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Reunited

For all the faults that I began with on the campaign, we had finally achieved our first milestone with my passage across the mountains. We were now, all three of us commanders, in the heartlands of the Alphate with a clear path towards the capital,

Which was as good as any time to meet and discuss our plans.

I sent out messengers to both Vito and Livio and we both agreed to meet at my camp perched on the Danube River, north of where it stretched from the Dabubian Sea, close neighbors with the Black Sea that was vital to the Alphate.

Vito was the first to arrive and I greeted him personally at the entrance to the camp. His soldiers marched in perfect tandem and carried an air of unshakable discipline. I was shocked to see numerous humans among his ranks clad in armor and carrying steel, much like the foxes; a few must have decided to join up upon being emancipated and escaped Salvia's goons without even realizing it. Lucky them.

Parading at the back of his column was Vito himself, stone-faced and stern atop his horse, acting like an ideal General. However, the smooth arms wrapped around his chestplate gave away a surprising little notch in his armor of professionalism.

A human with a shaved head was hugging him from behind, sharing his saddle like a lover. Vito dismounted from his horse and helped carrying the human down, his white tunic flapping in the wind.

I smirked. Vito could be so irritatingly dull at times that it was funny to see him taking a love-slave in the heat of battle, much as I had with Galip.

"General Vito!" I saluted him as he cradled his human, placing him on the ground gently. The human was frail and soft, even for a human male. He looked he type that needed protection to survive, the perfect slave. "I see you've acquired quite the war trophy there."

"Dimitri is not a war trophy. I required a secretary during the campaign and he offered his services after I freed him from his wolven master."

Vito could call him whatever he liked, but my nose could pick up that the human was reeking of Vito's pheromones. Freeman, slave, it didn't matter because Vito had tied the human to him, quite literally if my nose spoke true, and held such power over him that he dared not refuse his General.

Who was he fooling? He might as well have pulled that human around on a leash, that's what I would have done. At least I'm not trying to fool myself.

Livio would not arrive for several more days and when he did show up, his soldiers were the total opposite of Vito's. Much of their armor had been replaced in patchwork with pilfered wolven designs and cloth, making them look like they didn't even belong to the same army. They all seemed to be competing to see who wore the most mismatched sets of clothing, with some even having different, brightly colored legs on their trousers, sewn together at the crotch from two separate pairs cut in half; capped off with sets of ridiculous hats with bright plumage and the occasional wolf tail hanging from its brim.

I didn't really disapprove. They were showing how proud they were of their war trophies, such as they were. They looked silly but woe to any wolf who doubted them.

My concern was raised when Livio himself made an appearance, wearing a yellow silk robe that was clearly too big for a fox. He was riding beside a wagon full of fox and wolf children, even a few humans, whose attention was locked on the mangy fox.

"...And then the wolf's sappers collapsed the third little pig's brick house and he pounced atop him and swallowed him whole!"

The children all cheered.

Perhaps it had been the fact that Vito arrived with someone he was intimate with but I immediately feared the worst about Livio's intentions with the children and instead of greeting him with a salute, I ordered him to ride alongside me away from the camp.

"Livio," I cleared my throat, "why do you have a wagon full of kits?"

Livio scratched at a bare patch of skin on his muzzle, "Wars not a pretty business, Dictator. You ordered us to burn our way across the land and I did, but it left a lot of orphans behind."

"Salvia has goons that would handle them."

"Yeah and I know what they do to kits," Livio growled. "Salvia can have the deserters and soldiers as far as I'm concerned, but I ain't gonna let her ruin the young ones."

"They won't forget that your army killed their parents."

Shrugging, Livio spoke, "That's for them to decide."

A gust of wind blew past us and my nose caught Livio's scent. The fox always had a smell that was as ugly as him, but now I could smell countless young foxes and wolves on him.

"Livio, I can smell them on you."

"What the fuck are you implying?" Livio stared at me coldly. His hackles, such as they were with his bald patches, raised.

"The kits and cubs, their scent is all over you, like they've been in very close contact. It's...unusual."

"Because every damn time they see me in the morning they all hug their Uncle Livio and knock him to the ground," Livio snarled, showing off his rotten fangs. "They're gonna break my bones one of these days but I wouldn't fucking trade them for the world!"

"Livio, calm down, I only-"

"I respect you as a General, but you've got a lot to fucking learn about people! Me and Sister are taking care of these kits as best as we can because I don't want to make their lives worse and they're the only things in the world that look at me like I'm not some fucking ghoul! It's not like we can have kits of our own neither!" Livio inhaled. "So yeah, they hug me cuz I guess they love me and I care about them too. Didn't your parents hug you as a kit?"

I swallowed and looked away.

"So..." I coughed, "...it's a sort of mobile orphanage?"

"I guess so," Livio said, his hackles starting to lower. "Not a bad idea, huh?"

"It's dangerous for them, following an army."

"Can't be as dangerous by themselves and let the slavers get em."

"No, I guess not."

I should have apologized for the insinuation, but I didn't. I felt a bit weak, too weak to even correct my behavior.

When you've seen the worst of people you tend to expect it. I guess becoming a father helped make me jump to the worst conclusion.

"I don't recall you being this worried about war orphans during Carpathia."

"We've all changed, General."

"It's been some time..."

I began the council with little fanfare. We were all gathered in my tent, sitting around a table with lanterns hanging above it, illuminating a map showing off the Black Sea coast. Anxieties were strong, almost as strong as the smell of Galip's musk lingering in the bed, which drew everyone's nose. No one judged, for we all had vices and fucking my beloved slave was a better one than opium.

"Vito, please summarize your campaign," I motioned towards the brown fox.

Vito took a small figurine and planted it on Dalmatia, raking it across the map until it reached the Danubian Sea, "We've secured settlements leading all the way through the Balkans to here. All that remains is Grecia, but I've dispatched a commander of my choice to lead the invasion there. Losses have been minimal, rousing up the humans into revolt was a huge success."

"Very good."

Vito clicked a claw on the city of Constantine, "I have suggestions to alter the campaign."

I waved my paw, "In a moment. First, Livio?"

"Burned and raided my way through the farmlands to the north, couldn't secure them, not without slowing down. Also won one helluva victory, managed to get the wolves surrounded on all sides, you should've seen the looks on their faces!"

"I heard about that, good work."

"I fear that my own campaign in the south is not quite so interesting in comparison," Vito nodded with a smile.

"I'd take boring any day over what I got," Livio scratched his nose, "but we don't always get that choice."

Galip crept into the tent with a pot of tea on a tray. Silently, the naked wolf began pouring tea into cups rounding the table.

"I have it on good intelligence, courtesy of Laurent," I nodded at my spymaster, who was busy thanking Galip for the tea, "that the Alphate army is in chaos thanks to our recent victories and Lupercal is poorly defended. The terrain leading to Lupercal is flat and the roads are good, I believe that if we march as fast as we can, we can capture the Alpha and his capital, and end this war unconditionally."

I looked over at Guy who was silently staring at me. I was waiting for him to object again, but he did not. He professed that he would follow whatever plan I made to his utmost ability in the past but he clearly didn't necessarily have to like it.

"Constantine," Vito clicked his claw again on the map, "I think we should focus on Constantine."

Guy's eyes flickered in the lamplight as he slowly lifted his cup of tea to his snout. No doubt the scarred fox was feeling a bit vindicated.

"Guy suggested something similar," I watched Galip pour my tea along with adding a bit of distilled liquor and a slice of lemon. I had felt a slight cold coming on this morning and I guess Galip must have noticed.

"Lupercal is risky. We could take it and force a victory, but if Laurent's intelligence is wrong it would be leaving us extremely vulnerable and overstretched," Vito took a sip of tea. "We need to prepare for a longer war. We have captured or razed some of the Alphate's best farmland. If we capture Constantine and the strait, we can starve them out."

"Never been to Constantine!" Livio laughed. "Heard they've got great food!"

"I understand your skepticism, General," Laurent crossed his paws. "But my information is very reliable. The Alpha will not flee Lupercal even if the city's defenses are crumbling and if he did, hell, I bet the wolves would gladly crown Marco the Alpha!"

Alpha Marco had a nice ring to it...

"And what if they declares that the capital was to be moved back to Nu'tag upon hearing of our approach?" Vito asked. "That would be a way for the Alpha to flee without losing face, especially since as you've said, Lupercal is not ready for full defense and court functions."

"Aokus is not that stupid, or at least his advisers aren't," Laurent explained. "Not even the best minister of propaganda could make him abandoning an ancient capital to the foxes work. If you take Lupercal, you will take the Alpha."

"I've had this very same discussion before, so you will pardon me if I'm feeling a bit impatient about the subject," I cleared my throat. "We're going to advance quickly on Lupercal before the wolves have a chance to react. Unless anyone has any new objections besides the Constantine plan?"

"When two people come to you with the same plan without talking about it with each other beforehand..." Vito slowly sipped his tea, "...I think it's worth not dismissing it automatically."

"I am not dismissing it carelessly, Vito," I explained. "I have considered the pros and cons before you brought it up and I've decided that the advance on Lupercal has more potential positives."

"Rest assured, Dictator, I intend to follow you no matter which path you choose," Vito looked around the room, "but I think you should consider what the majority of your council feels about the matter."

"Alright," I announced and raised my paw, "all in favor?"

Laurent raised his paw.

"All opposed?"

Guy and Vito raised theirs.

Livio laughed as all eyes went on him.

"I'm not really a strategic thinker," Livio leaned back in his chair. "Give me a battlefield or tell me what I need to do and I'll do it, but I ain't got an opinion on this."

"You're on the council, Livio, you need to give a yes or a no," I ordered.

"Fuck."

Livio pulled out a gold coin and flipped it. It landed on the palm of his paw and he nodded upon seeing it.

"Okay, I'm in favor of Lupercal."

"Excellent," I nodded to Vito, "it would seem I have a majority."

"Indeed you do, Dictator," Vito nodded back, "a majority is a majority."