Moonstruck

𝓽𝔀𝓮𝓷𝓽𝔂-𝓸𝓷𝓮 | Blauhemden

A few days ago, Gil would have scoffed in dismissal upon hearing Silvia Bain deliver her daily warmongering speech on the front steps of the House of Bleu Celeste. Now that the Beta of the Sanguine Pack had killed his father, he wasn't so sure anymore.

Ever since the Azure Pack's crushing defeat in the battle of Cerul and Lazuli, every day without fail, there she'd stood in front of the cathedral preaching and propagandizing. How dare the Sanguine Pack do this to us? The violent, bloodthirsty monsters! Poor Alpha Kingsley, poor Luna Elijah, poor everyone who'd fallen in this wretched war. We want revenge. We want justice. We want annihilation, to end the enemy once and for all.

Day by day, her audience grew from a pitiful handful of pausing passersby into a concerningly unruly, mobbish crowd. She shot questions at no one in particular, receiving jeers and applause from everyone: what did Alpha Gil and Luna Alex think they were doing? The young, newly minted fools. Alex Silverstein, mulish and anal, insisting on sitting around tending to the sick and wounded—why couldn't they get it through their thick head that these soldiers had already outlived their usefulness, that healing them would contribute nothing to the war effort? And Gil Cyrus, expending all of the pack's efforts on rebuilding and regrouping and retreating rather than spearheading a counterattack. Childish boy, just like his naive, too-pure-for-this-world, soft-in-the-head father who had shown mercy to the enemy and lost his life as a consequence.

Poor Kingsley—but honestly, what did he expect? And had he really been that good of a leader, anyway? Where had the former glory of the Azure Pack gone? They'd used to be such a strong, glorious pack; now, they were a ragtag bunch of pathetic pacifists and philosophers. They were weak now. They needed to rediscover their roots, their honor, their love for their cause. By goddess, why couldn't the Alpha and Luna just come to their senses and realize that winning was the Azure Pack's top priority!

Gil's father had always maintained an open mind to different viewpoints and dissenting opinions among his advisers, so Gil had expected to receive at least some opposition to whatever course of action he and Alex decided to undertake. But this was concerning. Thanks to Silvia's increasing influence, it seemed that more and more pack members were beginning to turn against them now. Many of them actively challenged Gil and Alex's authority, belittling their abilities and spitting on the current practices of the Azure Pack. Some even went as far as to demand radical reform and a return to the "golden old days"—whatever that was supposed to mean.

Never mind that Gil was restoring their homes and livelihoods. Never mind that Alex was saving the lives of their friends and family. Never mind that, recently, there had been an alarming upsurge in umbra attacks in Azure territory—which had originated within the Sanguine Pack but soon spread into neighboring regions like a plague—and Gil and Alex were doing everything in their power to investigate the cause whilst simultaneously mitigating the ensuing damage to the best of their abilities. It must be nice to only have the responsibilities of a Beta and run around charming fellow members and complaining about the lack of fighting, when fighting was pretty much all Silvia Bain was good for.

"Just ignore her," Gil would say every time Alex began fuming. "She clearly doesn't know what she's talking about. Everyone's just scared and confused, and we have better things to do anyway than to go around picking fights."

But what Gil really wanted to say was, Aren't we the ones in charge here? Shouldn't we do something to ensure she doesn't undermine our authority? And then he would immediately cringe and imagine Kingsley lecturing him—no, don't sink down to their level. Everyone has a right to voice their own opinions. There's no need to make ourselves tyrants, nor make a mere dissenter into a martyr.

Azure, Azure, Azure! chanted Silvia Bain and her followers. Avenge. Destroy. Annihilate.

Gil didn't dare voice the thought to Alex nor to any of the dwindling number of pack members who still supported them. But he kept it close to his chest, a secret festering inside his heart—a bitter, simmering question.