FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

A Biography of a Human.

Chapter Ten:

"Swaddled in Cloth of Gold."

It was the day before the naming celebration was to take place. Gernan had promised to take me and I was excited about this, as any young child would be. But like a child, I was in the depths of boredom at waiting for the day to come. I spent the early morning, after I ate, with master and after he left for court, in his study, I pulled out a few of the books he had, the ones that I could reach, and paged through them. I, of course, could not read the writing at all but was fascinated by all the letters and the way it looked almost like claw marks arranged around to form characters and words. I remembered Gernan's promise to teach me how to read and write the Wolven script and really looked forward to it. I never got far into reading and writing human, as I was still learning, but I could read and write basic human words.

After a while, I got tired of looking at words I could not even read and carefully put the book back where it was and walked over to my little sitting area of pillows and sat there a while, listening to the birds chirping. A light breeze blew past the tree branches as morning light poured in through the cloudy, screen window. Some of the glass decorations which framed the screen window formed a rainbow prism on the floor, which I played with by putting my hand under the stream of light and watching an aura of color expand and shrink across my arm.

It was magical, yet so simple. It was just light, but yet it could form a wonder under the right conditions. There were so many natural wonder on the earth and in the sky. I remember how a year before I was taken from my home, there was a strange, tailed star in the sky that hung among the stars still as the rest moved behind it. It stayed in the sky for a few weeks and slowly moved across the horizon; it was even seen in the middle of the day! It was truly spectacular at night, a bright ball of white and a with a tail of blueish white that brought forth images of sea foam crashing against the rocks at shore.

Grandfather and I would watch it every night for as long as it was there, always recounting stories and talking about how such a sight means that change will occur soon, "The sky is a refection of what will happen here on Earth. As above, so below," he would say. Perhaps the tailed-star was a sign of the coming raid?

After spending a long while daydreaming and staring at the prism until it dissipated on the floor, I found myself again bored with nothing to keep me occupied.

Getting tired of all this, I decided to leave the study and head to the garden to find something to do there, perhaps even finding that bear, Harold, and apologizing to him for being so scared of him.

Though I was a member of the household and lived there, I still had a feeling like I should check the hallway before leaving, which I did. I felt relived that the hallway was currently deserted and slowly crept out, every creak of the floor boards sounding like massive thunder in the quiet air, like it could be heard throughout the entire home.

I only made my way down a short bit when a side door suddenly slid open and a medium-sized canine emerged. I froze as he walked down the hallway as though I was in the wrong. It was a male, I think? He did not wear feminine looking clothing and he was not slender like the female Anthros were. He was a mix of colors and his ears flopped down aside his head. He was not a wolf, that was for sure. He was holding a large basket of folded cloth and making his way down the hall in my direction.

He finally noticed me and his brown eyes locked with mine, his brows lifting in surprise and he set the basket of cloth down.

"Oh, I did not see you! You must be little Iskander!"

"Not see me? I thought I was pretty visible," I thought to myself.

"Um, uh, hi..." I uttered out awkwardly as this dog gave me a look over.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! You're still wearing those old things!" He spat out like he was greatly offended at something.

"Uh, what, who are you!?" I was starting to panic. This canine, this dog was not that big, he was much smaller than the wolves I have seen and was on par with Pantaleon with size.

"I am Aran, but everyone calls me Spot. I do the laundry."

"Spot? Why?"

"Because of this!" The dog pointed to a large, brown splodge of fur around his eye.

"Oh, I see, but what did you mean by wearing these old things?"

"You're wearing yesterday's clothing! Here, I just washed some of the clothes Master Gernan bought you." Aran, "Spot" said as he bent down and retrieved a set of clothes in green and brown, handing it to me.

"I will help you change and wash the ones you're wearing now, okay?" I was lead into a small side room where most of the clean sheets and laundry of the manor were stored on shelves that surrounded the room.

Surprisingly, Spot gave me some privacy as I changed my brown colored attire for the new green one and only came in after I had finished. I greatly appreciated this gesture as I was expecting him to do it all himself. He took my old clothes and put it into another basket in the corner of the room for the used laundry, before leaving to return to his duties, leaving me once again in the hallway by myself as I remembered about my original plan to go to the garden.

Finally, I made it the back garden. The area was just as lush as the last time I was here. The sound of the small stream echoed in my ears and a light breeze caressed my cheek before being warmed by the mid-morning light. I really loved this place. I could just stay there forever, it was like a little part of nature surrounded by walls; it looked so natural and it was all due to that bear, who I hoped to encounter.

Looking up at one of the trees, it turned out I was correct about the season we were entering, as the leaves were just turning color.

Making my way towards the shack Harold lived and worked in, I heard slight shuffling and movement confirming that he was within.

The door of the structure was open to the air. I slowly crept up to it before taking a small peek inside and was greeted by the bulky, brown figure of the ursine. He was standing over a work bench in front of a window to give light to his project, which was a plant that he was re-potting. The plant was laying on its side, the roots exposed to the world and resting on the soil that fell from it. The bear was comparing pots to the foliage of the leafy plant, looking for the perfect match and excluding ones that did not to the side.

"Mr bear!?" I called out, finally conquering my fear of such a large beast.

"Arghhh!" he cried out as he jumped up with a jolt, arms recoiling backward and flinging a pot that was in his hands up in the air

"Oh no, my pot!" the bear shouted out as he frantically flung him arms around to catch the pot. I breathed a sigh of relief when he caught the thing unharmed and felt stupid for just shouting out to him without warning.

He nervously set the decorated pot back onto the bench like he was worried he would fling it again. His paw was shaking like a dried leaf. He finally turned around to face the individual who startled him and when he saw it was me he looked like he was scared of scaring me again.

"I'm sorry Mr. Bear, I did not mean to scare you!" he stood there for a while like he was at a loss of what to do, fearing how I would react to him again.

"I'm sorry I was scared of you when I first meet you! I was just surprised! I heard that bears were big and scary and I thought you were too," the bear's dark, brown eyes widened, not in a shocked way, but in a pleasantly surprised way.

"Y-y-you're not scared of me!" he said in that deep voice of his that failed to hide the sensitive vulnerability underneath it.

"Nope!" I said proudly, like I just won a game or was praised for something I did. I was filled with confidence, now knowing that this large and threatening looking bear was more afraid of me that I was of him. It was an ironic situation to be in and it was not lost on me.

"Really!? No leaking or screaming?" he said, almost in shock at my lack of fear.

"Yeah! You're just a big teddy bear!"

"Teddy...bear?" Harold said, cocking his head to the side as he lifted his long, clawed finger to his muzzle.

"You don't know what a teddy bear is!?" I asked, a bit shocked that he did not know what one was. _It must be a human only thing,_I thought as he shook his head.

"It's a small stuffed doll that looks like bear, kids sleep with it at night. I had one back home and you are just as harmless as it!" after finishing, Harold perked up, his eyes lit up with joy at hearing such a thing and his checks moved upwards in a grin.

"That's...that's...adorable!"

"So what are you doing, Mr. Bear?"

"Oh, um, I am re-potting this plant for the coming winter. What made you come out here, Iskander?"

"I heard that you were avoiding me because you were afraid of scaring me again. I felt bad and wanted to say I am sorry," I said this with shame in my voice. I did not mean to do such a thing to him.

"Really, you wanted to do that? Thats incredibly sweet of you!" he then rushed over and pulled me into hug. This shocked me, but I was not scared for my life unless he killed me with kindness!

"I am so glad you aren't scared of me anymore, it makes me feel so happy to hear that! Now why don't you go out and play with Elyk, he should be out there somewhere."

With that, I nodded my head and left the shed to go look for Elyk and bid the gentle bear goodbye.

I finally found Elyk by one of the trees on the opposite side of the garden. He was napping, so I figured this was my chance to get a little payback for some of his antics he put me through. I sneaked up to him hopping to give him a good scare and was just about to shout out when...

"I know you're there, Iskander!"

"Drat! How the heck did he know!? I did not make the slightest noise!" I though myself, upset I did not get to scare him.

"Aww, you're no fun!" crying out as I gave him a playful push.

"Well, you will have to be much better than that to get me, human!"

"Well, I will get you one day, FOX!" I said, putting a heavy tone with the fox part as a way to mock him for calling me human.

"Well, I am glad I found you, I was getting bored out of my mind. I have nothing to do!"

"What do you want to do?" I thought for a while of something we could do and finally came to a game I played back home.

"How about we play hide and seek!"

"Hide and seek?

"Yeah! It's a game I played back home. One person covers their eyes and counts to a number like 50 or something, while the other hides and when the person is done counting he begins to look for the hidden person," Elyk's eyes lit up up and his black tipped ears stood erect.

"Oh, I know that game. We call it Chimera and Humans. The Humans hides and the Anthro catches them! This is the first time I have heard of a human doing the catching, but that sounds like fun! Who should be which?"

"How about you be the seeker first and I hide. Then we can switch it around after the first game!"

"Okay! Sounds fair! After all, you're the human and you're weaker."

"Weaker!? What do you mean by that!?"

"You're human, everyone knows humans are the weakest race," though Elyk was very nice, he had the tendency to say what ever was on his mind without thinking, but then again we are all like that as children, so I should not be too judgmental of him. But this really got me angry and I wanted to just sock his snooty fox the face for saying that and I would have done it, but then I remember how I just arrived here a few days ago and I should not cause any trouble If Anthros were as defensive of their young as I had heard, I would be mince meat if I dared do anything!

"Well, at least I don't smell like stinky skunk! You...you...you dumb fox!" I shouted back up at him, my little arms planted on my hips in a display of toughness.

The facial expression on the fox youth was priceless, mouth a gape and eyes wide. I think he did not even imagine I had it in me to fight back. The taller fox stood there for a few moments before he began to speak again, to my surprise, not in an angry way.

"Touche, Iskander, touche! It seems you actually have a backbone in you!" Elyk said in a yappy, amused voice. He was right to think that, ever since I had been here, all I had done was cry and scream like a baby! But I could not help it, my whole life was destroyed and I was thrust into a new world, how could I not cry!

"Iskander, do I really smell bad? My parents say I smell nice," I wanted to return with a cutting remark, but decided against it. I didn't want to push the line with him, even though he did not seem angry at me.

"Well, a little, but it's not that bad. I'm sorry for saying that, Elyk."

"Canis! Iskander don't be such a pushover, you're acting like a wimp!"

"Wimp! Wimp! How dare he call me a wimp!"

"I am not a wimp!" I said, stamping my feet.

"Good! I won't be friends with wimps!" in this moment, I was acting like myself and not realizing it. I was acting like I did with my friends back home, but instead of humans, it was a fox! A fox person! I had finally come to terms with what happened and had now accepted this new life. It was still strange for me, but I needed to come to terms with the new life or I would not be able to survive. I had to live for my parents and grandfather, I could not let them down by giving up.

"Come on, Iskander! Let's play that human game of yours!" Elyk's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. He had sprinted a few feet away and stopped, standing near one of trees and gesturing to me to come on.

"Oh, coming!"

The first round started. Elyk faced a tree and began counting down slowly, giving me enough time to scope out the garden.

"Don't peek!" I chided the fox, to which he mumbled an annoyed whine.

I quickly spotted a large tree with low branches that lead up to the higher levels. This was a perfect place to hide, just climb the branches like a ladder and hide up above. I was sure the dumb fox would not find me!

Scrambling over to the base of the tree, rapidly kicking small pebbles on the ground that made audible clacks, I failed to take notice of Elyk's pointed ears following and swerving in my path. Getting to the tree base, I began to pull myself up onto the lowest branch while grabbing a hold of another above be to hoist myself up. The whole time I was climbing, I was making a ton of noise, scraping against the bark of the tree and grunting as I pulled myself up. Once I reached a height that I felt confident was out of the kit's line of sight, which was not too high up, I remember climbing much higher up on trees back home, but it would do for now.

After I got situated in the tree, Elyk finished counting, Just in time! He started walking around, facing the ground while he did so. He did not dally around and practically walked right in my footsteps! He did not even bother looking around anywhere else! Finally, he reached the base of the tree and I grew so afraid that I covered my mouth, lest my breathing give it away!

"I wonder where the human went? I feel like he is right on top of me!" Elyk said in a voice drenched in mockery as he put his clawed finger to his chin, pretending to be deep in thought!

"I hate him!" I thought bitterly.

"I wonder where he could be?" The cocky fox then pretended to look around before he peered right at me up in the tree!

"Oh, there you are! I could not find you! You were 'hidden' so well!"

"Meanie! You knew I was here!" I yelled back down at him as I pulled handfuls of leaves and threw them back down at him.

"You're right, I did! You were easy prey for me with all the noise you made! You could have woken the dead!"

"Shut up, fox!"

"Now it's my turn!" He said excitedly, as I proceeded to climb back down, making footfall on the grassy earth again. I nodded my head and went to cover my eyes and began to count down. Once in a while, I would forget a number and sit there for a while trying to remember or just replaced it with a random word.

After I finished counting, I uncovered my eyes and began the search for that annoying fox! The garden was completely empty and the first placed I checked was the last place I hid, the tree, which was empty of course. Giving up on that corner of the garden, I started to wander, checking any nook or cranny for him, but no luck! I was starting to give up and call defeat, as I approached the large group of decorative standing rocks, when I noticed something orange and black bob up and down in the corner of my vision in the vicinity of the rocks. Focusing on it, I saw it was a tail! An orange tail with a black tip, peeking out from behind one of the large rocks. I really had to restrain myself from giggling at such a sight as I wanted to give him a surprise! I did not get closer to him and kept my distance.

"Hm, I wonder what that orange, furry rope is behind that rock over there!?" I called out sarcastically, taking great pleasure in doing so! The moment I finished speaking, the tail stopped all movement and tried to slink behind the rock like I never saw it!

"Canis, damn it! My tail!" A hushed whisper said from the rock, full of annoyance that planted a wide grin on my face! It felt so good to get back at the fox!

"It's no use, Elyk, I saw you!" The fox kit then emerged from behind the rock with a disgruntled look on his face.

"Now it's my turn. Go count again and this time I will beat you again!" With this, the upset look on the foxes red and black muzzle changed back into his usual smug one.

"We will see. We will see!"

Elyk did as I said and covered his eyes with those brownish, black paws of his and began to count. We both agreed on the number forty.

"1"

"2"

"3"

"4"

I quickly sprang into action, first looking all around frantically as the fox counted out the numbers. I needed to find a hiding spot now!

"10"

"11"

"12"

I came to find that the garden was not a very good place for hide and seek as there was only trees, rocks and bushes. I could have hidden in the shed, but Harold was there and I would not want to end up causing him to break something like he almost did before.

"17"

"18"

"19"

"20"

Hearing these last number beat into my head that I had to hide and soon! I would look like a complete dummy if I was still out in the open when he opened his eyes and I would probably never be able to live it down, knowing his teasing nature. Running from one end of the enclosed garden to the other, I pounded my forehead with my clenched fist, hoping that it might miraculously make a good hiding spot for me. The whole time I was racking my brain for places to hide, I saw Elyk's ears pointed right in my direction, twitching and moving with any sound I made. I needed to be more quiet this round.

"23"

"24"

"25"

Unable to dally around anymore, I quickly and quietly slinked behind a bush. It was the worst place ever, another person could clearly make me out behind it. To further the slim chance to not be found, I pulled my green tunic over my head. It was not the same shade and would stick out like a sore thumb, but it was better than nothing.

"27"

"28"

"29"

"30!"

"Here I come, Iskander! Prepare to be found!" Elyk said mockingly, his tail bouncing around in a self-assured way. That dirty fox cheated! We agreed on forty!

"I smell you, Iskander!" He said as he started to creep in my general direction. The whole time he was looking on the ground and his lanky body was hunched down a bit, just like a predator stalking its prey's scent. But I was the prey and it was my scent I left on the ground.

"Drat! I forgot they had better sense of smell!"

He finally came within a few feet of me and I knew I was doomed. He would see me any moment now and I was sweating like crazy, waiting for the moment to come.

But to my surprise, he stopped and started looking confused. He stood straight up and started looking all around, even looking right at the bush and he passed it over, not even noticing me at all, even though I could be clearly picked out with my different shade of green I was wearing.

"Iskander? Where are you? I smell you are here, but I can't see you!"

"How can he not see me! He is right next to me! Is he playing a trick? No, he can't. He would not make himself look dumb just to trick me!"

He was looking all around, glancing over me in the bushes again and again, failing to see me every time. The fox even started looking on the ground and up in the sky seriously and his eyes were starting to show serious worry.

While this was going on, I started to feel an itch on my belly. A rogue branch from the bush was rubbing up against it and I was unable to bear it any longer so I carefully moved my arm to scratch without even moving a branch or making any noise at all!

"MOVEMENT!" Elyk yelled out as his eyes locked right on my position behind the bush.

The branches above me parted and clear sunlight pierced in. Looking up after pulling my head out of my shirt, I saw Elyk's long muzzle and face staring right at me his eyes were filled with mischievous joy!

"There you are, Iskander! You almost had me there, but I saw you twitch and caught you!" Standing up, I could not understand why he could not see me, despite that fact I was clearly there as a green blob, badly hidden behind a bush.

"How did you not see me, Elyk! I would have seen myself if I were you!" he turned his head in confusion.

"Oh, you were standing so still and you were wearing green."

"But my shirt does not even match the bush at all! How could you not see me!"

"I see that it's not the same shade now, but it blended with the bush and looked the same to me when I was glancing around. It was only when you started to move that I saw you!"

"Really!?"

"Yeah, I don't know how you humans see, but movement is very important to us and we have a very difficult time seeing hidden and camouflaged things without some kind of distinctive movement," this explained another thing that was a puzzle to me. When I was in the hallway, the dog man, "Spot," did not see me until he was right next to me and I was also wearing a brown shirt at the time. I must have blended in with the walls, being so still from fear. So, anthros have trouble with picking out camouflaged figures without some kind of rapid movement. This was a good thing to know in case I ran into an anthro more dangerous than Elyk.

Elyk and I continued to play until the sun was beginning to skim the horizon. Elyk's mother was the one that came out and called us inside. A little while later, Gernan returned. I was really looking forward to tomorrow for the naming celebration of the Alpha's kids, or I should say, pups. I was not the only one to be going, Pantaleon was to come as well. Gernan said Pantaleon was his attendant for the celebration and was also coming to keep an eye on me when Gernan had to go pay homage to the Alpha and the High Shaman, along with the rest of the court inside the temple.

The day finally came! I could hardly sleep that night from all the excitement, constantly tossing and turning in the night while visions of what the ceremony might look like swirled around in my semi-conscious state. Before I went to bed, Gernan, seeing my excitement, warned me that I might find the ceremony boring, but I did not care! I was the first to wake. It was not even daylight and my wolf master was still sound asleep as I got out of my own little bed, with the sounds of his breathing for background noise. Despite just waking up, I was wide awake, practically jumping with energy. I pounced on my master's sleeping form, to which he let out a howl-like groan as I began to playfully pull at his large ears that were filled with soft fur, while I shouted for him to wake up!

"I'm up, pup! I'm up!" he gruffly spoke out in the darkness of the early morning, his voice showing groggy annoyance at my disturbance of his sound sleep.

"Come on, master! Come on!" the large wolf pulled himself up as he rubbed his eyes and muzzle.

"Iskander, pup! I have not been woken up like that since Rena and Neith were pups! I am much too old for it now!" he said as he lit a lantern at the side of his bed, filling the room with white light from the paper that surrounded the burning flame within.

"Old! Master you're not old! My grandpa was older than you and he was like a kid!" thoughts of my family and Safehaven always brought a sense of sadness to me that I could not help, but I had to put a brave face and move on, that's what grandfather would have wanted.

Gernan looked very interested when I brought up my grandfather, his tired ears perking and his eyes gleaming with child-like curiosity. He was genuinely fascinated by human life and I could hear it in even in his battle-hardened voice.

"Your grandpa? You had a grandfather?" I nodded my head as I sat cross legged on his bed facing him.

"Yep! I loved him! He used to tell me all sorts of amazing stories all the time!" his head perked even more at the mention of stories.

"Please tell me one, pup!" he acted like an eager child, begging for more.

"Okay!" I spent a long time reciting all the various stories I remembered to this large wolf, who was now hanging on my every word, eyes full of wonder and interest. I knew then, why grandfather always said storytelling was so much fun, it was seeing the wonder on the faces of the listener that was truly a pleasure! I did not tell him all of his stories, as I wanted to keep some for later.

"Your grandfather sounded liked a great man, Iskander!" hearing that I gave a sad sigh, remembering the last time I saw him, as the roofs of the village burst into flames, my father laying there and my mother screaming from another pen as I was being dragged away.

"I know, Iskander, I know," the wolf said, picking up on my sadness like he knew all well what I went through without me having to even tell him. He pulled me into a tight hug and gave me a few warm, soft licks to the forehead.

"We mortals, both human and chimera can't control fate. Even Canis, Felidae and Ursin have to abide by fate and they're Gods! Everything happens for a reason, everything from you losing your family, to my loss of my dear and beloved mate Yena," Gernan said, his ears flattening as his yellow eyes became downcast.

"Master, is fate inevitable?"

"No, sometimes sheer strength of will can change the course of the river. But somethings can't be stopped like my Yena..." seeing his sadness, I felt the same, I understood the pain for it was the same as mine. Getting up, I gave him a tight hug and we both sat there for awhile, comforting one another.

His words about fate were true and now that I am old myself, I finally understand them so much better. One must believe in fate, but never surrender to it.

We stayed that way for a long time, when I looked up I saw the light from the newly risen sun just starting to come through the curtain windows.

We both got out of bed and went downstairs, where we both ate breakfast as Pantleon gave Gernan the rundown of the day and the things that had to be done before we could go, including giving me a bath! Master first ventured, saying I could use his own personal bath with him, but Pantaleon was adamant against it, saying I might have a disease, to which Gernan's scoffed at, but decided to let it go and let Pantaleon do as he wanted, much to my disappointment!

Master then went to go take his own bath, while I was left with that fox to give me my own. He led me into the kitchen, where a small barrel-like tub was and a pot of water was boiling on the fire. The tub was only quarter-filled with cold water. Pantaleon ordered me to sit down while he got the bath ready for me. After a while, he took the pot of hot water and poured in with the water in the tub. Then he ordered me to take my clothes off, which gave me pause for a while before I finally complied and did so, though all the while blushing from embarrassment.

I got into the water and to my pleasant surprise, the water was just perfect, not too hot or cold. Pantaleon was now on his knees with a brush and pan, and he began to scrub and wash me while rubbing a clean smelling liquid on my body. He was very rough at first, but after a few complaints he was more gentle.

This bath was nothing compared to what my master had. His bathroom was stone with a sunken pool in the center. I came across the room once when I was with Elyk. But instead I was in a barrel with water from the well pump in kitchen. But I should not complain it was better than nothing.

After my bath was finished, I was dressed by Pantaleon in a new set of clothes for the day and with a stern warning not to get them dirty! He then left with me, following to dress Gernan in his ceremonial court robes, which were much ornate than the normal court robes I saw before. It was a robe of three layers: a white under-robe that went all the way to the floor, then a blood crimson outer-robe with voluptuous sleeves, fastened closed in the front by a black belt; and finally an apron-like skirt that as fastened to the front with another belt, but much more ornate with metal-work panels sewn in and with a sheathed sword at the side.

The last article of clothing was an official cap that was vastly different than the fairly simple one I saw him wear before, a black rounded cap attached to the head, with small indents for the ears at the side, with a higher curved backboard wrapping halfway around the circumference of the structure at the back of the hat and attached in place to the rest of the cap by a firm band with a ribbon tied around the head to keep it in place.

On the upper part of the ceremonial apron was an embroidery design, it was a full moon done in snowy thread. I asked Gernan what that meant, he said it was for the different ranks of wolves in the court, with the full moon like his being for the topmost ranking wolves and new moon for lowest ranking wolves. He told me this style of robe and hat is only worn on very important occasions, with other robes and hats for other normal court occasions like the one I saw him wear once before.

Gernan looked so noble and magnificent in this grand garb, so different from the image of the barbaric wolves I had always pictured in my mind. Getting closer, I noticed the symbols on the apron by each side of the moon motif. They were martial: an ax and sword crossed. Asking their meaning Gernan told me this was because he was Beta Gamma, the chancellor of martial affairs, so such motifs were the nature of his duty.

It was now time to depart and head to the Great Temple of the Moon to witness the naming of the pups of the Alpha. Gernan took me by the hand and lead me out of the manor's main entrance as Pantaleon followed close behind. I was greeted immediately by the crisp morning air as fog flowed out of Gernan's long muzzle and nose like a dragon breathing fire. The sun had barely risen and the west side of the sky was still a dark blue.

We reached the doors of the manor's walled compound and Pantaleon rushed ahead to open the wooden doors of the gate.

"Are we taking a carriage, master?" I asked, wondering how we were going to get to this temple.

Looking down at me with his long ashen muzzle pointed at me, Gernan answered, "No, pup we walk."

"Walk?"

He nodded his canine head, "Yes, we walk. It's tradition to walk to court during grand meetings and ceremonies. Look around, everyone else it doing it and temple is just down the way, not too far. That's why we live near the palace."

Looking around, I saw he was right. The road had other wolves wearing identical robes leaving their own manors and with attendants trailing behind. Aside from them, the road was deserted completely. It was eerie, compared to how busy it was the other day.

I had let go of of Gernan's paw while looking around, before I grabbed it again, finding the sandy, rough pads surrounded by course, warm fur comforting.

"Pup! Your hands are freezing! You poor, furless thing! How do you survive without fur!"

"I will be fine! I will get used to it!" I said, as the wolf looked down at me with fatherly concern written on his face.

"Are you sure?" he said, unconvinced.

"I am sure, master!"

"Okay, but don't complain if your hands freeze and fall off!" he said with a wolfish grin, chuckling and I could not help but to giggle as well at his little joke. Our fun was interrupted by Pantaleon.

"Master! We should be going now! We don't want to be late!" The red fox said nervously, as his tail twitched.

Gernan just nodded his head and we began on our way again, along with with all the other courtiers doing the same as us.

Gernan was right, it was not that far. After walking awhile, we reached the center of Lupercal, the beating heart of the Alphate, the center of the world. We were in front of the monumental gate of the Alphas palace, towering above me with five massive doors of gold and silver, encased in arches of white stone and topped with towers that spread outwards like the wings of a bird taking flight.

But the palace was not our destination, it was the Temple of the Moon that was adjacent to the massive palace complex that was where we were going.

After walking along the walls of the palace, we entered the festive square in front of the entrance of the Great Moon Temple and I could see it towering enclosure beyond, shining like the white of the moon, with the great orb-like holes giving glimpses of the interior and the sky on the other side. I only saw pillars and hanging cloth between them, but it was enough to amaze me of what it must look like inside.

Very soon, this now empty square will be filled with the population, in eager anticipation for the names and the festivity that will surely follow.

We made our way past the gate and entered the first courtyard of the temple, where all the other wolves of the court were waiting for the moment to enter the inner courtyard.

There we waited for like what seemed like forever, until the gate in front of us opened and a wolf came out, speaking in a very loud and commanding voice.

"The hour of ceremony is upon us! Members of the court, pay homage to the alpha and his pup and receive the names of the pups!" the gates all flung open and Gernan left us to take his place with the court and entered the inner court yard as bells and drums were beat out in courtly fashion.

Pantaleon and I followed, after all the wolves in their rich garbs, along with the other attendants had entered first; and found ourselves in the monumental plaza with the great temple in the center on a large, raised platform with stairs leading up to the terrace in front of the doors to the inside of the temple.

On this terrace, in front of the doors to the temple, was a raised, wooden platform with a wide, vacant silver throne and large screen of gold behind. Above it was a canopy of vermilion cloth that draped down to the floor on the sides and back of the throne, like a tent.

"That must be where the Alpha sits!" I thought, as who else would sit in such a grand chair!

On both sides of the terrace were more large, tent-like tabernacles, but these were different. They were much wider or longer, and the slightly sheening, light red cloth hung on the front and tied in place to the poles of the structures so as to screen the inside and those within. I could see figures and slight movement behind it.

"What are those, Panaleon?' I said, my interested perked. At first, he did not hear me among the murmurs of the other attendants around that were various species, ranging from bears to other humans.

Frustrated at this fox, I asked again, this time tugging hard on his tail.

He yelped out as all of his exposed fur puffed up and stood on their ends. He turned around and had the most furious look smeared across his fox face!

"WHAT IS IT!? AND DON'T YOU EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" taken aback by this reaction, I struggled to reask my question in front of a fox who was now baring his sharp teeth down at me.

"Sorry! I just wanted to know what those things beside that throne are!" I said, pointing to them as he followed, looking at them and his black ears perked up as he did, seemingly forgetting the tail incident ever happened.

"Oh, those are modesty tabernacles."

"What are they for?"

"The members of the Alphas harem use them during events to screen themselves from pubic view."

"Why?"

"Why? It is considered improper to look upon the Alpha's consorts, so they must be screened from view during events like this." the mention of the members of the Alpha's harem reminded me of that one I heard about earlier: Jao.

"Is Jao behind there?"

"I would bet my tail on it! Probably using a throne of his own, no less! He loves to show off his power! But his power is over, now that an heir is here!"

Returning to the scene in front of us, all the wolves took their place in the plaza in front and below of the raised terrace, where the throne and tabernacle were lined up in rows of perfect order, as large, bronze cauldrons bellowed out thick clouds of scented smoke into the blue sky, while drums and bells continued to sound out.

We had to stay behind, near the gate, along with the other non-wolves and servants, and wait until the ceremony was over.

After a wait of half an hour, an ursine came out from behind the baldachin.

"THE ALPHA COMES!" he cried out in a deep, loud voice that fit a bear very well! A figure that seemed to wear a piece of the very sun itself, came out behind him, followed by an entourage holding banners, as horns cried forth.

I was too lost in the sight of pomp and glory to notice that everyone around me was on their knees, from the wolves to those around me.

The wolves in their rich ceremonial garb cried out, "A million years to the Alpha! May his sword touch the heavens!" again and again, as he processed around the baldachin to his throne.

It was then that I felt a punch to the back to my knees that make my legs buckle as I fell downwards. It was Pantaleon who did this and was now shooting me a nasty stink eye as he whispered harshly in that whiny voice of his.

"Are you crazy!? Do you want to offend the Alpha!?"

"I'm sorry, I was lost in thought!" he only gave a huff in response.

The Alpha, seated on his throne, gave a gesture to the ursine, who then spoke out.

"THE ALPHA BIDS YOU STAND!" and like that, everyone stood in perfect unison.

Afterwards, a group of ursines came out carrying three bundles: two were cloth of silver and one was cloth of gold, and they brought them to the center of the platform for the court below to see. It was for the pups, with the son being swaddled in the cloth of gold.

The ursine with the commanding voice was given a silver, cloth scroll, which he unrolled and began to recite to all.

"The Alpha's announcement says: I, the Alpha, after discussing with the High Shaman, hereby announce the names of this litter to the world and above! The Alpha's first daughter shall be named Selene! The Alpha's second daughter be named Neaera! And the Alpha's first son shall be named Ulric! Finally, I decree that their mother, Wolven Consort Nu shall be promoted to Chief Wolven Consort Nu!"

After the long and tiring ceremony was over, nearly three hours, we met up with Gernan again, who looked very pleased at what happened and slowly began to leave, entering the outer courtyard where the rest of the wolves of the court were now mingling and talking to each other.

"Ulric, a very promising name! Perfect for a future Alpha!" Gernan said, stroking his narrow chin in a pleased fashion.

"Indeed, master, indeed!" Pantheon said while brushing off any dust of Gernan's shoulders with his dark, brown paws.

"Panta, we just witnessed the beginning of the end for that human's power just now!" my wolf master said as I noticed movement under the of his layers robes from his excited tail.

"Yes, master! Yes! Your path to being named Prime Beta is clear!"

"I know! I know! And how was my Iskander!?" Gernan said as he turned to me.

"I'm good, master! But I am a little tired from all the standing though!"

"Oh, really? Well then, we should head home then!"

We would have left if it were not for Gernan running into a fellow friend.

"Beta Gamma Gernan's over here!" a voice yelled out from the crowd.

"Beta Rho Titus! My friend, it's good to see you! How are things?" the two of them began to talk and talk and talk, much to my sore leg's dismay. I hoped it would end soon, but it did not, so I spaced out and let my eyes wander around, looking at any good places to hide if Elyk and I were to play hide and seek here.

I looked all around, from the covered walkways around the edges of plaza, to the roofs of the gates.

As I did this I noticed something. It was a figure on the roof away from us, wearing clothes the same gray color as the roof. He was holding something that was pointed in our way. I did not know what it was at such a distance, but a feeling of dread came over me, this was not a good thing, what ever it was!

Getting closer to my master to tell him about this figure, I began to try and tell him, but he did not hear me, as he was too caught up with talking.

Getting frantic, I started tugging on his robe.

"Not now, pup, I am busy, we will leave soon!" he said, not turning around. So I began tugging harder!

"Please stop, we will leave shortly!" I heard clear annoyance in his voice.

Feeling I was getting nowhere, I gave his robe a large pull, to which he turned around, kneeling down and looking very upset at me.

"Iskander! That's not how a human should beha-"

Then there was a low, whooshing sound and a sharp rod burst through his shoulder with a horrific sound. A warm, red spray covered me and a metallic taste entered my mouth.

Gernan let out a pained howl and collapsed on top of me. I heard the muffled noise of screams and shouts mixed with his the sound of Gernan's heavy breathing and panicked heart beat.

Squeezing out from under him, I threw myself on top of him to protect him as the world around became deaf to me. The shouts and screams becoming lower and lower like they were being put off into the distance

I heard Pantaleon shouting out to get a sedan chair right away and screaming for a healer. I saw him through my blurred vision running about frantically!

"Please don't die, master! Please! I need you!"

Gernan was resting on his bed back home. The healer just had pulled out the bolt, which was from a crossbow, and his wound was now tightly bound in bandages. I overheard him and Pantaleon taking in the hallway.

"He is lucky it hit his shoulder, anywhere else would have probably killed him!" Pantaleon came in and tried to guide me out of the room, but I refused and he gave up, taking a seat at the side of the room behind me, nervously playing with his tail.

I was standing by his bedside. He groaned out once in a while and would come in and out of consciousness and he would look with his yellow, wolf eyes at me and say:

"You...saved...me..." before losing consciousness from the medicine to dull the pain.

The events after he was shot were a cloudy blur to me, distant and far away. I found solace in being at the wolves' side and holding his limp paw in my hand, as I rested my head on the bed.

I stayed like that until the world outside began to go dark, not caring about anything like food or sleep.

My thoughts were broken at that moment by a shout from outside the room.

"THE ALPHA ARRIVES!" the door burst open and a wolf wearing a rich, dark blue ankle-length kaftan with gold embroidery and narrow sleeves, walked in, followed by an ursine.

Pantaleon got up and fell to his knees, but I did not! I wanted to stay by my master's side, regardless of whether the Alpha was here or not.

Gernan, seeing the Alpha here, struggled to sit up and pay respect to him.

"No, my friend, forget formalities!" the Alpha spoke in a rich voice that commanded power and respect. The ruler of the Alphate walked over to the other side of the bed.

"My Alpha, I do not deserve such an honor!"

"Yes, you do, Gernan! You almost died!"

"What of the assassin!?" Gernan said, struggling to speak.

"It was an ursine. He killed himself before we could get to him. He was probably an agent of the Confederacy, wanting to take revenge for you leading the army to victory against them..."

"But Alpha, that was nearly a decade ago, why wait until now!?" Gernan asked, unconvinced of this being the work of the Ursine Confederacy.

"You know those ursines! They never forgive nor forget! I am just happy you pulled through, I knew you would!"

Gernan turned and pointed to me, "It was because of him, Alpha! He saved me!" the Alpha looked at me, but I was glued to my master.

"I saw him when I entered, he was not even on his knees! Quite the devoted human!" the Alpha walked around the bed and stopped in front of me, so I got on my knees, not wanting to offend him now after hearing that.

"Look up, human!" looking up, I locked eyes with his brown ones. He was a wolf much like the others, but he was darker in fur color than Gernan was.

"My! What a handsome, human pup! How old are you? What's your name?"

"Six and Iskander, Alpha"

"Ah, six! Quite young! You have the same audacity that my Jao has in not bowing to me! And I thank you for saving my good friend! You deserve a reward...how about a title of honor?" the Alpha began to stroke his chin, thinking.

"How about 'Spirited.' It as a nice ring to it! Iskander the 'Spirited,' human!" the sound of the wolven word for spirited complimented the word Iskander nicely.

I sat there not knowing what to do now, after receiving such a title like this by the most powerful wolf in the word and continued sitting until the ursine who announced the Alpha's arrival came in.

"Give your thanks to the Alpha!"

I quickly bowed, "I thank the Alpha for his grace!" the Alpha chuckled, before going back to Gernan's side and pulling something from the sleeves of his robe.

"Here is the seal of the Prime Beta. From this day forth, you shall serve as my Prime Beta! And with that, I bid you rest," Gernan paid his farewell as the Alpha left, trailed by the ursine, after which Gernan collapsed backwards, uttering one phrase:

"At last!"