A/N: This chapter has a lot of information of some importance to it. I couldn't think of some way to just throw it out there, so I went with an actual lesson. Enjoy!
Before she went to the Alphas, Laura knew she needed to teach Justin about Pack structures. She needed his help today more than the others. "Justin," she said at breakfast, "It occurs to me that I've neglected in teaching you about werewolf packs."
"What do you mean?" Justin asked.
"I mean that I forgot that you were bitten and wouldn't understand some of the things Petra, Derek, and I take for granted. Do you have time for a talk after breakfast?"
"Sure," Justin said, "whatever you need."
They met in the study, Laura pausing to collect a notebook and pen before settling at the side table where she and Justin worked on math together.
Laura tapped her pen on the table for a moment to organize her thoughts as Justin made himself comfortable. "You know, we use the words Pack and Alpha all the time. People assume werewolves are like true wolves in social structure. We're not. I can't really think of a system I could say the Packs copied from entirely, although there are a variety of systems that influence us. Our command structure works like this," She wrote ALPHA on the top of her notebook. "Alphas run the Packs. There are 'omega packs' were a group of Omega will adopt a pack structure, but they lack an actual Alpha to hold them. An Alpha might create a 'beta pack' if the pack is large, or the territory. The beta pack would reside in a lesser Den than the Alpha's Den, and would represent the Alpha in their territory. This is more common in Africa than most other places. Third world countries are less concerned with their citizens the way America is. An Alpha has five advisors and four Named betas."
Laura wrote CONSORT, LOREKEEPER, EMISSARY, and LEGATE on her paper. "These are the advisors. The Consort is the partner of the Alpha, usually the mate, but not always. A Consort is there to provide advice and support and speaks to the good of the Pack; they oversee welfare of the Pack and keep the Den. The Legate counters the Consort. They often take a Devil's Advocate role to the Alpha and speak up when they have a concern. The Legate oversees the beta packs, relationships with other packs, and the security of the territory in general. The Lorekeeper is just that. They keep the history of the Pack and curate the Pack libraries especially tending to knowledge of the supernatural, myths and legends of our kind, and possible creatures we might meet. The Emissary is the only position that has to be held by a Human, specifically a magic user."
"Like a sorceress?" Justin asked.
"Druids," Laura said, "mostly Druids, although Witches and Sparks might also take the role. Emissaries handle protection against other supernatural creatures. Emissaries are also important when it comes to wolfsbane."
Justin shuddered, no doubt remembering Laura's detailed story of what wolfsbane could do to him now.
"There is a fifth position equal to those four, and that is the Heir. The Heir is usually a child of the Alpha, but it can be a sibling, niece or nephew as long as they are a Werewolf and over the age of 15. Right now, Derek is my Heir. If a werewolf kills me, they will get the Spark of power that makes me an Alpha. If I am killed by a Hunter, or other means, then the Spark will pass to Derek and he will become the Alpha. A werewolf not related by blood can be an Heir if necessary but there is more strength in a blood link."
Justin nodded, "I understand what you're saying, I think. You said that Emissary must be held by a Human, and the Heir has to be a werewolf. What about Consort and Legate?"
"They can be human, werewolf, or any other being. They simple must be able to fulfill their duties for the good of the Pack," Laura replied as she linked the five to the Alpha. "The other four Name positions of the inner circle are Castellan, Steward, Envoy and Warden." She wrote down CASTELLAN and STEWARD then linked them to the Consort. Then she wrote ENVOY and WARDEN and linked them to the Legate. "Small packs might simply have the five advisors and these four roles fold up, or an Emissary may also be a Lorekeeper. Sometimes the Consort and Legate can even be the same person. When they are Named, however, the Castellan holds the Den. They handle meals, maintaining the Den, raising the children, and any staff that cares for the Den. There's a joke that they're the Pack Mom, but the Name is Castellan."
"You say Name like it's important," Justin observed.
"It's very important," Laura said. "Naming someone to a role, it's like they're nobility in a Royal Court. They have clear duties and responsibilities, and it brings them above the rest of the pack. It helps keep down in-fighting and jostling for status."
"I see," Justin said.
"I mean to formalize it today, but Petra is our Castellan," Laura said. "That relates to you in that you do have to follow the chore list she gave you."
"Didn't she try to poison you though?" Justin asked.
Laura laughed, "It was an audition, actually. There's this story about Castellans, a warning to everyone. There was a Pack once that was decimated by rogue Hunters, acting against their Code. Only the Castellan and a young Heir survived. The Hunters claimed the Pack's den for their own. Three weeks later, the Castellan and her Alpha took back their home without any fighting. All of the Hunters were dead."
"What happened?" Justin asked.
"The Castellan poisoned the food before she fled with her child-Alpha, knowing the Hunters would want the den." Laura shrugged, "People underestimate the cook all the time. Wolves never had to have a feminist revolution, Justin."
"That's Petra's role then," Justin nodded.
"The Steward handles the other side of the Den, that is, the financial records, business deals, real estate." Laura continued. "They make sure the Pack funds are taken care of, that there's money to cover emergencies, the different necessary insurances. It's a long list, but they make sure we can live comfortably, at least ours did. I've been handling this with help from people my parents trusted, but if you…"
"No thank you," Justin said, "I'm having trouble with my business accounts already and I think my CPA is trying to cheat me on top of that. I might be good at math, but finances are not my strong point."
Laura smiled, "I can't disagree. Now the Castellan and Stewart fall under the Consort's jurisdiction. All three of them make sure that the Pack and the Den are what we need it to be. The Legate has the Envoy and the Warden. The Envoy is just that. They speak for the Alpha to other packs, investigate for possible trouble or possible alliances, arrange fostering if a young beta needs more instruction and they deal with Hunters, covens, and other supernatural gatherings. The Warden holds the Pack's territory. They define the borders and set protections, they see to the personal security of the pack and the Alpha outside the territory, and they arrange for the instruction of the Pack in defense."
"Big job," Justin said.
"Do you want it?" Laura asked.
"Me?" Justin asked, stunned.
"All three of them," Laura said. "I've thought about making you my Legate for the past month or so, but I've known you were my Warden."
"Since when?" Justin demanded.
"Ever since you went for an Alpha and got clawed for it even though you didn't know what was going on," Laura replied. "You've been protecting this Pack from the beginning, and I want to recognize that Justin. I have to face the Alphas today, and I'll look a lot more impressive if my Legate is standing beside me more than just a scrappy Beta."
Justin stared at her for a long moment. "A 'scrappy Beta'?"
Laura closed her eyes briefly, "My grandmother… she used to say that about my older brother. He didn't want a Name but he was a hell of a fighter."
"I'm sorry," Justin said, reaching over to press his hand over Laura's wrist.
Laura smiled, "I don't mind talking about them, it just took me by surprise that I did."
"I know," Justin said, "I can go days without, but suddenly I'll say something my mom did and it always surprises me when I realize I did."
Laura knew how important Justin's mom was. He rarely said much about her, but Laura never doubted he loved her. "So will you be my Legate?" Laura asked.
Justin grinned at her, "Sure Laura. Do we have to do anything special?"
"Not really," Laura said, "I'll confirm everybody today before I leave and I'll announce it at the meeting. People will know about it pretty fast after that."
"You said you wanted me to go with you?" Justin asked.
"For many reasons," Laura said.
"Okay," Justin said. "I do have one more question."
"What's that?" Laura asked.
"Training. You said I had to arrange it, and you asked me to train everybody yesterday. Now, I know that Petra and you will listen to me when we start, but what about Derek? I mean, we get along all right, but I don't think he's actually going to listen to me." Justin fidgeted a minute.
"Just break his arm or something," Laura said. "Justin, we heal very fast. I might not actually tear his throat out, but you've seen how I handle Derek on a regular basis. Aunt Jessie used to have someone standing by for first aid in training because if you didn't guard right, she'd prove to you why you should. You're used to humans, who have to be careful because they don't heal. Unless an Alpha does the injuring, werewolves are usually fully healed within twenty-four hours. Derek was raised with that attitude and he'll respond to it."
Justin nodded slowly, looking thoughtful. "This evening, I'd appreciate an hour of everyone's time then. While I'll set up for individual training, I think we could all benefit from Tai Chi. It will help set the foundation for a more structured fighting style. I mean, it's an advantage we have over those beta goons, same as the Rangers have. Knowing how to fight instead of just acting on instinct is important and useful. Those guys in the alley today, they were trained to fight using their strength and their claws. It's more animal style, very little thought involved. I beat them because I kept my head and out-thought them."
"That's exactly why I asked you," Laura interrupted him. "You understand fighting, and you handled three of them, three! I'd be hard pressed fighting three people at once."
Justin hesitated, "Well, there's a reason for that." He slid Laura's paper away from her and stole her pen. Carefully he wrote something down. "You have to burn this afterwards, and not tell Derek and Petra. I'll tell them in the future, I promise, but I don't want to bandy it about too much. What they already know is difficult enough to handle."
Laura slid the paper over, "I'll burn it," she promised softly.
Written in Justin's shaky handwriting was a single sentence. I am the Blue Turbo Ranger.
"That's my big secret," Justin said. "I learned a lot from the Turbo Rangers too, including how to fight when the odds are against me. Here's a secret the Rangers will never admit. The shock troops, like the Putties or the Piranhatrons aren't the best fighters around. They're strong, and they have some training, but when compared to the Rangers there's never a contest. The closest it's gotten between minions and Rangers was either the Invasion or up in Silver Hills during the Time Battle. The only reason the Quantrons were a danger was that there were at least ten thousand of them against six rangers, and it was almost as bad during the Time Force battle. Shock troops win battles by being hard to defeat and going up against weaker or poorly trained forces. I can't make you guys Power Rangers, but I can train you to fight like they do, using team work and superior knowledge."
Laura folded up the piece of paper, "Thank you for telling me this. I'll make sure everyone is free tonight. Where do you want to meet?"
"I think the individual lessons would be better in the moon room," Justin said, which made Laura grin. Justin had coined the name for the room he'd spent the full moon in while learning his control. "Tai chi can be in the back yard. In fact, if Derek wants to bring Wren or Mik to the lessons, it would be fine."
"What do you think of Wren and Mik?" Laura asked, curious.
"I think Wren's got a good head on her shoulders," Justin replied, "and she's good for Derek. I don't think they'll end up dating, but they're good friends. I wish I could get in her head and figure her out sometimes, like there's something wrong or that worries her and she won't talk about it. I think her 'head for math' is a bit more than just that, but she won't admit it so I can't ask. I don't know Mik as well, but he's very calm. He's like Teflon, Derek's attitude just bounces off him and I respect that. They're both good for Derek in their way."
"What about for the pack?" Laura asked quietly.
Justin's eyebrows went up, "Oh," he said. Then he looked away for a minute, "Oh…" Then he turned back to her, "I relate a lot of things to the Rangers, and I'm thinking that if this was a team, they'd be all right."
"Just all right?" Laura said, "Not… good?"
"Neither of them are yellow," Justin said after a long moment. "That's what's weird to me, okay? Every Ranger team ever has Red, Yellow, and Blue. You're as much a Red as any that I've met. I'm so Blue it's ridiculous. Derek has Black Ranger down and Petra's a Pink or a White, I'm not too sure yet. Mik's Green and Wren's Blue and White. I know we aren't a team, but it's weird not to see a Yellow in the dynamic. Yellows are Healers; they help their team deal, either mentally, physically, or spiritually. Ashley's all three, which isn't a usual thing."
Laura briefly wondered if there was a guide to understanding Ranger colors. "But are you saying they wouldn't make good Pack members?"
"No!" Justin said, "I just need to adjust my understanding of dynamics. I'm used to a certain set up, and it won't really work here. I mean, I'm the bluest Blue to ever Blue, but you're asking me to be a Warden and that's nothing like what Blues do. Blues are all about our minds, logic, critical thinking, intelligence to some extent, curiosity, exploration. Holy shit."
"What?" Laura asked, worried.
Justin shook his head, "I just realized, I know someone who could help me out with that accounting SNAFU. I haven't seen him in years, and he'll want to see me." Justin sighed, "I'll contact him later, though. I think Wren and Mik would be good in the Pack, but I don't think you should offer them the bite right now. I know what you said about rejection, but I think it would be better for them to know the Pack, become the Pack, and then get the bite when they're over eighteen. I mean, if their parents decided to speak out against it, we could totally get Lightspeed involved, but it would be easier if we let them come to the Pack slowly, especially if there's going to be fighting." He paused, "I might kill somebody, won't I?"
"I'm sorry," Laura said.
"No, it's okay," Justin replied. "I know what fighting's like. I just, this will be the first time they won't look like monsters."
Laura squeezed Justin's arm, "Well, let's go talk to the others and then get downtown. We need to know what's going on before we make decisions like that. My mom used to say that we're predators, but we don't have to be killers."
Justin nodded and followed Laura to the kitchen, where Derek and Petra were cleaning up. "All right," Laura said, "Derek, Petra, this is my Legate, Justin. Justin will also stand as Warden and Envoy for the Pack. Justin, Derek is my Heir and stands as Lorekeeper. Petra is the Castellan."
"Congratulations," Petra said, coming over to hug Justin.
"Thank you," Justin said. He turned to Derek, "Laura and I have business this afternoon, but there will be training after dinner for all of us and tomorrow at some point, I want to evaluate your fighting skills."
Derek looked at Laura.
"Do as he says," Laura said firmly. "Justin knows what he's talking about." She headed for the junk drawer. "I expect you to give him the same respect you gave Aunt Jessie during training."
"Yes Laura," Derek said quietly as Laura found the matches.
"Don't worry," Justin said, "I'm not going to kill you. I'm not good at hiding bodies."
From the look in Derek's eyes, that wasn't as funny to him as it was to Justin.