If there was ever a time to be thankful for Sleep Resistance, it was now.

Layers of dust gathered in my eyes felt stuck to the rims of my eyes each time I blinked, both of them tightly rolling around in my sockets like those dry bushes that would pass the screen in a Western film.

3 days had already passed, and in that time, Greenie, Andvari and I worked unceasingly in shifts to make sure we didn’t lose a single wolf.

It was early morning, and most of the wolves lay asleep, the healthier ones occasionally getting up to prowl and pace about the cave, giving a wide brith to Andvari snoring away in his fire pit.

Exhausted from constantly remolding the needles that became full of old blood and needing to be cleaned, Andvari finally gave up on working from his rock and instead sat in the fire directly. The heat should be good enough to sanitize everything. In his hands, all the needles we collected would become soft like play dough while he sat in the fire, molded everything into a ball, and spun out brand new needles once again.

Greenie’s dirk was turning a garish pink and green color from the juice of all the vines we were cutting down to replace the used makeshift IV tubes/vines.

It was taking a while because it was the weaker, smaller female wolves that were more sick. In the cave, more sick females lay with blood still leaking out of their ears.

I begin checking on the water bowls we'd made out of Crescent Moon leaves first. They needed to be refilled if empty, and the bowl replaced if it was leaking. More often than not, the bowls would leak. Leaf bowls weren't the hardiest of bowls.

Hopping to the stack of new bowls, I drag one over to one grey wolf who lays on the ground, panting.

Better to lose a bowl than have a wolf die.

We hadn't lost any of them, yet. 

The number of wolves had actually increased. While I was busy figuring out how to secure food for all of us and checking up on Crixus, some of the wolves had left to bring back a litter of pups. There were four of the small grey ones, fluffy ears flopping around as they rolled over each other and gamboled about the cave.

When they first arrived, they tried smelling my butt, but I’d quickly put a stop to that.

Cute they were. (But I think I’m cuter)

Hrrrrrrm?

Another whimper next to me, and a pup trots up and sits his butt next to me, panting proudly while presenting me with a flat rock he’d stolen from Greenie’s slingshot bag.

No, give that back to Greenie. We’re not playing catch right now.

I make sure to speak to them sternly, else the pups would keep nagging me to play with them. It was my fault. While I was changing a vine, I’d thrown a rock for them to go fetch to keep them from bothering me. That’d backfired when they brought the stupid rock back.

Hahh..

Silly Raven.

They would have been more adorable if they were smaller than me, but instead when I stood next to them,  their chest came right to my throat, putting them at a head taller than me.

Darn it! Just when I thought I would finally not be the smallest in the cave anymore.

A lot of time needed to be spent avoiding the young pups wanting to play with me while I checked up on the sick adult wolves. Sigh.. If I could fly, this wouldn’t be a problem.

Focus, Raven. Focus. One step at a time.

Rubbing my temples, I repeat my mantra. After changing the IV’s, it would be time to check if the wolves drank their water and ate next.

At least food was no longer a part of the list of things I needed as of now.

With great reluctance, I’d had the wolves’ blood soak in all of the fabric that we had, since we didn’t have any bowls. Leaves wouldn’t do the job either. Looking at the bright side of things, at least the cloths were all clean before they were used.

The blood made it easy enough to secure some food for the night. It was Greenie and I’s job to set out the cloths, now all stained a dark reddish brown, just beyond the line of the Siphon bushes outside our cave. Easier than fishing, since all we did was set out the bait, then wait for the bush to reel the prey in. 

Overnight, the scent of blood grew sweeter, ripening like fruit in the darkness. It made even me to drool a bit from the smell of it heady in the air, a fresh summer wine spilt across the velvet of night.

So far, we’d caught a smaller Mirror snake, one of the old-man faced monkeys and a few Salamanders.

Cooking-wise, it was easy enough. I would cut off Greenie, Andvari, and I’s portion, then throw the rest to the wolves, who divvied it up among themselves.

They ate from weakest to strongest. Which explained why the Wolf King was the last affected by the poison I’d prepared in the Antoras.

Seeing the realization dawning on my face, Greenie looked like he wanted to ask me why I was making the face. It was after I privately explained it to him later on that the very same look appeared on his face as well.

Since the wolves ate their meat raw, much like Greenie did, the cave continued to get messier and messier, with the blood of the sick wolves and freshly eaten prey getting all over the floor and walls like a Jackson Pollock painting.

If it wasn’t obvious enough, smelling all this blood all the time was doing things to me. Though I didn’t like it, somewhat…..I did enjoy it.

Though there was no large exhale of breath like a human, I can feel the muscles in my face stretching when I open up my beak wide to yawn.

Seeing the Wolf King stirring awake from his deep sleep. 

You’re awake!

Veering around one thumping silver tail, I make my way to the Wolf King and tap my wing on his snout. Clay crackles and flies everywhere when he goes into a stretch and shivers hard, shedding the drying flecks of blood from his thick coat.

How is she?

She’s doing a lot better. She’s kept down the meat I gave her yesterday, and the bleeding’s stopped from her eyes. It’s taking longer for her ears, but it’s harder to tell since it might be old blood stuck in there.

Thank you, Alpha.

I didn't feel worthy of receiving his thanks. This was my responsibility to fix because I was the cause. Should I tell him? Heart beating fast, I consider against it. It wasn't right. We didn't know if the wolves were all healed yet.

No, don't thank me, it was also Greenie and Andvari's help. They did most of the hard labor you know.

It is good. This vile sickness, it tormented our Pack while we searched for you..

My eyes wander away from meeting his when he says that.

Heaving a relieved sigh, the Wolf King stretches out his back again.

I would like that. For my mate.

Like what?

The- being. Of self? How do I explain? Like the goblin, the small one, the worthy one had. Crixus, it was.

It was cute seeing the scarred wolf struggling to explain.

You mean a name.

Ok, how about Romulus for you and Remus for her. It’s matching, so cute!

One wing splayed wide in my best jazz-hand style, I adapt a perky tone while making the light hearted suggestion, trying to change the heavy mood.

I reject.

Firmly the Wolf King shakes his head, looking content with his head resting lightly atop his sleeping mate’s.

It must match her character, first.

What’s her character? I don’t know her too well as of yet, since she’s been asleep most of the time and all.

Devoted. Watchful. Proud. She is a good mate.

Puffing out his chest in pride, he licks the top of his mate’s head, not minding the blood that sticks to his tongue.

You sure could say she’s proud. I think, though I don’t say it out loud. She was a sassy wolf to be sure, a proud wolf who was willing to fight for her mate after he’d lost. She was cool, like a warrior queen..

By jove, I've got it!

Maybe, how about Boudicea?

What is that?

It’s the name of a warrior queen I heard of. She led an army against and empire for revenge, and destroyed her enemies.

What does that mean?

One scarred eye peers at me with excitement. I have to wave way the dust he stirs up from his tail thumping so hard against the ground.

It means she fought for her pack winning lots and lots of fights.

My explanation makes him puff out his chest even more in pride. I knew he like it then.

Hmm. That is fitting.

Another voice softly interrupts our conversation.

Boudicea. I like that.

With a soft whimpering, the female wolf opens one golden eye, blinking. My eyes widen in surprise seeing her eye turn red, then back to gold with one blink.

Maybe I imagined it!?

Mate?

Tail wagging in happiness, the two wolves rub noses with each other when she awakes. She unhooks the needle from her foreleg herself, tugging it off her mate’s chest in the process as they circle around each other and reunite.

She was bigger than she was before, patches of her grey coat shimmering a little brighter into a silver color under all the dried blood and mud.

What!

The Wolf King’s mate evolved!?

Appraisal!

She evolved!! But how!? Wha- What were the requirements she fulfilled???

I thought only the Wolf King wielded flames, but now her too?

Bark! Bark bark! 

There’s no time to closely examine her yet, small yips and barks breaking out from the pups who wag their tails with a vengeance, sniffing about where Crixus lay.

Gruaaaaagh.

A low groan rumbles by the rough wall of the cave, shivering as it begins to move.

What looks like a roughly made grave mound shifts, crackling as stones and clay ripple off of the pile in a cascading effect.

[Evolution of Kin (Crixus) completed.]

Crixus! Had the evolution given him his arms back?! 

As the rocks continue to fall away, I look up in anticipation. And up-

He got taller too!! How exciting!

What’s this weight, Esteemed Lady? He asks, looking down at himself in confusion.

Well no wonder. That was all Greenie’s fault. The pups somehow thought Crixus was where you would gather all the loose rocks in the cave because of the clay and stones Greenie piled on top of his chest until you couldn’t see his face beyond it. Every time they were bored, they would find a nice rock and roll it to Crixus.

And they were bored a lot. Stuck inside the cave and unable to go beyond the Sipphon Bush border for safety, it was one of the few pastimes they had.

Furrowing his brows and scrunching his face together to stretch it out a bit, Crixus blinks several times towards me as he sits up, shimmying to brush off the dirt and stones stuck to his dried sweat.

Moving my eyes downwards to see if his arms had grown back, I shutter my eyes to hide my disappointment.

….

Poor Crixus. He didn’t get any new arms.

Instead of showing my sadness, I force myself to perk up.

Congratulations Crixus! You’ve evolved!!!

Craning my neck to see the top of his head, the forced happiness turns real seeing what was atop his head.

Your Horn!! Crixus, your Horns are back!!

The lopsided horns, one jagged and the other not was now replaced with a new set of thicker horns, the tips sharpening into wicked points. The ends of his horns were black, the gradient color leaching into a soft tan color at the roots. His body was even bulkier now too, releasing a fierce fighters aura with his neck thickened and bull’s head looking even more frightening with low, ridged eyebrows.

If I didn’t know him, he would be scary to meet in the forest. Crixus looked like the lovechild of a demon and the world’s most vicious bull, with DNA grafted from the world’s strongest bodybuilder.

He was THAT built. 

Turning around, he looks at his waving tail, snapping it a couple times to test it. It had become thicker and more sinuous, the skin near the bushy end of it forming into hard-looking scales that grew atop one another.

Thighs now bigger than Greenie’s waist, they flexed and stretched when he squatted a few times, pouring the ground with hooves that also had the same scaled ridges.

He grins, stretching his neck from side to side.

Finally, I have completed a Becoming. What a day today has been.

Actually, not today. The fight was 3 days ago, Crixus. 

Noticing me before him, he grins even wider and bows, the hot breath blowing out of his nostrils ruffling my feathers.

Esteemed lady, you have changed your colors? Or perhaps you have shed your colors?

Looking down at myself, I shrug. Bits of brown clay crackle off of me with the movement, blood-stained powder sprinkling on to the stony floor. 

No, it’s the blood. Don’t mind me though. How are you, Crixus. Feeling alright?

More than alright, Lady. For that I thank you.

No, I should be thanking you.

Covering my face with my wing to hide my embarrassment, I can’t help myself from swaying back and forth.

I’m so glad you evolved Crixus. You deserve it for all your hard work!!

Oh, and here’s your reward, as promised.

With large hops (My wing was almost healed!) back to where I’d set down my pack, I take out his present and carefully present it to him.

There was the Tear fragment, neatly wrapped up in a soft leaf.

Carefully folding his large frame, Crixus kneels and sniffs at the leaf. Though without arms, he kept his balance as he kneeled, hairy stomach breaking up into dinner roll abs. No! They were chocolate bar abs now! More tightly structured and wired, muscles rippling in waves while his core worked to keep his balance.

Now remember Crixus, we only know that it works to make plants grow quickly, and strongly too, but we still don’t know what other effects it might have. I would suggest you be careful-

It’s too late for that.

Rolling her eyes, Boudicea prods my side with her sharp noise and interrupting my speech.

He’s eaten it.

Uh-Wha

Unbelievable. What is it with males eating the strangest things.

She sighs, sending a long glance back at her mate who flinches feeling her stare, though his back was turned to her. 

Unable to process her words at first, I stare at her blankly until she prods me again to turn my head forward.

Crixus?

And I did, just in time to see the Minotaur chew on the Tear fragment, leaf wrapping and all like a cow would chew their cud, then gulp the entire thing down.

THUD!

Eyes rolling into the back of his head with only the whites showing, the large Minotaur falls backwards, out for the count. Again.

Kieek!!

Greenie was quick to swoop in, snickering as he gleefully dragged him with the help of other wolves over every bump and large rock. Back to where Crixus had been asleep evolving only a few minutes before.