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Chapter 13...The storms break!

General Rouster looked up from the rough map that was spread out on the table in front of him in the Garddetownne Inn. It was discernibly incomplete. He had been running this campaign on the King's orders now for twelve long years. They had been handed to him on the day he got his promotion...one of the youngest in the army to have ever achieved it, at the age of twenty-one. He had been serving and working his way up the ranks of course as a soldier from the age of twelve...but...well his body was starting to complain every morning now.

It had been assumed of course that when he was assigned to 'pest clearance'...As the ranks thought of it, that it would only take a few years to remove the blight from the Kingdom's lands...Then he would be assigned to a nice comfy border conflict, or hell, even the King's castle itself. But the Weres had proved themselves stubborn...sucking the life out of him and the army he commanded. Fourteen packs eradicated, over five thousand Werewolves feeding the crows, twelve years, and no more than a fifteen percent losses overall to his ranks had ensured that well...the call to the Capital had never come.

It was a shame really that the King commanded such a large land...having traversed over three thousand leagues from the deep South, to here...The Northern mountains...Well it certainly hadn't helped, and he was beginning to question the council's wisdom in continuing to sanction the operation...It just did not seem to be worth the cost. The Weres had only ever attacked humans in numbers when their territories had been invaded. At least the country was only four hundred leagues wide at the most, so criss-crossing it from pack to pack only took weeks, rather than months. He knew of course why the King was pursuing it, he having ascended to the throne when both his parents, and the small hunting party they were in had strayed into the pack nearest the Capitol's, territory... and only the horses had emerged alive... but the council held final Veto on the treasury. The Prince, upon becoming King had declared war on all Werekind in revenge for the King and Queen's deaths...and so here he was, facing the final Were stronghold in the occupied lands of Trilothia.

The virtually blank map on the table in front of him, defied him...just the spots of Geresby, Garddetownne and the roads that linked the two marked amongst a sea of green trees. No rivers, pools, nothing North of the fields his men were camped in was marked...and Fendrel the townne mayor, 'If you could call a shithole like this place a townne,' had assured him that if you walked more than three more leagues North, you would not return. Geresby's council had also stated that no-one ever ventured into the forest side of the road, and lived to tell the tale either. He knew where the cliff plateau was of course...The hill twenty leagues to the South of Garddetownne was just high enough for his cartographers, with their far-seeing scopes to map it roughly, where the cliffs towered above the forest's canopy on a clear day...but there was only so much accuracy a view from over sixty leagues away could give.

He had been asked for, and been given permission to fire the forest if he could...but that had proved totally impossible in these overtly damp Northern climes...And so he was now staring down the nose of his first campaign, that was not being held in a managed land. He glanced up as someone knocked on the door of the back room he was using as his command centre. "Enter," he called out, brushing his greying hairs back a little from his balding pate.

The door opened and his Colonel entered, removing his helmet and tucking it under his arm, "Here as requested General," he said, saluting.

"At ease Holden...Any news on if you can fill more of this in?" he asked, gesturing at the sketchy map.

Holden sighed, "I am afraid not Sir...and I am running out of scouts. As of yet, none of the single, or double teams who have ventured past the nominal scratch and scent lines in the trees, have returned."

Rouster grunted, "I was not really expecting much else...Do we have any ideas of numbers?"

The Colonel shrugged, "We have not yet seen any...And yet it doesn't matter where we penetrate the forest, from Geresby, all the way to the Eastern cliffs, where the forest ends...The scouts are stopped. There could be fifty Weres spreading themselves thin, or there could be three thousand."

Rouster shook his head, "Somewhere under five hundred at a guess, going on the size of the available territory. You know as well as I do, there is no way up to that plateau that we know off...so we must assume that the pack is between us and that wall of rock. Even if there is a way up in their territory, no one would want to live North of here in the winter. There is plenty of evidence of game in the area, so the place is not overhunted...in fact I would say that it is under-hunted."

"You have a point Sir...but would that not make it a very small pack in comparison to the others?" Holden asked.

"Oh yes...but that could be natural attrition, due to the harsher climate and lands. All the others we have 'removed,' have been on open land, or at worst in a fifty-fifty forest and fen situation...with less extreme winter weather. We are not sure of where their village is...though if I were to put my badge on it, it would be in one of these two vales..." he pointed at the two obvious cracks in the plateau's edge with his dagger on the map, "Or even both of them if they are not as big as they appear from a distance."

"So we will have to march forty leagues through that forest to reach their stronghold?" Holden queried.

Rouster nodded, "If I were planning on living somewhere, that is where I would likely locate to. That is of course if we make it to their stronghold..."

Holden looked up sharply from the map, "Even if they are as big as the other packs, we outnumber them by four to one with the fresh men...if they are as small as you think, well far more than that. They do not stand a chance...they are not armed after all..."

Rouster shook his head, "This is a vastly different campaign lad...Half our force is mounted, and they will have to tie up their horses as soon as the undergrowth gets to thick. Every damned bush in there could hide a Were, and we wouldn't know it until their teeth closed around our ankles or throat. As for your last statement...the surgeons who looked over the bodies from the ore ambush, brought me an interesting report...One that suggests that not only teeth and claws ended the escort and driver's lives. What would you do in this situation Colonel?"

Holden grinned slightly, "Aside from go home and then raid the local whorehouse, Sir?" he asked, getting a chuckle out of Rouster, "I would form as tight a band from the whole army as possible...forget spreading ourselves out to avoid flanking, and just try and punch our way through the forest to the cliffs. Wherever we tread, no branch or shrub lower than head height should be left above a stump...so we can't be ambushed from behind."

Rouster nodded, "My thoughts too...but we will need to move before the first frosts. The last thing we need is to fight this into snow time...we would be at a severe disadvantage without fur to keep us warm. I say we march now, while the weather is holding...test their mettle so to speak...find out just what we are dealing with here. We can always retreat..."

"You would sound a retreat from a Were pack?" Holden asked.

"Better that than to lose..." Rouster grunted, standing up straight. "Send out general orders to prepare to march, and get each company's commanders to report to me here at tomorrow's false dawn. I will sort out the ranks overnight."

"Yes'Sir!" Holden replied, saluting, before he turned and left the room.

Rouster took one final look at the map, and then drew a circle around the Eastern most vale... "You first..." he muttered to himself as a shout came from outside, along with the heavy thudding of boots.

~~~~

"You say what?" Simeon queried, not quite believing his ears as he collapsed onto the visitor's pad in the Alpha hut.

"I think you heard me Simeon..." Balthazar commented, as Helewys had a half smile on her muzzle behind him, "I am just glad you didn't do what I would have a few weeks ago. Or we would be light, two of the best assets in the war."

"You could have warned me...I mean..." Simeon stuttered.

"And what would your reaction have been, Healer?" Helewys asked, "You are acting now like Ysmay did when she worked out that Gussalen and Henry had partnered up."

Simeon sighed, "So you know about that too?"

"It is our job to know such things...But I am sorry. Without you, this whole clan/pack union would not have happened...We have been so busy, and we have been forcing you to do so much more than your profession requires, you have been cut out of the loop too much. We kinda thought that Furdinand would have been filling you in." Balthazar stated.

"Furdinand knew nothing of this until we found them tied together in the thicket," Simeon replied, "He is reporting them to the conclave himself now...and both of us assumed that their lives would be forfeit for this. Even as we speak, Herald is cleaning up, and heading this way, expecting a circle to be waiting for him...on in Furrn's case, an execution party."

"You trusted them to report for what think is their own deaths?" Helewys asked.

"Herald has enough honour to face the consequences of his actions, despite his young age... Furrn is experienced enough to know that running and being declared outcast would only prolong her death. So yes...We do trust them both," Simeon sighed, "Only now you tell me there is no consequence for their actions?"

"I didn't exactly say that..." Balthazar replied seriously, "I said that the conclave, Helewys and I know that there has been a certain amount of sexual interaction happening between the pups and the cats...or should I say kittens. We have both decided to ignore it, as it has been deemed to be beneficial to our relationship with each other. However...as far as I know, Furrn is the first adult Werecat, and a potential breeding Queen to form an actual full on relationship with a Werewolf... and that may upset the conclave."

"So what would that mean?" Simeon asked.

"It means a punishment may have to be considered...but death is extremely unlikely," Helewys answered.

"The other pups have just been given ear nips and warnings. Though none have actually had intercourse with a Queen...In fact, having seen your Herald's asset, I would love to know exactly how they achieved that!" Balthazar commented.

Simeon turned his head away slightly, "Let me just say that unless Furrn has an extreme tolerance for pain, and an iron constitution for infection...from what Furdinand and I witnessed, she will have to have sought his, or his colleagues help very soon. She was rather torn...though we all know here that she would heal...if she heals, she will be able to take him again without further injury."

"I seriously doubt that permission for the relationship to continue will be granted..." Balthazar huffed.

"By you or the cats?" Simeon asked sharply.

"By the cats...and to be honest I have reservations over it too. It is neither a healthy thing...nor natural," Helewys answered.

"Then I fear from their conversation and foreplay...they will disobey orders. It did not appear to be a fling/liaison, mutual play or whatever you want to call it. I believe unless something happens otherwise...only death will end it...just as with Ysmay and I."

Helewys looked over at Balthazar who just sighed, "Then if the cats grant permission, we will too. Though you will have to tear his ear, and not stitch it back up for entering the relationship, without considering the consequences of his actions...even if all is declared okay."

Simeon grunted, "Better that than tearing out his throat, which up until I walked in here I thought I was going to have to. A torn ear is not enough, I will humiliate him for risking it all." He turned his head to glance out of the open curtain to look across the circle...just the odd Were of both types crossing it now and again in the mid-morning's light. "This war is changing us all I fear. I, who has had the most recent big change, is facing the prospect of killing those I once knew...This fucking voice in my head...Fatherhood... And now the melding of two groups as something more than the fighting force we three believed it would become..."

"There is more yet to come...I have got to call a bitches circle later and make the most difficult speech of my life...one that involves a suspension of one of the oldest laws of the pack," Helewys commented.

Simeon looked back at her again, "Let me guess...the bitch pups want to play fully before their first heat with their male peers...as there is a good prospect they will never reach second heat, and be able to be taken by whoever is Alpha then?"

Balthazar chuckled as Helewys' jaw dropped, "I told you he would know about it..."

"Let us just say that in one of our many conversations, it has come up between Ysmay and I...and with Furdinand for that matter, that it is not exactly fair that the male pups can shag anyone, but the females must remain chaste...and that there was some discord brewing amongst the youngsters. After all, that is not the case as long as both parties consent in the case of the kittens. The young bitches have noticed that some of the female kittens have limped during duelling or archery lessons, and found out it was due to their first times...and want some of it for themselves before the war begins."

Helewys just shook her head, "And what exactly was Ysmay's reaction to this thought?"

"She said that she was going to discuss it with you...I was too actually, as without taking her myself, I am fairly certain that Amalie may have already overstepped the mark...as both Ysmay and I have noticed that she is as almost free tailed as Fel...Hence her relationship with Furdinand." Simeon pointed out.

Helewys swallowed, "You have guessed right. The young bitches are to be given the option of not remaining chaste. Balthazar is willing to give up his nominal right as the pack Alpha in that respect. So as long as both parents of the bitch approve the liaison male, it need not be Balthazar that passes the barrier first. However...pregnancy is out of the question. I will issue you the direct order now, that you are to abort any accidents or even deliberate acts during first heat, as that is still to remain totally off limits. I know you have herbs that will cause it to happen, as some of the whores in the city who could afford them, used them. Some of the more level headed pups will choose to preserve themselves of course, and rape is still rape...so none will be forced."

"You do know the possible additional consequences of forcing a herbal miscarriage?" Simeon asked quietly.

"A high chance of sterility...yes. The father of the accidents will face Balthazar in the ring. Discipline must not be eroded, nor pack values. I think the chance of being declared outcast for sterility will be enough of a deterrent for the young bitches...make them watch their cycles so to speak..." Helewys replied coldly.

"It could undo what we have been trying to achieve..." Simeon continued.

"And the war will not reduce our numbers? No...I insist. There must be the threat of being outcast there, or the bitches will forget who they are, and what they stand for," Helewys growled.

Simeon sighed, "I cannot help but wonder if the human you, is forgetting where you came from..." he whispered.

Helewys partially rose, her hackles raised, "And what was that supposed to mean..." she challenged.

"What it means, Ledrene...Is that if we are to act like animals, behave like animals, and devolve into animals...what is the point of continuing as we are? The day I lose my ability to reason as most humans do...the day I lose my ability to care for those I hold dear, like most humans do...the day I fail to act for the benefits of the many, and not the few or myself... That is the day that no one will talk me from taking the final steps from the rock above our heads!" Simeon growled back. "I am not an animal...I am a human who has become an animal. Yes humans are probably the most evil creatures that are alive today, but that is because they are speciesist, acting only for the good of their own kind, and I fear they will only get worse. Yes they care little for the misfortune of others, unless related...But only the most evil of them all, would act without thinking of the consequences to their own kind.

"One day, some day in the long distant future, some man, somewhere...and it will be a man... will create a weapon so fantastic in his own ideology, that he will activate it for the world to bask in his glory...and then watch as the world around him burns when it goes wrong...and when there is no-one left to bask, he will ask himself the question. 'Why did I do that?' as his last breath leaves his lips and his creation kills him, where he is standing behind the lines where he believed he was safe.

"Ask yourself the questions now Ledrene...Are you any better for risking the possible destruction of the pack, even if we win...because you think it is the right thing to do because of outdated, sexist laws? Ask yourself...Could you live with that knowledge when only Betas are born in the future and the pack withers around you if you live that long?...And then come to my Healer's hut before you call your bitches circle and issue your order again...and I will comply with your wishes..." Simeon stood and walked to the door, "Send Herald to me when he arrives...And I will take his ear. I would have taken his throat for the good of the pack, though it would have taken a piece of my heart. I will not order him to break his liaison now with Furrn though...and I feel now somewhere, that with the Werecats more human society, they will not kill her either. We are not humans, nor are we wolves. We should try and take the best aspects of both societies, and meld them into one...For I fear that if we do not, we are as doomed as the extinct Southern packs are now," he finished, before walking out, not waiting a reply.

Balthazar just looked at Helewys as she remained silently stunned, her hackles having dropped with each succinct and hammer driven point as it was expelled forcefully from Simeon's lips. "There are times..." he said eventually, pausing, "There are times that I think the words coming from your rescuer's lips are not his own...and yet..."

"And yet he has every reason to have said those things from his point of view as a healer with ethics..." Helewys finished for him in the enveloping silence, "The healers in the city who serviced the whores...they were the bottom of the hierarchy, and in many cases provided the requisite herb purely for a quick service, or roll in the filthy rags their clients called beds."

"Do you believe his ethics would stop him from obeying a direct order to abort a litter?" Balthazar asked.

"No...he said as much. But have a distinct feeling that we would lose his support...and you know what that would mean for both of us."

"I fear I do...So the question is, what punishment will a bitch get if she does end up pregnant outside of pack rules?" Balthazar queried.

Helewys looked up sharply, "I did not say that I would not issue the order yet..."

"But we both know that you won't..."

"I will issue the threat though...The threat in itself should be enough," Helewys replied firmly, "We will cross the bridge of punishment, if and when it comes up."

"If you are sure that Simeon won't rebel, with even the threat..."

"What's up? Scared of him all of a sudden?" Helewys growled, interrupting him.

"Of course I am...just as you are...If he snaps and challenges me, with his strength, I won't be walking from the ring unless he allows me to, and you bloody well know it. But I am also scared for the pack...A change of leadership so close to war would leave us in chaos. Simeon no more has the balls to issue orders that will kill many humans, some of whom are technically innocent of nothing but following orders of their own superiors...some of them out on their fields are probably press ganged into uniform. I hate humans for what they did to me...my family...and the Southern Weres...But I would lay my own tail down and expose my throat that at least half of those in the army out there do not want to do what they are being ordered to do...exterminate a species. It takes a particular type of bastard to murder a child, even if it is of a species not their own."

"They drown kittens and puppies all the time from unwanted litters in the city..." Helewys muttered, "And children are allowed to die if the parent has not the moneys to pay for medicines..."

"True..." Balthazar conceded.

"So what do you suggest? Do you want to take the risk of bitches going on instinct, and not common sense and duty?" Helewys queried, "You know what we are like when our hormones grab us..."

"Issue the threat then...and we will live with the consequences. I fear that before anything happens, the question will be moot anyhow. The humans seem to have been remarkably slow to move."

"I will do so then...And may Lupinius, if he does exist...grant me the ability to rescind it when this is over..." Helewys finished, walking out the hut to begin gathering the bitches.

~~~~

Simeon glanced in the direction of the path leading down from the plateau as he began crossing the circle, back towards his hut and the storm that no doubt awaited him inside when he told Ysmay about the further erosion of pack values. The solitary figure of Herald, head down and ignoring everyone else was slowly walking towards the Alpha hut. "Ho! Here now Herald!" Simeon shouted, the 'condemned' perking his ears and turning towards him.

"But?" he queried, trotting over.

"You have been lucky, and I have been blind to certain things. Drop to your knees now and present..." Simeon ordered.

Herald glanced around, taking in the few Weres who also been drawn by his Sire's shout, "You are not going to..." he started.

"I am going to do what I fucking wish! Now present, or Alpha's orders or not, you will be floating in the fucking river within the next half mark!" Simeon growled loudly, also taking in the small gathering. Helewys had emerged, her tail still in the Alpha hut's shadow, watching as Herald turned his back and dropped to his knees, his tail to one side.

"Simeon...don't..." Lucinda said, halting him as he approached his son, "It is not you..."

He glanced over at her, "You do not know what he has done!" he growled, "What he has risked!"

"I can guess...And I am surprised he is even here now, breathing...but if you use your power to do that in front of the pack..." Lucinda tailed off as he stared at her, Herald's twitching form underneath him.

Simeon shook his head as if to clear it, before sitting heavily on Herald's haunches, "Why son...?" he asked, not waiting for answer, "Ears up, you have been granted clemency by the Alphas...but Lupinius help me if you ever do anything as stupid and irresponsible again, I will take more than I am doing now."

Herald perked his ears as his sire's superior weight and power pressed upon him, making his hips creak a little...and then screamed as first his left, and then his right one was sheared from where they emerged from his skull by sharp teeth, and then spat on the ground in front of his muzzle.

"Let the blood flow for a quartermark, and then dunk your head in the river constantly for another mark after that. Do not try and get any other healer to repair you. Your stumps are to be a permanent mark of your punishment, and nothing more will be done unless you break the rules again. Now go...I have no idea what will happen to the other party in this dispute, but you are not to go and find her, or I will come after you, and if I have to do that, no words from your Dam will stop me...If she is let free, she will come to you. Stay clear of the clan grounds until then. Understand?"

"I understand...Sire," Herald whimpered through his pain and tears.

"Good...At least you are still breathing, be thankful to the Alphas for that...now go!" Simeon growled, standing and turning, walking from the circle with glares at those who were watching, "Oh and Herald..." he called over his shoulder.

"Yes Sire?"

"I do not condemn your relationship...the punishment was only for ignoring the probable consequences of your actions. You have your own life Son, and I can only guide you to take the right paths. If you choose one that is not conventional, well I will not stop you...unless that path threatens the pack. As long as you live in this vale, you are not an individual to do as he pleases...the pack must come first, especially in times like these." He turned to look at the gathered others, "You should all remember that also..." he finished, before heading back up the vale to his hut.

~~~~

Rouster looked up as the boots got louder, and suddenly the door burst open without a knock, "We got one of the bastards, Sir! And injured at least one other!" The lieutenant reported, out of breath, a salute added haphazardly as he gathered himself together.

"Alive?" Rouster barked.

"No dead...a fucking Albo as well...never seen one of those before. Group of eight of us were scouting for game on the forest edge and the buggers attacked us outside of their territory...or we think they were. Not sure on the exact border where we were, Sir."

"Casualties?"

"I got away, and one other. We lost six...but that is by the bye Sir...They have tree wolves! We were attacked from the trees first with crossbows! Then three Werewolves came in from the flanks in the confusion as we tried to take cover!"

"Tree wolves? We have never come across them before...Are you sure?"

"Very Sir...First I knew of the attack was when the four soldiers in front of me went down with crossbow bolts in their necks. At least two of them were fired from the canopy. I ducked and covered naturally with the other survivors...didn't see any of them in the branches, before the three Weres attacked on the ground...then it was a free for all. Couldn't get back to back with anyone, and before my eyes Hulse had his throat ripped from him by the big Albo beast! The other two were a lot less built than him, but one of them set upon me, but I blocked her jaws with my pommel...bust a couple of teeth at a guess...Well I think it was a her, did'na spot any balls under her tail as she fled bleeding. I fought for my life Sir...but she never managed to more than scratch me before the Albo mistimed a lunge or slipped or something as he attacked Johnson.

"Johnson's sword had jammed in his scabbard, and he was back to a tree with his dagger out. Stabbed the Albo right through his third rib, and the beast let out such a howl that the ones fighting me and Jenson both froze...They seemed frightened...It was the best chance we had, and I got in a thrust under the belly of the bitch attacking me...Didn't see any guts like, so it can't have been that deep before she'd leapt and turned, running for the undergrowth. Jenson wasn't so lucky, and he is in with the healers now, and his Were escaped too...but his leg's badly tooth torn, but I supported him back here...Sir."

"What of Johnson...if he killed the Albo beast?" Rouster queried.

"As the Albo died, he closed his jaws around Johnson's head...I heard his skull crack."

"You say you were attacked from above...what of them?" Rouster queried.

"I don't know Sir...never actually saw them...But I tell you this Sir...Jenson and I were expecting a bolt in our necks all the way back."

"Did you head south as you were fleeing, before turning this way?"

"We did Sir, clearest path."

"Then you left their territory...as far as we know apart from the road attack, they have never crossed their own lines," Rouster mused, "Meaning of course that you did..."

The Lieutenant stood to attention again, "Not intentionally...Sir!" he reported.

Rouster waved his hand in dismissal, "Bye the bye now...take a squad out as punishment and recover the bodies...including the Albo, and especially any weapons and bolts. It is vitally important we know if they are war spoils, or made by them. It could complicate things. We march for their stronghold in the morning...but you would have found that out soon enough. Dismissed!"

"Yes'Sir!" The soldier saluted and left the room.

"So you have weapons now...and fire them from trees..." Rouster muttered to himself, "And I would like to bet that by the time they get back, there will be no evidence..."

****

Clawd's ears swivelled on his head from where he was crouched in the loft above the inn. He had crept in through the commotion caused by the escaped lieutenant's arrival, slipping from roof to roof, shadow to shadow until he had entered though one of the stables. "Shit!" he muttered under his breath, praying to Felinius that dusk would come early so he could escape back to the clan and report in time.

~~~~

A howl sounded from the vale entrance, Simeon's head, along with everyone else's, swung in the direction of the source. Balthazar burst out of his hut, ears perked as Mouwser staggered into view, tongue lolling, flanks blood stained and soaked in sweat, calling out a full scale alert.

"Report pup!" Balthazar ordered as Mouwser collapsed in the circle near Herald's still quivering form.

"Ruthie is injured Alpha, Tashir is dead. Not sure on the cats... We attacked a patrol...eight of them, just inside our markers..." he gasped out, glancing sideways at Herald.

Simeon approached rapidly, "I heard...where is Ruthie?"

"I left her Healer...I couldn't support her any longer. She collapsed about a league out..."

"What type of injury?"

"Stomach gash...soldier got her with a sword thrust..."

Simeon looked up at Balthazar, "Go...bring her in if you can."

Simeon nodded, turning and dashing for his hut, howling for Benedict to bring his healing pack out as fast as he could.

"Now you are sure Tashir is dead?" Balthazar queried as a crowd gathered again.

"Took a dagger to his ribs Alpha...He had already killed two, one with a crossbow bolt, and was going for a third while Ruthie and I engaged the only other two that were still standing. I think Ruthie went after the officer, his uniform was fancier..."

"Did any of the soldiers survive?" Balthazar queried.

"Two Alpha...unless Clawd and Pawline got them with more bolts...Ruthie and I panicked when Tashir got stabbed...that was how her soldier got her as she was trying to run..."

"Shit!" Balthazar assessed the pack-members around the circle, "Lucinda...can you take a few out and fetch Tashir's body in...fast! And for Lupinius' sake collect up any of our weapons that you can find, including the spent bolts. I hope the cats got the two survivors."

Lucinda nodded, "Will do..." she turned, nipping at a couple of the larger pups who were just lollygagging at the spectacle in front of them, bringing them out of their shock and herding them out of the vale as Simeon raced past, Benedict on his tail.

Helewys came up behind Balthazar, looking down at Mouwser where he was still panting at his feet, "Go get a drink from the river pup...you did good. Then rest up with your Dam while we sort this out."

"Yes Ledrene," Mouwser replied, stumbling to his feet, glancing again at Herald who had not moved throughout before heading to the river.

"You too Herald...the quartermark is over. Don't get infected, you will be needed soon I fear," Balthazar stated, watching as the forlorn wreck of a pup, nodded, and wandered off in Mouswer's shadow towards the bathing pool.

Helewys glanced at those watching, "Paulie...run up to the clan-fields and request the conclave come down...immediately please."

"Yes Ledrene!" Paulie replied, loping off for the cliff trail as fast as she could move.

"What do you think the cats are playing at?" Balthazar whispered in her ear as they turned for the hut again.

"In not joining the fight? I have no idea...they had better have an excuse though, or they had better have killed those two soldiers that escaped," Helewys growled back.

"I hope so to...this is not good...not good at all...We are not really ready, as has been proven by Ruthie and Mouswer's reactions. We cannot break and run in battle when one of us falls, it would be disaster," Balthazar replied gravely.

"True...too true I fear. What of what Simeon did to Herald?" she asked, changing the direction of the conversation slightly, "I was not expecting that..."

"I saw...We could not have sanctioned rape, not even for Simeon..." Balthazar muttered.

"Considering the bollocking he gave me...I couldn't believe what I was seeing. His anger almost turned on him again...Is he becoming a danger?"

Balthazar shook his head, "No...he reacted like I would have done had I had the chance when my family was murdered. He saw the consequences of Herald's actions, and that we had effectively told him to let it go unpunished. Herald will never make a good hunter now, his hearing will be affected...but I am glad that Lucinda opened her mouth when she did. The others will all be very wary of him now."

"They were already wary of him...I just don't wary to turn into fear..."

Balthazar grunted, "When they are bleeding, they will not fear him, they will beg for him. It is a lack of respect of the laws that got Herald where he is now...though as I ordered, I would have only taken one ear."

Helewys looked at him sideways, "You do realise that there is not technically a pack law against what he did? Furrn was no virgin...and this pack has never associated with the Werecats before this war. There is the unwritten one of course, the one that could have threatened the alliance...But I know that I and Ysmay, and the other law teachers have never actually said not to do what he did. I am fairly sure that is what will save Furrn's life as well...as she has not actually crossed any lines."

"Not like you to take the lenient approach..." Balthazar noted.

Helewys just shrugged, "I don't like it, but in my capacity as Ledrene and law teacher, I have to point it out. Chances are had I come across them coupled, I would have killed first and asked questions later, just like you...and just like Simeon and Furdinand almost did."

Balthazar thumped onto his pad with a sigh, "I just hope Purrsimon and the conclave remember that as well then...for I fear Herald will do something incredibly stupid if the news comes from the fields that she is dead."

"I too..." Helewys agreed, "He took his punishment all too easily..."

**

"So who'd lose against," Mouwser asked, as he dipped his snout in the river to sate his thirst, "And couldn't you have waited around so I could have watched? I love a good circle scrap!"

"Fuck off," Herald growled, dipping his head again under the water, hissing as the pain drove into his skull and the world became fuzzy from as the water filled his aural channels.

"Ahh, don't be like that. Surprised the Alpha didn't step in and stop them from taking your ears though...bit cruel that..."

Herald turned, snarling at the moon younger pup, "It was my Sire if you must know!"

Mouwser back pedalled quickly, falling over his hind feet and onto his rump, "Whoa...I was only asking..." he stammered, his ears flat in submission.

Herald just shook his head free of the blood tinted water, "And if you like a fight so much, what'd you turn tail for and run for the pack...you should have made sure the soldiers were all dead!"

Mouwser stuttered, "I...I would have done...got mine's leg good and proper...But I kinda panicked when the Ghost went down screaming. That and Ruthie was badly injured...I don't think she will make it to have pups...there was a lot of blood..." tears started to form in his eyes as he glanced at his flanks, "This isn't my blood..."

Herald backed down, "Sorry...I just hope that I will have only my blood on my flanks after this morning...I did something really silly, and yet I don't regret it, even though I could cost her, her life...If they kill her, I will jump off the cliff...no one will stop me. Let's clean each other up...and then do as we're told for once. I fear that our worst fears are about to happen, one way or another."

Mouwser relaxed a little, "Dare I ask why you say they?" he said as Herald began grooming him, "You didn't take a virgin bitch, did you?"

Herald choked out a laugh, "No...pups have done that before without losing their ears. I fell for a Werecat, and she for me. My sire caught us tied together this morning."

Mouwser coughed, "You fucked a Werecat? Boy are you brave..."

"Or stupid...and no I didn't just fuck one...I fell in love with one. If we both come through this, she will be my Padwarmer...though we can never have offspring. If the pack and clan grant us the union...I have no ambition, I am happy to be just what I am, like my Sire is I suppose."

The exhausted pup shook his head, "And you the strongest of us...The Alpha's hut is yours for the taking in a few years, even with your stumps now, and you know it...especially if Gregor gets killed in the next moon's fighting."

"I could be killed just as easily...I know I will be on the front line with the archers as that is my strongest weapon." Herald shook his head again, "Weapon...Lupinius I hope every last one of the fucking things is destroyed after this, and the Werecats go home...apart for Furrn. I can see the things entering the circle, and the pack wouldn't last a dozen years...We are too hot blooded as wolves..."

"Furrn? The archery teacher? She is the one you are shagging?"

Herald growled, threateningly, "She is going to be my Padwarmer...yes."

"Ah...sorry again...I mean...It's just...well...she is rather a lot older than you..."

"And Ysmay being my Sire's Padwarmer is any different? Or him siring me with Lucinda? Age is no consequence to either of us...It may be in the future, but not now. We may not have a future if they execute her...It would appear that my ears were a token in the eyes of my Sire...and only the Alphas saved my life with clemency."

Mouwser snorted, "The Alphas are not blinded by being tied up in their hut like your Sire is...you are not the only one to have been dipping under a Queen's tail. Though I think you are the first to from anything stronger than an oral relationship. I hear that their tongues work wonders on the cock..."

Herald flushed slightly, "They are a little rougher than ours...Though Furrn dislikes oral."

Mouwser shrugged, "More fool you then...You are stronger than her, and it is a bitch's duty to clean up...Make her."

"Furrn is not a bitch, and unless you engage your brain before your mouth next time, I will be entering the circle for a second time today...but you will be with me!" Herald threatened, "I will not ever force anything on someone who doesn't want to do it, especially her... understand?"

Mouwser backed off again, "Sorry...but what I would give for some tongue action..." he mused.

Herald just shook his head, "Idiot...Go ask Fel or someone for a blow or something...that whore of a Beta will take anyone...even one as idiotic as you. Now I am going downstream to the sunning rock...Don't follow, or you will be in the circle before dusk falls." With that threat he turned, splashing though the stream to the other side, leaving Mouwser staring at his retreating tail.

"Well someone really is picky today..." he muttered, finishing washing himself up, "I wonder where Fel is...?"

**

Simeon was running nose to the ground, following Mouwser's scent trail with Benedict tight on his tail. Time was off the essence if she had collapsed from blood loss. They heard Ruthie's groaning before they reached her, and followed their ears and noses to a deep patch of ferns to the side of the game trail Mouwser had used to run back to the vale. "It's alright pup...we have you now," Simeon reassured, pushing through the fronds to her heaving side.

Her eyes were rolling in their sockets, the mossy ground underneath her soaked crimson with her life-fluids as her brain wavered in and out of consciousness with each weakening breath. "Help me roll her," Simeon said quietly to Benedict, turning human and setting the hot coal carrier in his mouth to one side, "I need to know how bad it is..."

Benedict nodded silently, joining him in bipedal form, not seeming to be fazed by the blood, much to Simeon's relief, as gently they rolled her from where she was resting on her torn belly. She moaned loudly, saliva dripping from her lips, a half growl following the agonised noise. "Well it could be worse..." Simeon muttered, carefully parting the matted fur... "She has not spilled her guts. Bloody close though. Choke six poppy seed pills down her, would you...and then keep dribbling sugar water down her throat. I will wash up and prepare to suture her as soon as she stills. She has lost all four of her lower teats, and the sword tip has taken some of her spade...that is where all the blood has come from. I will have to remove her teat glands, or when she gets pregnant she will tear herself open again. Lupinius knows how she managed to run this far..." He paused as numerous sets of paws thudded past at full run on the trail outside of the fern thicket.

"Is six not too many for her weight...?" Benedict asked hesitantly, digging into the pack he had brought with them.

Simeon shook his head, "Normally yes...but if she is to have any chance at all...I want her drugged and asleep for at least three days. I just hope the steel was clean and not rusty, as she won't get through an infection. I wish there was a way we could replace some of the blood...But for now I want to stop her losing any more."

"Yes Master," Benedict replied, moving to Ruthie's head with the pills and a flask filled with sugar water. Cradling her head against his naked crotch he lifted it, gently dropping the pills to the back of her throat, one at a time as she reflexively swallowed them.

Simeon placed a pointed cauterisation probe into the coal pot to heat, and then grabbed a flask of garlic water and washed his hands as best he could before reaching for the suture roll. "This is going to be a lot more difficult than it was with Lucinda...I have no tendons to stitch to like with a leg or breast bone. In cases like these, you just have to hope things will hold together," he instructed quietly as Ruthie's moaning stopped and she went completely silent as the pills took her into full unconsciousness.

"You said you were going to remove her teat glands...why not stitch her nipples back on over them?" Benedict asked as he continued to dribble water into her mouth.

Simeon shook his head, "There are certain tissues that die as soon as blood circulation is cut from them. If I stitched the nipples back on, they would turn gangrenous as they are already dead. I will cut the aureoles out of her belly skin before I reattach it. If she has a large litter, others will have to foster feed for her...there is nothing else for it. If of course she survives..." He threaded a needle carefully, before laying it to one side and picking up his sharp surgeon's knife. Very gently he ran his fingers over the under skin of her guts, tracing the lines of her capillaries to the first of the bloody bumps where her nipples should be. Holding his breath, he made two quick incisions, blood welling suddenly and violently as he cut the immature gland free of her flesh, it dropping free into the ferns as he quickly reached for the hot probe and seared the veins closed from where the blood was bubbling, his and Benedict's nose wrinkling from the burning flesh scents. He efficiently moved across her belly and did the same for the other three, before cutting the nipples free of her loose skin and then stitching her all together again as neatly as possible.

"She will probably only be able to breed with Beta males," Simeon commented as he rinsed his hands again, "The scar tissue on her spade will not stretch, and well, someone like me or Balthazar would tear her open again."

Benedict nodded, "What of birthing?" he asked.

Simeon shook his head, "You or I will have to attend, or another healer...bugger the traditions. She will bleed out otherwise as she must be stitched up as soon as the last pup emerges."

Benedict nodded, "Are we going to carry her in, or do you want me to go fetch one of the stretcher canvases you thought up?"

Simeon chuckled, "I hardly thought them up Benedict...They have been used before and were in some of the healing texts I read when with my Master. Yes, I will keep watering her...You go and grab one, and someone to carry our gear in with us."

"I will get Alice to come out..." Benedict replied, gently handing the flask and Ruthie's head over to Simeon as they switched positions, "Be back as soon as I can." With that he changed wolf again and pushed through the ferns to the trail, running off towards the vale.

Simeon just sat there silently, cradling Ruthie's skull as he thought about...and dreaded just how many more pups or adults he would be doing just this with over the next moon or so. The branches overhead rustled, disturbing his thought train as Pawline dropped to the ground from above.

"Is she going to live?" she asked, quietly.

Simeon shrugged, "I would say if she gets through the night, she has a twenty percent chance. What happened, and are the soldiers all dead? To say that Balthazar is not happy about the report Mouwser gave, is an understatement."

Pawline looked embarrassed, "The strings broke on both mine and Clawd's crossbows when we launched the first bolts. I would say looking at the frayed ends, they have been tampered with, but the smiths will have to judge that. When Tashir went down, we were both positioned to jump in and help the pups from above, but they both panicked and tried to run. Mouwser was lucky, Ruthie not so."

"Sabotaged?" Simeon queried gravely.

"In our opinion, yes."

"Where's Clawd?"

"He followed the two soldiers...said he was going to look for a chance to drop on them with a dagger before they reached Garddetownne. I recovered all the weapons from the scene, and then headed this way as quick as possible to make my own report. I am guessing that the wolves that passed under me were going out to do the same, and recover Tashir?" Pawline asked.

"Not sure...I left as soon as Mouwser reported to try and save Ruthie here. You had better head for the vale, I would lay my tail on the line that the conclave will be there as well by now...after all, Tashir was the first of ours to fall in battle. I would imagine that your input will create a bit of a stir. I hope Clawd gets home safe."

Pawline nodded, scrambling back up the trunk she had dropped down from, "So do I...he and I have agreed that next heat, I will bear his kittens..." she said, vanishing into the canopy.

Simeon shook his head, "I hope you both make it then," he said to himself as the forest's noises surrounded him again.

**

Late evening...

"So basically...We are probably fucked," Purrsimon said to Balthazar from where he was crouched next to Purrdita, Furdinand and three of the other senior cats in the Alpha hut.

"You have no confidence in Clawd's abilities as a fighter?" Helewys asked, stretching.

"Clawd is a youngster still, who is probably now dead. I agree that the bloody strings shouldn't have failed like they did, so we probably have traitor amongst us...though fuck knows who or why," Purrdita stated, "At least Pawline got all the weapons gathered up, so the humans may not know if we were using war spoils from the cart attack."

"I sent wolves out to do just that in case your two were dead...I feared something had gone wrong when the three surviving humans didn't fall under your bolts," Balthazar stated, "And if Clawd is dead, the humans will have his weapons. They also attempted to cover or remove as much of the blood trail Ruthie left behind her...I just hope it is enough that the humans will fall for the trap in the next vale still."

"You feared they had abandoned your wolves, and don't deny it," Purrsimon replied, "But we would have probably thought the same in a reversed situation. It appears that we still do not entirely trust each other."

Balthazar opened his mouth to reply, but just nodded instead.

"At least you were able to bring your fallen in. Clawd is probably being dissected by the human healers now...after all, they didn't know we existed until today as a species," Furdinand said quietly, "And his weapons in the hands of their armourers."

"What's your opinion on Ruthie?" Helewys asked quietly in the silence that followed that statement.

Furdinand shrugged, "From what I saw on the way through, I could have done no better a job than young Simeon. I would not count on her surviving though, her injury is more than severe."

Helewys shook her head, "Too young..."

"As are most of us," Pawsson, one of the other cats said, "And many more will not be given the chance she has."

The others nodded. "We never actually asked, but what of Furrn and the issue?" Balthazar asked, quietly.

Furdinand looked up again, "I amputated her tail and cauterised the flap. She has been ordered to stay on the clan fields until further notice. It will forever be her mark of shame, as we use our tails for mood communication more than you wolves. I heard what Simeon did to Herald, and I think we should call the matter closed now until we know if they both survive the upcoming conflict."

Helewys and Balthazar nodded, "We shall say no more until then..." he said, ears perking as a commotion began in the dark vale outside. A cacophony of alert yips sounded, and then howling started for a Healer. They all looked at each other in the hut, and then Furdinand broke the stillness and darted for the door as the calls for aid became more urgent, the others filing out in his wake rapidly.

Clawd staggered into the circle, several wolves supporting his limping form before he collapsed on his side, blood marring his lips. Furdinand rushed to his sweat soaked and shaking side, eyes drawn to the two snapped off arrow shafts protruding from his hindquarters, one in the left thigh muscle, one in his flank, just in front of his hip-bone. "It's alright youngster...you are in safe hands now..." Furdinand reassured, "Rest...all will be well..."

Clawd grunted as everyone closed around him, coughing up a little blood, "Don't lie Healer...I cannot rest yet...I need to report..."

Furdinand turned his head, summoning the conclave, Balthazar and Helewys forward, "Don't question him, just listen..." he said quietly.

They nodded, "Report, brave one," Purrdita said, folding her legs under her so she was nose to nose with Clawd.

"Fetch Simeon," Furdinand asked the nearest wolf-pup he didn't recognise, "He is better at operating than I."

The wolf nodded and darted off, and Furdinand turned back to catch the words from Clawd...

"Tracked them back to the Garddetownne...couldn't get a suitable attack point, but they created a right disturbance when they were spotted...Used the commotion to roof hop and follow the officer who struck Ruthie...Got into the loft of what they are using as base...I think the Inn...Listened in on the report and then hid until dusk...Should have waited until dark...Sentry spotted me as I ran across the open ground to the treeline on the village edge...Don't know if they know they got me...But..." he coughed up some more blood, chest heaving as Simeon pushed through the tightly gathered circle, "But...The commander...he said they will march at dawn for us to the Lieutenant before he dismissed the man ..."

"Shit," Purrdita said, "Thank you youngster...let the Healers help you now."

Purrsimon looked at the other conclave members, "I suggest we head on up to the fields and arm up every fighter...Are we still agreed on the terms of this first battle?" he asked, pointedly staring at Balthazar and Helewys.

"It would seem we have little choice...Gather at the vale entrance at false dawn, and we will go out to meet them...we did not have time to prepare the pits...but I believe you have some traps ready?" Helewys asked.

"We do..."

"Good...I will send up some wolves with you...they can be set before the humans reach them," Helewys replied coldly.

Simeon turned his head from examining Clawd, "Send Pawline down please...quickly," he asked, quietly.

The conclave looked puzzled, "She has just come off duty and will be sleeping..." Pawsson said tetchily, "Why, she is no Healer?"

Simeon looked down at his feet, "Because Cat... She and Clawd were to be mates..."

The past participle hung in the air for a minute, before Pawsson broke the silence with an, "Oh...Ah, I'm sorry...There is nothing you can do?"

Simeon shook his head, "He has half a mark at the most, so I suggest hurrying."

Pawsson nodded, "I will see to it myself..." he turned, running from the gathering, the other cats following with the exception of Furdinand.

"Let's get him to a hut and take some of his pain...it is all we can do," Simeon said quietly to his colleague. Furdinand nodded, watching as Simeon changed human and scooped Clawd up as gently as possible in his arms, before following him to the Healing hut.

"Everyone get some sleep!" Balthazar ordered, "In seven marks we show the humans that we will not just roll over and be slaughtered like lambs in a pasture!"

"Yes Alpha!" the gathered wolves shouted...and the group broke up, everyone heading for their respective huts.

"Will she be okay?" Clawd gasped quietly as they lay him on a clean pad, in sight of Ruthie's motionless form.

Simeon knelt near his head, grabbing some hessian and gently wiping the blood from his lips, "Being honest with you, I just don't know...I have done my best for her."

Clawd smiled gently, "Then maybe we will take the final walk together to meet Felinius and Lupinius on the other side...I will wait if I can, before I am assigned to where-ever..."

"I am sorry I cannot give you the chance to live..." Simeon whispered gravely, aware that Benedict was hovering behind him, along with Ysmay.

"You have given me the chance to say goodbye though...thank you...I hope Pawline makes it down in time..."

"I hope so too Clawd...Now swallow this tablet and it will help you with the pain."

"Thank you Healer...thank you..."