Tales From the Alps Short Stories #6: Jewel's Decision

Jewel's Decision

Jewel stared in shock at the wolf who stood on the rock in the big field. This was the base of the Third District, and most of the other Clan animals there stood upon the field, looking up at the wolf. The pale moonlight from above made each animal appear even more eerie.

Perched on top of the rock sat Sai, and he was holding the head of their district leader, Skull, between his jaws. A row of defensive-looking animals, most of which were wolves, blocked the path from the regular Clan animals to the rock.

Sai gazed down on the animals, his muzzle red with blood and his gaze cool and devoid of emotion as always. He calmly waited for the gasps and screams of shock to die down as he put Skull's head on the rock in front of him.

Jewel stood frozen to the ground. She didn't know what to do, but she felt herself tremble all over her body. What had happened? Was this a coup? Skull was dead. What would happen now?

When the crowd wouldn't calm down two minutes later, he made a gesture with his tail.

"Quiet!" bayed one of the wolves that blocked the path to Sai and the head. They were clearly in cahoots with the brown-and-gray wolf.

Sai then cleared his throat and sat up proud--well, prouder than usual. "Listen, fellow Clan members," he started.

"What are you doing there? Get down! What happened to our district leader?" a livid-sounding lynx in the crowd sneered.

"QUIET," said the same wolf who had spoken earlier.

The crowd now finally seemed to calm down, and Jewel forced herself to look Sai in the eyes as he continued.

"The Clan has existed for many years now, and Rufus had been a good leader to us before. However, times change. Due to the immense size of the Clan and Rufus' pacifistic nature, we have too little territory to properly accommodate all of the Clanmembers without running into problems. Rou, our mighty second-in-command, and some others have been brainstorming a plan to do something about this for a while now. And there was no other option. Rufus and his kin had to die to make place for a new generation of stronger, better leaders than ever before."

The crowd started to act up again. Jewel herself couldn't repress a gasp of shock as well. She kept her tail tucked between her hind legs. Rou? she thought. No way. He is violent and power-hungry, but he would never do something like this!

"HOW COULD YOU?" a voice from the other Clan members shouted, emotion edging it.

"W-wait, does this mean everyone is dead? Rufus, his brothers, Aless, Walter, Starlight, and Saedira?" another one asked shakily.

Sai spoke calmly. "Walter, Saedira, and Starlight are still alive, but that matters not. The Clan will be led by Rou, Taima, and the other new district leaders from now on. I happen to be the new leader of District Three. From now on, you are to do as I...we...say."

"No..." was all Jewel could muster. This had to be some kind of mistake.

"NEVER!" the lynx bellowed.

Sai made eye contact with one of the wolves in front of the rock, who was shielding him from the crowd.

Within a few seconds, the wolf rushed towards the lynx, knocked her over, and grabbed her spine between his jaws. He kept putting more pressure onto her spine until she let out a screech of pain, her claws digging into the earth.

"See this as an example of what will happen to you when you choose to disobey us. Welcome to Rou's Clan."

***

Jewel snarled as she stomped onto the sandy surface of what was the Main Base of the Clan. She'd left her own district behind after it became clear that she had not been wrong. Rou really had taken over. And she was here to demand an explanation. She'd never felt this livid before.