder Luna, then they must be working for that King!”
“Grrrrr…” Aspen growled, “is everyone going to believe what this idiot is saying?! He attacked us first!”
“Lies!” Forehead answered, “she is trying to deceive us! We went in to help and they attacked us! The North Clan went crazy!”
“You damn liar!”
The discussion and threatening demeanor that Aspen was showing did little to our favor. People were whispering, and I managed to hear a few.
“I knew that silver wolf was too good to be true to her word.”
Yeah, they were not going to believe us. Some of the wolves were approaching the tower where Aspen was, and some got closer to me.
I hated not having a voice. Those who had a pact with me could hear me and communicate with me, but no one else was able to hear me.
[Warning… threatening levels from the rest of the North Clan increasing. I recommend retreating]
Aspen jumped down and stood by my side.
“If anyone wants to approach this sword, they will have to get over me first!” she growled at the rest, which prompted them to growl back and approach with their ears flattened against their skulls and bearing their teeth to us.
“I demand to see your leader, Luna! We have to speak with her!” Aspen yelled.
“You come in… threaten us and think you get to make demands, mutt?” one of the wolves yelled at her, “leave alive or death, your choice”
“Hehe… is that a challenge?” Aspen answered.
Dammit! Why did she have to be so aggressive and impulsive! We went to that Clan to attempt diplomacy, but because I cannot speak to them I cannot deescalate the situation by myself!
“Apologize? These idiots are not listening to reason! I am sure that with our powers we can teach them a lesson!” she answered.
The rest of the wolves answered by laughing and continuing their approach, now ready to pounce at us and cause damage!
[Analysis… you could take on them with Aspen. Some might give a challenge, but you could survive]
“Sorry, but negotiations are over… you should have accepted my offer when I gave it!” Forehead mocked us.
[Noted. Punch him without mercy]
Good Erika.
But when I thought that conflict was inevitable, someone came in.
“Everyone, down!” A woman’s voice, strong and commanding, echoed through the caves and ruins.
The order was enough to make the attacking wolves stop, all their ears perked up, and their attention moved towards the voice.
From the ruins of a building, the biggest one around the ruins of that old town, came two wolves.
One wearing a ragged cape, and looked as old as Fir before he evolved. There was a crescent moon on her forehead, but it seemed to have been painted.
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
Besides her, to my surprise, came a wolf I recognized.
Adela.
“Ah… the Human Soul seems to be more active than I anticipated,” Adela sat when she saw me, and her tail wagged for a second, “I hope my guide led you closer to your objective.”
“D-did she say Human Soul?” Someone asked in the crowd of wolves, and looked at us.
The whispers became louder.
“W-wait, what d-do you mean with Human Soul?” White Forehead asked, looked at me, and then back to Adela.
“Well, that makes one of us,” she answered with a smile
Of course it did.
[Analysing… she most likely is playing you]
I didn’t need the comment, it hurt more when she said that.
“You,” Luna looked at White Forehead, “care to tell me why is it that you came back this fast? What happened with the negotiations with the North Clan?”
“I-I eeehhhh…” Forehead looked at me, then at Luna, “l-look! They were attacked by some of those lizards no one can kill and… these two, and their elder, they attacked us! And that silver wolf clearly has convinced them to join the King!”
“Lies!” Aspen barked, “that damn asshole attracted the lizards and tried to force everyone to join him when he had they were weak! Luckily, Alice here, the old man and I were there!”
“And who am I meant to believe?” Luna approached and asked while looking at Aspen, “from our perspective, you came in here with intentions to cause problems.”
“Because none of you will listen! He is the one who attacked us, not the other way around!”
That was not going to get anywhere positive for us unless we could present evidence or a good argument. Luna looked at Aspen with inquisitive eyes, and it was clear for me she was not taking her word.
The egg smelled like White Forehead, didn’t it? Shit, I should have taken it when I had it in front of me, it would have made for good evidence.
“Alright, Elder Luna. We have a way to prove what we are talking about, but we didn’t bring it here. It is back at the North Clan.”
“Evidence? Don’t make me laugh!” White Forehead retorted, “who knows what kind of lie they will come up with next!”
“We have an egg that smells like him and… why is it important?” Aspen looked at me.
“It is the egg he used to attract the lizards!” Aspen added.
Silence.
White Forehead over there looked a bit tense, though. His eyes darted several times between Luna and Aspen.
“T-the travel between the Clans is long! T-they are trying to win time!” He answered.
“It took me a couple of cycles to get here, I can return with the egg before all of you go to sleep!”
Yet I could tell no one was convinced.
A few laughed.
They were more inclined to believe him than us. It made sense, we were outsiders, after all. Without real evidence we were nothing more than babbling fools.
But there was a chance.
“Huh? Why him?”
“O-okay…” I was not sure what kind of response naming him would bring us. We did not even know how or why they separated, “the Elder of the North Clan… he almost died yesterday because of the attacks of the lizards.”
Luna’s eyes widened, then she looked at White Forehead.
“I am sure if you speak with him, he will corroborate our story.” Aspen continued.
“Hah!” Forehead laughed, “He is also in on it with the King! I have no idea what are either of you expecting by naming-”
“My ex-husband almost died?” Luna asked, looking at Forehead with gloomy eyes.
“Y-your what?!” he asked in surprise.
Bingo! He did not know!
“I can tell, Young Alice, that was a gamble,” Adela commented with a smile.
I lied as easily as I floated.
But yeah, I had no idea how Luna was going to answer. But I did remember that Fir did defend her while we were discussing what happened and seemed quite perturbed when he considered this was part of her plans.
And by her reaction, it might have been quite the chance she would do the same.
“Wolf from the king…”
“I am not part of the King’s Clan, dammit!” Aspen answered, now angry at the title, “My name now is Aspen, and I serve Alice the Sword!” she pointed her leg at me.
“Name? She was given a name?” Someone said.
“H-how come a lowly mutt like you get a name when I…” Forehead seemed angry.
“Silence!” Luna commanded, “very well, Aspen. If this is a lie I seek for you to be returned to the Ether without honor, you hear me?”
“I will vow by my word as I always had, Elder Luna! And, your ex-husband now has a name, given by Alice too. He is now called Fir!”
A small smile formed on Luna’s mouth.
“That fool… now he got a name.” I heard her whisper.
“In that case,” she spoke out, “seeing the gravity of the accusation and what is happening, I have decided that we need to see this evidence and talk with the leader of the North Clan. We will depart soon and then I will pass judgement!”
“W-what?!” Forehead shouted, “E-elder Luna, this is… they are lying!”
“That is something I will decide myself. Now, you are forbidden from leaving the clan, and you will be under constant surveillance, you and your followers. I swear, if their accusations are real, I will not care that I am the one that saw you grow from a lost pup, you hear me?”
Forehead growled, but did not answer. Luna turned around and he was staring daggers at her. He was not done, it seemed, but so far, we got some momentum against him.
“I suppose sending you to the North Clan bore fruits for them and you,” Adela approached me, “but you still have too much to learn, young one. I could tell you had no idea what Luna was going to do when she heard about her ex-husband. That could have ended wrong.”
“Well, if you can pass this next test, I will teach you how to use your magic better.”
“Oh? And what about me?!” Aspen came in excited, “you said you were going to teach me something too!”
“Well, do as Alice and pass this next test.”
Aspen tilted her head, and her expression was the same as mine.
Then I felt it. Even Aspen did, her ears perked up, growled and stared at the origin of that odd feeling. Luna was approaching us to talk, but she stopped and looked back.
The Ether began to move unnaturally, in weird patterns like a river rapidly changing course and forcing its way to make a new path towards the sea.
And it slowly turned dark, like a black mist. And all was going in only one direction.
The White Forehead wolf, who was now surrounded by the black Ether, with tendrils coming from under him.
Something was embracing him.