Traversing Worlds

Arc One Ch. 33

Bending down next to the small clear stream Kira began examining the wet banks for animal tracks. There were a few she could spot that were made no more than a few hours ago. Each one made by smaller animals not usually hunted. While the larger tracks she'd managed to find were older and less numerous.
Checking a few places she found that the water levels had risen. Frowning she moved along the water's edge till reaching a natural collection point. A scene of splintered wood and bloody bodies scattered around the area. The silence pervading the surroundings left Kira uncomfortable as she moved quietly back towards the pack.

Searching out Demarcus, Kira found him at Nora's hut. The two reeked of one another making it obvious what they'd been up to before answering the door. Flushed Nora invited her in and quickly went into the small but functional kitchen. Demarcus wasn't overly upset but from his posture it seemed she interrupted them.

"Kira."

"Demarcus."

"How important is it?" He asked her sounding a bit short.
"Hmm... pack territory level. Something big is coming from up stream. I didn't check the nesting grounds but should be currently empty. The dams are all busted causing the stream to raise, it is a matter of time before something happens." She knew exactly what was to come but couldn't say much as she shouldn't know about it.
"Why aren't you telling Alpha Walter this information?" After asking this the look on her face made it obvious why not.
"You know why not smart ass, didn't get permission to leave the safe zone and dodged a wolf escort." She didn't mind the disapproving stare he gave her.
"How many times do I have to stress about being careful? You could have gotten yourself killed." Hearing the familiar worried tone she smiled at him. "Hmm... good question maybe it's me feeling homesick. You remind me a lot of Tobias and Theodore. So do you still want the opportunity or not? I don't mind passing it onto Marcus." The last comment made caught his attention and left him flabbergasted.

"How could you say that Kira after all we've been through?" She gave him a simple shrug. "Well I don't have a lot of options and if you refuse he is my only other alternative at this point."

"I've never refused to help you!" He got a bit excited hearing her say the Blue Valley bastard was considered as an alternative. "You're going to soon be a family right?"
"That wouldn't stop us from helping you out in any way that we could; you should know this by now Kira." The corner of her lips curled up into a smile which appeared sly in his eyes. "Thank you for all of your help so far Demarcus and sorry about interrupting you two." That all said she left.

While Demarcus sighed Kira returned to the pack house just in time to eat a hot meal. Voices could be heard softly chatting in the background as she got her meal. Since helping out with the kitchen staff a variety of plant based dishes had appeared after she found them edible and easy enough for a lone wolf to collect.
Today's mix was soup that gave off a wonderful smell, she didn't mind the color since these mutant plants were strange once cooked. While the meat smelled delicious it also held a scent she was familiar with, salted and aged for a period of time. She had showed the kitchen staff the Stonemason way of preparing this type of meat and it went over well. It still confirmed that something was wrong since this meat usually wasn't brought out so early to eat.

Thinking about trying the fish which they could introduce into an artificial pond, Kira noticed the chatting had stopped and others were looking at her funny.

"Is this seat taken?" She asked to the group of wolves around her who all glanced away while closing rank.

Showing nothing on her face she left to find a different seat since it wasn't the only one in this crowded dining hall. Finding three more tables she'd found each one to be like the first as they closed rank.
Restraining the deep sigh she turned around to find Marcus staring at her. Not wishing to cause a scene now Kira found herself sitting at the Blue Valley area. The hostility towards her was intense in their gazes as they all watched her sit down.

"Kira you can sit here." Marcus said as Aaron gave him a look.
"Is this why you've been forcing me to sit one space over?" Aaron gave his good friend an incredulous look.
Marcus turned to him. "I wanted to make certain that when she was no longer so busy we could eat dinner together."

Kira ignored the odd looks Aaron was giving her while actively trying to be a bit more patient with Marcus and his questions.
"How was your day?" Though it was innocent enough on any other given day, Kira couldn't bring up what she had really been up to.
"Insightful, there are some wonderful plants that can't be found near more mountainous region." It wasn't a lie as she noticed mutated plants which could be turned into coffee, chocolate and sugar. These plants held some of her interest as she speculated on how these plants formed. Though it didn't matter too much, with the end of apocalypse that happened right before a major tectonic plate shift that'd drastically changed the land. Meanwhile plants were going through a massive series of mutations that eventually caused the herbivores to go through mutations of their own.

"Mountains? Does that mean you were born on the other side of the divide?" He asked in a curious manner.
"Hmm..." She hummed while taking a bite of the meat not minding the taste at all.
"How interesting, what's it like where you're from?"
"Not too much is different though the sense of community was much tighter and the mountain air more crisp. And what about you, how's it like where you're from?" She asked wanting to hear about rather than read a bio in the system's data base.

Marcus went silent for a bit as Aaron stopped glancing over at her and just looked down at his plate. "Harsh." He said with obvious anger that was opposed to his easygoing personality.

Kira didn't nod with understanding to his plight as she wouldn't know about the hardships he faced as a pup. She grew up in a loving environment that extended this to each member of the community. The Pine Wood pack did hold a strong community but the care given to each of its members, wasn't at all like the Stonemason pack.

"Things turned better after my first transformation that came a bit earlier than others of the same age." There was obvious pride in his voice while Kira felt cold. 'I am me and no one else.'

Though it wasn't explicitly stated the Blue Valley pack held strength above all else. But truly prided themselves on having so many young pups who go through the change earlier than any other territory. They also tended to look down on others who shifted later in life and considered them to be weaker than ordinary wolves.