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Kage fell asleep quickly. As he expected, he quickly found himself in the Tipi with Saccularius. There was no chaotic vision, nor soul sucking vortex, for which he was glad. He stood up, dusted himself off, and turned to the wolf he'd killed just an hour earlier.

"Alright, where were we. You were about to explain exactly what you were doing inside my skull."

"That I was," but the answer fell uncomfortably with his lips. He looked tense, as if every muscle strained against some invisible force, though he remained completely motionless.

"What's the matter with you? You look like you're sitting on an ant bed and trying not to move."

The tension faded by just a sliver.

"I am tense, because I am forced into something that is against my nature."

"Forced? Forced to do what?"

Another fractional relaxation.

"Forced to obey your will, and forced to do nothing unless you specifically give me permission. However, since you gave me permission to speak freely earlier, I will say that it is damnably annoying that you literally fell asleep atop my corpse. I am trying to not blame you for killing me, but you aren't making it any easier."

Kage had gotten caught up on the first part of that speech and didn't really pay much attention to the rest.

"Really? No shit? Stand up, spin in a circle, and sit down."

He looked like he wanted to tear Kage limb from limb and his muscles tensed as if fighting the motion. Regardless, he performed the action, made even more embarrassing by Kage's laughter. Saccularius glared fangs at Kage, lips locked in silence until Kage remembered exactly what Saccularius had just said.

"Okay. Not only do you have permission to freely divulge information, you have permission to say anything you want to me, especially regarding yourself."

"Even while you are awake?"

"Sure, why not? Even when I'm awake."

He remained motionless, but his voice lost the formal tone, and fell into the natural cadences of a hunter

"Alright. You ever make me do something that childish and idiotic again, I will fuck you up. It'd be hard, but I'd find a way."

"Okay, Okay, I'm sorry, It won't happen again."

"Good. Now, what's the situation with the real world?"

"Not so fast! You still need to tell me why you're here, and what exactly is going on. I killed you not too long ago, how can I be sure you're not some vengeful spirit here to torment me?"

"Fine. Settle in, this is kind of a long story. Here's what happened-"

"Wait, no, no lies. I want you to tell me the truth, with no omissions, and no embellishments."

"Alright, I get the point, damn. Okay, no shit, there I was, ready to overthrow Mordecai and take control of the ShadowPelts, when an ignorant little runt up and killed me."

"You're still mad at me."

"You're damn right I am. It's my job to keep you alive now, and you're making me want to kill you myself."

Kage sighed, walked over to Saccularius, and sat down beside him. He rubbed his eyes with his knuckles, looking like the weight of the world sat on his shoulders.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I killed you, I'm sorry I overthrew your grand plan that's still going forwards now that you're a martyr, I'm sorry I offended you, and I'm sorry that you appear to be stuck with me. I'm just trying to keep myself from getting killed, alright? I just need to know what in Belluosus's name is going on, so I can try and make sure I don't die quite so quickly. Hell, I'm still a virgin for Bell's sake!"

They sat beside each other and stared into the fire for several minutes, each wrapped in his own thoughts. After what seemed like an eternity, Saccularius sighed and slipped an arm around the younger wolf's shoulders.

"If nothing else, you at least deserve to hear the story..."

"He might not look like it, but Mordekai is old, almost as old as the dirt he walks upon. Some even say that he's a Prime, one of the first beings made by Belluosus. I don't think he's quite that old, but he was certainly alive during the Savage Wars. We were scattered then, fighting each other like animals, caring only about food and mates, but Mordekai? He helped changed that. He found a wolf, beat him to a bloody pulp, then offered a deal. Join him, fight with him, and they would conquer the surrounding area. Join him or die. He helped his opponent heal, and they set off to repeat the process. Find another wolf, show dominance, offer the deal. Join or die. Eventually he had a small pack going, and he changed the way he worded his deal. Join us, and we will conquer all of the plains. Join us, and we will conquer all of Paenitentia. That was about when his merry band ran into me. He had this vision, he wanted the entire continent united beneath a single banner, his banner and his passion lit a fire in each of our hearts. Until he tried to push further than his own little corner of the world."

"Across the plains, many had the same idea he did. Subjugate warriors into allies instead of killing them. Claim territory, expand control. We were stronger than most, but where a lone hunter could be subjugated and assimilated without death, or even much bloodshed, we could not employ the same tactic to an entire clan. Either they fought us to the death, and we lost more than we gained, or they formed alliances with other packs, until they were strong enough to push back. It looked like we were about to go to war with every single wolf in the area, but then something happened. One of the smaller tribes near us was completely massacred. I forget what their name was, but our scouts came back with reports that the entire pack was dead, most of them killed in their sleep by the looks of it. It was Savage. Brutal. Merciless. Not even the children were spared, and the dry ground became soaked in their blood."

"We never found out what happened to them. Thirty souls, dead and gone, without a trace. At the time, I was one of the forward scouts, tasked with keeping tabs on our enemies, and I was one of those sent to investigate. So much blood... it didn't even smell like blood anymore, it just smelled like death. Death and bones."

"All the other tribes thought we did it, and I don't blame them. We had the most to gain. We took their territory, before anyone else could, but our tribe was large enough that there was dissention. Some thought we should take the chance and start a war, conquer everyone beneath our claws. Others thought we should atone for the crime even though we didn't commit it. Make peace with the others, and seek unity through diplomacy. Those were a small minority though, so they broke off to start their own clan. Last I heard, the Stripe Hides were doing rather well for themselves, and they were close to uniting the plains under diplomacy. The rest of us followed Mordekai, thinking that he would lead us to war to defend our honor. Most of the other clans blamed us for the catastrophe, and they looked like they were set to unite against us as a common enemy, and it soon seemed that every wolf on the plains was out for ShadowPelt blood. We were ready to give it too. We were ready to fight to defend our honor, ready to fight for survival, ready to die in a blaze of glory and join Belluosus the sky. In fact, the only one of us who wasn't ready, oddly enough, was Mordekai. He changed after that day, and if he was driven by domination before, he now became obsessed with peace. He performed any supplication, met every demand, shaming himself and us just for the sake of keeping an already tenuous peace. We'd beg him, again and again, 'Let us FIGHT. Let us Fight and Die, rather than shame ourselves so.' He refused. He was chief, and surely he knew better than we did, but that was his only argument he could stand on."

"So, we traded away materials, food, territory, even our own warriors, all to appease the other packs. Our power waned, and we went from being easily the most powerful tribe on the plains, to this pathetic lot you see now. He has continued such obscene acts, and our tribe's power fades still. We grew angry with him. He would see us as weaklings, unable to even fend for ourselves, he would run our pack into the ground and let us go to rot. We needed a new chief, a strong, bold chief, one who was not afraid to die. Me... I was to fight him for the right to lead, I was to be the new chief. It had all but been decided. We were going to act, soon. We'd lie to the rest of the packs, say that Mordekai ordered the murder of the FlamePads, that's what their name was. I would fight him for leadership, he would die as a scapegoat, and everything would be just fine. Then you came along. A runt, sent as a insult, who managed to kill the leader of our quaint little rebellion. Odds are, they'll say I was poisoned; how else would a runt kill a strong warrior? They'll kill Mordekai anyway, they still need him as a scapegoat, but they'll also probably kill you, as vengeance for killing me. Now you know, you need to put pads to the earth as soon as you wake up, and high tail it back to the Stripes before you get killed for someone else's mistake."

Kage stared at the fire, taking in his words for a minute. He looked at the story like it was a riddle, lining up what he'd been told, looking for holes, looking for gaps and even dishonesty. He found a few, one of which he sought immediately.

"That doesn't explain why you're helping me."

"No it doesn't, but now it's your turn. Tell me what's happened since I died, and I'll finish my story."

He knew he could order Saccularius to tell him... but he didn't want to. He needed allies wherever he could get them, and he couldn't just order Saccularius around like a... like a runt.

"Alright. Here's about how things stand. Just after you died-"

"If I may, there's an easier way to do this."

"What?"

"With your permission, I can look through your memories. It'd be faster, easier, and more detailed."

"And I need to do this before you tell me why I can trust you?"

"By the crooked bones of the ancient dead, FINE, I'll finish my story first. After I died, Belluosus spoke to me."

"Both of them? At the same time?"

"No, of course not, now shut yer yap and let me finish. His voice was... chaotic... like a thousand screaming wolves saying different things, but their voices all flowed together to form his. He said that a war between the wolves would bring about a great war between all species that would end with our extinction. Mordekai was acting on his guidance, trying to preserve the peace any way possible and keep us from getting ourselves killed. For plotting against him and bringing about his inevitable downfall, I was damned to be sealed within Paenitentia's cold rock, to suffer in silence forever. But, this was an odd time, and it created odd circumstances. He offered me a deal. You'd jut eaten my heart, so you were assured my strength, and also the spark of my power. With his blessing, you could gain my soul too, to have my memories and experience there to help guide you through the knee-deep shit you're in. In return for guiding and teaching you, he would erase my crimes, and I'd be welcomed as a hero when you died, hopefully some time in the far future. Faced with either eternal damnation, or the chance to ride around in my killer's skull, I almost chose damnation, but I decided that I'd rather make sure you didn't fuck up hard enough to doom us all. And before you ask, no, I don't know what makes you so important, I barely understood them as it was. All I know is that if you die, war will come, and our race will be history."

Khaejiran sighed, slumping into the older wolf's casual embrace.

"How'd you say it? 'I'm knee deep in shit?' yea, that's a pretty good metaphor. Alright. Look through my memories, look through whatever you want, I just want to close my eyes and sleep for awhile without thinking about all this."

Saccularius squeezed him gently, perhaps feeling just a tiny bit of affection and sympathy for him.

"I'll take a look, and see if I can't think of anything. In the meantime, you can go ahead and get some real sleep. At most, we can do this semi-physical dream thing about two hours a night, but I'll cut it early now. Rest easy hero."

Warmed by both the fire, and by Saccularius's comforting presence beside him, he curled up and closed his eyes. After a few moments, he faded, and was gone. Saccularius groaned and stood up. He knew he didn't have muscles, but it still felt right to stretch, working the kinks out. The fire vanished, the Tipi disappeared, and he stood upon absolute nothing... emptiness. The absolute blurred, shifting and acquiring color, until he looked through Kage's eyes, watching the memories play out before him. He didn't look at the most recent events though... he looked all the way into the boy's past, and he knew Kage's entire life story within the hour.