Female ✔️

30: cry of battle

An hour later, I am on the move. Head held high, Blu marches me towards the basin that is nestled in the rocks by the river. All are worn smooth by centuries of wear by powerful force. Taking a deep breath, I pull power from the Moon above. I haven't shown her much attention lately. Electric currents run through the length of me, up and down. I pulse with energy and control.

I feel powerful dressed in the red silk robe of the ritual this time. There is no panic. Nerves still buck and twist inside me, but Blu told me of what he will make of this situation. I will not be drowned today. Courage pumps through me. Hope surges with the promise of John on his way.

I yell out my battle to the Council as I approach. They stand around the basin of iced water in a half circle, facing the treeline, backs to the river. I urge them on loudly, watching their faces twist in disgust, confusion, and fear. Slowly wolves arrive for the show, streaming onto the riverbank as if compelled by the noise. I yell until the vein in my neck is pulsing and my hands are in fists.

They will not force me into the basin today, it will be my choice.

"I have done nothing wrong!" I say to the collection of wolves that grows by the second. "It was not my hands that murdered my mother and father!"

Males and females lower their heads in shame, eyes still up, unable to look away. They are hungry for drama, hungry for more. I know just how to feed them.

"Alpha tells me to get in the basin, to nearly drown, so I will. We follow his orders don't we?" I snarl out, my eyes finding the elder Parsim, I feel wild. "No questions asked! Isn't that right? Tell me if I'm right!"

A few pleasing murmurs spring up from the crowd. I feel loud.

"Is our Alpha justified in handing a young female wolf over to older males for pleasure? Is he justified in slaughter? Is he justified in discrimination?"  My eyes dart back and forth, finding purchase on wolves who look straight at me. Females are intrigued. "I was only a pup when torture began! But I was not the only one."

Growls of disgust and disagreement arise.

"You think she speaks truth?" Parsim roars, there is a vein running down his temple, it is dilated and throbbing with adrenaline. He looks massive in this moment. I already have him riled. "An exile no less?"

He has an equal amount of response.

I stop ten feet from the basin. I can smell the river, it clogs my nostrils with mud and outflow. Blu is stoic on my right, acting as the captor with proud posture.

My own posture is aggressive and unyielding. "Exiled because I have more wild blood in my veins, treated with utmost difference because I am female!"

The crowd of wolves pulses and shifts, they are alive and listening. Their distaste is in the air. They want to be compliant, but more badly these females want justice and representation.

"This is choice." I say lowly, staring Alpha Parsim in the eyes. He is not a true Alpha. Fear and oppression are no way to lead. I feel a twinge, John hasn't arrived yet.

Blu's hand guides me forward, catching the red silk as I drop it from my shoulders. I step up to the basin, the water looks as black as I remember. October's wind rips through my hair, the dark waves knot before my eyes. For a moment, I am young and without knowledge. And then I am strong again.