A Changed World - Book I | The Howling Winds

Chapter 6: An Allegiance to Prove

John quickly got his clothes on that he carelessly discarded around the room before he went to sleep, causing Ren to groan in her sleep from the noise.

"Will you hurry up human? We don't have time to waste." Shira said Impatiently as she stood at the doorway with crossed arms, watching as John got ready.

"Yeah yeah, just gimme a sec." He replied with a sigh, eventually getting all of his clothes on.

Shira noticed Aura sitting by the corner, clearly prepared to follow John wherever he went. "You will not bring the wolf with you." She demanded simply.

John glanced at Shira with surprise, letting out a sigh as he turned his head to Aura. "Sorry girl, you stay here." He commanded softly.

Aura stared at John for a moment before eventually letting out a whimper, laying down on the ground, which caused Ren to stir awake.

"Mm, John?" Ren mumbled with a tired voice as her eyes blinked open, awakening due to the noise.

John let out a sigh, sitting down on the bed by Ren's side and moving his fingers through her hair gently. "I gotta head out, I'll be back babe, I promise." He said with a soft, assuring voice as he leaned down to place a loving kiss on her head.

Ren looked up at him with her tired, confused eyes. "What? Where...?" She asked tiredly, now sounding worried for him.

"He is getting the chance to prove himself right now, and we do not have time to waste. You can pour your hearts out to each other when we get back... if he survives that is." Shira explained with a roll of her eyes, stepping into the room to grab his arm and pull him along with her.

John let out a sigh as Shira began pulling him along and he glanced back at Ren. "I promise you Ren, I'll be back." He said with nothing but honesty before he was pulled out of the room, Shira closing the door behind them.

"Her love for you surprises me human... she really does see something in you... you better hope that she is right." Shira explained with a slightly ominous voice before beginning to walk along the corridors. "Come, we must get you prepared."

He slowly followed after the lizard, letting out a sigh to her warning. "Prepared? Come on, a little rundown of what the fuck we're doing would be useful." He said with a roll of his eyes.

Shira was silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. "One of our scouting parties have activated their distress signal, this is a rescue mission." She explained simply, but there was a hint of worry in her voice... perhaps she knew someone in that group.

John was a little surprised by Shira's explanation, but he slowly nodded his head as they continued to walk. "Makes sense... I'll give it my all, we'll get your people out." He said with an assuring voice, knowing this was a very good opportunity to prove himself.

"Yes... if they're still alive." Said Shira with a quiet, uncertain voice.

He could hear the worry in Shira's voice, and it saddened him... he made a promise in his mind that he would do everything within his power to get this group of furs to safety. They eventually made it to the end of one chain of corridors, with a single door at the end of it. Shira opened it to reveal an armory of some kind, with hardly any guns however.

"It's hard for us to find guns and ammunition... so we mostly rely on the old ways." Shira explained as she stepped inside, flicking on a light switch to reveal the kind of weaponry they had.

It mostly consisted of bows, arrows and blades, even some long swords. John did notice a few guns in the armory, but it was very clear that they didn't rely on them at all.