A/N: Chapter 4! This is going nicely. I've always got at least the next two chapters written and waiting when I publish a new chapter, but I try to wait at least three or four days because I want to see how many reviews I can get. For those of you who have read, reviewed, marked me or my story as one of your favorites, or any combination of the four, tell your friends! I'm one of these people who will keep the material coming as long as I know people are interested. If you read but don't review, how will I know that you did? I'll keep adding chapters, but if I get into, say, chapter ten and I'm still only hearing from two people…hard to say. And I'm not one to drop things unfinished, folks! :D Especially with my writing, what gets started absolutely MUST be finished…unless, you know, for whatever reason it just utterly cannot be done. But I'd love to see this story completed and well-liked, so please keep reviewing!

Oh. My. Gosh…Breaking Dawn was friggin' AWESOME! I knew it was gonna be awesome, but it was like…mondo awesome! Definitely recommend it to you guys. Although, if you haven't, you'd want to see the first three movies first. ;P Either way, it was a-ma-zing!

As stated, this chapter begins after a time jump. It's now been approximately a year since the events in chapter 3, and the three siblings are now fully grown (in size if not in actual age, but Wild is because she was already older). This is the chapter where things begin to unfold a bit more, and questions as well as answers begin to pop into existence. Another warning for my writing style: the way my stories go, I'll present you with 3 puzzling questions, two of the three will be answered, but then another question will pop up to replace the two answered ones, so there's a constant sense of mystery until the very end. While I may leave you wondering throughout the whole thing, know that I will never leave you in doubt at the end. I will never leave major questions unanswered. Again, you just have to keep reading. *grins*

OK, here we go! Prepare to see the adultified siblings!

Chapter 4

Step Up, Maugrim

Wild strode peacefully along the edge of the camp, presently in her human form. Like her wolf form, she still had her emerald eyes in her human form, and her hair was brown, though it seemed to have different shades of brown when under the sunlight. Her skin was a lovely tan color, not too dark but not pale either, and she was a rather ethereal beauty. In the year they had been in Narnia, she had grown to deeply appreciate the land around her as well as notice the true underlying beauty which it held. It was wintery and cold, but even in the sense of urgency and constant unease, it was relaxing. In addition to coming to admire the land, Wild had also become quite adept at remaining alert, and she and Arianna both had risen through the ranks rather quickly. As luck would have it, the two sisters turned out to be absolutely exceptional fighters, and they both now held the position of captain, though for different sectors of the army. Arianna worked more with the two-legged warriors, while Wild kept herself over the actual animals, or creatures who moved on all fours and fought with teeth and claws. However, they had both been trained to the fullest extent of their abilities, so they were also very handy with swords and the like.

Wild inched a bit closer to the foliage as she walked, allowing her outstretched fingers to lightly caress over the fronds of the bushes, her gaze leveled straight ahead in thought. It had been about a year since that druid had taken Molbrin, and the two sisters had eventually assumed him to be dead. As a result of this unwilling acceptance, they had lost part of their outgoing nature, and kept most of their emotions at a standstill. It made them both intimidating as warriors and masters of logical thought, analysis and deduction. They truly were forces to be reckoned with, and they had the whole camp's respect.

As she came full circle around the camp, returning to her starting point for the fifteenth time in the last hour of her shift, she nodded to a muscular older wolf. He was mostly dark brown with a bit of white on his tail and neck. "It's your shift now, Exabior."

Exabior dipped his head and rose from his relaxed position with some of the other wolves in the pack. "Yes, Wild. Have you eaten? There is a lovely broth near Cringe's tent that Queen Susan brewed."

Wild nodded, angling herself toward the center of camp. "I have not, but thank you for the information. Be sure to keep an extra close eye on the northeastern end of camp; that's the general direction of Jadis's castle."

Exabior dipped his head again and broke into a steady trot. "Will do."

Wild made her way into the center of camp, easily locating the pot of soup Exabior had mentioned and ladled herself a bowl, settling on a nearby log bench to watch the goings on, her thoughts occupied as had become the norm. She sipped the soup quietly, the warmth causing her whole body to tingle as it hit her stomach. After a short spell, Arianna appeared from within their tent and came to sit next to her. "I think the temperature is actually a half degree warmer today," she commented with an heir of comical sarcasm.

"It's just the soup," Wild replied simply, taking another sip. "It warms your blood and makes the wind a little less icy."

"If you say so," Arianna said with a faint smirk. "Another uneventful scout, I presume?"

Wild sighed. "Training is all well and good, but I'm just so angry lately and I have no real way to let it out. If I let it out in training, I'll kill someone. In all honesty, I wish someone would just attack or something so I could let loose and go berserk."

Arianna nodded, understanding her sister's suffering. "I know how you feel. I thought we were going to get lucky last month, but it was just that silly marshwiggle again. He makes so much noise when he's coming it's impossible to identify him as a friend or a charging enemy."

"I know…I wanted to kill him just for that."

"At least his unstoppable pessimism would finally have been justified," Arianna joked, and in a rare moment of perfect humor, the two burst into uncontrollable laughter.

Wild jabbed her sister's shoulder, knocking her off the log and into the snow. "You're so coldhearted!" she spat through her laughter.

Arianna smirked proudly up at Wild, getting up and replacing herself back onto the bench, "Careful how you address me. I'll spill your soup," she warned.

Wild snorted. "First of all, that's just plain wasteful, and second of all, that's what gigantic pots and the option of refills are for."

"Is there anything that gets to you anymore?"

"I believe your jest referring to the marshwiggle just did, dear sister…or did we both dream all that laughter?"

Arianna rolled her eyes. "And I'm the coldhearted one?"

"Careful how you address me," Wild mocked, "I'll spill your wine."

Arianna gasped, feigning dramatic shock. "Okay, now that is just plain wasteful!"

"What, you don't like wine-stained snow? If you spill it just right and scoop it back into the goblet quickly enough, you can have a wine-flavored slushy."

"Not funny," Arianna snorted, shaking her head. "But seriously…nothing?"

Wild shook her head. "No, nothing. I'm starting to feel very uneasy. Jadis hasn't done anything for nigh on two months now. It's too quiet, too eerie. I don't like it."

Arianna nodded. "Should we scout further out, you think?"

"I think that's too dangerous. It's dangerous enough as it is, and we're in camp. If we dare to stray into the woods, Shasta only knows what might find us."

"You mean Aslan," Arianna corrected mildly.

Wild blinked and turned to Arianna, giving her an odd look. "What?"

"You said Shasta again. You mean Aslan."

"Oh…yeah…" Wild trailed off, staring sadly into her remaining soup.

Arianna frowned, regretting having said anything. She knew how much her sister missed their home, even though she herself couldn't remember much of anything about it. It meant a lot to her, and she knew Wild was having a hard time adjusting. She wrapped a comforting arm around Wild and rested her cheek against her shoulder. "Hey, I'm sorry," she apologized softly. "I didn't mean to upset you…it's just sort of a reflex, y'know?"

Wild nodded. "It's okay, Ari. I'm just…really homesick. Don't get me wrong, I love it here, and I'm glad we landed here rather than anywhere else…but I miss home. I miss Mom and Pop."

Arianna nodded. "I know…I do too. I don't even remember them, and I miss them." Wild merely nodded, quiet again. "Wild?" Wild finally tore her gaze from the lingering puddle of soup in the bottom of her bowl and turned her gaze to Arianna. "I don't mean to upset you even more, but…" She paused, and Wild nodded. "…Do you think there's any chance that Molbrin might still be alive somewhere?" Wild didn't answer; she simply gazed into Arianna's eyes for a long moment before looking away, turning her face to the sky and clouds above.

The Secret Police stalked through the woods, low growls occasionally rumbling out from one of the vicious wolves. They were hunting, both for prey and for recruits or prisoners. Mirani led the easily fifteen-strong pack into a prickly line of shrubs, where she abruptly barked the order for quiet. Just on the other side, there was a large centaur patrolling the area. He was heavily armored and propped a fierce battle axe over his shoulder. He was armed for a fight, and Mirani was the kind to start one.

Whether the centaur would be a victim or a meal was yet to be seen, and the group of wolves fanned out on either side of the pacing warrior, each eagerly awaiting the signal to close in and attack. They didn't have to wait long. Mirani feared that if they allowed him to progress too far, he would come upon others who would serve as reinforcements, and if that were to happen, they would be forced to leave him be. She was arrogant, and she was overconfident in her own power as well as the pack's, but she was not stupid. With an abrupt howl, she bolted out of her hiding place and lunged for the centaur's underside. With a sharp cry of surprise and effort, the centaur lifted his huge battle axe and swung it downward at a wolf which lunged for his throat. He hit it broadside and sent it careening through the air and against a nearby tree.

Another braver wolf, albeit stupider, ran straight for the centaur's hind legs, intending to disable its feet and bring it down. Expecting this, the centaur kicked violently just as the wolf lept at him, two very distinct cracks sounding from the unfortunate wolf as well as a loud yelp of agony. Mirani dodged the other kicking hoof and sank her teeth into the centaur's exposed stomach. He cried out in pain and reared back, managing to clunk Mirani's shoulders with one of his massive front hooves, forcing her to let go. Just as the centaur lowered back onto all fours, a large and tough wolf lept right onto his back, sinking his razor sharp canines into the beast's shoulder. With another cry, more of anger than pain this time, the centaur swung back his massive axe, but the wolf ducked just in time, then lunged back up and clamped his jaws tightly around the back of the creature's neck. At that same moment, as the axe had missed its initial target, the momentum kept it swinging and Mirani was caught in the backlash of the attack, dead before she even hit the snow.

After a brief death struggle, the mighty centaur fell in a heap on the snow and the pack began to devour him ravenously, all but one wolf. Joran, the huge black and gray wolf who had trained Molbrin ignored the carcass, instead slowly moving to Mirani's body and dipping his head in a moment of respect for the dead captain. After a significant silence penetrated only by the sounds of chewing and crunching, he raised his head again and turned to face the gorging wolves. "Maugrim!"

Instantly, the wolf in question lifted his head from the body and prowled to Joran's side, licking his chops clean. He was the one who had delivered the killing blow to the centaur, having been smart enough to attack from behind as well as from the side so as not to be kicked. "Joran?" he growled, gazing uncertainly down at Mirani's corpse.

Joran glanced at the body, then back to the young male. "You are Alpha now. You are captain. Step up, Maugrim."

Maugrim frowned. "Me? But…Joran…I'm not suited enough to be any captain, much less an alpha."

"You are," Joran growled. "Only the smartest wolf in the pack could ever have killed that beast alone the way you just did. Mirani was never a good captain for the Secret Police, and you saw her plan. She was cavorting about right under its hooves. How smart do you think that is? You were the second in command, Maugrim. Like it or not, you are captain now."

Maugrim paused, momentarily stunned into silence. He felt guilty, as though he had caused Mirani's death. He knew it wasn't true, and he had always hated her from the minute she had first pinned him before the Queen, but he still felt bad. Could he really be the captain? Could he manage a pack of fourteen wolves? He gazed down into Mirani's dead staring eyes, and even as his blood ran cold as ice, he knew he had to. His heart hardened just a little bit more and his features solidified into an expression of dominant coldness. Yes, he could be the captain…and he would. Woe unto the ones who dared to cross his path and defy him, and woe unto the ones who dared to look him in the eye. In that one moment, Maugrim changed drastically. He became at last what Joran had trained him to be…he was a killer.

A/N: Weee! Chapter 4 is now available for your absorption and review! Now let's see…what's a good followup for cheese and wine to hand out in chapter 5 if I get reviews for this one? I'm open for suggestions…if I get nothing suggestion-wise, then I'll just draw a random something out of my magic kimono and you guys can just pray it isn't something gross like brussel sprouts or straight black coffee…unless, y'know, you're someone who likes that sort of thing. Lol!

Either way, please review! If you have any thoughts or ideas for anything throughout the story, feel free to share/ask about them. I may not necessarily give you a straight answer because I don't want to give anything away about what's coming, but I'll definitely read and consider all entries! :D

R&R! *talks like E.T.* I'll…be…right…heerree…XD