Redeeming the Lost (A Comforter's Tale)

Chapter 16

"Sorry about that," a deep male voice said across the packlink. "We had no way to mindlink you, and our ability to shift still hasn't returned." The words were stilted and awkward, as if he hadn't spoken in a very long time.

I stared at the black wolf as he pulled his paw back. The new packlink was different than my old one, and most of what I was picking up was emotions and vague concepts of ideas. Only the black wolf's mind was clear enough for actual words.

"My name is Conrad. What is yours?"

It took me a moment to respond across the packlink. "I'm Julie." My confusion echoed behind my words.

With her hackles now down, Brunette came forward and nuzzled me. She projected protectiveness and a handful of images over the packlink, most of which were of me, although some were of the other ferals gathered around us, and one was of a woman I had never seen before.

Conrad gazed at her for a moment before saying, "Vera hasn't recovered enough to use words yet, but she knows your abilities will help her find herself again."

"Find herself?" At least now I knew her name.

"The memories are still too painful for her, so her mind hides in her subconscious. She's basically running on instinct. She is a bit more aware now than before."

I gazed at the seven ferals whose minds were dim in my senses. It was almost as if they were in a very deep sleep, yet, they were clearly awake.

"My Comforter abilities are helping?" That was my best guess.

"Yes, very much so, but I think it's a slow process. The past is really blurry, but I don't believe you have been with us long, right?"

"Almost two full days."

"Huh. I thought it was at least a week. Time flows strangely in such a dream-like state..." he trailed off, lost in thought. The difference between his mindvoice mere minutes ago and now was remarkable. His words flowed more naturally and even his mindspark was brighter. He still seemed a bit scattered and disoriented, but he was doing better than a lot of distracted people I had tried talking to in the past.

Tentatively, I said, "I think we are still running in the same direction. Can I ask where we're going?"

"I don't know. If we run long enough, we can sometimes get a decent sleep before the nightmares begin."

My aura must be less effective on ferals if they had nightmares while it was at top strength. Normally, anyone in the immediate vicinity was unable to experience a bad dream.

I looked at Vera and kept my words clear as I slowly asked, "Did you have nightmares while I was with you?"

She blinked and tilted her head, and even though I couldn't sense her emotions with my abilities, she sent confusion and lack of understanding across the mindlink. Looking up, she tilted her head at Conrad.

After several seconds, he said, "She isn't sure, but she doesn't think so."

Apparently, he was better at translating than I was. The next time they slept, it might be worth shifting my aura to see if it helped.

"Okay. What are we going to do now?" I asked, wondering if any of my old packmates would believe me if I told them I had been adopted by a pack of mostly-ferals in the middle of no man's land. I also wished I knew how they were doing.

Conrad stared at the other wolves for some time, although I didn't sense anything noticeable on the packlink. Perhaps he was using a private mindlink. Vera snorted and shook her fur out, likely unhappy with whatever he had suggested.