Prime

Under the watchful eye of Lady Light’s moonlight, the celebrating taarans jump and dance around the bonfire. Henry watches from his spot a little further away as the wolves are enjoying a day of true peace that only happens once every year.

Wolf cubs run around on the green grass, it’s their turn to throw their offerings into the fire. Watching his daughter, a smile spreads while listening to her laughing before she throws her offering, a stick that she thinks looks like a wolf because of its four legs, into the fire before running back to her mother.

He wonders what her wish for the future is.

His wish is for her to grow up happy, safe. There isn’t more he dares to wish for.

“Son,” His ‘father’ comes up beside him. Henry tenses immediately. The grass is wet from the rain earlier that day. It’s cold under his paws, but after the three years he’s been here he’s gotten used to being in his taaran form by now.

Besides, he’s stood in worse.

“Prime.” Henry greets while watching the all dark gray wolf approach.

“You, Scar and a few of the other taarans need to go hunting. The food is starting to get low.” The prime rumbles, gazing over to the two half eaten elks laying some paces from the bonfire. Henry looks over the festivities and back to him. Eyes widen as he leans down, tilting his head away from the other wolves.

“You can’t mean tonight? It’s Binding Day!” Henry whispers in disbelief.

“Which is why it would be perfect. No one would suspect it.” The prime grins, not bothering lowering his voice.

“No. The rules are clear, no one is allowed to fight on this day! We risk being killed. You would risk the clan.” Henry says in a low voice while whispering the last words. Stomach curling. How could the prime even be thinking about it?

“The monks wouldn’t know.” His ‘father’ growls.

“Everyone would know!” Henry looks up at the treetops. If they attack on the most holy day of the year and the wrong nhadar notices them, they could merely shift to their human form and tell the monks. It would risk the whole clan!

Binding Day is supposed to be about giving back to the world and a day where every type of nhadar, creature and human should feel safe.

“We can do it in the morning.” Henry says and the prime narrows his eyes, an angry rumble coming from the wolf’s throat. “You will risk everyone if you attack tonight.” Henry makes a point of looking around, lingering at his daughter before turning back to the prime.

“When Argniz’s rays stretch over the mountains, and this useless day is over - you and the others should already be out.” The prime snarls before he walks away.

Henry breathes a quiet sigh of relief while he watches his ‘father’ walk away from the celebration.

The Argniz shines just over the mountains. The chill morning air blows gently through the trees. Looking at his reflection in the water, the blond fur of the wolf staring back at him is stained in blood. A few drops drip down, painting it. Sending small ripples through the water, making his image blurry.

Breathing heavily from the fury roaring through his veins he turns to look at the two taarans laying on the ground. Not moving. Blood sieving from their wounds.

This was supposed to be a simple hunt! He yells in his mind. He ordered them to go around. To leave the humans alone.

But why would the prime send them all the way out here for a simple hunt? They’re nearing the end of their own territory - and at the beginning of someone else’s.

“Thunder?” Another wolf limps up beside him. She seems pleased, but it quickly changes when he turns sharply.

“What?” Henry asks, barely able to keep his anger in. He wipes the blood on his cheek with his paw.

“We lost two taarans, but we killed them.” Tulip says, the pride returning to her light brown eyes. “Only one got away.” She continues, as if it’s a shame. “Should we go after her?”

“No! Let her go.” Henry says, his voice is deeper than normal. He gazes back to the two wolves laying lifeless on the ground, then over to the humans.

Someone laughs, and it’s like a curtain of red covers his sight as anger overtakes him.

“Thunder! Stop!” Someone yells in the distance. It sounds like Ficus. The world comes back into view and he stares right down into a set of scared dark eyes. Bigtooth.

A surge of rage makes him bite down. Having his mouth wrapped around the taaran’s throat the familiar taste of metal runs into his mouth. The wolf yelps, but is still alive before he lets go. But he’s still looming over him.

“You disobeyed my orders, again.” Henry snarls before letting Bigtooth scramble away and up to his feet. Shaking his body the taaran turns, clenching his teeth. One of Bigtooth’s fangs is bigger than the other.

“They would have attacked us..!” Bigtooth barks.

“They didn’t even know we were here!” Henry roars while taking a step forward, his voice echoing through the forest. “We were hidden by the trees! You put the lives of the other taarans in danger. Peony and Poppy are dead because of you!” Henry turns towards the two siblings lying in the dirt. Poppy still having a sword through the side of his body. Tulip sniffs around the twins bodies before she frowns back at Bigtooth.

“Peony and Poppy were weaklings!” Bigtooth snarls. “The humans should have been no threat to them.”

“They were knights!” Henry’s gaze shifts to the humans laying scattered around them. If it wasn’t for the knights armor they would have been ripped to pieces, more than they already are. He tries to ignore the arm that is laying in a bush not far from him, waving gently from the wind blowing through the leaves.

There’s four knights while the other two he believes to be a mother and her daughter. His chest tightens as he watches the terrified expression on the young girl’s face. Forever arched after her death.

He can still hear her scream as Bigtooth killed her. At least it was quick.

Shaking his head he tries not to think about his daughter. What if it was her…

“Having grown up with humans has made you weak, Thunder! If you weren’t the prime’s son I would have killed you, right now.” Bigtooth says as he takes a step forward. Another taaran strides up behind him, seeming to agree with the gray wolf.

Taking a step forward, Henry growls. Being bigger than both of them, they both tense. Hesitantly to continue. Henry doesn’t waver.

No weakness.

“Why don’t you try.” Henry snarls in a low voice. His heart racing as his blood boils. The other taarans standing around them are holding their breaths.

A part of him hopes they will attack. But another knows he should step down. This will not end well for them.

And especially not himself.

A warm sensation is spreading from deep within his belly. It’s different from his anger, different from anything else he has felt. Yet it feels so familiar - it’s like the comfortable warmth from standing close to a bonfire on a cold winter night. It feels safe. But it’s far from it.

Magic.

Swallowing hard he tries to keep it at bay. Pushing it back to the depth of where it came from.

It isn’t working.

“If you weren’t the prime’s son…” Bigtooth threatens again before he turns and walks away. The other gray wolf follows behind him as they walk in the direction of the woods.

Taking a deep breath, Henry pushes down his anger. And with it, goes the surge of magic. Thankfully.

Turning around he looks at Tulip who watches with worry the taaran laying in front of her. There’s a naked man leaning over the hurt wolf, putting salves and bandaging him with fast human fingers. His icy blue eyes are fixed on the task and is just about done when Henry comes closer to him.

The man shifts back to his wolf form, he makes it seem so effortless. A small bolt of envy sets in his chest for the others who have been born taaran. They don’t even flinch when they shift.

“Pine is too hurt to walk on his own.” Ficus says, giving his black fur a shake as if settling into the skin.

“Is he awake?” Henry asks.

“No, not yet.” Ficus walks over to grab his backpack that is made to be carried in wolf form. Not looking at him.

Narrowing his eyes, Henry gazes over at the bandaged light gray wolf laying on the forest floor, noticing that he is breathing is shallow. The whole of his right leg is covered, the same around his stomach and left paw.

A vague memory of Pine jumping in front of Lupuna to protect her. Himself being busy making sure someone else didn’t die.

“Are we leaving him?” Lupuna’s soft voice comes from beside him. A bird takes off from one of the dense treetops and she jumps at the sound.

Through worried brows he watches as she quickly pulls herself together, straightening up but isn’t meeting his gaze. Her tail close to the ground.

“No,” Henry says, turning back to Pine. “I will carry him back, but you need to go home.”

“It will take you at least a day to walk back home in human form.” Tulip says, as if he’s mad.

“Then so be it. You can run home.” Henry gazes over the three of them.

“I’ll walk with you.” Ficus says as he wiggles out of his backpack.

“Me too.” Lupuna is quick to answer. Seeming afraid of the thought of walking home alone.

Tulip sighs, sounding a little defeated, yet there seems to be a smile playing on her face just when she turns away. He isn’t sure if it’s to not walk home alone, or that Pine isn’t left behind. Maybe both?

“Alright. Anything broken?” Henry asks, mostly looking at Lupuna who is laying on the ground. She shakes her head and he nods before walking to a bush not far from them, where he threw off his backpack before Bigtooth ran for the humans.

“Where are you going?” Tulip asks skeptically as he feels her eyes on his tail.

“I can’t carry Pine in wolf form.” Henry says simply.

And I’ll be damned to walk around without pants.

Hidden by the trees, Henry stretches his arms as the aches in his bones are slowly subsiding. It’s not as painful as it was when he first got to the clan. He has needed to shift more often than he ever did when he lived in the city. Before he had to leave.

The thought still sends guilt through his heart and his chest falls heavy just by thinking about it. Shaking his head he drags a hand through his mop of blond hair before kneeling down to his backpack, dragging out a pair of plain dark pants and putting them on.

He can’t think about the past. The past can’t be changed.

“Thunder?” A soft voice comes behind him as he works on the straps of the backpack to be carried in human form.

“Hm?” Henry watches as Ficus fiddles with the edge of his own backpack. He changed back to his human form again and has put on a pair of pants too. The icy blue eyes under the short black hair seem too cold for a man who has more heart than most nhadars he’s met.

“What is it?” Henry asks when Ficus isn’t looking at him, nor saying anything.

“Why did you save me?”

“Because we need you.” Henry says simply. It’s true. He’s one of the only two healers in their clan.

The fact that he reminds him of someone else has nothing to do with it.

Ficus looks up at him for the first time after the attack and Henry gives him a reassuring smile.

“I won’t tell anyone,” Henry says and Ficus seems to struggle to not look away. “There is no bravery without fear.” He says, patting him on the shoulder while he walks past. Ficus’s head falls slightly, not looking back as Henry walks over to Pine.

Throwing his backpack beside the unconscious taaran he carefully lifts the paws of the wolf to yank him up on his back. Hopefully without causing more damage.

“Here, let me help.” Tulip comes over. Wrapping her arms under his legs, she helps Pine up onto Henry’s back.

Getting to his feet, Henry notices Tulip is wearing a dress reaching down to her knees while her backpack is on her back.

Henry nods in thanks before gazing down to his own backpack. Before he gets to take it, Ficus has already snatched it and throws it over his own shoulder.