The display of the terminal blinked several times, going dark for a long time. Sonya felt her heartbeat increase. What if she never picks up? Spirits knows, Sonya did not deserve any leniency for...With a sudden flash, the display came to life, illuminating the dark room in faint colors. On the other side of the display was a black-furred wolfkin, dressed in a long black apron, with the silver coloring of a dragon running on it; the jaws of the painted beast closed on the wolfkin’s chest. A black bandana with white skulls on it was wrapped around the neck of the warrior. The wolfkin herself had a long, well-cared-for mane of black hair, reaching all the way to her waist. Iron rings, colored a golden color, were on her hands. She stood before the table. On a pristine, clear white tablecloth stood a large plate with an enormous looking cake on it. A mobile refrigerator stood near the wolfkin. A bar of liquid chocolate was in her paws. Her tongue was out from effort as she poured the chocolate onto the cake. Five candles were on the cake, burning brightly.
"It’s you," Lizzie stated coldly, seeing Sonya on display in a smaller terminal placed in Roggo’s house. Her brother and his wife once saw how Dragena was building her own home and decided that they wanted the same for their cubs, "If not for dad, I would have never…"
She stopped talking as the door behind her flung open, crashing against the wall and causing the plates on the shelf to produce a ringing sound. Two wolfkin cubs run inside. One cub had fur the color of rust. He was dressed in torn jeans and a t-shirt. His body was covered in scars, not even his fur could hide the number of barely healed scratches on his body. Another was a female, her black fur seemingly gleaming in the light. A few scars were on her lean body, a simple rag was wrapped around her body. Behind them came the one-handed figure of a smiling Roggo. Sonya's brother was only a year younger than her, and gray fur covered him, pushing back all the darkness that was once on his hide. He was in workers' pants of a brown color. A few instruments were still strapped to his belt. Roggo could no longer fight, so he earned his living by helping around the village.
"Jacen! How many times must I tell you to be more careful!" Lizzie snapped at her brother, before lovingly running one hand across his hair, as he put one finger in his mouth and said a single "Sowwy" word, looking ashamed, "Eh, no biggie. Try to remember it next time. What is she doing here?" The warrior glared at the girl with strict eyes, causing the cub to take a cautious step back.
"Nagaina’s good!" Jacen jumped before the girl, standing tall before his sister. The cub behind him looked at him incredulously, her left brow raised high in confusion for a moment, before she pushed him aside and boldly stood before Lizzie, unwilling to let him defend her. Jacen pleadingly looked at his sister, "Nagaina said sowwy for biting me too hard! Other cubs played with me yesterday as well!"
"Even girls?" Lizzie smirked after saying this question, and Nagaina shrugged her shoulders.
"After they take a beating? Yeah, they learned that playing together is safer than being dominated. Anyone dares kick Jac, this one will answer to me!" The cub proudly hit herself in the chest, "See? I am strong!"
"Can Nagaina and the others come today? Please Lizzie, please!" Jacen jumped before his sister, fists clutched to his chest in a pleading gesture.
"Well, since you are all good kids now..." Lizzie said thoughtfully, putting her finger to her lips and licking off bits of chocolate off her fingers, "Sure, let’s allow everyone to taste the cake. Little snake, do you like chocolate?" The warrior asked the cub.
“What’s a chocolate?” A claw came from Nagaina’s finger, and she put into her mouth, sucking it in confusion at a question.
"Better to experience than to listen to an explanation." Lizzie flung open the lid of the refrigerator and reached for something inside.
"How many times must I tell you to wear pants instead of shorts? Think of what example you are giving to kids!" Roggo put his paw on the head in desperation as he saw his daughter from behind.
"My thick fur is all the clothes I ever need, dad. Here kiddo, catch." Lizzie found a square-shaped piece of chocolate, tore the wrapper off it and threw the sweet to Nagaina. The girl took a small bite carefully at first, before taking a larger bite.
"Sweet! It’s sweet, miss warrior!" Nagaina squeaked in a surprisingly cheerful voice, her eyes flashing with pleasure before she collected herself. She coughed aside, trying to look serious, and broke the remaining chocolate into two parts. She gave the bigger part to Jacen and said, in a serious tone, "It’s your birthday. You need to eat a bigger share."
"But sis always gives me treats. You should eat it, since no one ever gi…" Jacen fell silent when Nagaina threw an angry glance at him. He took the sweet off her paw and put it into his maw, allowing the chocolate to melt slowly in his mouth. Nagaina looked at him and put her own share in her mouth, imitating him. She smiled as the chocolate started to melt.
"Say hello to auntie, Jacen." Roggo said, and Lizzie threw a quick glance at her dad. But he simply shrugged off her look.
"Auntie Sonya!" Jacen jumped high as he saw Sonya in the terminal, "Hi! I am no longer sick and do not wet myself as often as before!"
"Hello, little one," Sonya said warmly, trying not to scare him this time, "I am glad you found friends."
"Well, technically, he is simply under my protection, since he is a member of my pack. I mean, we play now, but I am his superior!" Nagaina said, desperately trying to look imposing and serious, puffing off her chest and spreading her shoulders wide. Still, Sonya noticed her curious eyes as Nagaina looked at her. It is not often you see a wolfkin without any fur. The girl clearly desperately wanted to ask how it came to be but tried to hold her curiosity back.
"You are hairless now, auntie. You look funny." Jacen giggled, putting his paws to his mouth. Nagaina only rolled her eyes at this remark.
"Comes with age, Jacen. Don’t worry, I will get my fur back eventually," Sonya chuckled in response, and Lizzie raised her eyebrow in surprise. Sonya usually treated Jacen harsher. Sonya looked at Nagaina, "You passed the challenge yet?"
"Nah. It will be a month or so before nannies," Nagaina jumped as Lizzie lightly smacked her behind her head. Without slowing down, she stood with hands behind her back and corrected herself, "I mean honorable warriors will take us on a hunt."
"If you want to, I can give you some pointers on how to skewer insectoids…"
"Oh, please," Nagaina smirked arrogantly. Sonya noticed that the girl was younger than Jacen by at least a year or two, yet her muscles were far better developed. Nagaina clearly had her share of victories already, not even dirt on her can hide the arrogant, almost regal look of her posture, "I already hunted and devoured one on my own. I am the queen of the pits, none can match me in combat!"
"Fine then, oh great queen of the pits," Lizzie put a palm to her snout, holding back her laughter, "Summon your court, the birthday party is about to start. But first and foremost... Dad, we still have some clothes left from me or my sisters, right? Find something suitable for Jacen’s new friend."
"Really, you don't have to," Nagaina said, dropping her posturing and frantically waving her paws, almost panicked, "I have nothing in exchange, and I always lose stuff..."
"Then we will just find you something else to wear, when it comes to it. Off you go, kids, I need to speak with auntie alone," Lizzie almost dragged the cubs out of the room, while Roggo followed them, "Go and gather your friends faster, cake ain’t gonna last long in such heat, coolers or not coolers."
"Thanks, ughm, miss," Nagaina bowed, before walking to the exit, "I will make sure to keep Jacen out of trouble."
"You won’t last even a week before you give up." Lizzie mocked the girl, turning to Sonya, a cheeky smile on her lips.
"Never! I am going to become the greatest of wolf hags! Greater than Sonya, Aranea, Annie, or anyone else who came before me! What I decide will be! I decided to keep Jacen safe, so I will keep him safe!" Nagaina roared stubbornly before charging out of the room, holding Jacen by the paw.
Lizzie closed the door behind him, laughing quietly to herself. She took the bandana off her neck, wiping her paws clean with it.
"Kids, eh." She said to Sonya.
"You mean cubs." Sonya automatically corrected her, like she had many times in the past. Lizzie only rolled her eyes, throwing the bandana into the pocket of her apron, "I assume you talked with this girl, right?"
"Allegedly," Lizzie smirked in response, "Someone noticed that Jacen came back from the pits even more hurt than usual. Someone tracked the problem to its source. Nagaina is a good kid, in need of proper slapping, sure, but a good kid. She wants to be the strongest, but has distorted ideas of what that means. Someone told her that dominating the weak would not make her stronger... Now she just smacks down those who tried smacking Jacen and grows stronger from this. And thus, Jacen has new friends to play with afterwards, as Nagaina forces everyone to play nice. Win-win for everyone, I say, and fewer bite marks to treat for me."
"That someone should have punished the girl for dominating him instead of playing nice. Lizzie, your family’s honor is on the line…" Sonya stopped as Lizzie looked coldly at her again.
"I prefer to treat a problem at its core rather than let it fester, spreading the rot. Why are you here?" Lizzie showed her middle finger on her left hand. Her thumb was missing, sliced away by one of the insectoid warriors a few years back, "Are you going to berate me again for caring about Jacen? If so, then fuck you! You were the one who abandoned us, who…" Lizzie almost screamed, holding her voice down with effort in order to hide the argument from the cubs, "And now dad says that you want to talk all of a sudden. On Jacen’s birthday no less! I would rather you rot away in your den for how you treated him, but fine. Say your piece and piss off, auntie dearest."
"I…" Sonya tried to find words, then she simply said what was on her mind, "I wanted to say that I treated you and Jacen unfairly. I was…" She stopped once again, looking for the right words, "I am still a total ass. I should never have said these words. I should have been around, supporting you all, instead of abandoning you. I…" Sonya stopped and hastily raised the book that she brought from Iterna, showing the autograph of the author, "I know how you like these novel series, so I went to Iterna and got the author to sign this novel for you. I know that this won’t make up for… anything really, but I just wanted to… I don’t know, make something for you at least?"
"Bull… Lizzie said with disbelief in her voice as she saw the autograph, "You actually remember. You remember how you took me to the stores. I always assumed that you hated this whole trip to the town, since you were so angry about us going there."
"I was angry. I thought that it was unworthy of our kind to be interested in such trifles. Instead of helping you grow into who you wanted to be, I tried to mold you into someone else. This was, and still is, my fault and my fault only. I have been trying to change. No, I have been forced to rethink my actions," Sonya shrugged her head, forcing herself to admit the reason for her change, "All these years, I just wanted to say sorry. But I was a coward, too proud, too stubborn. But a lot has happened in the last few months, and... Well, it is what it is." Sonya inhaled deeply and then exhaled, releasing air from her lungs, calming herself. Her reasons for being sorry now look silly, even to her, "I was afraid to die and never apologize to you for all the pain that I caused you. You have no obligation to forgive me or anything, I just wanted…" Sonya put the novel aside and grabbed her head, "I… It was all clearer in my head. It's hard to put into words. Liz… Can I come and meet you in person? Can we… talk?"
"That… is something I need to process first." Lizzie admitted, looking aside. She swallowed and then nodded, "But Jacen was never angry at you. I will have to leave in a few days, to go to mom’s grave and all…" She still looked aside. Lizzie’s mother was older than Sonya. Time came for her to visit the shaman’s house, as age was catching up to her. Sonya remembered how Lizzie was ripping and tearing everything in the house as her mother left for her final journey. Once the wolfkins reached a certain age, they had to use a rejuvenation shot, leave the tribe, or go to shamans to end their earthly existence. Lizzie’s mother chose to follow the tradition. Shamans later returned her body to the family, a single wound was on the woman’s head. Mercy killing, or so they say. The only reason Lizzie never howled or cried that night was because she was busy calming down Jacen. The warrior calmed herself and continued, "It’s hard to find time to visit her nowadays, when dad and I are all alone."
"What about your sisters? Are they…" Sonya asked, half afraid to hear the answer. Surely, Roggo would tell her if something happened.
"Oh, they are fine. Melissa became a wolf hag recently," Lizzie smirked, "She became quite bloodthirsty, even wanted to come back and beat up Nagaina after I told her about Jacen’s problems."
"Really? She was almost the quiet one."
"She is a woman of many talents. Ingrid was injured in the war and now spends most of her time fuming with anger in the military hospital. She was out a few days before the ceasefire. I think I could hear her screams of rage even from here," Lizzie laughed, putting her paw to her mouth, "Naughty girl. Alka is being trained by Ygrite, she is… The only one of us who still has trouble reaching a warrior level. Good with traps, however. Too good for my liking. I won’t challenge her again," Lizzie scratched her butt, remembering something. The smile disappeared from her face, "Sisters refuse to come. They send tokens and photos, always call Jacen to cheer him up, but after mom..." Lizzie swallowed, trying to calm herself, as rage was showing in her amber eyes. Her lips moved, showing fangs, "Was killed by shamans, they seem to be afraid of returning home. Can’t really blame them. At least they sent this," She nodded at the mobile refrigerator, "To us, so we could have a proper party for Jacen. And someone else sent us a shitton of ice cream in another refrigerator too. Actually, it looks more like a truck than a refrigerator. Anyway. Someone will need to read Jacen stories at night, you know that he has difficulties sleeping without them. Dad needs to sleep a lot, he works too much for his age. If you can cover for me in for a few days… sure, come. We will talk once I am back. But if you dare to harm even a single hair on Jacen’s head, I swear to Spirits that I will…"
"Never!" the scout said quickly, having trouble believing that Lizzie would allow her to come back.
Sonya leaned back, breathing in relief, feeling her heart turning into a drum in her chest while the massive terminal installed in her room turned off. A chance! A second chance! To make things right, to talk with her family anew. Her eyes shot around the room, thinking about what to take with her…
"And what were these words that you shouldn't have said?" A cold voice asked, and the terminal came back online, showing a dark outline of a figure sitting behind a wooden table. The figure leaned forward, looking at Sonya. His pupils were the color of gold. His face lacked any scars or memorable features. Inquisitory intellect and burning passion were in his eyes. The man’s lips were tightly pressed. Sonya jumped off the chair, standing at attention. Dynast. The Dynast himself was speaking to her now, "Tell me, scout. This is an order."
"This happened a few years ago," Sonya forced herself to speak, hating every moment of that time. She had no right to say these words to the boy, “Jacen had problems, and I suggested that the shamans cull him if he isn't sane enough.” Sonya clenched her fangs, unwilling to reveal all the insults that Lizzie rightfully shouted at her afterwards.
The Dynast fell silent, taking a pen from his table and putting its center on his finger, toying with it and keeping the pen balanced. Sonya stood at attention, waiting for his word. He was the savior of their tribe, the one who saved both the blessed mother and them, allowing the tribe to prosper. Ravager swore eternal loyalty to this man with strange eyes that changed color occasionally, and all her kin followed her lead. To betray him, to keep the secret from the ruler, was heresy.
"Because of you, we nearly had an international incident. Are you an idiot?" He finally asked, touching one end of the pen, throwing it off balance, before quickly touching the other end and restoring the balance, "Or a hero?"
"Idiot," Sonya responded immediately, "The fault is mine and mine alone. I am ready to accept any punishment."
"Glad to hear it," The lips spread into a smile and the Dynast threw up the pen, signing something on the table, "Eugenia, please stop hiding already."
A humming sound behind Sonya, accompanied by a soft step against the floor, announced the arrival of someone. The scout felt the presence of someone dangerous behind her back. She turned around to see the Elite, fully dressed in her armored suit and cape, save for her helmet, standing behind her. A portal leading to what looked like a workshop closed behind the woman.
The scout was always confused about an unnatural fear that the wolfkins felt from being in close proximity to this woman. Eugenia was looking down on her, smiling gently. Sonya knew for certain that this Elite had never killed anyone in over three hundred years. No matter how heinous the foe was, no matter how mad or bloodthirsty, Eugenia always found a way to win without killing. Yet, as she looked into these bright eyes, Sonya felt utter dread, as if she had met a predator who specialized in killing her kind.
"Pardon the surprise," Eugenia said cheerfully, "I am here to officially congratulate you on becoming an Iterna citizen."
"What!" Sonya gasped.
"It’s true," The Dynast said, finishing signing off some documents, "Sonya, there is a law in Iterna that allows outsiders to become full citizens by saving a life of Iterna’s citizen. You saved quite a few. Naturally, originally, I would have left the decision to you. Not this time," He looked at her and smirked nervously, before chuckling once, "Apologies. You see, your revelation before the last terrorist’s attack, sparked a bit… Shitstorm. Yes, this is the right word for it."
"I am not sure I understand." Sonya whispered.
"We aren’t planning to stand up and allow the one who helped our people to be skinned alive." Eugenia said.
"Yes, this," The Dynast pointed at the Elite, "Eugenia was watching over you for a bit, ensuring that Alpha will not hurt you. The iternian populace demands your safety. And, after consulting with diplomats, we decided to make you an honorably iternian. Congratulation," The Dynast finished dryly, "You will have to give an interview later on, but this should placate Iterna's population just fine."
"Please sire, do not banish me…"
"Worry not!" The Dynast stopped her with a gesture, "If you are willing to stay in the army and keep submitting yourself to the traditions of your tribe, I will allow it. There is one service, however, that you have to do to help solve the situation that you caused."
Eugenia stepped forward, extending her left arm and offering an injector to Sonya. The wolfkin took it, a small looking device that was meant to be pressed against the skin to allow the medicine within to enter her bloodstream. She looked at Dynast in confusion.
"It is a rejuvenation shot, one that is provided to all our citizens for free," Eugenia explained, "After you use it, your age will be reverted. Your height, memories, and, of course, muscles will remain the same, healed if need be. But your cells will be renewed, hearing, eyesight, and similar body functions will be restored back to their prime."
"Will the change be immediately?" Sonya asked, looking at the device.
"No. Our own rejuvenation medicine is not as advanced as Iterna’s and works over a period of month, slowly reversing the aging process and requiring several shots to bring the patient back to the prime of their youth. Iterna," The Dynast admitted, "is far more advanced than we in this regard, but even they can’t concord miracles. It will take effect over a period of one week."
"And there won’t be any blackouts this time," Eugenia smiled, "I swear. Just inject this and I’ll open the portal to your village. I am sure your nephew would like to see his aunt on his birthday."
Sonya pressed the injector to her neck, pressing the button and feeling something enter her body. It felt less like a liquid and more like… sand. She stood for a moment, unsure if this device worked properly, before a surge of energy hit her, sparking a new fire in her eyes and banishing all fear and worries from her mind.
A second chance! A chance to set things right! She will try to help Aranea change the tribe and make sure that one day no cub will have to mourn lost ones like Lizzie and others had to. She will force Roggo and Jacen to quit the tribe. If Kassandra's child could live in the tribe without fear of the shamans, then Jacen and Roggo could as well. She will give her all for her family, the ones tied to her by blood or otherwise, this time, every ounce of her strength.
Sonya nodded to herself, making an oath, and stepped into the portal opened for her by the Elite.
